IRISH CIVIL RECORDS
Unfortunately, only a few collections of Irish genealogical records are entirely intact and were not affected by the devastating fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922 during the Civil War. By far the most important of these are the civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths.
There are two key dates for the commencement of civil registration in Ireland. In April 1845 the registration of non-Catholic marriages, including marriages in registry offices, started. Since the majority of Irish people belonged to the Roman Catholic church, this collection represents only a small portion of the population, although it can include Catholics who married outside of their faith. Civil registration proper began in 1864 when it became compulsory to register all births, marriages and deaths, irrespective of the religious denomination.
