Articles – Page 16 – The National Archives of Ireland

Statute rolls of the Irish parliament, Richard III – Henry VIII

In May 2002 the final volume of the early Irish statutes series, edited by Philomena Connolly, was published by Four Courts Press in association with the National Archives. It contains the French text, with English translation, of the statute rolls of the parliaments held in Ireland in 1484, 1485 and 1493, and the complete English text of the statute roll of Henry VIII’s Reformation parliament of 1536-37, the only such roll to survive the Four Courts fire in 1922. Several unpublished acts of the reign of Edward IV (1461-83) are also included.

This brings to a conclusion a project begun by the Irish Record Commission in 1811 which had as its aim the publication of all the enactments of the Irish parliament up to Poynings’ parliament of 1494–95. This cut-off date was chosen partly because the enactment of Poyning’s Law changed the whole procedure of legislative enactment in Ireland, and also because statutes passed after that date were in English and so were more easily accessible to those who wished to consult them.

The project was dogged by disaster over the years. Although the Record Commission did a lot of the preliminary work of transcribing and translating, the publication was suspended in 1824, probably for financial reasons and the Commission itself was wound up in 1830. Nothing further was done until the beginning of the 20th century, when the Public Record Office of Ireland began a series of publications based on the Record Commission’s work.

Three volumes, covering the period from the early 13th century to 1472, were published before all of the medieval statute rolls were destroyed in the Four Courts fire. Much of the work for the next two volumes had been done before 1922, and some of this material survived the fire. Volume 4, covering the years 1472–83, was prepared for publication but a further disaster occurred when printing was in progress. A fire in the printing works in 1935 destroyed the type, but fortunately it was possible to use the proofs for publication by means of photolithography. The fifth volume, although subjected to various delays over the years, happily did not encounter any such disasters, and, thanks to the collaboration between the National Archives and Four Courts Press, has now appeared, 191 years after the project was first initiated.

Philomena Connolly (ed), Statute rolls of the Irish parliament, Richard III – Henry VIII

ISBN: 1-85182-682-3

Available direct from Four Courts Press or through booksellers.

For further information on our medieval holdings see The Medieval Plea Rolls – an introduction, by Dr Philomena Connolly.

Archive Repository Project

Work has begun on the removal of archives from the warehouse of the National Archives. The move is part of preparatory works by the Office of Public Works before the commencement later this year of construction of a new archival repository. The new repository will provide international-standard accommodation for approximately 350,000 archival boxes. This extra storage capacity will help to facilitate the transfer of backlog records currently held in government departments, ensuring their permanent preservation for future generations of researchers. The project is being funded as part of the government’s Ireland 2040 initiative.

Guide to court records in Ireland post-1922

Modern Court System

The Courts of Justice Act, 1924 established the modern court system of the District, Circuit, High and Supreme Courts.

District Court

The District Court replaced the Quarter, Petty Sessions and County Courts and is the lowest court in the court system. It is presided over by the President of the District Court and there are 54 District Court judges.

The District Court is organised on a regional basis. There are 23 District Court districts all over Ireland, including the Dublin Metropolitan District. Each district is in turn divided into District Court areas. It should be noted that District Court areas can cross county boundaries.

The District Court hears minor civil and criminal matters, such as preliminary hearings for serious cases, grants of extradition, fines, licensing matters and family law (maintenance) cases.

Family law cases held by the National Archives are closed to the public and can only be accessed with the written permission of the relevant District Court clerk.

Records

The records of the District Court are mainly in volume format with an entry for each case or matter dealt with.

The main categories are:

Justices Minute Book (formerly the Order Book and also known as the Minute Book).
Civil Process Book Summary Judgment Book Enforcement Order Book Ejectment Order Book.
Licences (issuing of intoxicating liquor, public dancing (clubs), auctioneer and lottery licences).
Family law (maintenance, barring orders, affiliation orders and access).

The finding aids for the District Courts are held in blue folders in the Reading Room. These folders are arranged by county and within that by district. These records have a unique three-part National Archives reference code and this should be written on the docket order form to request the record. Almost all District Court records held by the National Archives are held on-site and can be ordered on the day a researcher visits.

