Irish Land RecordsPaul Milner, 1548 Parkside Drive, Park Ridge IL 60068

© Paul Milner, 2009-2013 - Not to be copied without permission

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This presentation will examine Ireland’s LandRecords and their importance for researchers.The records will vary depending upon the timeperiod you are researching. In the process wewill examine their strengths and weaknesses,plus how to access the originals and indexes. Donot view Irish land records through the eyes ofAmerican land research.

CROMWELLIAN LAND SETTLEMENT

Cromwellian land settlement derived from threestatutes:

1642 Reduction of the Rebels1652 Act for Settling Ireland1653 Act for Satisfaction

Civil Survey

First of the major enquiries undertaken by theCromwellian government in Ireland. After theConfederacy Wars Cromwellians confiscatedland of the Irish and Anglo-Norman families thiswas to be used to pay the soldiers land in lieu ofmoney, and to pay the London adventurers whohad funded the war. The Courts of Survey,beginning in 1654, were to record thepossessions of land owners, the tenures andtitles of their estates. The survey provides thenames of property owners of 1640, descriptionof land, acreage (estimated by jurors), quantityof profitable and unprofitable land, plus value.

Down Survey

Supervised by William Petty, performedbetween 1654 and 1659. Designed toredistribute the land confiscated under theCromwellian land settlement. The ground wassurveyed and plotted as parish maps, later

redrawn at a smaller scale by barony. Each mapshows the forfeited land in the parishes. Landclassified as Protestant land was not measuredor surveyed. The collected maps form“Hiberniae Regnum”, a set of which survived atthe Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.

The Down Survey Baronial maps cover all ofIreland, except Counties Galway, Roscommon,and Mayo (Barony of Tyrawley is covered).Copies of some of the parish maps are in theReeves collection in the National Library ofIreland. There are also some maps and tracingssuperimposed on the six inch to one mileOrdnance Survey maps in the Quit Rent Office.

Books of Survey and Distribution

The Restoration of Charles II in June 1660added complexity to the redistribution process.A new Act of Settlement was passed in 1662,creating the Court of Claims 1662-1663. Over500 decrees of Innocence were issued by thiscourt

The 1665 Act of Explanation modified theearlier act. The Commissioners for the Court ofClaims 1666-69 issued over 1800 certificatesdocumenting the claims and location of land.

The books also contain 500 grants of land issuedby the Commission of Grace, 1684-1688.

Approximately a million acres of estates wereforfeited as a result of a 1688 Act. Thirteentrustees were empowered to sell this land by1703, resulting in 666 deeds of sale. The salesare noted in the Books of Survey andDistribution, plus are recorded in “Books ofPostings and Sales of the Forfeited Estates andother estates in Ireland 1702-03".

The first columns in the Books are the same asin the Down Survey, while additional columnsshow whether land was subdivided as a result ofconfiscation, and identifies the landowners in1700.

The Books of Survey and Distribution were toestablish an official record of landowners andtheir estates. This was used to impose the QuitRent payable yearly under the Acts ofSettlement and Explanation.

1659 Census

Arranged by county, barony, parish, townlandlisting numbers of English and Scots, and Irish,naming the major landholders in the area. Thereare no census returns for Cavan, Galway, Mayo,Tyrone, Wicklow, or four baronies in Cork, ornine baronies in Meath. The census has beenpublished.

Hearth Money Rolls

Created by the Hearth Money Act of 1662, withsubsequent amending legislation. Provide namesof householders on a county, parish andtownland basis. Originals destroyed but sometranscripts survive for 1662 through 1669.

1. Andrews, J.H. Plantation Acres. Belfast:Ulster Historical Foundation. 1985.

2. Andrews, J.H. Shapes of Ireland: Mapsand Their makers 1564-1839. Dublin:Geography Publications. 1997.

3. Pender, Seamus. A Census of Ireland, circa1659 with supplementary material from thePoll Money Ordinances (1660-1661).1939, reprinted Baltimore: ClearfieldPublishing 1997.

4. Tallon, Geraldine (ed). Court of Claims:Submissions and Evidence 1663. Dublin:Irish Manuscript Commission. 2006.

REGISTRY OF DEEDS

Beginning in 1708, to the present, landtransactions were registered in the Registry ofDeeds in Dublin. Recording was optional, notmandatory, thus many deeds were not recorded.You will find deeds of sale, lease arrangements,marriage settlements, and wills. The deedsrecord the name if the granter (seller), thegrantee (buyer), description of the lands subjectto contract. Prior to the relaxation of the penallaws in 1778 very few deeds were registered byCatholics.

