Genealogy Chat

i'm thinking of going over for the day and just wondered if anyone has any tips/advice before i go, thnaks, Karen

Karen I have just looked at the GRO website for Dublin and things seem much the same as when I went there, this is the info they give about searching in person... Is there somewhere I can search your records myself? You can visit our Research Room in Dublin , where you can search the index books for birth/marriage/ death and adoptions entries yourself. We do not have a booking facility in the research room, which operates on a first come, first served basis. Sometimes overcrowding forces us to make customers wait for entry until someone else leaves but if you show up at or near the opening time of 9.30 a.m. you should have no problem. There is a daily search fee of € 20.00 euro, this entitles you to search any of our Birth, Marriage or Death index books or for € 2.00 euro you can do a 5 year search of a given index. NOTE: These fees only apply to personal callers to the Office. The index books contain references to microfilm records of the actual register entries, copies of which are then available from the research room staff at a cost of €2.00 euro each. Due to staffing shortages it is not always possible to obtain all of the required photocopies on the same day. Details of the type and extent of records that we hold are on the Research page. Check this Georgina.

Karen I went there to search 6 years ago and I hope things have improved since then. When I went it was first come first served and if there is a queue you have to wait, nothing was computerised & you had to search the records volume by volume. My advice would be get there early. Georgina.

Thanks Georgina, looks like i need an early flight and get there straight from the airport, thanks for the info, Karen

Karen good luck with your research, by the way they close for lunch so they kick everyone out and let you back in an hour later. Georgina.

great!!!! why can't it be online Karen

Hi, Did this last year.After spending the day there and not geting a lot of info because if someone else has the books you can take them in 5 yr groups then you can miss a section. Talking to someone afterwards reckon you are better of going to the library first.The library is also meant to have some parish records on fiche i think.Might be worth ringing the library to see what records they hold Cheers Sue

thanks Sue, Karen

Hi there, This is the link to the parish record films held at the national library. http://www.nli*ie/family_hr.htm#pr as everybody has said get there early and try and plan a bit before you go. The census 1901 and 1911 are at the National Archive and unless you have an address or they came froma small village it can be a long task. There are genealogists available for consultation at the National Archive, you have to join the queue for them. You have to obtain a readers card before being allowed use of the facility. Happy hunting Teresa

oh this seems like a big old task......why doesn't my dad know when his mum was born or his grandparents names...make my life so much easier, Laren

Karen, I don't know where in the UK you are located, but some LDS Family History Centres have the Irish CIvil Registration Indices on microfilm. You can then order copies of the entry from Roscommon by post. Teresa

I know what year both grandparents were born and roughly whereabouts but i just don't know their parents names. I'll go to my local LDS to see what i can find out, thanks, Karen

We went a few years ago. You do really need to plan ahead and have a good idea what you are looking for. There are no computerised indexes so you need to have a good idea of names places and dates otherwise you will be looking for the provervial needle in the haystack. We found the BMD's most use, but then we had names and locations. We did find a marriage and a birth in the library records, but it was hard work. The census searches for 1901 proved fruitless at is transpired the area we wanted to look at had either not been filmed, or it had gone missing. Good luck.

Taken from my thread on Irish BMD Index ***IRISH BMD INDEXES**** can be found at Belfast Dublin, in Finglas Rd (see separate entry below) Hampshire ~ Portsmouth (1864-1902) Lancashire ~ Ashton Under Lyne and Chorley near Preston London ~ Kensington Nottinghamshire ~ Nottingham Merseyside ~West Derby,Liverpool. Middlesex ~ Staines (up to 1920) West Midlands ~ Coventry INDEXES (can include but there may be bits missing at some centres) ALL OF IRELAND~~~ BIRTHS 1864-1921 MARRIAGES 1845-1915 DEATHS 1864-1959 Eire only BIRTHS 1922-1958 DEATHS 1950-1958 Dublin, the LDS Family History Centre in Finglas Rd has the following on Microfilm for Ireland:- 1) Birth Indexes - 1864 to 1958 2) Birth certs - from 1864 to 1881 and 1900 to 1913 and most of 1930, 1931, 1932 and 1939 3) Rotunda Birth Records - from 1797 to 1882 4) Marriage Indexes - 1845 to 1958 5) Marriage certs - from 1864 to 1870 6) Church of Ireland Marriage Certs - 1845, 1847, 1848, 1850 to 1854, 1856, 1857, 1859 7) Death Indexes - from 1864 to 1958 8) Death certs - from 1864 to 1870 9) Mount Jerome Cemetery Records - from 1832 to 1921

AND ********The DUBLIN LIBRARIES (ordinary ones NOT LDS) also have the full BMD index available on computer.****** I went over to Belfast last November I'd checked the Indexs at an LDS centre near me then went to look at the BMD Certificates I was interested in at the Belfast LDS centre. The ordinary libraries having the Indexes on computer sound a lot less hassel than going through films or index books.

thanks for all the advice Karen