Family History

Back to Using Your Library

9 March 2022: The Reading Room is open by appointment only on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10.00 – 12.30 and 14.00 – 16.30 

Please order the items you want to look at in advance E: [email protected] or [email protected]

5 items per visit. The Reading Room is still undergoing refurbishment, so at this first phase of reopening we are providing access to physical, print collections only – there will be no access to computers, microfilms or study spaces.

While they are not fully open to the public at this time, they continue to offer online services and are answering as many queries as they can on [email protected] and [email protected].

While they are not open to the public at this time, they continue to offer online services and are answering as many queries as they can on [email protected] and [email protected].

If you want to trace your family tree Dublin City Libraries have lots of resources that can help, from the Freedom of Dublin Records (1225), to the Thom’s Dublin Street Directory of 2005.

If you want to start to trace your family tree the following archives are a good place to start:

  • Church records including indexes to Baptisms, Marriages and Burials from a number of Dublin parish registers of the 18th and 19th centuries, compiled by the Dublin Heritage Group for Dublin City Libraries.
  • Land records including Griffith’s Valuation 1848-1862.
  • Civil and Census records including Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths to the 1950s (with some gaps) from the General Register Office Dublin.
  • Further sources including occupational and biographical records.

Trace Your Family Tree

If you are researching your family history for the first time we recommend that you read 'First Steps in Genealogy' methodology to help you get the most from your visit to the to the Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street.

Church Records

Church Records available for consultation include indexes to Baptisms, Marriages and Burials from a number of Dublin parish registers of the 18th and 19th centuries compiled by the Dublin Heritage Group for Dublin City Libraries.
 

These, and additional Church records, can be consulted in the Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street.

Civil and Census Records

Civil and Census records include Freedom Records 1225 - 1918, Census returns 1901-1911, indexes to civil records of births, marriages and deaths, the electoral registers from 1937 to present, indexes to wills and a calendar of ancient records.

These can be consulted in the Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street. The Freedom Records are also available in our online database.

Land Records

Land Records held in the Reading Room of Dublin City Library and Archive include:

  • Griffith's Valuation 1848-1862
  • Tithe Applotment Books 1828-1832
  • Ordnance Survey first edition 6-inch maps
  • Ordnance Survey letters
  • 17th Century Civil Survey for Dublin and other counties.
Contact Details
01 2224800