Circuit Court

There are 26 Circuit Court offices throughout Ireland, each headed by a county registrar. The Circuit Court has jurisdiction over more serious civil and criminal matters and acts as a court of appeal for the District Court. Types of cases also dealt with by the Circuit Courts are defamation and false imprisonment cases, minor land valuation matters, malicious/criminal injury, intoxicating liquor licences and family law.

Family law cases held by the National Archives are closed to the public and can only be accessed with the permission of the relevant County Registrar.

Records

The main categories of records produced by the Circuit Court are:

Cause Books (Registers of Civil Bill Cases)
Civil Bill Files (Ordinary, Equity, Ejectment, Family Law, Testamentary)
Criminal Files
Execution Order Books
District Court Appeals (Books and Files)
Criminal/Malicious Injury Books
Applications for Publican’s Licences (Files) new Intoxicating Liquor Licences
Registers of Publican’s Licences (Books)
High Court on Circuit Papers
Ex-Parte Applications (Files)
Workmen’s Compensation Act (Books and files)

Civil Bills are the most numerous type of record produced by the Circuit Court. From 1932 to 1982, these are accessed using the Civil Bill Cause Books. For the years before 1922, Civil Bill Books are consulted. From 1983, Court Offices are required to list all files individually before they are transferred to the National Archives. Each Circuit Court has responsibility to transfer its records and, therefore, the latest year transferred differs for each county, but the most recent year held is for Wexford 1986.

While the records kept by Circuit Court Offices are of their nature essentially the same countrywide, there is some variation in the filing systems used from county to county. Some County Registrars have separated their civil bills into categories (for example ordinary, ejectment, equity, testamentary and publicans’ licences) whilst others store them altogether. Equity Civil Bills largely relate to issues of inheritance and ownership/control of land and other property. The Civil Bill Files are listed in numerical order in Cause Books (which books are sometimes not indexed) and/or Civil Bill Books (which are indexed more often than Cause Books) by name of plaintiff (the person or organisation who brought the case). Each file is allocated a number within its year. A typical reference would read: NAI, CS/CC/KK/Civil Bill 146/1943, which relates to a civil bill from Kilkenny Circuit Court.

The most common records sought by researchers are Civil Bills (including Equity Civil Bills) and Publicans’ Licence Registers and Maps.

Files of the Circuit Criminal Court, for criminal cases heard in the Circuit Court (State Files), are accessed through the State Books (sometimes referred to as Criminal Books). The State files are listed in numerical order in the State Books by name of accused. Each file is allocated a number within its year. A typical reference would read: NAI, CS/CC/CK, Circuit Criminal Court, State file 56/1945, which relates to a criminal case file from the Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions can direct any trial due to be heard before the Circuit Court to be transferred to the Central Criminal Court. For further information, please see Central Criminal Court.

Publicans’ Licences

The legal provisions relating to the granting and renewing of licences for the sale of alcoholic beverages of various kinds sometimes makes it necessary for a licence applicant or his/her legal agents to search for information concerning a particular licence going back many years. Principally, because of the largescale destruction of early legal records in 1922, the researcher may not be able to find all the information sought, for example, the precise area covered by the original licence.

The greatest volume of information is found in a Publican’s Licence/Civil Bill ‘file’, which should include the original application for a licence or an extension/modification of an existing licence along with supporting documentation. This should include maps for all applications made after 1950, when these became compulsory under revised Circuit Court rules, and for some pre-1950 applications as well, and a Certificate, signed by the County Registrar, specifying the type and extent of the Licence granted by the Court. In the absence of such a file, the researcher may have to be content with such information as he/she can extract from the other categories of Publicans Licence material which is held by the National Archives, such as Licence Application forms and Registers of Licences. The Census returns of 1901 and 1911 can at times be useful in this connection as well.

In a number of Publican’s Licence searches, the researcher does not know the precise year in which the relevant licence was granted and/or the name of the then applicant. In such cases, it may well be necessary for the researcher to consult Registers of Publicans Licence Applications and/or any Indexes to establish such facts. It can also happen that an Order sought may be on a file opened in a year previous to that in which the Order was granted.

