Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors

A Guide to Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors

A

GUIDE TO TRACING YOUR
DUBLIN ANCESTORS

James G. Ryan

Brian Smith

images

First published in 1988

Second Edition 1998

Third Edition 2009

Flyleaf Press

4 Spencer Villas

Glenageary

Co. Dublin, Ireland

www.flyleaf.ie

British Library cataloguing in Publications Data available

ISBN 978-0-9563624-1-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

The information in this book is subject to change without notice.

Cover Illustration:

Eoin Ryan

Layout:

Brian Smith

Abbreviations Used

aka	also known as
Arch.	Archaeological
b.	birth/born
bapt.	Baptism
BL	British Library
c.	circa
Co.	County
CoI	Church of Ireland
d.	death/died
ed.	editor/edited (by)
DCLA	Dublin City Library and Archive
DCPL	Dublin City Public Libraries
DHG	Dublin Heritage Group
DKPRI	(Reports of the) Deputy Keeper of Public Records of Ireland
DLBHS	Dun Laoghaire Borough Historical Society
DLGS	Dun Laoghaire Genealogical Society
DLHC	Dun Laoghaire Heritage Centre
DU	Dublin (Diocese)
Dublin Hist. Rec.	Dublin Historical Record
FHS	Family History Society
GO	Genealogical Office
GRO	General Register Office
GSI	Genealogical Society of Ireland
Hist.	Historical
IGP	Irish Genealogical Project
IMA Par. Reg. Sect.	Irish Memorials Association Parish Register Section
Ir. Anc.	Irish Ancestor
Ir. Gen.	Irish Genealogist
J. or Jnl.	Journal
J. Ass. Pres. Mem. Dead	Journal of Association for the Preservation of Memorials of the Dead
J. Gen. Soc. I.	Journal of Genealogical Society of Ireland
J. Kildare Arch.	Journal of the Kildare Archaeological and Historical Society
LC	Local Custody
LDS	Latter Day Saints (Family History Centre)
Lib.	Library
m. or marr.	marriage/married
Mems - Dublin	Memorials of the Dead -Dublin City & County
mf.	microfilm
Ms/Mss	Manuscript/s
NAI	National Archives of Ireland (formerly PRO) n.d. not dated
NLI	National Library of Ireland
OP	Official Papers
p./pp.	page/pages
PHSI	Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland
Pos.	Positive
PRO	Public Record Office (now National Archives of Ireland)
PRONI	Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Pub.	published/publisher
RC	Roman Catholic
RCB(L)	Representative Church Body (Library)
Rept.	Report
RIA	Royal Irish Academy
RIC	Royal Irish Constabulary
RSAI	Royal Society of Antiquarians in Ireland (J. of)
SHS	Swords Historical Society Ltd.
SLC	Family History Library, Salt Lake City (and branches)
Soc.	Society
SPO	State Paper Office
TCD	Trinity College Dublin
UCD	University College Dublin

A page from McCready’s ‘Dublin Street Names - Dated and Explained’, an excellent guide to identifying the location of streets since disappeared. see p. 140

Chapter 1 Introduction

Dublin’s history goes back as far as AD. 140 when Ptolemy noted a settlement on this site. The city has had a long history as a Norse Viking settlement, a Gaelic city, a Norman city, as the centre of colonial English Administration of Ireland, as the centre of Irish rebellion early in the 20th century and currently as the capital of modern Ireland.

Since Dublin’s establishment, Dubliners have grown considerably in number and eminence. The earliest city population estimate is 1644 when 8,000 people were recorded. By 1682 it had risen to 60,000; by 1728 it was 146,000; by 1800 it was 170,000; and by 1841 the city had over 230,000 inhabitants. During the Great Famine of 1845-47 the population greatly expanded due to migration of people from other badly affected parts of the country. Just before the famine, in 1841, the population of Dublin county was 372,000. By 1851 it had grown to 405,000. The population of the county grew only slowly during the remainder of the century but has grown rapidly since the foundation of the Irish state in 1921. The population in the 2006 census was 1.186 million.

It is reasonable to suggest that modern Dubliners include descendants of the original native Dubliners. They also include descendants of the later arrivals, i.e. the Norse, Norman, English, Huguenot, Jewish and other groups. The predominant population group, however, is Irish people from other parts of the country.

Although descendants of Norsemen undoubtedly remain in much of the county, particularly north of the city, their influence is not obvious in Dublin family names because they did not use hereditary surnames or family names. Anglo-Norman families who settled in the county include Baggot, Sarsfield, Luttrell, Delahyde, Talbot, Barnewall, St. Lawrence, Cruise, Archbold, and Segrave.

Tracing Dublin Families

This book is intended to assist those who wish to establish their links with those Dubliners who defended, ran and worked the city over the ages; who inspired its writers, artist and leaders, built its great buildings and otherwise contributed to the city’s existence and fame.

Tracing a family history normally requires the researcher to consult many different historical sources, in some (or hopefully all) of which details of the family may be found. Sufficient details, when pieced together, can form a comprehensive picture of a family’s existence. Although Irish sources for family history are sparse relative to some other European countries, Dublin has arguably the best variety of family history resources in Ireland. However, like all cities, individual families can be hard to find within this variety.

