Product Description

Since its publication in 1986, A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland has established itself as a key resource in Irish genealogical research. Now, with the addition of maps detailing the location of Roman Catholic parishes in all thirty-two counties of Ireland and Presbyterian congregations in the nine counties of Northern Ireland, this new 2nd Edition moves the book to the forefront of Irish genealogical research. Also, for the first time ever, this one volume contains a complete geographical picture of the three major religious denominations in Ireland during the middle years of the 19th century.

And just what is the importance of this? Civil registration for everyone in Ireland didn't begin until 1864. Prior to that, the only records of births, marriages, and deaths were found in local parishes. Therefore, the first step in any Irish research for the first half of the 19th century and before should be to identify the religious denomination and parish of your ancestor. Although any of the Townland Indexes from 1851, 1871, or 1901 will show the location of each civil parish (which generally corresponds to the boundaries of the Church of Ireland parishes), it has been much more difficult to uncover the corresponding Catholic parish or Presbyterian congregation. Until now!

This new 2nd Edition is not only invaluable for tracing your pre-1864 ancestors in church records but also for locating your post-1864 ancestor in civil records, for this volume provides descriptions and maps of the parochial and civil administrative divisions to which all major Irish record sources are linked. To aid the researcher in identifying the precise location of the administrative divisions, and thus their jurisdiction, Mr. Mitchell has drawn at least four, and sometimes five, maps for every county. The first county map depicts the civil/Church of Ireland parishes; the second shows the baronies and Church of Ireland dioceses; the third map illustrates the poor law unions and the parishes included within the probate districts serving that county; the fourth plots Roman Catholic parishes and dioceses; and the fifth locates Presbyterian congregations for the nine counties of Northern Ireland. Three maps of Ireland are also included to show the area covered by each county, diocese, and probate district. In addition, the book describes all of the major record sources of Ireland.

These maps provide the clues to the Irish origins of millions of Americans, making this atlas indispensable for tracing ancestors in Ireland!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #478598 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 175 pages

From Library Journal
Anyone who has had even a brush with Irish genealogical research knows of the difficulties in determining exactly where his or her ancestors lived in the old country. Add to that the challenge of identifying the many civil and ecclesiastical divisions that hold records for the area where the ancestors resided, and soon the head spins with parish names and boundary lines. Books such as John Grenham's Tracing Your Irish Ancestors (LJ 5/15/00. 2d ed.) and James G. Ryan's Irish Records (Ancestry, 1997) aptly define and detail the types of records available from the various divisions and offer some civil and church parish maps. Mitchell, the author of numerous Irish genealogy books, including Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy, complements these books by providing four or five different boundary maps for each county of Ireland. In fact, the author states in his introduction that for the most thorough description of geographical boundaries the book should be used in conjunction with the General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland (Genealogical, 2000. rev. ed.). Where the first edition of Mitchell's book (1986) provided maps of civil/Church of England parishes, baronies, and Poor Law Unions, the new edition includes maps of Roman Catholic parishes and Presbyterian congregations as they were by the mid-1800s. In addition, general maps highlight the counties and provincial boundaries, dioceses and ecclesiastical provincial boundaries, and probate districts. Readers can move back and forth among the maps for each county to see the boundaries and names of the administrative divisions and how the various divisions overlapped. This provides a more complete vision of what entities had jurisdiction over the areas where their ancestors lived, giving readers a much better idea of where to look for genealogical records. Highly recommended for public and genealogy library collections. Elaine M. Kuhn, Allen Cty. P.L., Ft. Wayne, IN
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Very thorough resource...
This book is just what it is called: an atlas. It does not give advice or information about irish history, genealogy, or anything of the sort (which is what I had mistakenly hoped for). It is a very, very detailed atlas of the counties, parishes, and every other conceivable subdivision of the land of Ireland over the last 200 years. It could be a valuable resource for anyone who has their genealogical research within Ireland already. If you are like me, and have traced the family to the boat ride but no further, this will not help you quite yet.

Thank you still to the author for the extensive research that must have gone into this!

Genealogy Atlas of Ireland Review
This book doesn't give me all the answers I needed, but it has been a trememdous help in getting closer to finding my Irish Ancestors. Worth adding to my bookshelf.

An invaluable contribution to genealogical reference
Now in an updated second edition, genealogy research expert Brian Mitchell's A New Genealogical Atlas Of Ireland is a very straightforward, accessible reference, presenting maps of each Irish county. Each county has five maps: one depicting the Church of Ireland parishes, one showing the baronies and Church of Ireland dioceses, one of the poor law unions and parishes included within probate districts, one of Roman Catholic parishes and dioceses, and a fifth set of maps for the nine counties of Northern Ireland shows Presbyterian congregations. Since civil registration for everyone in Ireland didn't begin until 1864, A New Genealogical Atlas Of Ireland is an extremely useful reference for tracing ancestors who lived prior to 1864. An invaluable contribution to genealogical reference and resource materials.