Genealogy Chat

I'm planning a couple of days in Dublin to hit the records offices etc - any suggestions as to the best places to start, must visits would be gratefully recieved. ALSO, is the certificate ordering system similar to UK - would I need to place my order then wait for it to be posted out? N.B. I've been to Dublin plenty so know my way around and have done the tourist thing - I'm purely looking for genealogy attractions!

final nudge in hope

Have you explored this site? :- General Register Office - About Us... is General Register Office, Joyce House, 8/11 Lombard Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. ... Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Avenue, ... www.groireland.ie/about_us . .... when you go, please say for me ''hello, Great-Granny'' - Susan McCusker was born somewhere in Dublin about 1856! :-) Joy

nudging for Zoe

cheers Joy Had a hunt around that site yesterday. Was hoping someone might know of 'secret' places to look that might hold treasures Zoe

I wish I did! Have a good time. Joy

Zoe It all depends on what you are looking for in Dublin so here are some questions for you. Are you looking for pre 1864 registers? Are youi looking for post 1864 registers Are you looking for Catholic ancestors? Are you looking for Protestant ancestors? Are you hoping to do any work on Ancestors in County Tipperary or County Kerry. Depending on your answers I can probably answer many of your queries but there is more than one place to go for info in Dublin. I think that the GRO has been relocated to Roscommon though there is supposed to be a link still with Dublin so I would check that out first. Janet

Janet due to the limited info I have already I'm not totally sure. My main clue is my grandfather who was born in Dublin in 1912, Roman Catholic, one of 14 children (I only have a few of their names). I have his fathers name but not mothers. If I go to the GRO is it right that I can order up a copy of the register entry (i.e. with the parents details, address etc) on teh same day to make my next step back? Its a fairly uncommon name in Ireland (Dormer)and I know that from the early 1900s onwards the family have all stayed in and around Dublin. Prior to that grandad always told us he was from Kilkenny but his sister (the only one still alive) says thats rubbish - so I'm stumped. I'm basically trying to find out if I need to plan my two days saat at the GRO writing down every occurrence of the surname and then order the certs when I get home or if theoretically I should be able to work my way back to 1864 (trusting I find the entries) whilst I'm there and then make moves to the Parish Registers. also - is it good practice for when the two registers (GRO and Parish) cross over to check in parish records for the area to confirm religioin so that I have a starting point for before 1864? Apologies for bombarding you with questions but I want to make sure I'm all straight in my head so I know what notes to take Zoe p.s. I also have two theatrical families both from Dublin - one that left pre1840 and the others that left c1860 so any ideas as to where to look for theatrical stuff would be great

