Almost all the records acquired by the Public Record Office of Ireland before 1922 were destroyed by fire and explosion at the beginning of the Civil War in June 1922 and as a result, the material now held by the National Archives dates mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries, although there are a few surviving court and exchequer rolls dating to the early 14th century.

Summary of our holdings

• Archives of Government Departments relating mainly to the period 1922–1985;
• Archives of the Chief Secretary’s Office and its associated offices for the period 1790–1922;
• Archives of other governmental agencies operating mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries, but including some archives from the 17th and 18th centuries;
• Archives of the courts and probate registries dating mainly from the late 19th and 20th centuries, but including some items dating from the 14th century;
• Archives acquired from other sources, including Church of Ireland parishes, harbour boards, health boards, hospitals, schools, charities, trade unions, business firms, solicitors’ offices, estate offices and private individuals, relating especially to the 19th and 20th centuries, but including material for the 17th and 18th centuries;
• Transcripts, calendars, abstracts and indexes relating to original records dating from the 13th to the 19th century which were destroyed in 1922.

Frequently consulted collections

• Business records
• Censuses of 1901 and 1911
• Chancery pleadings
• Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers – CSORP website
• Church of Ireland parish registers
• Convict Reference Files
• Coroners’ inquests
• Dáil Éireann archives
• Departmental records
• Education records
• Famine Relief Commission records
• Ferguson manuscripts
• Genealogical abstracts (Betham, Crosslé, Tenison Groves, Grove-White and Thrift)
• General Prisons Board
• Incumbered and Landed Estates Court rentals
• Irish Record Commission calendars
• Lodge’s manuscripts
• Office of Public Works
• Official Papers
• Ordnance Survey
• Outrage Reports
• Poor Law records
• Private source records
• Probate records
• Quit Rent Office
• Rebellion Papers
• Soldiers’ Wills
• Tithe Applotment Books
• Trade union archives
• Transportation records (Ireland-Australia transportation database – .pdf version)
• Valuation Office and Boundary Survey
• Wills and testamentary records
• Women’s history records (Directory of Sources for Women’s History in Ireland.xls, Women in 20th-Century Ireland – 1922-1966 database, the papers of Hilda Tweedy and the Joint Committee of Women’s Societies and Social Workers)

This series consists of more than 4,600 files documenting the history of the Presidency and the administration of the Office of the Secretary to the President since the establishment of the former office under the Constitution of 1937. The files pertain to the six terms of office of the following four presidents: Dr. Douglas Hyde (Dubhghlas de hÍde) (1938-1945), Séan T. Ó Ceallaigh (1945-1959), Eamon de Valera (1959-1973) and Erskine Childers (1973-1975).

Copy of menu dated 23 June 1945, for lunch at Áras an Uachtaráin to celebrate the inauguration of the new President, Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh, on 25 June 1945.

Files from the first and second presidencies of Douglas Hyde and Sean T. Ó Ceallaigh comprise the bulk of this series and are especially interesting as they document the establishment and development of the office of President within the parameters laid down by Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Constitution, parameters whose scope and potential were expanded by subsequent presidencies.

The early files chart the definition of protocol and precedent in relation to presidential functions, such as the signing of bills into law and the promulgation of same, the summoning and dissolution of Dáil Éireann, the appointment of government ministers on the nomination of the Taoiseach and the vesting of supreme command of the Defence Forces in the President. Ceremony and hospitality are also common motifs running through the records as evidenced by the number of files relating to the administration of the Áras both as an office and as a home, the management of interaction with the foreign diplomatic corps and the hosting of receptions, official lunches, dinners and garden parties for visiting dignitaries.

As is to be expected, the records in this series reflect much of the personal pursuits and interests of individual Presidents. Douglas Hyde’s love of music and the Irish language, together with his own penchant for poetic composition, are much in evidence (PRES 1/P 1834). Sean T. Ó Ceallaigh’s personal history of participation in the struggle for independence, his strong religious beliefs (PRES 1/P 4235) and his previous political career as Minister for Local Government and Public Health, Minister for Finance and his position as Tánaiste are also reflected in the records relating to his presidency.

Eamon de Valera’s love of maths is apparent in the files concerning the purchase of books for his personal library (PRES 1/P 4575) while his previous career as political and revolutionary leader of international standing is evidenced in the correspondence received from statesmen throughout the world. As yet, the files transferred to the National Archives relating to the presidency of Erskine Childers are from the earliest phase of his short presidency, therefore conclusions about the themes of his tenure will only be drawn from the files to be released over the coming years.

