Throughout my 20 years of experience in Irish genealogy, I can attest that the confusion within the geography itself is understated. A significant number of researchers who hit a dead end even with all the necessary records blame the chaos in Ireland’s historical divisions.
In a recent case I handled, a great-great-grandfather vanished despite Irish census records placing him in County Cork in the mid-19th century. The family swore to me that he was from Cork and provided a baptismal certificate that listed Cork as his birthplace.
Thanks to my understanding of the historical divisions that have wreaked havoc in family research for centuries, I was able to discover that the great-great-grandpa didn’t vanish.
Instead, his birth was recorded in County Kerry because, for some reason, his tiny townland’s civil and church records were eventually stored in different jurisdictions.
For professional Irish genealogists, looking for records elsewhere is second nature, as the geography is a nightmare. That is not to say you can’t break the brick walls.
The breakthrough could be closer than you think: searching elsewhere. But where?
Understand How Ireland’s Historical Divisions Worked
Modern-day Ireland is well-defined and static, but the picture was different for the old country. It was a maze of inconsistent jurisdictions and overlapping borders, contributing to these three problems:
Misaligned Counties, Baronies, Civil Parishes, and Townlands
Each of these has a purpose, but the townlands were the smallest land divisions and mostly used for local identification. However, when it comes to tracing Irish ancestry, one townland might fall under different jurisdictions.
With the records scattered across multiple locations, the only way to tackle this is by cross-checking multiple record types and studying maps and historical boundaries.
Names Changed Over Time
Some townlands have several name variations, while others got a complete renaming. So, your ancestor might be listed under a different townland name based on the record type. The older documents normally carry Gaelic names, while more recent ones have Anglicized versions.
Some of the completely renamed townlands include Newtownards and Ballylisnevan. Dún na nGall was anglicized to Donegal, and Cill Mhantáin became Wicklow. The list goes on and on.
Many Genealogy Websites Categorize Records Incorrectly
The Anglicization, boundary changes, and mismatched records mean that even online databases sometimes misclassify historical records, leading you to the wrong county without realizing it.
If, for instance, you have an ancestor located in a townland near the border of County Meath and County Westmeath, it’s wise to check from either jurisdiction. If they lived in Shankill, don’t just focus on County Dublin but also crossover to Wicklow, as some of the townland was historically part of the latter. The only way to spin your wheels and find real answers is to study these divisions.
Historical Ireland’s Counties, Baronies, and Parishes
The only way to master the right place records about your ancestors that might be hiding is to understand the three historical divisions in Ireland: counties, baronies, and parishes.
Counties
Counties form the broad but mostly misleading category, as the borders were not as rigid as they are now. Ireland has 32 counties today, but most records, especially the land records, remained in the older administrative borders.
So, if you’re having difficulties finding someone, try searching for the older county names. Some classic examples include Queens County, which is now Laois, and King’s County, which is the old name for Offaly.
Baronies
Baronies are some of the forgotten layers of research that served as administrative units for land division and taxation. They are rarely used in modern records and therefore are missing on most genealogists’ priority lists.
However, they remain crucial in estate documents and land records, as they usually contain lists of ancestors in the Griffith’s Valuation, which is rare in other records.
Civil Parishes vs. Church Parishes
The Church and civil parishes are another source of endless confusion, as most researchers assume they are the same thing—they are not.
As the name suggests, church parishes were commonly used for baptisms, marriages, and burials and included names from a wider area than civil parishes. On the other hand, civil parishes’ were used for land surveys, taxation, and government records.
I recently helped a client who had spent months searching for their McCarthy ancestors in the Catholic parish of Kilgarvna, Kerry, in vain. I pointed out to them that the parish actually extended into parts of County Cork and hence the need to also check Cork’s church records as well.
Together, we found an entire line of her missing family members, which in this case had been recorded under a different county.
How to Find Your Irish Ancestors Despite Ireland’s Confusing Borders
Once you understand the mess in Irish records, you can easily work around the confusion and successfully track down your Irish ancestors. Below are some quick tips to get you on track:
- Griffith’s Valuation Maps: The Griffith’s Valuation maps (1847-1864) list landholders by barony and townland, making it easy to search your ancestors and track their land holdings.
- Name Variations & Misspellings: If you’re struggling to find your Irish ancestors, it may be that their names are spelled differently since many Irish names were anglicized. A name like Ó Conchobhair may be spelled as O’Connor, Connor, Connors, or Conner.
- Check Emigration Records: If your ancestor immigrated to Australia, Canada, the US, etc., check the relevant naturalization papers, passenger lists, and obituaries, as they often listed the immigrants’ hometown.
Your Ancestors Aren’t Missing-They’re Just Misfiled
Irish ancestry research faces numerous complexities and pitfalls, and this is where IrishResearchers come in. We help people like you understand their heritage and, most importantly, break through dead ends and complete an accurate family tree.
We also offer expert guidance on locating records, decoding maps, and untangling a confusion in our family tree. Don’t let Ireland’s historical mayhem stop you from unearthing your family history.
Schedule free consultation today or schedule a call for a session with our Irish genealogy experts.