Administrative Areas in Ireland
The following item was published in the Looking 4 Kin newsletter on 7 January 2005. Prior to that, back in 2003 or 2004 it was in the old JustGen Newsletter.
I hope it will be of interest to current blog readers.
ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS IN IRELAND
CIVIL DIVISIONS
If you want to research Irish records efficiently, it is necessary to have knowledge of the area you are searching. Your ancestor may have recorded that he came form Cork or Dublin. In addition to being names of both cities and counties, these two places are also large ports. You could find that the recorded place was the port of departure rather than the place of origin that could be many miles away.
It is worthwhile, therefore, to take some time looking at the administrative areas in Ireland as this may assist you in your search. You will notice that the IreAtlas site is mentioned than once here – it is a very good site if you are trying to locate place names.
Partition of Ireland
Most of us will be searching records prior to partition. Originally Ireland was all one country, but with effect from 1921 The Republic of Ireland, also referred to as Southern Ireland, came into being. This part of Ireland was originally called The Irish Free State and, even today, some people in Ireland refer to it by that name. The remainder of the island (Northern Ireland) remained part of the United Kingdom.
A strange fact: The most northerly point of the island of Ireland (Malin Head) is actually in Southern Ireland!
Provinces
Ireland is made up of four provinces – Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught. Northern Ireland is often referred to as Ulster. It should be noted, however, that this is technically incorrect. Ulster has nine counties, but only six of these are in Northern Ireland. The other three counties of Ulster are in the Republic of Ireland (see counties for further information).
The provinces correspond with the land originally controlled by four ancient Irish families, the O’Neill family in Ulster, the O’Brien family in Munster, the MacMurrough family in Leinster and the O’Connor family in Connaught.
You can see a map of the provinces at Provinces of Ireland
Counties
There are 32 counties in Ireland, 26 are now in the Republic of Ireland and six in Northern Ireland. Counties are the principal unit of local government and most search documents are arranged by county.
The six counties of Northern Ireland are Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry (or Derry) and Tyrone. All these counties are in the province of Ulster. The remaining three counties in Ulster – Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan – are in the Republic of Ireland.
Following the partition of Ireland, certain places changed their name to remove any reference to the United Kingdom. Queens County, for example, became Co Laois (pronounced Leesh). Also, when looking for a county, always be aware of different spellings that can occur – e.g. Caban is Cavan, Derri is Londonderry (or Derry) and Leix is Laois.
You can see a map of the counties at Counties and Provinces of Ireland
Baronies
A barony was a group of parishes forming part of a county. The barony is an historical form of administration that is now obsolete but was widely used in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. It was broadly based on Irish tribal territories. Barony boundaries are not always the same as the parish boundaries within them.
For details of baronies in each county go to IreAtlas .
Poor Law Unions
The Poor Relief Act came into effect in 1838 and Ireland was divided into ‘unions’. Basically, it brought in a system whereby taxpayers of each union paid towards the poor in their area. The unions had boundaries that overlapped county borders and usually covered the areas around large market towns. 163 workhouses were built throughout Ireland in the mid 1800s to provide relief for the unemployed and destitute. Residents of workhouses usually lived in very harsh conditions. The records that were kept of inhabitants can be a very useful search tool.
For further detailed information concerning workhouses in the United Kingdom and Ireland go to The Workhouse .
In 1898, the Local Government Act introduced the Poor Law Union as the basic unit of administration in Ireland. With effect from that date townlands were arranged according to the poor law union divisions. Parishes and baronies were retained to make comparisons with records held before 1898.
Cities, Towns and Boroughs
As in all parts of the world, cities will tend to be larger than towns. The island of Ireland, however, is a small place with a current total population of less than 6 million. For this reason, cities in Ireland will be smaller than most people envisage. Cities and larger towns will usually have several parishes. In rural areas, one parish will include several small townships. A borough is an area that sent an MP to the Westminster Parliament. Since partition, only Northern Ireland has had representation at Westminster.
Civil Parishes
There are about 2500 civil parishes in Ireland. Most search documents from the 17th century onwards are arranged by parish within the county. You must, however, be careful to ensure that you search all the records for parishes that are situated at the edge of a county because, on occasion, parishes break county borders and fall partly within two counties. For example, Shankill parish, which is now in Northern Ireland, straddles the county border of Armagh and Down.
To search for details of parishes in each county go to IreAtlas.
Townlands
Townlands are unique to Ireland. They represent the smallest administrative district and, on average, cover about 300 acres. In the case of rural dwellers they prove the most definitive form of postal address as small roads/tracks were unnamed. This can cause considerable trouble when trying to establish where an ancestor came from as many townlands share the same name.
Kilmore and Dromore are good examples. From a search of IreAtlas it will be seen that there are 56 Kilmores and 47 Dromores. That is without counting the townlands with Kilmore or Dromore in their name, such as Kilmore South and Dromore West, which will bring the total number of townlands with the same name to 87 and 63 respectively!! From this you will realise that, unless further information is given about the general area an ancestor came from, it could be very difficult to identify place of origin from a townland name alone.
