County Offaly, Ireland Genealogy
Guide to County Offaly ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.
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Contents
History[edit | edit source]
County Offaly, in Ireland was formerly known as King’s County. It is located in the Irish Midlands in the province of Leinster and consists of 771 square miles with its greatest length being 52 miles from the River Ollatrim near Moneygall to the boundary near Edenderry.
Anciently, it was part of the Kingdom of Ui Failghe from which it gets its present name. The British began occupation in the thirteen century, but did not gain control until the sixteen century when it was named King’s County in 1547 in honour of King Philip II of Spain. Its name was changed to Offaly in 1920 and it became part of the Republic of Ireland on its formation in 1921.
In 1821, the population was 131,088. It increased to 146,857 in 1841, but then began to decrease to 52,592 in 1926. In 2006, the population was 70,868. In 1871, 88.8% of the population were Roman Catholic with 9.9% of the Church of Ireland, 0.4% Presbyterians and 0.5% Methodists. In 1926, 92.6% were Roman Catholic with 6.5% Church of Ireland.
General County Research Information[edit | edit source]
Further information about County Offaly is available at the GenUKI site.
Census[edit | edit source]
- 1901 - Ireland Census, 1901 at FamilySearch — index
- 1911 - Ireland Census, 1911 at FamilySearch — index
Church Records[edit | edit source]
- 1623-1866 - Ireland, Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage License Bonds Indexes, 1623-1866 at FamilySearch — index
- 1701-1845 - Ireland, Catholic Qualification & Convert Rolls, 1701-1845 at FamilySearch — index and images
Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information[edit | edit source]
- List of County Offaly Civil Parishes
- List of County Offaly Catholic Parishes
Civil Registration[edit | edit source]
- 1845-1913 - Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1845-1958 - Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958 at FamilySearch — index and images
Directories[edit | edit source]
- 1880 - Ireland, Thom's Irish Almanac, 1880 at FamilySearch — index, images available on FindMyPast
- 1884 - Ireland, Thom's Irish Almanac & Official Directory 1884 at FamilySearch — index and images
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
- 1831 - 1856 - Ireland, Valuation Office Books, 1831-1856 at FamilySearch — index and images
Maps[edit | edit source]
- 1885 County Map: Courtesy of London Ancestor | Note that during this time period it was known as King's County
Military[edit | edit source]
- 1914-1918 - Ireland, Memorial Record: World War I, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — index and images
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
- 1595-1858 - Ireland, Diocesan and Prerogative Wills & Administrations Indexes, 1595-1858 at FamilySearch — index