Finding Aids

The finding aids for the Circuit Courts are in blue folders in the Reading Room with a folder for each county. For records from 1922 to 1982, the records are arranged alphabetically by subject. To request these records complete an order docket and include the reference for the Circuit Court (NAI, CS/CC/) followed by the county and the description of the item given in the finding aid, including the covering dates. From 1983, Circuit Court records are listed individually and these will be included in the relevant county folder.

Most circuit court records before the mid-1970’s are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

Coroners’ Inquests

Coroners are required by law on leaving office to deposit their papers with their local County Registrar. All sudden deaths must be reported to the coroner, and where the cause of death is unclear an inquest will be held. While not an official place of deposit for Coroner’s records, the National Archives has acquired Coroner’s records through Circuit Court transfers.

Records

There appears never to have been any official instructions issued as to the format in which Coroners records were to be kept. While almost all Coroners kept their papers relating to individual Inquests, not all have retained papers in cases where reports on deaths have been made to a Coroner but no Inquest was required or deemed necessary. A minority of Coroners kept registers entering therein in chronological order notes concerning all sudden deaths reported and/or Inquests held. Reference numbers are written beside the name in such registers. This number is the coroner’s file reference number and should be used to order the file. For example, NAI, CS/Dublin City Coroner Inquest file 1548/80 refers to file 1548 from 1980. Coroners work independently of the courts and keep their own records, and therefore the quality and quantity of inquest files vary by county.

Entries showing holdings of Coroners records are included in the blue Circuit Court folders for the relevant county. The exception is Dublin City Coroner, which is listed separately. To request an inquest file complete an order docket and include the court reference code (NAI, CS/CC/) followed by the reference (if given), county, name and date of death or inquest, and location if given. The majority of these records are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

High Court

The High Court replaced the High Court of Justice. It is presided over by the President of the High Court and has the power to determine, subject to appeal, all matters and questions, whether law or fact, civil and criminal. It has the power to determine the validity of any law having regard to the constitution and hears civil and family law appeals from the Circuit Court. Although the High Court normally sits in Dublin; it also sits in circuit throughout the country at various times during the year.

Records

High Court files only exist from 1926, as prior to this date all document types were bound separately by type (i.e. all orders were bound together). The last transfer of files from the High Court is 1970.

The four best known series of the High Court are:

Plenary Summons files
Summary Summons files
Special Summons files
State Side files

Plenary and Summary Files normally relate to civil disputes between individuals or between an organisation (Company, Bank etc.) and one or several individuals. Plenary Summonses are issued where there are to be pleadings and a hearing on oral evidence. Summary Summonses issue where it is not envisaged that there will be pleadings but that the issue will be heard on affidavit with or without oral evidence.

State Side Files relate to matters where the High Court exercised its supervisory jurisdiction and/or superior powers over the lower Courts, for example Orders of Habeus Corpus Certiorari, Mandamus and Prohibition, Attachment for Contempt and Bail applications of persons in custody. Substantial changes to procedures in these areas were made in the 1986 revision of the Rules of the Superior Courts, including the deletion of the term “State Side”.

Procedure by Special Summons was introduced in 1962. It is used in specified circumstances such as in certain areas of (a) the administration of deceased persons estates; (b) property dealings; (c) trusts; (d) minors.

There are also other categories of High Court records such as Appeals from the Circuit Court, Motions and Summonses, Matrimonial & Revenue cases and Orders without supporting files.

Family/matrimonial law cases heard in the High Court and held by the National Archives are closed to the public and can only be accessed with the permission of the Registrar in the Central Office of the High Court.

Plenary and Summary Summons files are arranged by year and within numerical sequence. Plenary files have a P suffix and Summary files either an S suffix or the number/year only, the S being implied. Individual files can be accessed through the Cause Books for the relevant years or through the indexes to the Cause Books. In general, it should be possible to obtain the reference of a particular file from the index without having to consult the Cause Book. The General Indexes to Orders and Judgments also provide file numbers.

