300,000+ INDIVIDUALS ADDED TO IRISH CATHOLIC PARISH RECORD COLLECTION AT THEGENEALOGIST

The new Catholic parish registers have links to the original images and cover the county of Carlow, in the south east of Ireland

Before civil registration was introduced in two stages into Ireland, first in 1845 for non Roman Catholic marriages and then in 1864 for all births, marriages and deaths, the parish registers of the various denominations were the main records in which Irish ancestors’ vital events would have been recorded. The Roman Catholic church was far the largest denomination in Ireland and so it is within these records that the majority of Irish forebears will mostly appear.

Also released at this time are Thom’s Official Directories covering the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from Victorian times up to the 20th century. These records can help you discover more about the towns and areas, finding the names of people who held official municipal or government offices, or were professionals such as doctors, clergy, etc.

You can use these books to find Irish businesses from manufacturers of ales and agricultural implements to makers of woollens and yarns. Thom’s directories allow you to find business advertisements as well as search for tradespeople in all parts of Ireland.

The directories released in the package include:

• Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1859

• Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1898

• Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1913

• These expand the Irish directories already in Thegenealogist’s collection. Find out more about the Irish records at: www. thegenealogist. co.uk/ international/ ireland/

Note: the records can be explored by Diamond subscribers to The Genealogist.