There are two indices: surname and land. Thesurname index provides the surname andchristian name of the sellers, the surname of thebuyers, but does not include the county ortownland identify until after 1832. The landindex is arranged by county or city and by timeperiod, and groups of townlands by first letter,gives the surnames of the parties and a referencenumber. After 1828 the counties are divided bybarony. Watch for phonetic spelling of townlandnames, which were not standardized until thecreation of the Ordnance Survey maps in the1820's. The records and indexes until 1929 areavailable on film through the FHL. The Registryof Deeds on Henrietta Street, Dublin has recordsto the present. New Registry of Deed rules cameinto effect on 1 May 2008.

TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS

Prior to 1823 Tithes were paid directly to theEstablished Church (Church of Ireland) in kind.In 1823 the Tithe Applotment Act stipulated thatall tithes were to be paid in money, not produce.Between 1823 and 1827 land held in each civilparish was valued. The valuation was based onthe average price of wheat and oats in the parishduring the seven years preceding 1 November1821. The result was a complete valuation of alltithable land in Ireland.

The records record the occupiers of tithable

Irish Land Records©2009-2013, Paul Milner, 1548 Parkside Drive, Park Ridge IL 60068

land, not the householders. Omitted are landlesslaborers, weavers, and urban dwellers. In 1838the tithe payment was reduced by 25%,transferred from the tenant to the land owner.The Tithes were abolished in 1869.

The Tithe Books provide the names of thepayers (occupiers), the area of land held and theamount of tithes to be paid, usually arrangedalphabetically by townland, parish and county.

Problems to be aware of: some land was so poorin quality that tithes could not be levied; someareas were tithe free, usually because it wasalready owned by the Church; later division andrenaming of townlands; transfer of townlands toanother parish or to another county.

TITHE DEFAULTERS

During 1830 and 1831 increasing numbers ofpeople refused to pay the tithes. Thegovernment established the Clergy Relief Fund1831 whereby the clergy could claim for arrearsfor that one year only. The government, not theclergy, had the responsibility for collecting thearrears.

For a clergyman to get assistance under the Act,he had to swear an affidavit explaining whatmethods he had used to collect the arrears. Healso included: a listing of names; description;places of abode of the persons, occupiers of theland within his parish, or names ofrepresentatives if the person was deceased;amount of tithe due and how much in arrears.The affidavit and lists were sent to DublinCastle for a decision on whether relief was to begranted.

There are 1,061 pages of names of defaulters,identifying 29,027 names in 232 parishes. Thelists were compiled in June, July and August of1832. Published on CD-ROM by Eneclann, SeeMcCormac. The same data set is online atwww.findmypast.ie and www.irishorigins.com.

VALUATION RECORDS

First Valuation

The 1826 Valuation Act arose because of theneed for an equitable method for assessing thecess and rates. The 4500 field books arecompiled by parish, describing each townland inthe parish, the quality of the land, and itsvaluations. The focus is on agricultural land italso includes details on houses over £3, raised in1838 to £5 by which time most of Ulster hadbeen surveyed. In rural areas this caughtgenerally only the major landowner, but caughtmany urban dweller. The records are organizedby parish within baronies, not by the name ofthe town.

Primary Valuation (Griffith’s)

Between 1840 and 1864 the people who paidtaxes to the Irish government are recorded inGriffith's Primary Valuations Lists. The recordsDO NOT provide a listing of all householders,rather only those who paid taxes. Some workersare not listed because they were living incompany owned, or estate owned housing. Thelists do provide the names of land owners,lessors, lessees, and renters. The burden of thetaxes fell on the poor and thus they provide alisting for a large percentage of the populationfor which other records are scarce. These taxrecords provide the names of the heads ofhousehold, where they resided, usually adescription of their property, and the amount oftax paid.

Access has changed radically with free access tooriginal images, modern and survey maps withboundaries marked at www.askaboutireland.ie

Access through subscription services to indexwith images are available throughwww.findmypast.com andwww.irishorigins.com. A free transcript can befound at www.failteromhat.com.

Irish Land Records©2009-2013, Paul Milner, 1548 Parkside Drive, Park Ridge IL 60068

Older access methods can be helpful if you arenot finding what you are looking for.

A useful surname index is the Index toSurnames of Householders in Griffith's PrimaryValuation and the Tithe Applotment Books,commonly called the Householders Index.Search the wiki at www.familysearch.org, forIreland Householders Index.