Testamentary records

The Probate Office is an office of the High Court charged with the administration of testamentary records. Wills are documents people use to control the administration and distribution of their property after their death. Prior to 1857, testamentary jurisdiction lay with the Church of Ireland, which was then the established church. With the passing of the Probate Act of 1857 the power to issue grants was taken from the Church of Ireland Prerogative Court and Consistorial (Diocesan) Courts and given to the Principal Registry in Dublin and 11 District Registries in Armagh, Ballina, Belfast, Cavan, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Londonderry, Mullingar, Tuam and Waterford. Since 1967, there have been 14 district registries in Castlebar, Cavan, Clonmel, Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Kilkenny, Lifford, Limerick, Mullingar, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford and Wexford.

Calendars of Wills and Administrations (Intestate), where no will had been made but an Administrator of the deceased’s assets was appointed at the said Registries, were published annually by the Principal Registry from 1858 to 1982. These are available in our Reading Room and on our website. Each Calendar contains details of all grants issued for the country for each year and entries arranged alphabetically by deceased name. In addition to the deceased’s name, an entry will also include the deceased’s address, the date of death, the names of the Executors, or Administrators, the date the grant was issued and the value of the deceased’s “effects”. Further information is provided in the pre-1951 Calendars.

Transcripts of wills proved and administrations granted were made in the District Registries and the original wills and administrations were forwarded to the Principal Registry in Dublin, and when they were 20 years old they were sent to the Public Record Office. Unfortunately, this meant that in 1922 almost all original wills and administrations of the Principal Registry up to 1904 and the District Registries up to 1900 were destroyed.

Some copies of wills do survive in Principal Registry Will Books for 1874, 1878, 1891 and 1896 and Principal Registry Grant Books survive for 1878, 1883, 1891 and 1893.

Copies of most of the wills proved at District Registries between 1858 and 1900 may be found in the District Registry Will Books. Will Books for Ballina, Cavan, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Mullingar, Tuam and Waterford are available on microfilm.

Testamentary records, including wills, issued prior to 1975 are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance. The latest year for which testamentary records is held is 1991. For anything more recent, queries should be directed to the Probate Office.

For further information see Guide to wills and testamentary records.

High Court on Circuit

Files of the High Court on Circuit are kept by the County Registrar of the county in which the hearing takes place and searches for such files should be made in the Cause books referred to in the Circuit Court section above, kept by relevant County Registrar.

To request a file, complete a docket order form and include the court reference code (NAI, CS/HC/) followed by the file reference found in the Cause Books. Records pre-dating the mid-1970s are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

Central Criminal Court

The High Court hearing criminal matters is known as the Central Criminal Court. In criminal matters, the High Court judge sits with a jury of twelve. A person refused bail in the District Court can apply to the High Court for bail, or if granted bail they can apply to vary the conditions of the bail. The Central Criminal Court also hears cases relating to treason, offences relating to the obstruction of government or the president, murder, attempted murder or conspiracy to murder, rape, sexual assault, piracy and offences under the Genocide Act 1973.

Records

The National Archives holds records for the Central Criminal Court up to 1968. There are cause books, known as Trial Record Books and files. The finding aid is in a blue folder in the Reading Room and is arranged alphabetically by county. Files are listed by the county which the matter originated in. To request an item, complete an order docket and include the court reference code (NAI, CS/CCC/) followed by the details given in the finding aid, including the covering dates. This material is stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

Court of Criminal Appeal

The office of the Court of Criminal Appeal deals with appeals from persons convicted of a crime by the Central Criminal Court, the Circuit (Criminal) Court or the Special Criminal Court where that person obtains a certificate from the trial judge that the case is suitable for appeal or, such a certificate is refused provided the Court of Criminal Appeal itself grants such leave to appeal. The court of criminal appeal also hears applications from the Director of Public Prosecutions to review sentences they deem unduly lenient and acts an appeal court for Court Martials.

Records

The main records of the court of criminal appeal are:

Appeal Books, 1924–1974

These are the Cause Books listing cases in chronological order. The case numbers and the names of the Appellants have been transcribed from these volumes and the transcription is in a blue folder in the Reading Room.

Order Books, 1924–1972

These books contain copies of the orders made by the court. There are approximately 20 orders per book and there is an alphabetical index at the back of each volume.

Files, 1924–1972 and a separate collection of Orders arranged in chronological order dating from the 1920’s to the 1970’s

There is a file for every case dealt with by the court. The contents of the files include correspondence, particulars of trial, notices of appeal, transcripts, case notes and schedules of documents.

