Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1864, and these records are an important source of genealogical information; the registration of non-Catholic marriages began in 1845.  The information available is concise and accurate, though there may be some omissions, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the introduction of civil registration.

A birth certificate contains the date and exact place of birth, child’s name, surname, address, occupation of father and mother’s maiden name.

A marriage certificate includes the names of the parties, their current marital status, date of marriage, address and occupation of fathers and, occasionally, the mothers’ names.

A death certificate provided minimal information, usually the name, age and occupation of the deceased and the place and cause of death. It may also give the name of the informant, in most cases a relative.

Not all centres have indexed civil records. Please check the SOURCES list for each county to see what is available.