I read in the Irish Times newspaper on Friday 6th November 2009, about the Rebellion Manuscripts go Digital Project which is going on at Trinity College, Dublin: 1641 Depositions Project

“The main objectives are to transcribe and digitise the ‘1641 Depositions’, and to create a comprehensive electronic resource. This material will be published on the web, providing a unique research tool, of interest to both the academic community and the general public. There will be a major international conference, held in Dublin during Year 3, with an edited volume of the proceedings appearing after the project has been completed. It is also planned to hold an exhibition in Year 3 (with a published catalogue) in the TCD Library, which attracts over 30,000 visitors each month. The project will also deliver a working methodology for the transcription and digitisation of manuscript collections, which can be applied to other unique historical collections.”

It is encouraging to see more and more digitzing of archive material in Ireland and the efforts being made to make it available on the web. Libraries will have to keep up with the digital age!

I felt I should highlight the genealogical research tools which I find very useful:

The 1911 Census which is online FREE (for all 32 counties of Ireland) is at: 1911 Census

Note, the 1911 Census lists how long a woman has been married (unless she is a widow) and how many children she had and just how many of them were still living in 1911. This kind of information can be useful when using civil records to identify when marriages took place etc.

The 1901 Census is not online but is available on microfilm. The Cork County Library has the 1901 Census for County Cork, on microfilm and when you have identified where your family was at in the 1911 Census, it may be possible to find them in the 1901 Census as well. However, the 1901 Census should be online FREE in a few months.

The Civil Records Index is also online at:
Civil Records Index
You can search and then order photocopies of certificates for €4 from the General Register Office in Roscommon (General Register Office, Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon). This index goes up to 1958.

Griffith’s Valuation, a survey of all Ireland done in the mid 1800s is FREE at:
Griffith’s Valuation

The other resource which comes to mind for Cork City is the North Cathedral (North Parish) Catholic records. A hard copy index (up to 1900) for these is available in the Cork County Library. The index lists baptisms by family group which is useful. These records go back to the 1700s. Note the library is closed till the 29th October 2009 as it is moving premises.

There is an exhibition of Cork’s History and Heritage on in the Millenium Hall, City Hall, Cork City on Tuesday 20th October 2009, from 11am to7pm. It is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Exhibition in Cork City 20th October 2009

There will be many local history societies, historical groups and genealogical groups exhibiting at the event. I will be there at the  O’Shea Family Surname Project stand.

Link to Cork City Council’s advertisement for exhibition.
Link to Cork Archives News. The Cork’s Past Exhibition is listed here.

It is interesting to note that a UK website: The Workhouse has information on Irish Workhouses as well. It is important to realize that there are records for Irish Workhouses. For example, the Cork Workhouse records are in the Cork City and County Archives. I found valuable information in a death register…the date the person arrived in the workhouse, the date of leaving (or more likely death).

O’Kief, Coshe, Mang comprises 16 volumes of genealogical data. In volume 15, the following two photos (in two posts) from the book, list of some of what is contained in these volumes (I-XIV).

O'Kief, Coshe, Mang Church Records (part 1)

Just noticed that the National Archives of Ireland have announced that all 32 counties of Ireland are online for the 1911 Census….1901 to follow.

The value of estate papers in Irish genealogy is in finding information about the estate and the tenants on the estate. Often there is very little personal information available in church or state records for tenant farmers. However, estate papers may mention them in deeds, leases, rent books etc. and provide a backdrop to life in that area and may even throw light on local emigration patterns.

I have come across references to the Kenmare Estate papers, Lansdowne Estate Papers, Bantry Estate Papers and will add to my list as time goes on. The landlord in Griffith’s Valuation sometimes gives a clue as to which estate the land belonged at that time. The name associated with the Lansdowne Estate is Fitmaurice while the name associated with the Kenmare Estate is Browne. White is the name assoiated with the Bantry Estate Papers which are in the Boole Library, UCC, Cork.