The finding aid to the Court of Criminal Appeal files is in a blue folder in the Reading Room. This lists chronologically all case files by the appellants name from 1924 to 1972. To request a file, complete an order docket and include the file reference, name and date. The records of the Court of Criminal Appeal are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

Special Criminal Court

The records of the Special Courts which operated in the late 1930’s and the 1940’s and of the Special Criminal Court which was established in 1972 are closed.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the State and consists of the Chief Justice and seven ordinary judges. The Supreme Court has the power to decide whether a Bill which has been passed by the Seanad or Dáil, and has been presented to the President of Ireland for signature, is repugnant to the Constitution. The Supreme Court also decides civil and criminal matters, with the Court of Criminal Appeal dealing with criminal matters.

Records

The main records of the Supreme Court are in volume format and are comprised of:

Books of Appeal, 1922–1970, except 1955–1959
Notices of Appeal, 1921–1927
Judgments/Orders, 1922–1958
Judges declarations on taking office, 1924–1927

The finding aid for the Supreme Court is a volume held in the Reading Room. There is an alphabetical index by subject at the front of the volume. To request an item, complete an order docket and include the court reference code (NAI, CS/SC/) followed by the document description, including covering dates. Records of the Supreme Court are held in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

Guide to court records in Ireland pre-1922

Quarter Sessions, Petty Sessions and County Courts

These Courts were the precursors to our modern day District Court, and were in existence until 1924.

Resident Magistrates and Justices of the Peace were appointed to bind people over to the peace and hear minor civil and criminal matters. Criminal matters were also heard at Quarter Sessions, which were held four times a year, and outside of these sittings at Petty Sessions courts.

The records of the Petty Sessions Courts largely consist of Petty Sessions Order Books, which are court registers giving the names and places of residence of the party or parties to a case and, sometimes, the names of the witnesses together with statements of the nature of the case and of the verdict given. Petty Sessions records held by the National Archives largely date from 1851 to 1924. The collection of Order Books consists of over 11,000 volumes, but it does include some large gaps, most notably the registers of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Court.

The Petty Sessions records also include a separate series of Dog Licence Register books and some Registers of Criminal Proceedings. Dog Licence Registers are important as they record names and addresses of individuals. Petty Sessions records are useful to researchers interested in family, local and social history. Often individuals who do not appear in other official records, such as land valuation or testamentary records, will appear in Petty Sessions records for minor offences such as being drunk in a public place or not having a dog licence.

These records are only available on microfilm. The series reference codes are CS/PS/1 (Order Books), CS/PS/2 (Dog Licences) and CS/PS/3 (Miscellaneous series). They are searchable in the online catalogue or by using the finding aids in the Reading Room. The finding aid contains the microfilm reference code (MFGS/58 (Order books), MFGS/60 (Dog Licences) and MFGS/61 (Miscellaneous)), which is needed to request the relevant microfilm. They also contain details of the National Archives reference code, the District, Court location and the dates of the Order Book. It should be noted that court districts may cross county boundaries.

Records of the Quarter Sessions and County Courts can be found in the finding aids to the Offices of the Clerks of Crown and Peace.

Courts of Crown and Peace

The office of Clerk of the Crown and Peace originally comprised two distinct offices: the office of Clerk of the Crown and the office of Clerk of the Peace. The former office was granted by letters patent from the Crown and was held for the life of the officeholder, contingent on good behaviour, but could be revoked at the pleasure of the Crown. The grantee often held the office for a whole province and had the right of appointing deputies. Appointments to the latter office were originally by the Crown, but was appointed by the Custos Rotulorum of the relevant county.

The patent actually appointed the holder to the office of Clerk of the Crown, but also contained an express grant of the office of Clerk of the Peace to the holder [1]. This latter office had evolved out of the commissions appointing Justices of the Peace (magistrates), which were first issued in England under the Act 18 Ed. III, stat. 2, c.2 ‘to hear and determine felonies and trespass done against the Peace’. Under the Act 37 Henry VIII c.1 (English), the power of appointing Clerks of the Peace became vested in the Custos Rotulorum for each county and city [2].

