Email address: caroline@thegoodwebguide.com

Website: www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk/genealogy/

Any errors are the responsibility of SHS website only.

Included in this section are some sites that deal with to whole of Ireland, both north and south, particularly (host that refer to pre-partition times. Sites referring specifically to Northern Ireland start on p.83.

It is also worth looking at apparently Scottish sites (such as www.scotlandclans.com) as they often have Irish records lumped in, particularly on American sites.

The National Archives of Ireland www.nationalarchives.ie

The homepage explains that relatively few of the archives can be consulted online. The object of the site is to explain what the archives contain and help you plan a visit.

About Us Start your exploration by clicking here in (to small-print index at the top left of the homepage, and then select About the National Archives: Some Facts. Next, clicking on Archives Held by the National Archives explains what does still exist, given that at the beginning of the Civil War in 1922 almost all the archives held by the Public Record Office of Ireland were destroyed by fire.

Genealogy, in small letters to the top left of the homepaje, leads to a page with further links to the various areas of to archival holdings. Census Returns (which includes 1901 and 1911 census returns and some remnants of returns from 1821,1831,1841 and 1851), micro-film copies and transcripts of some Church of Ireland registers. Tithe Applotment and Primary (Griffith) Valuation, Wills and Administrations and Births, Marriages and Deaths are just some of the headings.

Other links include Genealogy Centres Listed by County and List of Genealogical Researchers.

From this list, Genealogy Links will be among the most useful, offering a list of further organisations which may be of help, including the IreAtlas Townland Database, an Irish Emigrants site, Records of the Irish Constabulary and ofThe Valuation Office of Ireland, and many others.

GENUKI Ireland www.genuki.org.uk/big/irl

In keeping with the tradition of the GENUKI resources, this is, without doubt, the place to start for an overview of both Irish genealogy and the most useful links available on the internet.

National Library of Ireland www.nli.ie

Roman Catholic Parish registers of most parishes up to 1880 are held on microfilm. A Parish Registers list is available as a PDF. Their collections also include Estate Records, Gaelic Manuscripts, and a guide to family history in the library.

The Irish Times Online Irish Ancestors www.ireland.com/ancestor

Type in the name you are looking for, and this site will show you the distribution of mentions by county from a primary valuation property survey of 1848-64, an 1890 births distribution, and direct you to a surname dictionary, suggested variants, and details of placenames. A certain amount of information is available free but to get to a detailed level, such as to access to Lewis' Topgraphical Dictionary of Ireland (1837), you need to pay in dollars.

Irish Genealogical Society, International www.irishgenealogical.org

The pages of the Irish Genealogical Society International, based in Minneapolis, include articles, guides, original sources and helpful tips. The most useful sections are Geneaology Information by IGSI and Irish Genealogy Links.

Fianna www.rootsweb.com/~fianna

Fianna is an Online Study Group for Irish Genealogy. Although it doesn't seem to have been updated recently, Fianna's archive highlights include the guide, which provides ideas and resources for anyone starting to research in Ireland, Transcriptions from Primary Sources and a comprehensive section on Irish Surnames, their variations and surname lists.

The Irish Family History Forum www.ifhf.org

Founded in 1991 by a small group of genealogical enthusiasts, the Forum is now incorporated in the US, and has connections in both Canada and England. It runs meetings, publishes a newsletter and will undertake research on behalf of individuals. Links is the most useful part of the site for UK genealogists.

Irish Genealogy in Scotland's Clans website http://www.scotlandsclans.com

On the homepage scroll down to the link at the bottom for Irish Genealogy. This has interesting links to small sites Featuring online transcriptions of Irish records, organised by county. There is also a link to Irish Source Records, a subscription service that claims to have records of 190,000 Irish individuals, including reconstructions of census records that were lost in the 1922 fire. It costs $14.95 for a monthly subscription or you can purchase the database on CD-rom. As we haven't tried out this service, it's a case of caveat emptor. Other items of interest are the Message Boards, Surname pages, Cemetery Records, aid Ships Passenger Lists (though these inevitably turn out to be for emigration to the US).

The Irish Family History Foundation www.irishroots.net

The IFHF is the co-ordinating body of a network of genealogical research centres throughout Ireland. There iss centre for each county. The Foundation's website includes links to each centre and details of the services they provide

The Irish Genealogical Research Society www.igrsoc.org

The Society was established in London in 1936, where it has its own library. The site provides details of membership, activities and collections. There are plans for a members-only section where they will publish material from the library holdings online.

Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland http://www.agpi.ie

The site provides a list of members available to undertake paid research for you, as well as details of membership and links.

The Irish Genealogical Project www.irishgenealogy.ie

An all-Ireland initiative to support people on the trail of their ancestors, it is slightly difficult to unravel the ultimate objectives of this organisation, which is a limited company that claims public sector support. It's main aim seems to be to drum up work for the competing research organisations and to encourage people to visit Ireland as genealogical tourists.

Northern Ireland

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk

As the homepage suggests, start with Questions, which clearly explains PRONI's role. It holds both central and local government records, and certain records belonging to private individuals. The records cannot be consulted online, but there is plenty of information to help you in advance to make the most of a visit to PRONI. Remember that many Irish records were burnt in Dublin in 1922.

The Records in Proni is a clear description of the records available.

Census Records, Church Records, Emigration Records, Poor Law Records and School Records are only a few of the records held. Further down the same page, those that are particularly relevant to tracing family history are listed again, followed by those relating to local history. Another link from this page leads to Academic Research and then to an interesting article on the Major Research Strengths of PRONI. Other links from the homepage include Exhibitions and Events and What's New.

The General Register Office of Northern Ireland www.groni.gov.uk

GRONI is the main repository of civil registration records in Northern Ireland, since 1922. You will need x-shockwave flash plug-ins to access the site.

FAQs Start here for an overview of what you can obtain from GRONI.

Certificates Although the indexes are not online, you can now order BDM certificates online if you have enough biographical details or, better still, the registration details (note that the reference numbers from the IDS are not applicable). If you prefer you can download a form to post.

Historical Records You can book online to search the indexes up to two weeks in advance, or arrange for an assisted search.

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency http://nisra.gov.uk

NISRA preforms an equivalent function for Northern Ireland as the ONS does for England and Wales, collating statistics and holding the original civil records of births, deaths, marriages and adoptions. Useful more for general population statistics than individual records.

The Linen Hall Library www.linenhall.com

You will need a Flash plug-in in order in to access this site, and even then it is quite slow to load. However, if you persevere you will find out about the treasures in Belfast's oldest library, the strengths of which include its Irish and Local Studies collection, and its Genealogy and Heraldry collection. The latter includes pedigrees of thousands of prominent families, transcriptions of some parish registers, passenger lists, Irish memorial records, and the 1796 Spinning Wheel Premium Entitlement Lists, which includes 60,000 names of people eligible to receive a free spinning wheel to promote the linen trade.