Zoe The post 1864 registers are being relocated to Roscommon as said earlier, as from 11 April 05. If you look at this site then you will find more about it: http(://)www(.)groireland(.)ie If they maintain the same system as before then it is more chaotic than the UK, but I do hope that relocating to, hopefully bigger premises, that some of the past problems that occurred will be no more. I go over every year to look for info and I can only speak for what it used to be. You can either pay equivalent of about £14/16 for a days browsing of the registers and pick out as many of the ones you want and then pay another approx £2 for each certificate you ask for, and these will be produced on the day, up to approx 4 pm. The certs are not as detailed as ours and sometimes can be indistinct but you usually get what you want. The number of registers you have in the day is unlimited but I think you are only allowed 5 at a time. Where it can get chaotic, and where I hope they have changed, is that if you elect to pay for the day you are entitled to several registers at a time, and can hang on to them all day. This may well stop others from researching those registers for that day. You can obviously appreciate that if you can do that, so can many other people can do the same, and may stop you from using a register you want. You can also elect to pay for browsing a few registers about £2 each one. So you have to decide which method you want. I am only ever searching one or two years, so I always elect for the cheaper option, but one year another person had the register that I wanted all day!! So that side of it can be very hit and miss, particularly now that tracing is so much more popular. Hopefully for your sake with new premises they may have changed procedures, but don't bank on it! These registers are quite straightforward, and no matter whether Catholic or Protestant. Pre 1864 is a very different procedure. For tracing ancestors pre 1864 you will need to use the National Library in Dublin and for that you will need to browse the following website: http(://)www(.)nli(.)ie(/)new(_)what(_)res(.)htm The address of where it is isa on the website. Please note that if you have Kilkenny Ancestors, they often strayed into Tipperary. Should this be the case you will be refused permission to look at the records, as Tipperary is a closed County to the public and tracing can only be done through the Heritage Sites for which you have to pay. I have found other ways around this but hopefully for you, they stay in Kilkenny! This is where you need to do a lot of homework before you go, as to what Barony/Townland your folk may be from and so you will need to get a grip on what Baronies/Townlands and parishes are and realise that even at this stage the Catholic parishes are separated and different from the Protestant parishes. Try this website: http(://)www(.)rootsweb(.)com(/)irlkik(/)ihm(/)baronies(.)htm You should be able to download Barony and Townland/Parish/Catholic and Protestant Maps to take with you. When you go to the National Library and ask for the microfilms you will be asked to complete a form in which you will have to know which religion to ask for, usually Catholic or Protestant and also the parish. If I tell you I was looking for someone from Fermoy and was presented with about 10 parishes within Fermoy you begin to realise how important it is to know EXACTLY where your ancestors lived. So recheck the 1901 Census to make sure you have the nearest place, as Kilkenny will not be quite good enough. When you say KIlkenny, do you mean the town which will have at least 10 parishes or do you mean the County Kilkenny, which will be a very daunting task. At the National Library they also have a room where you can talk over you personal FH problems and will get a lot of hints. I think you can also access the Griffiths Index her as well. Most Catholic registers only go back to 1830 and a few go back to about 1760 which is the earliest. Many Protestant Records go back to the 1600's. NL has also got the biggest collection of Irish papers, although remember you can get these in Colindale, London. Should you find your Irish folk involved with Young Ireland Movements/Fenians then the National Archives has some very good records. Website: www(.)nationalarchives(.)ie National Archives are in Bishops Street, Dublin but website will give you all the details. As well as using the 1901 and 1911 Census which is address only, not indexed as ours is, you can also look at Griffiths and Tithe Aplotments. I did have a web site for these, but can't find it. If you google search 'Tithe Aplotments'+Ireland and 'Griffiths'+Ireland you shoul get some knowledge of these. I think it is the Dublin National Archives that has the best set Of Griffiths that I know of, and are census substitutes. Take some form of identity with you with your address on like a driving licence. Sometimes they like a passport. Theatrical Stuff you should find at National Archives. Dormer is better than Murphy!! You should be able to do a name search on Griffiths for Dormer which would make life a lot easier for you. We got a lot of help on this side from the National Archives in Dublin when I was doing a name search for a lesser know name in my own tree. Do as much homework as you can to get the most out of your trip and good luck. I could go on but think this is already too much! Feel free to come back to ask more questions. Janet

can't you go to the North???????? been stuck on that line for ages:-((((

Ms Coulby if you want to pay to extend my trip I'd be delighted!!!! Sending you mail Zoe

Tell you what Zoe if i could afford to pay to extend your trip I'd be going myself LOL :-P

Hi Janet, As always a great response, I can only admire you yet again for your knowledge and your thoughtful reponses to people. I have been trying to find out if the FULL Registration Office (lock, stock and barrel) was moving to Roscommon and it isn't. For us looking for our rellies we will still be checking Joyce House, Lombard Street. Zoe I must warn you last time I was in the Registration Office they only allowed the MAXIMUM of 5 certs per day! which wasn't much good to me as the name I had was more common and because the Irish indexes are more complicated it was really a waste of time buying the certs even if they were cheaper than ours, I couldn't tell if I had the right person no matter how many I bought. Zoe if anyone knows any secret places it is Janet lol. Good Luck, Pat x

