19 January 2017
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The Irish Genealogical Research Society website
The Irish Genealogical Research Society’s (IGRS) online Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes now have more than a quarter of a million names for family historians to research
The Irish Genealogical Research Society’s (IGRS) online Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes at http://www.irishancestors.ie have collectively smashed through to a quarter of a million names.
The IGRS marriage database began with 40,000 names in 2014 with the birth and death indexes following suit. Since then the databases have been regularly updated by the IGRS, covering records dating prior to 1864, the year civil registration began in Ireland.
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The sources are drawn from various records providing substitute evidence of life events – from family Bibles and deeds to pension records – since the 1922 Public Record Office fire destroyed many Government records. For example, 2,600 Irish names among the latest 9,000-name update were culled from the British Civil Service Evidence of Age Index, with more marriage data gleaned from the Church of Ireland Marriage Licence Bonds. The death index was boosted by 3,260 records noted from newspapers.
Steven Smyrl, IGRS chairman, said: ‘Despite the great loss of 1922, there still remain many untapped sources for Irish genealogists to explore.’
Access to the Early Irish Marriage Index is free, while the birth and death indexes are members’ only. Surname-only searches are also free for everyone.