This book outlines the range of different types of records available to the Dublin family researcher. The nature, time-frames and locations of the available sources is described in the following chapters. Descriptions of available sources are arranged by chapter according to source type i.e. civil registration, church records, censuses, census substitutes, newspapers, directories etc.

For optimal use of these records, it is important to understand the system of administrative divisions used in Ireland. These divisions or areas are described in Chapter 2. They are vital in determining an ancestor’s address or location. Many, if not most sources are arranged according to such divisions, and an understanding of the different elements of an ancestors address is therefore important.

The abbreviations used are explained on p. 6, and contact details for the organisations and archives cited are in Chapter 13. Most publications cited are to be found in major genealogical libraries.

Chapter 2 Administrative Divisions

An ancestor’s address is a basic element of identity as well as being an essential step in obtaining further information. To understand the make-up of addresses cited in different records, it is necessary to know about the various administrative areas used. Dublin was, and is, divided into different units or divisions for the purposes of both Civil and Ecclesiastical administration. These divisions are an important factor in locating the records mentioned throughout this book. They are as follows:

Civil Divisions:

Townland

The townland is the smallest civil division within a county. Although they exist in urban areas, they are not generally used as street addresses are more convenient. They are effectively only used in rural areas. The townland is an ancient division of land which is highly variable in size, and may vary from less than 10 acres to several thousand. It is the most specific part of an ancestors address in rural areas.

Civil Parish

The civil parish is the land division which most commonly occurs in Irish records. There are 83 civil parishes in County Dublin, each is formed of many townlands or city areas. Dublin City is divided into 23 civil parishes. It should be noted that some civil parishes cross barony and county boundaries. In some cases also, civil parishes are divided into unconnected parts. See maps between pages 18 and 21.

Barony

Civil parishes are grouped into Baronies. This division is generally based on the ancient ‘tuath’ or territory of an Irish clan. There are 9 baronies in Co. Dublin but they are not widely used in records. See maps between pages 18 and 21.

Poor Law Union

These were established under the Poor Law Act of 1838 for use in the administration of distress relief and the upkeep of the poor and destitute. They are unrelated to any other division and do not adhere to county and barony borders. Each is based around (and named from) a major town in which was based the workhouse and other administrative functions of the Poor Law. The Poor Law Union (PLU) later came to be used as the area, or district, in which Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths was conducted. There are 7 PLU’s in Dublin.

The District Electoral Division (DED) is a sub-division of the Poor Law union, in which census information was compiled and in which the census returns are also arranged. They were also used for the elections of local and national representatives established under the Local Government Act of 1898.

Borough. A town, or part of a city, with a Corporation and/or which had the right to elect a Member to the British Parliament at Westminster.

Ward. A division of a municipal borough (q.v.) for the purpose of electing councillors, or of a civil parish for the purpose of electing guardians.

Ecclesiastical Divisions:

Church of Ireland Parish

The ecclesiastical divisions used by the Church of Ireland (CoI) had a specific significance for record purposes as the CoI was also the ‘Established’ or State church. In this capacity it once performed several functions now performed by the State. These include Probate (proving of wills), and granting of marriage and other forms of licence. Church of Ireland divisions therefore have a relevance when researching certain record types. Note that, while generally conforming to the civil parish boundaries, some CoI churches served several civil parishes.

Catholic Church Parish

Catholic Church parish boundaries rarely conform to those of the Civil parish, even though they may have the same name as the civil parish in which they are located. They are often of ancient origin, and generally larger in size than Church of Ireland parishes.

Useful Guides to Administrative Divisions:

To establish the divisions which make up an ancestor’s ‘genealogical address’ the following references are useful:

17th Century

Those conducting research using 17th century records may be interested in the ‘1655-59 Index of Parishes and Townlands of Ireland’. This was compiled and edited by Yann Goblet based on areas mentioned in Sir William Petty’s Mss Barony Maps and published by the Irish Manuscripts Commission (Dublin 1932) NLI Ir. 9141 gb.

1851 Townland Index of Ireland

This provides a full alphabetic listing of all of the Townlands, Towns, Civil Parishes and Baronies of Ireland giving their relative location, area and map reference. For each townland the relevant County, Barony, Civil Parish and Poor Law Union is provided. This listing was derived from the areas used by officials compiling the 1851 Census. It was originally published by Thom’s as ‘An Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland’. It has been republished by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, US and is widely available in libraries. Similar volumes were compiled for the Censuses of 1841, 1861, 1871 etc. and may be found in many libraries. The spelling and occurrence of some townlands varied between censuses and it may occasionally be useful to consult some of these.

Townlands in Poor Law Unions

This publication is divided by Poor Law Union (PLU), each of which is arranged by District Electoral Division (DED) and then Civil Parish. It is very useful for indentifying neighbouring townlands in a Civil Parish. Complied by George B. Handran and published by Higginson (USA 1997).

Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland

This publication contains an alphabetically arranged account of all parishes, towns and many villages, and a map of each county. For each it provides a brief history, an account of social and economic conditions, and the names of major landowners. First published in 1837, it has been republished in several editions and is widely available. See p. 14

A typical entry from ‘Lewis’s Topigraphical Dictionary of Ireland’ (1837) see p.13

Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland (1844/5)

This is similar to Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary in content and arrangement. Published in three volumes-Vol. I A-C (1845); Vol. II (DM) (1845); Vol. III (N-Z) + index (1846). NLI Ir. 9141 p30

Ordnance Survey Field Name Books

The Ordnance Survey (OS) (www.osi.ie) is Ireland’s official State map-maker. The Field Name Books are the notebooks used by the surveyors compiling the first OS maps of Ireland. They are arranged by civil parish, and list each townland alphabetically. Although varying slightly between areas, the following details are usually included:

Townland name in Irish and English; Derivation of the name; Location within the parish; Proprietor’s name; and other comments (See illustration below).

The original transcripts are on microfilm in the NLI, the typescripts in hard copy are also held there. The reference numbers are as follows:

Aderrig - Coolock	Ir 92942 o3 Book 47
Donabate - Kiltiernan	Ir 92942 o3 Book 48
Killossery - Old Connaught	Ir 92942 o3 Book 49
Palmerstown - Whitechurch	Ir 92942 o3 Book 50
Dublin City Parishes	Ir 92942 o3 Book 51

Microfilms of these are in NLI Pos.1398 and 1406. The following two pages list the Civil Parishes of Dublin County, and the alternate names occasionally found. They also show the years in which Griffith’s Valuation (see p.122) and the Tithe Applotment surveys were conducted, and the reference number for the Civil Parish map on page 19. A similar list for the City Parishes would serve no useful purpose.

A typical entry from the ‘Ordnance Survey Field Name Books’

Dublin County Civil Parishes A - Z

Baronies of Dublin

1. Balrothery East

2. Balrothery West

3. Nethercross

4. Castleknock

5. Coolock

6. Newcastle

7. Uppercross

8. Dublin

9. Rathdown

Civil Parishes of Dublin - see p.20 for map index

Dublin County Civil Parishes 1 - 83

1. Balscadden

2. Balrothery

3. Skerries or Holmpatrick

4. Lusk

5. Baldongan 6. Naul

7. Garristown

8. Grallagh

9. Hollywood

10. Ballymadun

11. Palmerston(Balrothery W.)

12. Clonmethan

13. Westpalstown

14. Ballyboghil

15. Killossery

16. Swords

17. Donabate

18. Portraine

19. Kilsallaghan

20. Killeek

21. Ward

22. Mulhuddart

23. Cloghran (Castleknock)

24. Finglas

25. Clonsilla

26. Castleknock

27. Chapelizod

28. Malahide

29. St. Margaret’s

30. Santry

31. Cloghran (Coolock)

32. Kilsaley

33. Portmarnock

34. Balgriffin

35. Coolock

36. Baldoyle

37. Glasnevin

38. Clonturk

39. Artane

40. Raheny

41. Kilbarrack

42. Howth

43. Grangegorman

44. St. George’s

45. Killester

46. Clontarf

47. Leixlip

48. Lucan

49. Aderrig

50. Esker

51. Kilmactalway

52. Kilmahuddrick

53. Kilbride

54. Newcastle

55. Rathcoole

56. Saggart

57. Palmerstown (Uppercross)

58. Clondalkin

59. Ballyfermot

60. St. James’

61. Drimnagh

62. Crumlin

63. St. Catherine

64. St. Peter’s

65. Tallaght

66. Cruagh

67. St. Mark’s

68. Donnybrook

69. Rathfarnham

70. Taney

71. Booterstown

72. Whitechurch

73. Kilmacud

74. Stillorgan

75. Monkstown

76. Tully

77. Kill

78. Dalkey

79. Kilgobbin

80. Killiney

81. Kiltiernan

82. Rathmichael

83. Old-Connaught

Dublin City adjoining Parishes

01. St. Paul’s

02. St. Michan’s

03. St. Mary’s

04. St. George’s

05. St. Thomas

06. St. James’

07. St. Audoen’s

08. St. Michael’s

09. Christ Church

10. St. John’s

11. St. Werburgh’s

12. St. Andrew’s

13. St. Mark’s

14. St. Catherine’s

15. St. Nicholas’ Without

16. St. Luke’s

17. St. Patrick’s

18. St. Nicholas’ Within

19. St. Bridget’s

20. St. Anne’s

21. St. Peter’s

22. St. Bartholomew’s*

23. Donnybrook

*Note: St. Bartholomew’s parish was constituted in 1864 from parts of Donnybrook (St. Mary’s) and St.Peter’s. Therefore it will not be found in Griffiths Primary Valuations for Dublin as they were carried out between 1848 and 1852.

A copy of a birth entry from the birth register held by the G.R.O.

Contents

Abbreviations Used

Chapter 1

Introduction

Chapter 2

Administrative Divisions