Genealogist Nicola Morris explains how you can use digitised newspapers to locate your Irish ancestors
Newspapers began to be published in Ireland from the late 17th century. However, it is not until the middle of the 18th century that they start to become useful for researching family history.
From the 1750s, the publication of birth, marriage and death notices, generally pertaining to the landed gentry and professional classes, can sometimes bridge the gap left by the destruction of church, testamentary and court records in the 1922 fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin during the Civil War.
Birth announcements during this early period are the least informative, stating that the unnamed wife of a gentleman gave birth to a son or daughter. The location and father’s name are published, but little else.
Marriage notices can sometimes be more detailed, with references to the name and address of the bride’s father or parents, the occupation of the groom, and the names of the minister and church where it took place.
Death notices can be the most informative and should at least include name, age and place of death. Some notices will refer to the occupation of the deceased and even information on their spouse, children, siblings or parents. Locating an announcement of marriage or death overseas will explain the absence of a record in Ireland. A request in later death notices asking for American, Australian or English newspapers to please copy, suggests family members who had emigrated to those places.
In addition to death notices, you may find an obituary or a funeral notice elsewhere in the newspaper. Obituaries offer a more detailed account of the deceased’s life and family. Funeral notices, largely found in 20th-century Irish newspapers, can be very informative, identifying the mourners, often naming married daughters, grandchildren and cousins, as well as the place of burial.
EARLY ADVERTISEMENTS
Early newspapers also served to circulate information to the population. Most early newspapers carried advertisements, but these are not adverts as we think of them today. Early advertisements were more like noticeboard items for the local readership, informing the public that a business had changed hands or been taken over by the wife or son of a deceased proprietor. Advertisements notified a change of business address, or a request for the assembly of creditors. Teachers advertised for pupils, and authorities advertised details of absconded sold