This contributed to documented complaints during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from certain Clerks of the Crown, who found that that several Custodes Rotulorum insisted on appointing their own Clerks of the Peace, rather than recognising the appointed Clerks of the Crown as Clerks of the Peace by virtue of their patent. The situation was resolved finally in 1877 by the passing of the Act 40 & 41 Vict., c. 56, whereby the offices of Clerk of the Crown and Clerk of the Peace were amalgamated on the death or retirement of either official and the new holder of the joint offices was a civil servant appointed by the Lord Lieutenant. The functions of the Clerk were in many respects similar to the modern County Registrar.

As Clerk of the Crown, the officeholder was the clerk of the court of assize, as well as secretary to the Grand Jury for criminal business. His role was varied involving criminal, civil and fiscal functions arising partly at Common Law and partly out of a series of legislative enactments. Criminal duties consisted of receiving and preserving all information, examinations and recognisances of the magistrates; drawing up bills of indictment in cases in which they were not prepared by the Crown Solicitor, or for private individuals; swearing the Grand Jury, and attending them with the indictments; attending the Crown Court, arraigning the prisoners, entering on record all pleas, orders and proceedings of the court in the Crown Book; swearing and examining witnesses on the trials; preparing and keeping all records of the Assizes; preparing all warrants necessary for the transmission of prisoners, the execution of offenders, etc. The Clerk of the Crown also received from coroners’ returns of all inquests, with the depositions, examinations and other documentation.

By the Act 36 Ed.III, c.12 it was enacted that, in their commissions, these magistrates should be authorised to hold sessions in four stated seasons of the year. This was the origin of the Quarter Sessions. The magistrates’ commissions gave them jurisdiction over all crimes affecting the public peace, excepting treasons. Under the Acts 1 & 2 Philip and Mary, c.13, and 10 Car I., c.18, the magistrates were required to forward cases of felony (except petty larcenies) to the Assizes, which were the precursor to the High Court on Circuit and sat twice a year. Cases of assault, riots, rescues or cattle or goods taken for distress, and trespass attended with violence, came within their jurisdiction. Besides the regular Quarter Sessions, Special Sessions have at various times been authorised to be held for the execution of some particular branch of magisterial duty, such as the registration of freeholders, presentment sessions etc. The Clerk of the Peace acted as clerk to the Justices of the Peace in the discharge of their duties.

Records

Until the enactment of the Local Government (Ireland) Act of 1898, the Crown and Peace offices carried out many local administrative as well as legal duties. This is reflected in the records and specifically those of the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury was the most important local body in rural Ireland during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and it was empowered to raise money by means of county rates, also known as cess. Grand Jury Presentments are the chief records of the county administration prior to 1898. They contain information about work ordered to be done by the Grand Jury on roads, bridges and jails and about constabulary duties in the counties, as well as the names of those who received money for such work.

Other legal records of the court are:

Affidavits
Appeal Books
Convictions Crown Books Depositions
Malicious Injury papers Patents
Publican’s Licences
Workmen’s Compensation Act Papers
Writs of Certiorari Judicial Review

Administrative/local interest records include:

District Drainage Schemes
Fishery Papers
Railway Plans and Maps
Road widening schemes
Township Improvement Act plans
Tramways (Dublin) improvements
Trees, affidavits and lists of

Under Orders in Council made in accordance with the terms of the Public Records (Ireland) Act of 1867, records of the Clerks of the Crown and Peace were transferred to the Public Record Office of Ireland after 20 years. When the County Registrars assumed the functions of the Clerks of the Crown and Peace in 1924 this system of transfer continued. The National Archives has accepted records less than 30 years old in the past to ensure their preservation, but due to current storage limitations, this practice has ceased.

The finding aids for surviving Crown and Peace records are held in three blue folders in the Reading Room. This material is not currently searchable in the online catalogue. These records are arranged by county. These lists were compiled from the original findings aids, which consisted of a volume for each county. The lists are arranged alphabetically by subject. To request these records, complete a docket order form and include the reference for the Crown and Peace (NAI, CS/CP/) followed by the county and the description of the item given in the finding aid, including the covering dates. These records are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

Records for the six counties of Northern Ireland from approximately 1900 are held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast.

