Archive for January, 2014

Thrifty Thursday – National Archives of Ireland

Posted by on Thursday, 2 January, 2014

Do you have ancestors who come from Ireland? While most of the Ireland Census records were destroyed prior to 1901 were destroyedm they 1901 and 1911 Ireland Census records are available to researchers. In fact, The National Archives of Ireland has images of the 1901 and 1911 Ireland Census for free on it’s website.

The Census is easy to search and you can download and view the original records. Once you find your family see which townland/street they lived on. Once you have that information go back to the search engine and use only the townland name in the search criteria. Do not put in a surname or a forename. If you’re lucky to have someone who cam from a small townland you can often find other relatives or at least very close neighbors. My Ester Doyle was from Carrickslavan. In the 1901 Census there were only 21 people living in that townland. They must either have been all related or at least very close neighbors. Be careful using the townland name. The Carrickslavan from 1901 was spelled Carrickslavin in the 1911 Census. Notice the slight spelling difference.

Make sure you check the National Archives of Ireland if you have Irish ancestors.