Apart from documenting the exercise of presidential functions set out in the Constitution, the files also reflect the care taken by the first four incumbents of the office to forge close bonds with the Irish people at home and abroad and to associate themselves with many aspects of national life. The records detail presidential patronage of a wide variety of societies and associations such as the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Red Cross and the Royal Dublin Society (PRES 1/P 1131; PRES 1/P 1402; PRES 1/P 4312). Presidential support of community projects, recognition of individual and collective effort and achievement through awards ceremonies and participation in initiatives such as the presentation of bounties to centenarians (PRES 1/2002/7/13) and the parents of triplets (PRES 1/P 1216) are also documented in this file series.

Letter from Fergus Williams, representative of the West Cork Save-the-Railway Organisation, dated 31 January 1961, to the Secretary to the President.

That tumultuous world events are reflected through the office of President is borne out by the number of files on the impact of the Second World War on its daily functions and administration. Records are to be found in this series on the growing of crops in the garden of the Áras during the Emergency (PRES 1/P 2112) and the construction of a bomb shelter in its grounds (PRES 1/P 1753), the potential financial effects of the war on the Office (PRES 1/P 1353) and the letter from Theodor Heuss, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, to President Ó Ceallaigh, thanking him and the Irish people for their generosity to the German nation in the difficult post-war years (PRES 1/P 5026).

Photograph dated 31 December 1942, illustrating ploughing in the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin. With the advent of rationing during the Emergency, parts of land around the Áras were farmed to boost food production.

There are of course, many other topics and subjects covered in this large series, and cyber visitors are invited not only to search the online database which lists the collection in its totality but also to learn more about the other two series in the collection, PRES 2 which relates to the Visitors’ Books signed at Áras an Uachtaráin and PRES 3 which details the Register of Executed Documents.

PRES 2 – Visitors’ Books

This series consists of bound volumes containing signatures of visiting foreign heads of state and government, foreign parliamentary representatives and foreign diplomatic representatives, all of whom were required to sign the visitors’ book in Áras an Uachtaráin when making a call on the President. The volume also includes signatures of representatives of social, cultural, religious, professional and vocational organisations, as well as those of Taoisigh and Government Ministers, and of senior Irish civil servants making courtesy calls, such as Irish diplomatic representatives serving abroad.

Signatures of Prince Rainier Grimaldi III of Monaco, his wife Princess Grace and children Caroline and Albert, in the Áras Visitors' Book, 29 August 1963.

The vast majority of signatures in the books are those of visiting heads of state, such as the Monegasque royal family, who visited on 29 August 1963 (PRES 2/2003/19/1), and of foreign diplomatic representatives making routine courtesy calls, such as Eduard Hempel, the German ambassador to Ireland during the Second World War, who made a courtesy call on 1 January 1940, together with other members of the diplomatic corps (PRES 2/96/7/1).

The signatures of senior members of the main religious denominations in Ireland are evident, as are those of members of the literary and entertainment worlds; for example, the signatures of Leslie Howard (the actor who played Ashley Wilkes in the film Gone with the Wind) and John Betjeman (British Poet Laureate) were entered in the book on 13 April 1942 (PRES 2/96/7/1). Also to be found in the same visitors’ book is the signature of Count John McCormack, the Irish tenor, who visited on 7 October 1938 (PRES 2/96/7/1). In later years, the signatures of those prominent in the world of television feature in the visitors’ books, such as that of Eamonn Andrews, Director General of RTE and later presenter of the BBC television programme This is Your Life, who was received by the President on 29 July 1959 (PRES 2/96/7/3).

Signature of the tenor Count John McCormack, in the Áras Visitors' Book, 7 October 1938.

Each book is in columnar format, recording the date of visit and containing the visitor’s signature. Cross-references to any related office file were often also noted. These office files are now contained in PRES 1. There is an apparent overlap in dates between several of the volumes in the series, which can possibly be accounted for by the fact that two visitors’ books seem to have been simultaneously in use.

PRES 3 – Register of Executed Documents

This series consists of one bound volume recording details of instruments signed by the President or by the Presidential Commission. Entries in the register are in chronological order, recording details of the instrument executed, including serial number, ‘class of document’ such as army commission, warrant, minute of appointment or minute of resignation, and name of the person to whom the instrument refers. Also recorded are the relevant official file reference number of both the Office of the Secretary to the President and the Department of the Taoiseach, and the date of execution of the instrument. The volume includes two typescript sheets affixed to the flyleaf, which describe the nature of the documents registered, the manner of their registration and the type of instruments not recorded, such as bills.