High Court of Justice (pre-1924)

The High Court of Justice was established by the Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act, 1877. It brought together the courts of Chancery, Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer, Probate, Matrimonial Causes, Landed Estates and Admiralty. The remit of the High Court of Justice was very like that of our modern day High Court, including the functions of hearing appeals and dealing with points of law.

Records

High Court files exist only from 1926. Prior to this the individual documents such as orders and judgements are bound separately. The finding aid for the High Court of Justice is contained in a blue folder in the Reading Room. There is an alphabetical subject index at the beginning of the finding aid. To request an item, complete an order docket and include the reference for the High Court (NAI, CS/HC/) followed by the description of the item given in the finding aid, including the covering dates.

This material is not currently searchable in the online catalogue. These records are stored in off-site storage and will not be available until the following working day if requested in person, or three working days if requested by email. Further information is available in Ordering archives in advance.

[1] In some cases, the office of Clerk of the Peace was granted separately by the Crown.

[2] The provisions of this act were not immediately extended to Ireland as there are several instances of grants of the office of Clerk of the Peace during the reign of Charles I.

Beyond 2022: Ireland’s Virtual Record Treasury

Beyond 2022 is a project by Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with the National Archives, the National Archives (UK), the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Irish Manuscripts Commission.

The project aims to create a virtual reconstruction of the Record Treasury of the Public Record Office of Ireland which was destroyed during the Civil War in June 1922.

The 3D model has been built from original architectural plans and early 20^th-century photographic evidence. The project has been compiling an inventory of material destroyed in 1922 and is identifying surviving material and surrogate copies or substitutes available in various repositories in Ireland and worldwide. The new website was launched in June 2022 and can be found at https://www.virtualtreasury.ie

It is a dynamic project and the website will be added to as new material becomes available.

Documents on Irish Foreign Policy

Documents on Irish Foreign Policy (DIFP) is an essential public resource for the study of twentieth century Irish history.

DIFP aims to make the history of Irish foreign policy accessible to all and promotes public engagement with the history of Ireland’s international relations.

Since its establishment in 1997, DIFP has published eleven hard copy volumes covering discrete periods from 1919 to 1961. All have been published to schedule. Volume XII (1961–5) will be published in November 2020.

In a successful e-scholarship initiative, volumes I to VII (1919–45) are available free online at www.difp.ie. Further volumes will shortly be added.

The published volumes of documents are selected from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade collection at the National Archives, and also include relevant material from the archives of other government departments and the papers of relevant individuals.

The project continues as a very successful inter-institutional partnership between the Royal Irish Academy, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the National Archives.

Through its outreach programme, DIFP maintains strong connections with third level institutions across the island of Ireland through talks, lectures and seminars.

Internationally DIFP has a high profile within an established group of worldwide projects which edit and publish diplomatic documents.

DIFP in 2019 published ‘Ireland: A voice among the nations’ an illustrated photographic and documentary history of Irish foreign policy since 1919, marking the centenary of the foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In the past, we have completed side-projects on Ireland’s accession to the EEC, 60 years of Ireland’s membership of the UN and the history of Ireland’s diplomatic relations with Japan.

DIFP Historians are: Dr Michael Kennedy, Dr John Gibney and Dr Eoin Kinsella.

(M) [email protected]

(T) @DIFP_RIA

(W) www.difp.ie

Survey of material salvaged from the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922

In 2017, the National Archives, in partnership with the Irish Manuscripts Commission, began a survey of archival material salvaged from the Public Record Office of Ireland, following the destruction of the Record Treasury during the Civil War in 1922.

This collection of 378 brown paper parcels had not been opened since they were recovered in the aftermath of the destruction.

The material was assessed, documented and photographed. A condition assessment noted the condition of the each item and made conservation recommendations. Condition grades were assigned to the documents in a range from Grade 1 (Stable) to Grade 5 (Vulnerable). The documents range in date from the 14^th Century to the early 20^th Century.

The parcels of parchment and paper were damaged in a similar fashion and were bundled together during the salvaging process. A considerable proportion of the parchment documents were distorted and fused with other leaves of parchment, due to the heat of the fire.

