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Ministers Martin and Humphreys announce release of more historic records online

An additional year of historic Births, Marriages and Deaths are now available to view on the website www.irishgenealogy.ie. The records now available online include:

  • Birth register records – 1864 to 1920
  • Marriage register records – 1845 to 1945
  • Death register records – 1864 to 1970

Minister forTourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, T.D., welcomed this latest release:

"This release of register data by the Civil Registration Service is part of the ongoing partnership between my Department and the Department of Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. I know that this annual update is eagerly anticipated and will be of great benefit to anyone carrying out research on their Irish Ancestry".

Minister forSocial Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands, Heather Humphreys T.D., (which has responsibility for the Civil Registration Service) emphasised:

“I am delighted that the Civil Registration Service has provided another year of historic Birth, Marriage and Deathregister entries to the www.irishgenealogy.ie website.  I trust that this information will be of great use to anyone with an interest in genealogy and may act as a spur to those who would now like to start their own family history research”.

Press and Information Office

An Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán

Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

Tel: 087 6737338 / 087 7374427 Email: press.office@tcagsm.gov.ie Website:  Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

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Notes To Editor

The records being launched are the Birth register entries for 1920, Marriage Register entries for 1945 and Death Register entries for 1970. These entries show important information that are often vital in helping people to find out about their ancestry. 

For Births these include:

  • Childs Forename/s;
  • Childs Surname;
  • Date of Birth;
  • Place of Birth;
  • Father's Name and Address;
  • Mother's Name and Maiden Name if Married;
  • Father's Occupation;
  • Signature of Informant (Person who registered your birth);
  • Date of Registration of the Birth.

For Marriages these include:

  • Marriage location;
  • Date of Marriage;
  • Forename/s & Surnames of Bride and Groom;
  • Age at time of Marriage;
  • Condition (i.e. Bachelor, Spinster or Widowed);
  • Occupation of Bride and Groom;
  • Bride and Groom’s Father's Names and Addresses;
  • Occupations of Bride’s and Groom’s Fathers;
  • Signature of Bride and Groom;
  • Signature of Witnesses.

For Deaths these include:

  • Date and Place of Death;
  • Name and Surname of Deceased;
  • Male or Female;
  • Condition of deceased ((i.e. Bachelor, Spinster or Widowed);
  • Age at last Birthday;
  • Rank, Profession or Occupation of Deceased;
  • Cause of Death and duration of illness;
  • Signature, qualification and residence of informant;
  • Date of registration.

The www.irishgenealogy.ie website provides access to:

  • 6,694,516 Civil Birth Register entries;
  • 1,921,886 Civil Marriage Register entries; &
  • 6,911,000 Civil Death register entries.

The website is free to use and no subscription or registration is required to use it.

The years covered by the historic records of Births, Marriages and Deaths available on the www.irishgenealogy.ie website are:

Births:             1864 to 1920

Marriages:     1845* to 1945

Deaths:          1871** to 1970

* Civil Registration of Marriages in the Roman Catholic Church only commenced in 1864.

**The Civil Registration Service are currently working on updating the remaining records of Deaths dating back to 1864. These will be included in future updates to the records available on the website.

Site usage - In 2020 the site recorded 1,612,008 visits with the number of page views in 2020 totalling 4,689,508.  This represents a 9% increase in visitors to the website in 2020.

Every year an additional year of Birth, Marriage and Death entries are added to the website.

A separate joint project between the two Departments will allow the publication of a number of other registers held by the Civil Registration Service.  These registers include a record of Irish personnel killed during World War 1, army registers relating to births, deaths and marriages; similar registers maintained by the consular services.  Further details on this project will be announced in due course.

Some Famous Irish People born in 1920

Liam Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017)

Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs from 1954 to 1957, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce and Government Chief Whip from 1948 to 1951. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1943 to 1981.

Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons) (17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015)

Famous Actress who appeared in many films including the Christmas classic ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ (1947); ‘Rio Grande’(1950) and ‘The Quiet Man’ (1952)

James Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC (27 August 1920 – 9 March 2015),

Often known as Jim Molyneaux, was a Northern Irish unionist politician, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1979 to 1995.

Nicholas Christopher Michael "Christy" Ring (30 October 1920 – 2 March 1979)

Christy Ring was widely regarded as the greatest hurler in the history of the game, with many former players, commentators and fans rating him as the number one player of all time.  His league and championship career with the Cork senior team spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963.  During his playing career he established many championship records, including career appearances (65), scoring tally (33-208) and number of All-Ireland medals won (8).

Eilís Dillon FRSL (7 March 1920 – 19 July 1994)

An Irish author of 50 books, including novels, detective stories and books for young people. Her work has been translated into 14 languages.