Using local archives and libraries in your Irish research

An often-overlooked source in our search for Irish ancestors is the treasure trove that is local repositories and the records they contain. These include street directories, local valuations, cemetery registers, maps, school rolls, workhouse records and even personal family archives. For the purposes of this article I will use some of the repositories in my home city of Cork as an example.

Locating local sources

Throughout Ireland there is a network of local libraries and archives. Most Irish counties on both sides of the border have their own dedicated county library and archive which are run by local councils. Larger cities such as Cork and Dublin have more than one library and archives. For example, Cork has