Online availability of Births, Marriages and Deaths records extended

One of the good things to come of the Covid-19 lockdown was the resurgence in interest in genealogy and exploring family roots and tracing the family tree.

Many throughout Donegal have come together through community groups or local historical societies to find out more about the process.

Well, the good news is the online availability of Births, Marriages, and Deaths records have been extended, with a further 12 months of these records available to view online on www.irishgenealogy.ie

The records now available for each of these life events are:

- Birth Register records for the years 1864 to 1921
- Marriage Register records for the years 1845 to 1946
- Death Register records for the years 1864 to 1971

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

The records being launched are the Birth Register entries for 1921, Marriage Register entries for 1946, and Death Register entries for 1971.

These entries show important information that is often the necessary link in helping people to find out about their ancestry.

The use of language reflects the time and the legislative provisions of the time.

For Births, these include:

Child’s Forename/s
Child’s Surname
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Father's Name and Address
Mother's Name and Birth Surname 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) – now Civil Status
Occupation of Bride and Groom
Bride and Grooms 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) – now Civil Status
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:

6,784,749 Civil Birth Register entries;
1,939,623 Civil Marriage Register entries; and
6,943,532 Civil Death register entries.

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

The Civil Registration Service is 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.

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