There is a useful online pdf catalogue: Bantry Estate Papers Catalogue

Gerard J Lyne wrote a book entitled “The Lansdowne Estate in Kerry under W.S. Trench 1849-72″. This book or rather tome is extensive. The author uses many many sources to outline the history of the estate under the land agent W.S. Trench and gives very useful notes and references. The tv program on the Lansdowne Estate:Hidden History – Land is Gold was shown on RTE

I found an interesting article on the Lansdowne Estate here while I was trying to discover where the Lansdowne papers might be found: From Famine to Five Points Lord Lansdowne’s Irish Tenants Encounter, North America’s Most Notorious Slum. It was written by TYLER ANBINDER in the American Historical Review, Vol. 102, No. 2. April 2002

One of the footnotes in the above article states:
“Although most of the Lansdowne Papers were recently sold to the British Library, the papers relating to his Irish estate are still in the possession of his descendants, who now charge £100 per day to anyone wishing to examine them. Before these fees were put in place, Irish historian Gerard Lyne was given free access to these papers, and I decided to rely on his very thorough analysis of those records in this and subsequent paragraphs.” [added October 2009]

Here is a link to a pdf file on the PRONI website. It describes the content and location of the Kenmare Papers: Kenmare Papers.

The following link gives some general  information on estates:Estate Records

Lismore Estate Papers [added 12th October 2009]

I came across the following:Lismore Papers pdf file on the National Library of Ireland website. Another useful link:Some postings on the Lismore Papers with references to some excerpts in volumes of O’Kief, Coshe, Mang.

I just realized that the search for burials in Glasnevin, is up and running (from 1900):

Glasnevin Burial Search

The website states:

This service will provide access to our extensive database containing more than 1 million cemetery and crematoria records related to Glasnevin (Post 1898 Only), Dardistown, Newlands Cross and Palmerstown as well as Glasnevin Crematorium and Newlands Cross Crematorium.

This is great news!

I had forgotten just how complicated Irish genealogical research can be for people who are not familiar with the way land is categorized in the various censuses, BMD records etc. I googled “townlands” and found the following wiki:Townland Wiki and read there that “a townland is the smallest officially-defined geographical unit of land”. The townland is often the key to finding where ancestors lived. Without street addresses, the townland became the address of the family in question.

I also found the following interesting website which lists a list of the documents and records available in Ireland including the land subdivisions: Ballybegvillage.com

Here is a list of townlands of Ulster:Ulster Townlands

There is a great website for searching for towlands in Ireland:Seanruad.com

I found the following very useful summary, in the help section of the online:  Griffith’s Valuation

Griffith’s Valuation Help

Administrative Land Divisions in Ireland

County: this is the main land unit for local government and there are 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland, with a further 6 counties in Northern Ireland.

Barony: there are 331 barony divisions in Ireland and this is thought be originally a Norman land unit. A county has on average between 7 and 10 baronies, though this may differ in a few cases. Baronies vary in size and may extend over more than one county on occasion. Baronies are no longer used as a unit for land government.

Parish: This actually refers to civil parishes rather than church ones, but these were originally religious divisions. Most Church of Ireland parishes correspond to a civil parish, though Catholic parishes may extend over more than one civil parish. Civil parishes also vary in size and are grouped together to form a barony.

Union: The Union was introduced as the most basic unit of administration under the Poor Law system in 1838 as the Barony and Parish units were felt to be unsatisfactory because of their unequal sizes. Initially the country was divided into 130 Unions and this was adjusted to create smaller unit sizes, so that by 1850 there were 163. Unions are no longer in use as an administrative unit.

Townland: This is the smallest land division, but may vary widely in size. There are over 64,000 townlands in Ireland and this unit is still in administrative use today. It is the smallest land unit in Griffith’s Valuation. A number of townlands, varying between 5 and 30, make up a civil parish. Many townlands from different areas share the same name.