Following up on my previous post in August that Findmypast planned to release four Irish record collections in September 2016, they have now announced that the newly released collection of more than three million historic Irish records will be free forever. Until this release, you could only access these records by visiting the National Archives of Ireland’s reading rooms in Dublin.
The four collections are:
Original Will Registers 1858-1920 Over 181,000 records the largest collection of surviving wills for the post-1858 period for the Republic of Ireland. The registers allow researchers to explore the pages of wills to discover where their family lived, what assets they had, if it was left to relatives, and if anyone was left out due to a family feud.
Qualification and Convert Rolls 1701 – 1845 – Lists of over 52,000 Catholics who swore loyalty to the crown or converted to Protestantism. During the harsh Penal Laws of the 18th century, Irish Catholics were restricted from owning property or running businesses. Many chose to either convert (at least legally) to the established Church or swear loyalty in front of a court in order to qualify for certain rights
Valuation Office books 1824-1856- These land and house surveys kept by the Valuation Office of Ireland contain over 2 million names. The books that make up this collection were preparatory to the Griffith’s Valuation, and provide a comprehensive assessment of the rental value of Irish lands and property from the mid-1820s to the mid-1850s. The books reveal where and when individuals rented or owned property and provide rare glimpses of life in pre-famine Ireland
Merchant Navy Crew lists 1857-1922 – These indexed lists records the details of over 832,000 men and women who served with the Merchant Navy. The original lists were extensive and provided detailed information for each crew member, where and when they were born, and their life at sea. The lists not only cover Irish sailors but also include natives of Norway, Russia, Sweden, America and Germany, to name but a few
Learn more about these collections at Findmypast.com. Once there, it’s easy to find a particular record collection by clicking on Search and scrolling down to the card catalogue, A to Z of record sets. Then enter the title of one of the new collections. Or you can just search by name and location.