Question 1:
What was the transportation system and when did it commence?

Answer to question 1:
The exact origin of the use of transportation as a punishment for crime is obscure, but it seems to have developed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries from a need to avoid what were considered the destabilising influences of particular groups within society. When, during the course of the eighteenth century, the death penalty came to be regarded as too severe for certain capital offences, transportation to North America became popular as a means of mitigating the sentence. Except for very serious crimes, transportation came to largely replace capital punishment. After the American War of Independence, New South Wales replaced North America as a penal colony and transportation came to largely replace capital punishment.

Question 2:
Does the National Archives hold records relating to the transportation of Irish convicts to other destinations?

Answer to question 2:
The surviving transportation records in the National Archives largely document the transportation of Irish convicts to penal colonies in Australia and Tasmania, and to the West Indies in the final years of the operation of the convict transportation system. However, one small series of documents, State Prisoners’ Petitions, includes documents relating to persons who were transported or exiled to North America, or who opted to join foreign armies in Europe following their implication for involvement in events surrounding the Rebellion of 1798.

Question 3:
When did the transportation of convicts from Ireland to Australia begin and how for long did the system of transporting convicts last?

Answer to question 3:
The transportation of convicts from Ireland to Australia began when the first shipload of convicts left Ireland for New South Wales at the beginning of April 1791. Before this, convicts were transported to North America, but transportation to that destination ceased after the American War of Independence. The transportation of convicts from Ireland to Australia ceased in 1853, due largely to growing opposition of colonists, who regarded the continued use of Australia as a penal colony as a disincentive to the immigration of free settlers. The exception to this was the transportation of persons who were involved in the Fenian Rising of 1867.

Question 4:
How can I get further information on my convict ancestor’s trial and conviction?

Answer to question 4:
Trial records for the periods covered by our transportation records were largely destroyed by fire and explosion in the former Public Record Office of Ireland at the commencement of the Irish Civil War in 1922. However, some trials were reported in local newspapers and any enquiry in this regard should be directed to the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2

Question 5:
Are there any police reports relating to the crime committed by my ancestor?

Answer to question 5:
The archives of the Chief Secretary’s Office includes crime reports, some of which might document a convict’s crime. However, locating information on a particular convict can require a level of research that the National Archives cannot undertake on behalf of correspondents and any research in these records must be undertaken personally or by a professional researcher commissioned to perform the work on your behalf. Please consult the list of professional researchers in our Genealogy section or visit our Genealogy Service.

Question 6:
How can I get further information on my convict ancestor’s imprisonment?

Answer to question 6:
Registers of local prisons, convict depots and convict prisons will contain details of convicts, varying in the level of detail recorded. For example, the register of Grangegorman female convict depot covering the period 11 July 1840 to 22 December 1853, contains some 3,500 entries. Registers of local prisons will include, among details of all prisoners, information relating to those sentenced to transportation. However, locating information on a particular convict can require a level of research that the National Archives cannot undertake on behalf of correspondents and any research in these records must be undertaken personally or by a professional researcher commissioned to perform the work on your behalf. Please consult the list of professional researchers in our Genealogy section or visit our Genealogy Service.

Question 7:
How can I find out the name of the ship on which my convict ancestor was transported?

Answer to question 7:
The transportation register frequently records the name of the ship on which a convict was transported and where such information is not recorded, determining the name of the ship can involve research in other sources. A good starting point for such research is a publication, The Convict Ships, by Charles Bateson (Glasgow, 1969), which lists ships departing from Great Britain and Ireland and records such information as dates of arrival in Australia and Tasmania.

Question 8:
From other sources, I can identify my ancestor’s native county. How can I get further information on my ancestor and his/her family?

Answer to question 8:
General information on the conduct of genealogical research from archival sources in the National Archives and elsewhere is available in the Genealogy section of our website.

Question 9:
Were children transported?

Answer to question 9:
There is evidence that children as young as 12 years were, on conviction, sentenced to a term of transportation. In addition, the children of female convicts were generally allowed to accompany their mothers as free settlers, and there are instances where the children of a male convict were also allowed to accompany him. Although there seems to have been no clear policy with respect to allowing children to accompany a convict parent, it is possible that the lack of any defined official policy may have been due to the fact that it was in the interest of the authorities to have as many children as possible sent with their convict parents in order to avoid their becoming a burden on the poor law. The main preoccupation of the authorities was to dispose of children in the cheapest way, whether on board ship or otherwise.

