The Church of Ireland was the state, or established, church in Ireland until 1871. From 1634 individual parishes were required to keep records of christenings and burials in registers supplied by the Church authorities.

Baptisms normally record:

• Date of baptism
• Name of child
• Name of father
• Name of mother, normally without mother’s maiden name
• Names of sponsors (occasionally)
• Address of the family (in most cases)
• Occupation of father.

Marriages normally record:

• Date of marriage
• Name of groom
• Name of bride
• Names of witnesses
• Names and addresses of parents (occasionally, especially from 1860s onwards).

Burials normally record:

• Date of death or burial
• Name of deceased
• Age
• Address (occasionally).

Unlike Roman Catholic registers, a baptism in the Church of Ireland may take place several weeks or months after the birth of a child and hence it is not a substitute for date of birth.

Non-Catholic marriages were recorded by the State from 1845 when general registration was introduced. Up to 1845 the Church of Ireland issued marriage licences. While not all those marrying in that Church obtained a licence, the surviving indexes are a useful source for identifying the year of such a marriage.

People of other religions were regarded by both the Church of Ireland and the government as dissenters and in carrying out your family history research it is important that you examine the parish registers of the Church of Ireland as, in some cases, individuals found it expedient to become temporary converts, particularly in a period when religion dictated rights of ownership.

The Church of Ireland also had an important role to play in local administrative as well as religious matters. Every person in the parish was considered to be a parishioner regardless of denomination. The vestry, a committee of parishioners, could raise funds for local services such as poor relief, parish constables, road repair, education and the provision of recruits for the army. Vestry records, therefore, can be good source of information on life in the local parish.