Can I just add a wee tip about the GRO. If you don't get there early, you may well find there's quite a queue on the street when you get there - this is not for the geneology/checking the records section. I think it was for actually registering BMD's. I joined this long queue the first time I went and when I got to the front I found that there was a separate, much shorter queue for searching the records. If there is a queue when you get there, pop down to the front of the line and see if there is a sign for genealogy/record searching something like that, I joined the little gang of hardened genealogist on subsequent visits. People further back up on the long line would grumble a bit - because they didn't know we were queueing for something else. By the way, you have to leave your bag in a locker, so have a pad and pencil with you

Zoe, Don't forget that the GRO for Ireland is no longer in Dublin, but about 90 miles west (got it right this time) in Roscommon town centre. It moved about 2 weeks ago, and the new address is copied from a thread I put on the records office board - The General Register Office is to be re-located from Joyce House, 8/11 Lombard Street East, Dublin 2 to Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon with effect from the 11th April 2005. From that date, all communications should be addressed to :- General Register Office, Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon. Tel: 090 6632900 LoCall: 1890 252076 Fax: 090 6632999 The telephone codes are Irish. Paul

If you do decide to go to Roscommon, then this might be of use to you. I received this reply from a guest house (Gleeson's Townhouse) in the town - 'We are only 5 minutes walk from the new government offices where the GRO is now located. We are in the centre of the town Regards Eamonn Gleeson' The website is www(.)gleesonstownhouse(.)com The standard rates for last year were:- Offer available all year round Standard Suite Superior Suite Jan - Mar 2004 50.00 euro 55.00 euro Apr - Sep 2004 55.00 euro 60.00 euro Oct - Dec 2004 50.00 euro 55.00 euro The above rates are per person sharing and include Full Irish Breakfast, served until 11am. Single supplement of 15 euro only applies if occupancy in a double bed guestroom is requested. Children under 3 years free. 50% Reduction for Children aged between 3 -14 when sharing with 2 adults. All prices are subject to availability, and are inclusive of tax and service charge. Paul

Thank you everyone for so much great information. Im heading over in June and would have been going round in circles. Thank you again Michaela PS I am going to tackle the Murphy branch - cant do much else my mum is a Murphy.

Hi Pat, Yes, I also understand that there is still the link at Lombard Street Dublin, even though the records have gone to Roscommon as per mid April. One of the Family History Mags has an article on this. For the moment they will now have TWO places in the South for the GRO which makes sense as it will relieve pressure on Dublin. According to May 05 Family History Magazine the GRO Dublin will still be dealing with: 'Civil Registration of Births and Deaths in Ireland which commenced 1 January 1864. For Marriages, Noncatholics commenced 1 April 1845 and Catholic Marriages commenced 1 January 1864. The records held at Joyce House cover all of Ireland until 31 December 1921 and from then on only hold the Republic Records. They also hold Registers of births at sea of children one of whose parents is Irish, registered since 1 January 1864 to 31 December 1921 and after that date of children of Irish parentage, not including children of parents belonging to the six north eastern counties.' There are other more minor records to include certain marriages solemnised in Lourdes, France up to 1972. Michaela Good luck with your Murphys. Not sure what else to say! Looby Loo has made a point I forgot, to join the shorter queue although with the sudden burst of poularity over there don't bank on the queue being shorter!! And get there real early like when it opens. Janet

Thanks everyone for all the pointers I now feel fully prepared for everything MIchaela when in June will you be there as my trip is planned for the first part of June Zoe

Hi Zoe, I will be in Dublin at the end of June after 2 weeks in England. I have no real hope of finding much information. I will be happy with just birth info on my grandfather Patrick Murphy. Most of the 'geneholiday' will be spent doing the family visits and tourist things........................or so my other half thinks! Good Luck Michaela