Question 10:
Did any convict transportation ships sink during the voyage?

Answer to question 10:
The Convict Ships by Charles Bateson (Glasgow, 1969), provides a comprehensive description of the voyages, including dates of departure and arrival of the convict transportation ships that sailed from Great Britain and Ireland.

Question 11:
Where can I find other information on the Irish convict transportation system?

Answer to question 11:
An overview of the system of transportation and descriptions of surviving archival sources that document the operation of the system and the transportation of individual convicts can be found in Rena Lohan’s article ‘Sources in the National Archives for research into the transportation of Irish convicts to Australia‘.

Almost all the records acquired by the Public Record Office of Ireland before 1922 were destroyed by fire and explosion at the beginning of the Civil War in June 1922 and as a result, the material now held by the National Archives dates mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries, although there are a few surviving court and exchequer rolls dating to the early 14th century.

Summary of our holdings

• Archives of Government Departments relating mainly to the period 1922–1985;
• Archives of the Chief Secretary’s Office and its associated offices for the period 1790–1922;
• Archives of other governmental agencies operating mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries, but including some archives from the 17th and 18th centuries;
• Archives of the courts and probate registries dating mainly from the late 19th and 20th centuries, but including some items dating from the 14th century;
• Archives acquired from other sources, including Church of Ireland parishes, harbour boards, health boards, hospitals, schools, charities, trade unions, business firms, solicitors’ offices, estate offices and private individuals, relating especially to the 19th and 20th centuries, but including material for the 17th and 18th centuries;
• Transcripts, calendars, abstracts and indexes relating to original records dating from the 13th to the 19th century which were destroyed in 1922.

Frequently consulted collections

• Business records
• Censuses of 1901 and 1911
• Chancery pleadings
• Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers – CSORP website
• Church of Ireland parish registers
• Convict Reference Files
• Coroners’ inquests
• Dáil Éireann archives
• Departmental records
• Education records
• Famine Relief Commission records
• Ferguson manuscripts
• Genealogical abstracts (Betham, Crosslé, Tenison Groves, Grove-White and Thrift)
• General Prisons Board
• Incumbered and Landed Estates Court rentals
• Irish Record Commission calendars
• Lodge’s manuscripts
• Office of Public Works
• Official Papers
• Ordnance Survey
• Outrage Reports
• Poor Law records
• Private source records
• Probate records
• Quit Rent Office
• Rebellion Papers
• Soldiers’ Wills
• Tithe Applotment Books
• Trade union archives
• Transportation records (Ireland-Australia transportation database – .pdf version)
• Valuation Office and Boundary Survey
• Wills and testamentary records
• Women’s history records (Directory of Sources for Women’s History in Ireland.csv, Women in 20th-Century Ireland – 1922-1966 database, the papers of Hilda Tweedy and the Joint Committee of Women’s Societies and Social Workers)

A

Achievements

Ancestry.com

Askaboutireland.ie

Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI)

Association of Ulster Genealogists and Record Agents (AUGRA)

Australian convict transportation registers database

B

Ballybeg Village

Ballymoney Ancestry

Boston Pilot newspaper’s ‘Missing Friends’ advertisement for Irish immigrants to the USA

British & Irish Genealogy blog

C

Cemetery records online

1901 and 1911 census online (NAI)

Census Finder

Census records online

Certificate of Irish Heritage

Clare County Library

Coastguards of Yesteryear

Cobh Heritage Centre – features information on those who emigrated from the port of Cobh (formerly Queenstown)

Convicts to Australia

Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO)

CousinConnect

Cyndi’s list of genealogy sites – Ireland

D

Directory of Irish Genealogy

Dromin (county Louth) graveyard inscriptions

Dublin Graveyards Directory

E

e-site – an online repository of Irish genealogical material

Ellis Island Family History Centre

Eneclann

Explore Genealogy

F

Family Detective

Family History Articles Archive

FamilyHistory.com

Family Relatives

Family Research Ireland

Family Search

Family Tree Templates

Famine Ships

Find a Grave

Findmypast

Flyleaf Press

Free Irish Genealogy eBooks

G

Genealogical Society of Ireland

Genealogy Roots Web

Genealogyspot

General Register Office

Genes Reunited

Genuki

Guild of One-Name Studies

H

Historic Graves project

I

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild

Ireland Genealogy Links

Ireland Genealogy Projects

IrelandGenWeb Project

IrelandLookup – genealogical research links

Irish Ancestors

Irish Ancestral Research Association

Irish Ancestry Research

Irish Family Ancestry

Irish Family History Foundation

Irish Family History Society

Irish Famine Memorial, Sydney

Irish Genealogical Foundation

Irish Genealogical Research Society

Irish Genealogy – Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s web guide to researching Irish genealogy

