MORE THAN two million genealogy details for counties Kerry, Cork, Dublin and Carlow can now be accessed online.
Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin has launched further church, baptism and marriage records on the website irishgenealogy.ie.
Ms Hanafin also presented a copy of the completed records to Rev Dr John R W Neill, archbishop of Dublin, on behalf of the Representative Church Body Library (RCBL) at the launch on Wednesday evening at St Werburgh’s Church in Dublin’s city centre.
“Users on this website will now be able to view the original registers where their ancestors’ baptism, marriage or burial was recorded and, just like the availability of the original census records online, will provide users with another important link to their past,” Ms Hanafin said.
“This website brings the past to life for its users and should help generate interest in genealogical research into family histories.”
The more-than two million church records comprise much of Dublin city including all of the Church of Ireland records.
It also contains all of the Kerry Roman Catholic diocese records, all of the Kerry Church of Ireland records (Diocese of Ardfert), Carlow Church of Ireland records (Diocese of Leighlin) and Roman Catholic Records for South and West Cork (Diocese of Cork and Ross).
Further contracts are now being entered into to complete the remaining Catholic records of Dublin city and Cork (south and west).
A spokeswoman for Ms Hanafin’s department said it is expected that a further one million records will be added to the genealogy website by the end of the year.
It was announced earlier this month that the 1901 census had also been put online, giving access to more than 4.5 million records for historians, genealogists and anyone curious about their family history.