Church records to go online for free

Waitsian · 11-07-2015 5:57pm

theloniusplonk wrote: »

Thank you for replying So promptly. I have taken heart from both of your very positive responses and will endeavour to have more patience and struggle on.
I have since copied pages and endeavoured to enhance them in Photoshop and also fed them into a large TV screen. Both have helped but only a very little. I suppose we have become spoilt by the ease of using search engines.

Do persevere; I hope you can manage eventually. If not, ask us for help and we'll see what we can do (there's a separate thread for that).

And as I said in an earlier comment - in time, some resourceful companies and/or volunteers will transcribe and index some or hopefully all these images.

KildareFan · 11-07-2015 6:10pm

Oh dear, someone's not happy about the registers - see letter in Irish Times today http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/paying-for-catholic-parish-registers-1.2280832

Sir, – In the 1980s, the then taoiseach, Charles Haughey, succeeded in getting funding from the EEC amounting to more than £1 million for the purpose of setting up genealogy centres in each county in the country, for the main purpose of developing rural tourism.

Through Anco, and later FÁS, all church records were indexed. It was the intention that the overseas visitor, by paying a nominal charge for the genealogical service, would thus recoup the cost to the State for the indexing. In our experience the visitor from abroad was always willing to pay the nominal fee demanded.

It has now come to notice that the Government intends to make the church records available free of charge.

This is disgraceful as it will mean the cessation of many centres which will become unviable.

Already this Government has made significant cut-backs in national heritage and museum facilities.

– Yours, etc,

JUDE FLYNN,

Secretary,

Genealogy Centre/Longford

Roots Centre,

17 Dublin Street,

Longford.

Aineoil · 11-07-2015 6:40pm

I am so thrilled that the records are online and free. It's a brilliant resource.

L1011 · 11-07-2015 6:51pm

The cost was never returned to the state, so that point of his argument is completely baseless.

Hermy · 11-07-2015 10:05pm

Hermy wrote: »

...but they seem to have excluded my relatives.:(:p

I wish to withdraw this remark as one or two items of interest have turned up.:pac:

Nothing too startling and a number of key record sets were illegible but if this trickle of info continues I'll be very happy.

Hermy · 11-07-2015 10:19pm

KildareFan wrote: »

Oh dear, someone's not happy about the registers - see letter in Irish Times today http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/paying-for-catholic-parish-registers-1.2280832

Sir, – In the 1980s, the then taoiseach, Charles Haughey, succeeded in getting funding from the EEC amounting to more than £1 million for the purpose of setting up genealogy centres in each county in the country, for the main purpose of developing rural tourism.

Through Anco, and later FÁS, all church records were indexed. It was the intention that the overseas visitor, by paying a nominal charge for the genealogical service, would thus recoup the cost to the State for the indexing. In our experience the visitor from abroad was always willing to pay the nominal fee demanded.

It has now come to notice that the Government intends to make the church records available free of charge.

This is disgraceful as it will mean the cessation of many centres which will become unviable.

Already this Government has made significant cut-backs in national heritage and museum facilities.

– Yours, etc,

JUDE FLYNN,

Secretary,

Genealogy Centre/Longford

Roots Centre,

17 Dublin Street,

Longford.

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!

Hermy · 11-07-2015 10:26pm

theloniusplonk wrote: »

I have logged on to the Parish Registers for the first time today. And what a disappointment! Most entries were illegible and some may as well have been totally blank. It seems to have been a total waste of money to me - unless someone knows some trick that I don't. Maybe they are written in secret ink.

Don't despair Thelonius. If you can find scans of records that might be relevant to you then there's a good chance that the originals of these scans might just be available somewhere and may not be so hard to read.

Time and patience must be applied liberally with these records but they will reveal themselves gradually.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 12-07-2015 12:31am

The one bloody parish I wanted to search isn't included!

Any idea why that might be? Lost records, haven't gotten round to it yet?

pinkypinky · 12-07-2015 12:50am

I've merged these 2 threads because they're on the same topic.

What's the parish you're looking for? The NLI does not have every RC parish.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 12-07-2015 12:52am

pinkypinky wrote: »

I've merged these 2 threads because they're on the same topic.

What's the parish you're looking for? The NLI does not have every RC parish.

Urney in Co. Tyrone/Co. Donegal.

jos28 · 12-07-2015 12:56am

pinkypinky wrote: »

What's the parish you're looking for? The NLI does not have every RC parish.

Can't find mine either - I'm looking for Clontarf prior to 1879. The family I'm looking for lived in Drumcondra which was part of Fairview parish from 1879 onwards. According to the registrar at Fairview, Drumcondra was previously part of Clontarf. I knew that those records were not available at NLI so I'm not surprised they are not online. Not having any luck accessing them, I've emailed and written to Clontarf several times without success.
Just my luck that the area they were living in (Tolka Cottages) don't show up in the 1901 census either

shanew · 12-07-2015 8:24am

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Urney in Co. Tyrone/Co. Donegal.

The The NLI dont seem to have films for Urney/Castlederg, and PRONI dont seem to either. No dates for the parish are mentioned in Ryan's but John Grenham/Irish Ancestors shows baptism and marriage records going back to 1856 available on Donegal Ancestry, although I dont see the parish on their list of sources on RootsIreland for either Donegal or Tyrone.

ozmo · 13-07-2015 1:55am

Couple questions if anyone can help...

From familysearch - I have many records that say "Dublin South District"

Is there any way to narrow these to a particular parish from the microfilm numbers?