Irish Genealogy News

Irish Genealogy Toolkit

Irish Graveyards

Irish in America

Irish Lives Remembered Genealogy eMagazine

Irish Origenes

Irish Origins (also includes Griffith’s Valuation searchable database)

Ireland Reaching Out

Irish Roots magazine

Irish Veterans

Irish War Memorials

Irish Wattle – Australian genealogy website focusing on Ireland-Australia transportation and convict history

K

Kerry Ancestors

L

Leitrim-Roscommon Genealogy (also includes census material for Sligo, Westmeath, Galway, Wexford and Mayo)

Lisdoonvarna Archive

M

Mayo: headstones, family trees and parish registers from north county Mayo

N

National Archives and Records Administration (USA): immigration records (ship passenger arrival records on microfilm)

P

Parish Chest

Passenger arrival lists, Boston (1820-1954)

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

R

18th Regiment of Foot Royal Irish Regiment Association

Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association

Royal Irish Constabulary forum and Royal Irish Constabulary barracks census returns

Royal Irish Constabulary records by subscription on Ancestry.co.uk

S

ScotlandsPeople

Shaw’s Dublin City Directory, 1850

Soldiers’ wills online (NAI)

Start local – tracing your family tree

Stewartstown & District Local History Society

T

The National Archives (UK) – Irish genealogy, records of the Royal Irish Constabulary and outward passenger list information and associated websites

Tithe Applotment Books online (NAI)

U

UK marriage records resource

Ulster Ancestry

Ulster Historical Foundation

US court records

V

Valuation Office – holds a list of occupiers of property for the entire country

W

WikiTree

Y

Your Family History magazine

Your Irish Roots – Irish genealogy, surname and coats of arms resource

Your Scottish Descent – professional Scottish family history research service

For information on transportation sources, please consult the following pages on our site:

• Ireland-Australia transportation database (.pdf version)
• ‘Sources in the National Archives for research into the transportation of Irish convicts to Australia (1791-1853)’ by Rena Lohan (.pdf format)
• Frequently Asked Questions on transportation to Australia

Transportation records of interest include the following:

• Transportation Registers (1836-1857)
• Prisoners’ Petitions and Cases (1788-1836)
• State Prisoners’ Petitions (1798-1799)
• Convict Reference Files (1836-1856: 1865-1868)
• Free Settlers’ Papers (1828-1852)
• Male Convict Register (1842-1847)
• Register of Convicts on Convict Ships (1851-1853)

Microfilms containing full copies of the the above records are available in the Reading Room and the index and microfilms are also available in libraries in Australia. If the search of the microfilms has been successful, there may be enough information to pursue the search in other National Archives’ sources such as the Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers and Outrage Reports or in newspapers held in the National Library of Ireland.

• Belfast Linen Hall Library
• Chester Beatty Library
• Church of Ireland Representative Church Body Library
• CNCI – Council of National Cultural Institutions
• CultureNet – gateway to the culture and heritage of Ireland
• CultureNorthernIreland – online cultural atlas
• Garda Síochána Museum and Archives
• Irish Architectural Archive
• Irish Film Archive
• Irish Manuscripts Commission
• Irish Traditional Music Archive
• Marsh’s Library
• Military Archives
• National Library of Ireland including the National Photographic Archive and Office of the Chief Herald (Genealogical Office)
• National Museum of Ireland
• Newry and Mourne Museum
• NUI Galway – special collection and archives
• NUI Maynooth Library
• Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
• Royal Irish Academy library
• Trinity College Library Dublin and map library
• University College Cork – Archives Service
• University College Dublin – UCD Archives

Local authority/county archives and library services

• Clare County Archives Service
• Clare County Library
• Cork City and County Archives
• Donegal County Archives Service
• Dublin City Archives
• Fingal County Archives
• Galway City and County Library
• Kerry County Library
• Limerick City Archives
• Limerick County Archives and County Library
• Longford County Library and Archives
• Louth County Archives Service
• Mayo County Library
• Roscommon County Library
• South Tipperary County Archives
• Waterford City and County Council Archives
• Westmeath Archives Service
• Wicklow Local Authority Archive

