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The questions that drive us with family history research in Ireland are no different to those asked anywhere else in the world. We need to find the records that tell us who our ancestors were, when and where they lived, and how they related to others. In Ireland, however, many of the records necessary for the task have sadly been lost across time, of were woefully restrictive in how they were created in the first place.
Whilst some of the basic vital records do not survive, however, there are plenty of others that will compensate, in this guide book, Northern Ireland born family historian Chris Paton takes a look at the potential to be found within Irish land records.
Amongst documents of ownership and tenancy, valuation and tithes records, documents for inheritance, censuses, and many other resources, there are ancestral stories lying dormant and waiting to be found. In this guide, he demonstrates how to find them.
Contents:
Introduction
- Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. A troubled history
- Gaels, Vikings and Old English
- The Plantation of Ulster
- Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Rebellion, union and rebellion
- Land reform
- The partitioned island
Chapter 2. Boundaries and administration
- Provinces and counties
- Baronies and civil parishes
- Religious parishes and dioceses
- Townlands
- Manors and demenses
- Boroughs
- Poor Law Unions and DEDs
- Registration districts
- Measurements
Chapter 3. Where were they?
- Vital records
- Decennial census records (1901-1911)
- Decennial census records (1821-1851)
- Earlier censuses
- Directories
- Electoral records
- Newspapers
Chapter 4. Tenancy, ownership and valuation
- Estate records
- Leases
- Rental records
- Quit rents and ground rents
- Estate maps
- Probate records
- Land registration
- The Down Survey of Ireland
- Tithe records
- Valuation records
Chapter 5. A sense of place
- Irish Historic Towns Atlas
- Ordnance Survey maps
- Ordnance Survey Memoirs
- Gazetteers, journals and parish histories
Useful addresses
Further reading
Index

Pages: 60