I hope this has assisted you in understanding the relevance of place names you will encounter in the search for your Irish ancestors.
I hope it will be of interest to current blog readers.
ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS IN IRELAND
CIVIL DIVISIONS
If you want to research Irish records efficiently, it is necessary to have knowledge of the area you are searching. Your ancestor may have recorded that he came form Cork or Dublin. In addition to being names of both cities and counties, these two places are also large ports. You could find that the recorded place was the port of departure rather than the place of origin that could be many miles away.
It is worthwhile, therefore, to take some time looking at the administrative areas in Ireland as this may assist you in your search. You will notice that the IreAtlas site is mentioned than once here – it is a very good site if you are trying to locate place names.
Partition of Ireland
Most of us will be searching records prior to partition. Originally Ireland was all one country, but with effect from 1921 The Republic of Ireland, also referred to as Southern Ireland, came into being. This part of Ireland was originally called The Irish Free State and, even today, some people in Ireland refer to it by that name. The remainder of the island (Northern Ireland) remained part of the United Kingdom.
A strange fact: The most northerly point of the island of Ireland (Malin Head) is actually in Southern Ireland!
Provinces
Ireland is made up of four provinces – Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught. Northern Ireland is often referred to as Ulster. It should be noted, however, that this is technically incorrect. Ulster has nine counties, but only six of these are in Northern Ireland. The other three counties of Ulster are in the Republic of Ireland (see counties for further information).
The provinces correspond with the land originally controlled by four ancient Irish families, the O’Neill family in Ulster, the O’Brien family in Munster, the MacMurrough family in Leinster and the O’Connor family in Connaught.
You can see a map of the provinces at Provinces of Ireland
Counties
There are 32 counties in Ireland, 26 are now in the Republic of Ireland and six in Northern Ireland. Counties are the principal unit of local government and most search documents are arranged by county.
The six counties of Northern Ireland are Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry (or Derry) and Tyrone. All these counties are in the province of Ulster. The remaining three counties in Ulster – Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan – are in the Republic of Ireland.
Following the partition of Ireland, certain places changed their name to remove any reference to the United Kingdom. Queens County, for example, became Co Laois (pronounced Leesh). Also, when looking for a county, always be aware of different spellings that can occur – e.g. Caban is Cavan, Derri is Londonderry (or Derry) and Leix is Laois.
You can see a map of the counties at Counties and Provinces of Ireland
Baronies
A barony was a group of parishes forming part of a county. The barony is an historical form of administration that is now obsolete but was widely used in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. It was broadly based on Irish tribal territories. Barony boundaries are not always the same as the parish boundaries within them.
For details of baronies in each county go to IreAtlas .
Poor Law Unions
The Poor Relief Act came into effect in 1838 and Ireland was divided into ‘unions’. Basically, it brought in a system whereby taxpayers of each union paid towards the poor in their area. The unions had boundaries that overlapped county borders and usually covered the areas around large market towns. 163 workhouses were built throughout Ireland in the mid 1800s to provide relief for the unemployed and destitute. Residents of workhouses usually lived in very harsh conditions. The records that were kept of inhabitants can be a very useful search tool.
For further detailed information concerning workhouses in the United Kingdom and Ireland go to The Workhouse .
In 1898, the Local Government Act introduced the Poor Law Union as the basic unit of administration in Ireland. With effect from that date townlands were arranged according to the poor law union divisions. Parishes and baronies were retained to make comparisons with records held before 1898.
Cities, Towns and Boroughs
As in all parts of the world, cities will tend to be larger than towns. The island of Ireland, however, is a small place with a current total population of less than 6 million. For this reason, cities in Ireland will be smaller than most people envisage. Cities and larger towns will usually have several parishes. In rural areas, one parish will include several small townships. A borough is an area that sent an MP to the Westminster Parliament. Since partition, only Northern Ireland has had representation at Westminster.
Civil Parishes
There are about 2500 civil parishes in Ireland. Most search documents from the 17th century onwards are arranged by parish within the county. You must, however, be careful to ensure that you search all the records for parishes that are situated at the edge of a county because, on occasion, parishes break county borders and fall partly within two counties. For example, Shankill parish, which is now in Northern Ireland, straddles the county border of Armagh and Down.
To search for details of parishes in each county go to IreAtlas.
Townlands
Townlands are unique to Ireland. They represent the smallest administrative district and, on average, cover about 300 acres. In the case of rural dwellers they prove the most definitive form of postal address as small roads/tracks were unnamed. This can cause considerable trouble when trying to establish where an ancestor came from as many townlands share the same name.
Kilmore and Dromore are good examples. From a search of IreAtlas it will be seen that there are 56 Kilmores and 47 Dromores. That is without counting the townlands with Kilmore or Dromore in their name, such as Kilmore South and Dromore West, which will bring the total number of townlands with the same name to 87 and 63 respectively!! From this you will realise that, unless further information is given about the general area an ancestor came from, it could be very difficult to identify place of origin from a townland name alone.
I hope this has assisted you in understanding the relevance of place names you will encounter in the search for your Irish ancestors.
Labels: Irish Research
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