Irish Government websites

• BASIS – Business Access to State Information and Services
• Citizens Information – access to public services
• Courts Service
• Data Protection – privacy of information about individuals
• Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht – the Government Department with responsibility for the National Archives
• Government of Ireland – information on the Irish State and government organisations
• Houses of the Oireachtas – Ireland’s national parliament
• Office of the Information Commissioner
• Office of the Ombudsman

Archival and historical societies and related publications

• Economic and Social History Society of Ireland
• Federation of Local History Societies
• Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement
• History Ireland – Ireland’s illustrated history magazine
• History Journal
• Irish Historical Studies
• Irish Labour History Society
• Irish Society for Archives
• Military Heritage of Ireland Trust
• Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland

Related Irish resources

• CELT – Corpus of Electronic Texts online in University College Cork
• Central Statistics Office
• General Register Office
• General Register Office of Northern Ireland
• Higher Education Authority- HEAnet
• Irish Law Site – University College Cork
• Placenames Database of Ireland
• RASCAL – Research and Special Collections Available Locally in Northern Ireland
• Royal Dublin Fusiliers
• Valuation Office

Archives in other countries

• European Commission historical archives
• European Union archives
• International Council on Archives
• Library and Archives Canada
• National Archives of Australia
• National Archives of Scotland
• UNESCO Archives Portal
• United Kingdom: The National Archives
• United States of America: National Archives and Records Administration

National and international archival associations and professional bodies

• Archives & Records Association – UK & Ireland
• Association of Canadian Archivists – professional body for Canada
• Australian Society of Archivists – professional body for Australia
• International Committee of the Blue Shield
• Society of American Archivists – professional body for the United States of America

Research websites in Ireland and the UK

• Access to Archives – A2A – contains computerised catalogues of the holdings of a number of British archives and libraries
• Act of Union Virtual Library, Queen’s University Belfast
• Acts of the Houses of the Oireachtas
• ArchiveGrid
• Bibliography of British and Irish History
• British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service, 1688-1995, University of Southampton Library
• British Universities Film & Video Council
• CAIN – Conflict Archive on the Internet
• Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509 (CIRCLE)
• Connacht Landed Estates project
• Debates of the Houses of the Oireachtas – a searchable database of parliamentary debates spanning the years 1919-1997, created by the Oireachtas Library
• Decade of Centenaries
• 1641 Depositions
• Dictionary of Irish Biography
• Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series
• Down Survey website
• Duke of Wellington Papers database – contains detailed descriptions of Wellington’s papers, including those during his term as Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1807-1809
• EPPI – Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, 1801-1922
• Federation of Local History Societies
• Forum for Archives and Records Management Education and Research for the UK and Ireland (FARMER)
• History-in-Service – Supporting Leaving Certificate History
• Irish Architectural Archive’s Dictionary of Irish Architects, 1720-1940
• Irish Archives Resource (IAR)
• Irish History Online
• Irish Legal Information Initiative
• Irish Statute Book
• Oireachtas Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
• Ordnance Survey Ireland
• RIAN – Irish university library research portal
• Royal Historical Society Bibliography of British and Irish History
• Scottish Documents
• Trinity College Dublin – Department of History
• Workhouse website

Electronic records and archives portals

• APEx – EU Best Practice Network project to expand, enrich, enhance and sustain the Archives Portal Europe
• Archives Portal Europe – searchable material from archival institutions across Europe
• Council on Library and Information Resources (US)
• EAD: Encoded Archival Description official site – resources on the use of this SGML/XML-based Document Type Definition for the electronic mark up of archival finding aids
• Electronic records at the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
• Europeana – digital images, texts, videos and sounds from museums, archives, libraries and galleries from all over Europe
• European Union DLM Forum on Electronic Records – the challenges of preservation and access in the digital age
• InterPARES Project – international research on permanent authentic records in public systems
• Jisc - Joint Information Systems Committee
• ULCC Digital Archives Blog
• University of British Columbia – project on the preservation of electronic records

Other sites of archival interest

• British Library Preservation Advisory Centre/National Preservation Office (UK)
• Conservation OnLine – Stanford University
• European Confederation of Conservator-restorers’ Organisations (ECCO)
• EuroDocs – Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe including Ireland
• Institute of Conservation (UK)
• OAC – Online Archive of California – advanced online finding aids