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One of the largest and most valuable sources available to the family history researcher are the civil registers of birth, marriage and death held by the General Register Office in Dublin.
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1845 with the recording of non Catholic marriages. It was not until 1864 that registration of all marriages, and of births and deaths commenced. The registers held by the General Register Office are as follows:
Births: All births in Ireland from Jan 1st 1864, specifying: Child's name; date & place of birth, name of father, occupation of father, name and maiden name of mother and name of the informant.
Marriages: Non-Catholic marriages from 1st Jan 1845, and all marriages from 1st Jan 1864 specifying: Place & date of marriage, name, age, address & occupation of the bride & groom, name and occupation of father of bride and groom, & witnesses to the marriage.
Deaths: All deaths in Ireland from 1 st Jan 1864 specifying: Date & place of death, name of deceased, marital status, age, occupation, cause of death and details of informant.
Other useful records of possible Mayo relevance also held at the GRO are:
The indexes to the above registers can be accessed in the Search Room of the GRO at 8/l1 Lombard St., Dublin. The registers are not available for personal inspection, but copies of all entries can be obtained from GRO staff. A daily research fee can be paid, or a fee to view 5 years of indexes of births, marriages or deaths may be preferred.
These yearly indexes are arranged in alphabetical order by surname followed by forename, registration district, volume number and page number. When an entry of interest is identified, a photocopy of the entry from the relevant register, or a full certified copy, can be obtained. In the case of the death indexes, the age of the person at the time of death is also given in the index. A zero indicates that the death was of a child under 1 year of age.
Late registrations can be found in the back pages of the relevant yearly index, or in one of the following periods. Up to 1877 the indexes are in one single yearly volume. From 1878 each yearly volume has separate indexes for each of the four quarters i.e. January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December.
It is worth remembering that the indexes are based on the dates of registration of births, deaths and marriages, and not on the date of occurrence of the relevant event. It may take some time for the event to be registered. A birth, death or marriage taking place in March may therefore appear in the index for the April to June quarter. Likewise an event taking place in December may appear in the fIrst quarter of the following year.
As explained in Chapter 3, registration occurred in Registration Districts. The Registration Districts for Co. Mayo are Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorrls, Killala, Newport, Swineford and Westport. The Civil Registration District of Killala was amalgamated with Ballina in April 1917. Similarly Newport was amalgamated with Westport in January 1886.
Access to GRO Records
Some or all of the GRO records may be consulted at the following archives:
General Register Office, 'Joyce House' 8-11 Lombard Street, Dublin 2.
Holdings: All registers and indexes as outlined above.
Office of Superintendent Registrar, New Antrim Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Holdings: They hold only the registers of births, deaths and marriages for the districts in Co. Mayo since 1864. General searches may be made only by prior arrangement with this office.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Family History Centres (see P. 86) Holdings: International Genealogical Index (IGI) which includes some civil registration details up to about 1867. They are arranged by county and indexed by surname. Their holdings also include civil registration indexes and copies of some civil registers.
National Library, Kildare St., Dublin 2.
1. Index to the births registered in Ireland for the years 1864, 1865 and 1866. (Call No. LB Thom 3121)
2. Deceased Seamen. 1887-1949
Names of seamen whose deaths were reported to GRO specifying: name of deceased; age; rank or profession; official number; name and type of ship; port of registry; cause; place and date of death. From 1893 it includes sex; nationality or place of birth; and last place of abode. (NLI Call no. 31242 d.). forename, registration district, volume number and page number. When an entry of interest is identified, a photocopy of the entry from the relevant register, or a full certified copy, can be obtained. In the case of the death indexes, the age of the person at the time of death is also given in the index. A zero indicates that the death was of a child under 1 year of age.
Late registrations can be found in the back pages of the relevant yearly index, or in one of the following periods. Up to 1877 the indexes are in one single yearly volume. From 1878 each yearly volume has separate indexes for each of the four quarters i.e. January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December.
It is worth remembering that the indexes are based on the dates of registration of births, deaths and marriages, and not on the date of occurrence of the relevant event. It may take some time for the event to be registered. A birth, death or marriage taking place in March may therefore appear in the index for the April to June quarter. Likewise an event taking place in December may appear in the fIrst quarter of the following year.
As explained in Chapter 3, registration occurred in Registration Districts. The Registration Districts for Co. Mayo are Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorrls, Killala, Newport, Swineford and Westport. The Civil Registration District of Killala was amalgamated with Ballina in April 1917. Similarly Newport was amalgamated with Westport in January 1886.
Some or all of the GRO records may be consulted at the following archives:
General Register Office , 'Joyce House' 8-11 Lombard Street, Dublin 2.
Holdings: All registers and indexes as outlined above.
Office of Superintendent Registrar , New Antrim Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Holdings: They hold only the registers of births, deaths and marriages for the districts in Co. Mayo since 1864. General searches may be made only by prior arrangement with this office.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Family History Centres (see P. 86) Holdings: International Genealogical Index (IGI) which includes some civil registration details up to about 1867. They are arranged by county and indexed by surname. Their holdings also include civil registration indexes and copies of some civil registers.
National Library , Kildare St., Dublin 2.
1. Index to the births registered in Ireland for the years 1864, 1865 and 1866. (Call No. LB Thom 3121)
2. Deceased Seamen. 1887-1949
Names of seamen whose deaths were reported to GRO specifying: name of deceased; age; rank or profession; official number; name and type of ship; port of registry; cause; place and date of death. From 1893 it includes sex; nationality or place of birth; and last place of abode. (NLI Call no. 31242 d.).
Mayo Coroners Inquests .
The earliest surviving records of the Mayo Coroners office are 1888. However they include witness statements and verdict. The full list of surviving records are detailed in the index to the records of the Circuit court held at the NAI.