On one of them - I've tried I think all the South Dublin City books on the nli site - and I cannot find the record mentioned... any ideas?

RGM · 13-07-2015 3:52am

ozmo wrote: »

Couple questions if anyone can help...

From familysearch - I have many records that say "Dublin South District"

Is there any way to narrow these to a particular parish from the microfilm numbers?

On one of them - I've tried I think all the South Dublin City books on the nli site - and I cannot find the record mentioned... any ideas?

Are you sure the familysearch records are from parish registers? Sounds like they could be from the civil index, which is something else entirely.

shanew · 13-07-2015 7:37am

ozmo wrote: »

..From familysearch - I have many records that say "Dublin South District"

Is there any way to narrow these to a particular parish from the microfilm numbers?..

Civil Registration district of Dublin South covers the south city, so parishes such as St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. Nicholas, St. James, etc., plus parts of south west Co. Dublin - so Rathmines, Rathfarnham, Crumlin, Clondalkin, Saggart etc

Depeding on dates there may be corresponding extracted records which may mention a registration sub-district office, e.g. Grand Canal St, or High St., which can help narrow the search.

Hermy · 13-07-2015 4:13pm

Thomas from Presence wrote: »

I am a reluctant account holder with said group if you want me to check something on the website just drop me a message.

Couldn't send you a message but I wonder could you check this for me.

Ignatius Michael Moore baptism Co. Dublin 1862

It's something I took note of from Roots website a long while back but never noted the parish.

Thanks.

Hermy · 15-07-2015 10:14pm

I have a civil record for the marriage of Francis Monks and Margaret McGrath in Fermoy in 1874 so I thought finding the corresponding church record would be straightforward. However, there's no sign of it.

Might it simply not have been recorded or could there be another explanation for it's absence?

shanew · 15-07-2015 10:23pm

either missed out on being recorded, or could it have been a registry office marriage ?

What's the name of the priest and the chapel on the cert ?

Hermy · 15-07-2015 10:33pm

It's one I posted before with the mystery fathers occupation.

Priest is William Rice according to your good self Shane.

EDIT: I've since checked the surrounding parishes but no joy.

shanew · 16-07-2015 7:47am

I can see a number of marriages during 1874 including several by William Price, and although there's a possible gap around Lent, and then what seems to be at least one marriage in April (the 26th), but not by William Price.

Unless there are records added in out of sequence, which I have seen - possibly added in later from notes, it looks like that marriage never made it into the register.

contrary · 16-07-2015 8:07am

Was his "rank or profession" a "soldier"; maybe they married wherever the barracks was?

KildareFan · 16-07-2015 8:18am

I have found gaps in the registers - for example, my great grandparents married in Inishbofin in 1877 according to the civil record, but there are no marriages on the Inishbofin marriage register for almost all of 1877. I have seen marriages entered into the baptismal register in other cases so the priest may not have been the best record keeper. The newer registers with preprinted rows and columns probably prevented mixing up the records.

Thomas from Presence · 16-07-2015 4:07pm

Hermy wrote: »

Couldn't send you a message but I wonder could you check this for me.

Ignatius Michael Moore baptism Co. Dublin 1862

It's something I took note of from Roots website a long while back but never noted the parish.

Thanks.

Inbox was overflowing, sorry about that. You've got a PM there!

pjproby · 16-07-2015 8:59pm

Do we know what extra records have been added compared to the church records on IrishGenealogy.ie?

L1011 · 16-07-2015 9:54pm

pjproby wrote: »

Do we know what extra records have been added compared to the church records on IrishGenealogy.ie?

Yes. The entire record set, minus whatever few were on Irish Genealogy originally. There's far, far more in this than there was up before, its much easier to deal with it subtractively

pjproby · 16-07-2015 10:12pm

Thanks for the reply. I am wondering if say it is possible to know what additional records are available for any particular church.

pinkypinky · 16-07-2015 10:18pm

Well, you can just look at the list on Irish Genealogy and cross-reference the parish.

For example, St Andrew's Westland Row, according to this list on irishgenealogy.ie has

Baptisms: 1571 - 1906 (no really, 1571, I checked them, but no images).
Marriages: 1571 - 1897

NLI records start in 1751 and go to 1899.

pjproby · 16-07-2015 10:38pm

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

CassieManson · 02-09-2015 1:28pm

I am just finding time now to take a close look at these parish registers and am finding significant discrepancies between the "transcriptions" on roots Ireland and the actual content of the registers - specifically looking at Galway and finding incorrect baptism dates and also in some cases incorrect sponsors. Does anyone else have the same issue? Do we know if roots ireland had direct access to the originals or they are selling transcriptions provided by a third party?

L1011 · 02-09-2015 1:32pm

CassieManson wrote: »

I am just finding time now to take a close look at these parish registers and am finding significant discrepancies between the "transcriptions" on roots Ireland and the actual content of the registers - specifically looking at Galway and finding incorrect baptism dates and also in some cases incorrect sponsors. Does anyone else have the same issue? Do we know if roots ireland had direct access to the originals or they are selling transcriptions provided by a third party?

RootsIreland are generally using indexes entered by people on Fás/AnCo schemes as far back as the mid 1980s and often off the actual books rather than images. The reason stuff keeps coming online in dribs is that there's some further transcription work going on as well as converting data from 1980s formats to an actual searchable DB.

I've found errors also, but I've also found what I suspect is a missed page (in Killucan) that Roots do have transcriptions from - baptisms jump about 8 months on the NLI files.

Church records to go online for free

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