Are you interested in tracing your Irish roots? An amazing 12.5 million new digitized records of births, marriages and deaths has just been released by irishgenealogy.ie from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.  

Previously only available by visiting the GPO in Dublin or by officially ordering online, they can now be accessed from anywhere in the world.

The information is very exciting as it contains records for such luminaries as James Connolly, Tom Crean, Thomas Clarke, Eamonn Ceannt and even Padraig Pearse.

Birth dates covered are from 1864 to 1915; deaths recorded and available are from 1891 to 1965 and marriage records cover off the period of 1882 to 1940 and there is a plan to expand the database even further and go back over older records.  

Speaking about this fantastic new opportunity for people to trace their roots and explore history, Minister for Arts and Heritage Heather Humphreys explained that “Anyone wishing to research their family history will have a veritable treasure trove of records available at the click of a button and I’ve no doubt that these records will help unlock many mysteries that people have been trying to solve for years.”

The Minister emphasized that by expanding the database the Irish government regarded this as “a very important development in family history research for Irish people and Irish descendants both at home and abroad”.

For those interested in tracing their roots, the records of births gives the information on the place and the date of birth. They also reveal the sex and name of the child, plus the name and surname and geographical location of the father and the name, surname and the maiden name of the mother. The records also include the rank / profession of the father, his signature and the qualification and residence of the informant and when it was registered.

For marriages, the date, name and surname of the parties in question is recorded as is their age, their marital status, rank or profession and where they lived at the time of their marriage. The records also record their fathers’ name, surnames and professions and where the marriage took place and who officiated.

For those researching in to the deaths of their ancestors, they can find out the date and place of death, the name and surname, sex, marital status and their age at their last birthday. They will be able to find out their profession and interestingly the cause of death and any duration of illness, plus see their signature, which can be very poignant and evocative.

These wonderfully indexed and searchable records are a veritable treasure trove of information and are an exceptional insight for those researching their Irish ancestry no matter where they are based in the world.