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There are two ways to search for a parish. You can enter the name of the parish in the search box on the homepage or in the header on any of the pages in the site. Alternatively click on the map to locate the correct parish.

No, the images have not been indexed or transcribed so it is not possible to search by name. An index to registers in Kerry, Dublin city and parts of Cork is freely available at Irish Genealogy. Indexes to registers in most parishes in Ireland are available on the subscription website Roots Ireland.

Click anywhere on the map to show the Catholic parishes in a particular area. Alternatively use the zoom button above the map. Clicking on any parish name will return an information page for that parish. You can also toggle between the names of counties and dioceses using the map.

Some placenames may refer to civil parishes or townlands. Civil parishes are territorial units originating from old Gaelic land divisions. They later became administrative units for census and taxation purposes. Townlands are the smallest denominations of land, sometimes just a few acres. There are often between 25 and 30 townlands in a civil parish. Catholic parishes are territorial units of the Catholic church and a number of Catholic parishes form a diocese. For more information about Irish placenames and to locate a civil parish from a townland, see Logainm.

The map is derived from the Catholic parish maps on John Grenham’s Irish Ancestors site, which in turn is based on Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837). The map is not intended to be geographically accurate but representative generally of the location of Catholic parishes in the mid-19th century and enabling researchers to locate adjoining parishes. A small number of parishes which did not come into existence until after 1880 are not represented on the map.

Click on a register image in a parish page to open the viewer containing the register images. You can also click on the microfilm number and register information to open the viewer.

Yes! Click the Filter Events/Dates button to open the toolbar. You can filter by event, year and month. The pages that correspond to the events and dates you have selected will be highlighted.

To ensure that start and end dates for each register were accurate, the first and last pages of each register were checked. The main events covered within the register were also noted. The information which allow events and dates to be filtered within a register was captured at page level, so may include events and dates beyond those indicated in the main register information if a priest annotated a record on an individual page.

The images were digitised from microfilm which was made during the 1950s and 1960s. In addition many of the original registers were in very poor condition.

Use the brightness and contrast buttons on the toolbar to customise the image. You can also invert the colours in the image using the inverse image button.

A list of common Latin names is available in A rose by any other name: a guide to Irish christian names by Judith Eccles Wight. Surnames were never translated.

Some registers themselves contain indexes, for example, registers in the parish of St Pauls, Dublin city. This will generally be indicated in the register information on the parish page. Registers in Kerry, Dublin city and parts of Cork have been indexed and are freely available on Irish Genealogy. An index to registers in most parishes is available on the Roots Ireland subscription site. John Grenham’s website provides information on available indexes and transcriptions for each parish, both free and subscription based.

Click on the Print icon in the viewer toolbar.

All images on the site can be shared and reproduced for non-commercial purposes. If you wish to reproduce an image for commercial purposes, please contact permission@nli.ie.

You can submit a query by emailing genealogy@nli.ie .

Information about sources for family history can be found on the further research page. The Library also provides template worksheets for getting started with your family tree.