Two main routes: civil records and church records
Irish birth research in County Clare relies on two sources:
- Civil registration, which for births in Ireland began on 1 January 1864.
- Church registers, mainly Catholic baptism records, which are the main source for earlier years and a useful backup afterward.
Civil registration of non-Catholic marriages started earlier, in 1845, but for births the date to remember is 1864. Before then, there is no state birth record, so baptisms are the key.
Civil birth records from 1864
Civil birth records were created by local registrars and collected by registration districts, which were based on the Poor Law Unions. Clare districts include places such as Ennis, Ennistymon, Kilrush and Scariff, among others. The district matters because the indexes are organized by district.
A civil birth entry usually shows the date and place of birth, the child’s name, parents’ names (including the mother’s maiden name), the father’s occupation and the informant. It does not show the baptism or sponsors, so you may still want the church record as well.
Searching online for free
The Irish government’s civil records site, irishgenealogy.ie, offers free searchable indexes and images of birth registers. Births are available for the period from 1864, generally up to a date that is at least 100 years old. The cut-off moves forward each year, so check the site for the current end date. You can search by name, year range and district.
Tips for searching:
- Start with a wide year range, because ages and dates on documents are not always consistent.
- Try spelling variants, such as Mc and Mac, O’ and no prefix, or Ryan and Ryne.
- Search by mother’s maiden name when you know it.
- Check neighboring districts, since a family on a county boundary may have registered in a nearby district.
Ordering certificates
If you need an official certificate, the General Register Office (GRO) of Ireland handles requests. There are different types of copies, such as research copies and certified copies. Fees and rules change, so check the GRO website for current details. For genealogy, the free index page often gives enough information, and you can view the register image on the same site.
Catholic baptism records
Most people in Clare were Catholic, so parish registers are central. The National Library of Ireland has digitized images of most Catholic parish registers and made them freely available online. Registers for Clare are mainly in the dioceses of Killaloe and Kilfenora, though parishes near county borders might belong to other dioceses.
Points to know:
- Start dates vary. In parts of the west of Ireland, some registers begin later than in other parts of the country, and some have gaps.
- Baptisms usually record the child, parents, sponsors (godparents) and sometimes the townland.
- Entries are often written in Latin, with first names in Latin forms, such as Joannes for John.
- The NLI images are not fully indexed by name, so you will need to know the parish and approximate date.
To find the right parish, use a map of civil parishes and Catholic parishes. They do not always match. Local guides from the county library and heritage groups can help.
Indexes and local help
- RootsIreland: This subscription service includes indexed parish and civil records for Clare, compiled with local heritage centers. Indexes can include records that are not easy to read in image form.
- Clare Heritage and Genealogy Centre (Corofin): Local research service with records for Clare parishes. Check what they hold and fees before you contact them.
- Clare County Library (local studies): Offers guides, local histories and sources for tracing family history in the county, much of it free.
- FamilySearch: Free with an account, and holds indexes and some images for Irish records.
If you cannot find a birth before 1864
Before 1864 you will not find a government birth record, so use other sources:
- Baptism registers for the likely parish.
- Marriage records, which may name the father and show ages.
- Census records. The 1901 and 1911 censuses are free on the National Archives of Ireland website. Nineteenth-century censuses before 1901 largely do not survive, so ages in later records are an important clue. Record each census citation consistently, following how to cite census records.
- Griffith’s Valuation (1847-1864) and the Tithe Applotment Books, which list landholders and help you place a family in a townland.
- Estate papers and workhouse records, which can supply names where other records are lost.
- Church of Ireland records, for Protestant families. Many registers were lost in the destruction at the Public Record Office in 1922, so copies and substitute sources are important.
Clare was heavily affected by the Famine in the 1840s, and this affected both emigration and record-keeping. If a family vanishes from Clare in the late 1840s or 1850s, consider emigration records and US, Canadian or Australian sources.
Step-by-step search plan
- Gather the name, approximate birth year and any place in Clare from a death record, marriage certificate or immigration paper.
- Search irishgenealogy.ie for the civil birth, if 1864 or later.
- Confirm the parish and townland from the civil entry or another record.
- Look up the parish baptism in the NLI registers.
- Check the 1901 and 1911 census for the family.
- Use Griffith’s Valuation to see where the family lived.
- Record each source and keep notes on spelling variants, using a system like the one in how to organize your genealogy research.
Common problems
- Late registration: Some births were registered late, or recorded with a different date from the baptism.
- Missing first names: Some children were registered without a first name, and some entries lack details.
- Name changes: Forenames could vary between records, for example Bridget, Biddy and Delia.
- Common names: In a county with many families of the same surname, avoid relying on name and year alone. Use the parents’ names and places.