Irish Genealogical Research Society

04/09/2026

Latest updates from the Irish Newspaper Archives

𝟏𝟗,𝟑𝟖𝟑,𝟖𝟏𝟔 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬!
Well, the summer months are behind us — and what an incredible summer it was, plenty of sun-filled days! But sunshine or no sunshine, there was no stopping us: buttons pressed, pages turned, and more of Ireland's great stories captured for the archive. Alongside brand new titles joining the collection, we've also been busy filling in missing gaps in our existing newspapers. Take a look at the full list of updates from the summer months below.

31/08/2026

Latest update from the Registry of Deeds Index Project Ireland

Update of 29 August 2026 – 657,005 index records from 67,179 memorials of deeds.

Thanks again to our wonderful volunteers we now have 657,005 index records from 67,179 memorials of deeds in our main database.

These and all the records in our database are fully searchable at: https://irishdeedsindex.net/search/search.php

The highlighted memorial is https://irishdeedsindex.net/mem.php?memorial=211035 a proposal for a lease. It is interesting because it mentions a few unusual considerations. One is two bushells of Oatmeal. The other is 39 statute Kishes of turf [a Kish is approximately a cubic yard] delivered to Lord Crosbie's House.

This is the first memorial I have indexed with the term kish. I note a search of the database for kishes returns another memorial, https://irishdeedsindex.net/mem.php?memorial=15538 Searching for kish returns 181 records mostly townlands with kish in their name.

31/08/2026

The Book of Fermoy -The Manuscript of the Week

The Manuscript of the Week is RIA MS 23 E 29, the Book of Fermoy. This compilation of texts dates from between 14th-16th century. It includes a collection of poems and prose material relating to the medieval Roche family as well as a duanaire (poembook) containing copies of poems attributed to Gearóid Iarla, 3rd earl of Desmond (1338-1398).

Read more about the manuscript and view the digital images, provided by Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Irish Script on Screen and copyright Royal Irish Academy (RIA) Library: https://www.ria.ie/collections/manuscripts/irish-language-manuscripts/book-of-fermoy/

The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-16.30, Monday-Friday. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.

31/08/2026

An interesting find in the Registry of Deeds....

For Tailte Éireann is highlighting an interesting discovery in the Registry of Deeds Memorial 206424, dated 5 September 1775.

This Memorial is registering a deed of gift from Thomas Murphy of Waterford City to his cousin Mary O’Neal (nee Murphy) and her daughter Mary. The deed of gift relates to ‘all money, goods, chattels, estate and substance in the Kingdom of Spain which had belonged to Charles Murphy, deceased, who was in the service of his most Catholick Majesty…’ and which Thomas had inherited as next of kin. While not unusual for land in other countries to be occasionally referenced in Registry of Deeds transactions, it is highly unusual for the entirety of the property to be located outside Ireland.

29/08/2026

IGRS Top Research Tip #222: If your Irish ancestors emigrated to Australia, explore Trove, a fantastic resource from the National Library of Australia. Search historic newspapers, family notices, photographs, & records to uncover stories of Irish immigrants and their descendants: https://trove.nla.gov.au/ *PLEASE FOLLOW, LIKE & SHARE* *

29/08/2026

Date for the Dublin diary!

29/08/2026

, 29th August 1975...