Family Tree Maker’s Family Archives. Index toGriffith’s Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864. CD#188.This CD-ROM allows you to search by name,county, parish, location, comments which mayinclude agnomens. There can be ambiguity withhow place is being used on this CD-ROM. Youneed to access the originals for description ofthe property, acreage, value, taxes, etc. Thereare known errors of omission on this CD-ROM.See

5. Handran, George B. "Griffith'sValuation--An Essential Irish Source NowIndexed on CD-ROM: A Review Essay" inNational Genealogical Society Quarterly,Vol. 86, No. 2, June 1998, pages 140-147.

LISTS OF LAND OWNERS

Use these lists to identify the major landownersin a given location. Many of these volumes areavailable online at www.archive.org. Thensearch for the estate and family records of thatlandowner which may not be in Ireland.

6. Bateman, John. The Great Landowners ofGreat Britain and Ireland. 4th ed. 1883. Dublin: Archive CD Books Ireland. 2007(3,000 acres and above)

7. Burke, Sir Bernard. Genealogical andHeraldic History of the Landed Gentry orIreland. 1899. Dublin: Archive CD BooksIreland. 2005. 2 ed. 1912.nd

8. De Burgh, U.H. Hussey. The Land Ownersof Ireland. 1878. Dublin: Archive CD

Books Ireland. 2007 (500 acres and above)9. Return of Owners of Land of One Acre and

Upwards in Ireland. Parliamentary Papers1876. Reprinted Baltimore: GenealogicalPublishing Company. 1998.

To search online catalogs for English and Walesuse Access to Archives at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ a2a or inScotland use the Scottish Archive Network atwww.scan.org.uk

ESTATE RECORDS

Estate records can vary greatly. They canconsist of : rentals - giving names of tenantswith rent; tenancy returns - lists of evictedtenants or notices to quit, mode of tenancy,observations, petitions and proposals fromtenants; descriptions - surveys, evaluations,maps often with names of tenants; accounts - forthe desmesne, farm, estate, household, private,wages, bills or receipts; legal papers - deeds,leases, wills; correspondence - to or fromagents, landlords, tenants, stewards, advisors;diaries and memoranda - demesne, farms,estates, personal; famine related - lists ofemigrants; poor law unions, workhouses, rates,relief work and relief committees.

There is a growing interest in estate records.Examine the county listings in books byGrenham, Roulston and Ryan.

10. Eiriksson, Andres and Corma O Grada.Estate Records of the Irish Famine: ASecond Guide to Famine Archives, 1840-1855. Dublin: Irish Famine Network. 1995.

INCUMBERED ESTATES COURT

The Incumbered Estates Acts were passed in1848-1850. The court established in 1849 wasdesigned to free the market in land and tooversee the sale of insolvent and heavilyindebted estates. In the early years the sales

Irish Land Records©2009-2013, Paul Milner, 1548 Parkside Drive, Park Ridge IL 60068

were of land already in trouble before thefamine. The estates auctioned off are in the so-called O’Brien Rentals at the National Archives,named after Murrough John O’Brien, whoserved on the Irish Land Commission, 1892 to1914. Each rental usually provides informationon the size of the lot being sold, the annual rentpayable by the tenant, the annual head rent andthe tithe, the names of the tenants and thetownlands in which they reside, as well asleasing arrangements. Some rentals provideillustrations of the estate mansion and itssurroundings.

11. Lyons, Mary Cecilia. IllustratedIncumbered Estates, Ireland 1850-1905.Whitegate, Ireland: Ballinakella Press.1993.

IRISH LAND COMMISSION

The Land Commission established in 1881 had amajor effect on the Irish landscape and landownership. Initially established to fix judicialrents the Acts of 1885 and 1903 gave the LandCommission government funds to help tenantspurchase land from their landlords. TheCommission operated until 1923 when a systemof compulsory acquisition was introduced. Theland purchasers can often be identified by“LPA” in the Griffith’s Valuation Revision lists.A topographical index is arranged by county,barony and landowner. A names index arrangedalphabetically by the name of the owner,identifies the barony in which the property islocated and an estate number, which will leadyou a summary description of the estatedocuments.

CONGESTED DISTRICTS BOARD

Created by the 1891 Land Act to assist tenantsin congested districts covering all of CountiesDonegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo,Galway, and Kerry as well as portions ofCounties Clare and Cork (Land Act of 1909).

750,000 acres were distributed to relievecongestion operating until dissolution under theAct of 1923. The records are primarily focusedon the tenants not the original landowner. TheBoard had to be satisfied that the tenant wascapable of repaying the advances made througha system of annuities.

The records have been cataloged on the basis ofestates within baronies. Supporting recordsinclude: inspectors reports; abstract of title;surveyors report; schedule of tenancies; minutesof proceedings (20 vols); baseline reports oflocal inspectors.

