Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted from Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local History by James G. Ryan, Ph.D.
An ancestor’s address is a basic element of identity and can be an essential step in obtaining further information. To understand the components of the types of "addresses" commonly cited, it is necessary to know about the administrative areas used.
Many different administrative boundaries were used in Ireland for civil and ecclesiastical purposes. In most cases these divisions observe boundaries set up for other purposes, e.g., county boundaries, but others such as diocese boundaries, tend to be unique. A short description of the different divisions is given below. A more detailed description is given by Dr. W. Nolan in Irish Genealogy—A Record Finder (Dublin: Heraldic Artists, 1981).
Civil Divisions
The civil divisions are described below starting from the smallest unit of land.
Townland. This is the smallest unit of land area used in Ireland. The area varies in size from less than ten acres to several thousand acres. Despite their name, these units do no contain towns, indeed some have no occupants at all. There are around 64,000 townlands in Ireland, and they are the most specific "address" usually available for rural dwellers. They are generally organized into civil parishes.
Civil parishes. These are important units for record purposes. They generally contain around twenty-five to thirty townlands as well as towns and villages. There are around 2,500 civil parishes in the country. The guides to church records list the parishes in each county, and they are also shown in the accompanying maps. Parishes are generally listed within each county although they may be divided by barony. In many cases civil parishes straddle county and barony boundaries.
Barony. A barony is a portion of a county of a group of civil parishes. Historically it was introduced by the Anglo-Normans and is usually based on a tribal territory or "tuatha." Barony boundaries do not always conform to those of the civil parishes within them. There are 273 baronies in Ireland.
County. The county is a major and consistent division. The counties were gradually established by the English since the arrival of the Normans. The first counties—Dublin, Kildare, and Louth—were established in the early thirteenth century, whereas the last counties, those of Ulster, were not established until after 1600. There are thirty-two counties, and these are formed into four provinces.
Province. The four provinces of Ireland are Connaught, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. Each comprises a number of counties.
Cities, Towns, and Boroughs. These are separate administrative areas of varying size. Many towns have several civil parishes, whereas some civil parishes have several townships. Other types of classifications of urban areas include the borough, which is a town which sent a representative (i.e., MP) to the Westminster Parliament. A ward is an administrative unit within a city or large town.
Poor Law Unions. These areas were set up under the Poor Law Relief Act (1838). Rates, land-based taxes, were collected within these areas for maintenance of local poor. They were named after a local large town. The same districts later became used as General Registrar’s Districts.
General Registrar’s Districts. These districts are the areas within which births, deaths, and marriages were collected. The areas do not always conform to county boundaries.
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