The second phase of the project will surface clean and stabilise the 28 items that have been given a condition Grade 1 listing (Stable). These Grade 1 items include:

13 paper items, containing approximately 1,324 documents. These mainly consist of multiple documents that are folded and grouped together.
15 parchment items, containing over 500 leaves of parchment. These consist of both large rolls and folded documents.

Some highlights from the Grade 1 items include:

Roll of attorneys, 1785–1834
Law Exchequer: 250 Writs of Summons, 1894
Revenue Exchequer Accounts from Dublin port on wheat premiums, 1762–1789.
Roll of Certificates issued to adventurers for land, 1665–1668

Conflict Archive on the INternet (CAIN)

Conflict Archive on the INternet (CAIN) is a project by the International Conflict Research Institute at Ulster University. The project seeks to publish online primary source material documenting the political situation and conflict in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present day. The project began in 1996 and a website launched in March 1997.

The National Archives is among a number of archival institutions that contribute digitised images of archives in our collections for inclusion on the CAIN website. Departmental files are selected by CAIN researchers, in collaboration with staff from the National Archives, from the archives of various Departments of State. These include the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of the Taoiseach and Department of Justice and Equality. Further information is available on the project website www.cain.ulst.ac.uk.

Dublin City Council Culture Company

The National Archives is delighted to be a partner with the Dublin City Council Culture Company, a Dublin City Council initiative established in 2018 to engage local communities with cultural institutions and activities in their area and to promote culture across the city.

We began our engagement by participating in the Out of the Box project which helped individuals to research their family history and local area. This collaboration has continued with the National Neighbourhood project and Culture Club.

The National Neighbourhood builds cultural projects in community settings by connecting artists, groups and villages with libraries, museums and creative places, to deepen their understanding of their local culture. Through its participation with the National Neighbourhood, the National Archives has engaged in mural projects with the Kilmore West Youth Group and the Kilbarrack Coast Community Programme.

Culture Club generally consists of an exhibition or building tour with an informed guide in the company of a group of city residents. Through its participation with Culture Club, we welcome a group of visitors every month, providing talks on our rich holdings and promoting the wide range of services which we offer to the public. For further information on participating in these initiatives, please see www.dublincitycouncilculturecompany.ie.

Tithe applotment records

Title Applotment Books

A tithe was one tenth of the produce of agricultural land levied for the support of the official, state-established Church of Ireland and its clergymen. Under the Tithe Composition (Ireland) Act, 1823, this was converted into a monetary tax and the Tithe Applotment Books were compiled at various dates between 1823 and 1837 for the purpose of assessing the amount of this tax that occupiers of agricultural holdings above one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland.

There is a manuscript book for almost every parish in the country, giving the names of occupiers, the amount of land held, and the sums to be paid in tithes.

The original books are held in the National Archives and can be consulted on microfilm only in the reading room, or can be searched free of charge on our Genealogy website. Basic surname searches of the website will yield results identifying the townland, parish and county in which the name appears in the Tithe Applotment Books.

A list of the Tithe Applotment books, arranged by Church of Ireland parish, is available in the reading room. The books for the six counties of Northern Ireland are held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast, but microfilm copies are held in the National Archives.

Tithe Defaulters lists

Tithes were a tax levied on all occupiers of agricultural land regardless of their religious affiliation. Payment of tithes was bitterly resented, particularly by the Roman Catholic population, which also had to support their own priests. In the years 1831 to 1832, many people began to refuse to pay tithes and so began the ‘Tithe War’, which was fiercest in Leinster and Munster.

The Clergy Relief Fund was established in 1832 under the Recovery of Tithes (Ireland) Act, 1832 to assist affected Church of Ireland clergy affected by the non-payment of tithes. The clergy made returns to government of the names of people who refused to pay tithes in order to receive compensation for unpaid tithes. Some of these returns survive in the form of schedules of recording the names of approximately 29,000 tithe defaulters and form part of the archives of the Office of the Chief Secretary. The schedules list the defaulter’s address and the sum due. Some also list the defaulter’s landholding and occupation. Details of clergy who applied for financial relief under the fund can be found in ‘The Clergy Relief Fund, 1831: tithe defaulters’ by Suzanne C Hartwick in The Irish Genealogist, vol. 8, 1990. The original schedules of defaulters are held in the National Archives under reference CSO/OPMA/156/2/32–37.