1st January 1864
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The civil registration of Birth, Marriage, or Death (BMD) events began in Ireland on 1 January 1864. This was considerably later than in England. (Civil records for members of the Church of Ireland began in 1845).

These civil records were collected according to the registration district and not the civil parish. An ancestor's Birth, Marriage, or Death (BMD) record would appear under a district name that could bear no resemblance to their home parish. (Deaths were registered in the district where an individual died, e.g. in a hospital located across a county boundary). 

John Grenham's Placename Search gives the corresponding Registrar's District.

Irish civil registration records are now FREE to SEARCH online (for genealogical purposes; respecting the 100-year rule).

READ MORE: Guide to Irish Civil Records

LEARN MORE: How to locate a parish

Some communities associated with this timeline