LAND REGISTRY

The 1891 Registration of Title Act made theregistration of title for all land bought under theLand Purchase Acts compulsory. In effect allland purchased after 1891 is recorded in theLand Registry. The title or ownership isregistered, the deed is filed in the Registry, andall relevant details are entered on folios whichform the registers. Once recorded in the LandRegistry you will no longer find information onthat piece of land in the Register of Deeds.

WEBSITES

http://eppi.dippam.ac.uk/ provides a searchabledatabase of the Enhanced British ParliamentaryPapers on Ireland, 1801-1922. Much can befound here relating to land records.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

12. Aalen, F.H.A., Kevin Whelan and MatthewStout (eds). Atlas of the Irish RuralLandscape. Cork: Cork University Press.1997

13. Baron, Jonathan. A Guide to Local HistorySources in the Public Record Office ofNorthern Ireland. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.2000

Irish Land Records©2009-2013, Paul Milner, 1548 Parkside Drive, Park Ridge IL 60068

14. Counties in Time: Documents andCommentaries from the National Archivesof Ireland. Dublin: National Archives ofIreland. 2003

15. Dooley, Terence. The Big Houses andLanded Estates of Ireland: A ResearchGuide. Maynooth Research Guides forLocal History. Dublin: Four Courts Press.2nd ed. 2007.

16. Duffy, Patrick. Exploring the History andHeritage of Irish Landscapes. MaynoothResearch Guides for Local History.Dublin: Four Courts Press. 2007.

17. General Alphabetical Index to theTownlands and Towns, Parishes andBaronies of Ireland, Based on the Censusof Ireland for the year 1851. Dublin:Alexander Thom. 1861. ReprintedBaltimore, MD: Genealogical PublishingCompany 2000.

18. Grenham, John, Tracing Your IrishAncestors: The Complete Guide.Baltimore, MD: Genealogical PublishingCo. 4 ed. 2012th

19. Handran, George B., comp. Townlands inPoor Law Unions, A Reprint of Poor LawUnion Pamphlets of the GeneralRegistrar’s Office. Salem, MA: HigginsonBook Company. 1997.

20. Hayes, Richard J., The ManuscriptsSources for the History of IrishCivilization. Boston: G. K. Hall and Co. 11vols. 1965

21. Helferty, Seamus and Raymond Refausse.Directory of Irish Archives. Fifth Edition.Dublin: Four Courts Press. 2011

22. Maxwell, Ian. How to Trace Your IrishAncestors. Oxford: How to Books. 2008.

23. McCormac, Stephen (comp & editor) The1831 Tithe Defaulters. CD-ROM. Dublin:Eneclann. 2004

24. Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlasof Ireland. Baltimore, MD: GenealogicalPublishing Company. 2nd. ed. 2002

25. Nolan, William. Tracing the Past: Sourcesfor Local Studies in the Republic of

Ireland. Dublin: Geography Publications.1982.

26. Nolan, William and Anngret Simms (eds).Irish Towns: A Guide to Sources. Dublin:Geography Publications. 1998

27. O’Neill, Robert K. Ulster Libraries:Archives, Museums & Ancestral HeritageCentres. Ulster Historical Foundation:Belfast. 1997. Appendix providesreferences for Tithe and Valuation Recordsfor the parishes of Ulster in PRONI andNAI.

28. Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland. 1846.CD-ROM, Dublin: Archive CD BooksIreland 2006.

29. Prunty, Jacinta. Maps and Map-Making inLocal History. Maynooth Research Guidesfor Local History. Dublin: Four CourtsPress. 2004.

30. Prunty, Jacinta and H.B. Clarke. Readingthe Maps: A Guide to the Irish HistoricTowns Atlas. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy.2011.

31. Radford, Dwight. “Irish ValuationRecords” in THE IRISH At Home andAbroad, Vol.1, No. 3, Winter 1993/94

32. Radford, Dwight A. and Kyle J. Betit. AGenealogist’s Guide to Discovering YourIrish Ancestors. Cincinnati: Betterway2001.

33. Reilly, James R. Richard Griffith and HisValuations of Ireland. 2000 Baltimore,MD: Clearfield

34. Roulston, William J. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The Essential Guide toEarly Modern Ulster, 1600-1800. Belfast:Ulster Historical Foundation. 2005.

35. Ryan, James G., Irish Records: Sources forFamily and Local History. Salt Lake City,UT: Ancestry Publ. Rev. Ed. 1997

36. Vaughan. W.E. Landlords and Tenants inMid-Victorian Ireland. Oxford: ClarendonPress. 1994.

Irish Land Records©2009-2013, Paul Milner, 1548 Parkside Drive, Park Ridge IL 60068