Church Records
Parish registers of all denominations are an excellent source of genealogical information and probably the best starting point for research as they include Baptisms, Marriages and sometimes Deaths for all classes of the population. They also pre-date civil registration which began in Ireland in 1864.
At County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Centre, we have indexed and computerised all pre-1900 church baptisms, marriage, and death records available for County Sligo including the following denominations:
- Roman Catholic
- Church of Ireland
- Presbyterian
- Methodist
In addition to the above record sources, we also have the following available to us for use in research:
- Census of Diocese of Elphin 1749
- Gravestone Inscriptions
Roman Catholic Registers
Roman Catholic registers are kept in individual parishes and, in most cases, were not deposited in national repositories. This ensured their survival from the Public Record Office fire in 1922 and makes them one of the most comprehensive records available. The commencement dates for the various parishes in County Sligo are outlined in the following tables.
| Parish | Baptisms | Marriages | Deaths |
| Achonry | 1878 – 1899 | 1865 – 1905 | |
| Aghanagh* | 1803 – 1899 | 1841 – 1899 | |
| *(Gaps in Aghangh | |||
| Marriages from 1842-1864) | |||
| Ahamlish | 1796 – 1900 | 1796 – 1845 | |
| Ballysadare* & Kilvarnet | 1842 – 1899 | 1858 -1899 | |
| * (No Baptismal Records for Ballysadare from 1853 -1858) | |||
| Castleconnor | 1835 – 1905 | 1835 – 1899 | 1847 – 1896 |
| Castlemore & Kilcolman (Partly Co. Roscommon) | 1851 – 1900 | ||
| Cloonacool | 1859 – 1899 | 1859 – 1914 | |
| Curry | 1867 – 1906 | 1867 – 1899 | |
| Drumcliffe | 1841 – 1899 | 1865 – 1899 | |
| Drumrat | 1843 – 1900 | 1833 – 1900 | |
| Easkey | 1864 – 1899 | 1898 – 1939 | |
| Emlefad & Kilmorgan | 1856 – 1899 | 1824 – 1899 | |
| Geevagh | 1851 – 1899 | 1851 – 1899 | |
| Glenade & Ballaghnatrillick ( Partly Co. Leitrim) | 1867 – 1899 | 1867 – 1899 | |
| Kilfree & Killaraght | 1873 – 1899 | 1844 – 1899 | |
| Kilglass | 1825 – 1900 | 1825 – 1900 | 1825 – 1867 |
| Killery & Killanummery (Partly Co. Leitrim) | 1827 -1899 | ||
| Killoran | 1878 – 1881 | 1846 – 1912 | |
| Kilmacshalgan | 1868 – 1903 | 1868 – 1891 | |
| Kilmacteigue | 1845 – 1899 | 1848 – 1899 | |
| Kilshalvey*, Kilturra & Cloonoghill | 1842 – 1899 | 1840 – 1892 | |
| * (Gaps in Kilshalvey Baptisms from 1873 – 1885) | |||
| Riverstown* | 1803 – 1900 | 1803 – 1899 | 1836 – 1843 |
| *(Gap in Riverstown Marriages from 1829 – 1836) | |||
| Skreen* & Dromard | 1823 – 1892 | 1817 – 1910 | 1825 – 1843 |
| * (No Marriage Records for Skreen from 1860-1867) | |||
| Sligo* | 1831 – 1899 | 1831 – 1899 | 1831 – 1848 |
| * (No Marriage Records for Sligo from 1855-1858) | |||
| Templeboy* | 1815 – 1899 | 1815 – 1899 | 1815 – 1833 |
| * ( No Baptismal Records from 1838 – 1868) | * (No Marriage Records for Templeboy from 1837-1875) |
The Church of Ireland Register
The Church of Ireland, as the Established Church, had a more regular system of recording entries, using formatted books long before its Catholic counterpart, making their registers easier to research.
The commencement dates for the various parishes are outlined in the following tables.
| Parish | Baptisms | Marriages | Deaths |
| Achonry | 1845 – 1899 | ||
| Aghanagh | 1856 – 1990 | 1857 – 1987 | 1856 – 1989 |
| Ahamlish | 1882 – 1898 | 1847 – 1897 | 1887 – 1893 |
| Ballisodare | 1875 -1899 | 1877 – 1899 | |
| Ballysumaghan & Killery | 1844 -1974 | 1846 – 1956 | 1850 – 1956 |
| Calry | |||
| Castlemore | |||
| Dromard (Beltra) | 1895 – 1901 | 1845 -1899 | 1895 – 1987 |
| Drumcliff | 1805 -1890 | 1845 -1899 | 1805 – 1902 |
| Easkey | 1822 – 1900 | 1822 – 1898 | 1822 – 1988 |
| Emlefad & Kilmorgan | 1762 – 1921 | 1762 – 1895 | 1762 – 1893 |
| Glenade | |||
| Killoran (Rathbarron) | 1877 – 1899 | 1845 – 1900 | 1896 – 1986 |
| St. John’s Union | 1802 – 1900 | 1802 – 1899 | 1802 – 1899 |
| Skreen | 1877 – 1902 | 1846 – 1901 | 1877 – 1981 |
| Tawnagh (Riverstown) | 1877 – 1900 | 1845 – 1901 | 1877 – 1988 |
| Tubbercurry (St. George’s) | 1877 – 1900 | 1846 – 1899 | 1877 – 1889 |
| Kilglass | 1886 -1900 | 1845 -1898 | 1886 – 1908 |
| Killanley (Castleconnor) | 1835 -1900 | 1835 – 1896 | 1834 – 1988 |
| Kilfree & Killaraght | 1878 – 1898 | ||
| Kilmactranny | 1817 – 1919 | 1817 – 1954 | 1817 -1983 |
| Kilmacshalgan | 1880 – 1900 | 1840 – 1899 | 1883 – 1988 |
| Kilmacteigue | 1877 -1900 | 1851 – 1953 | 1884 – 1898 |
| St. Anne’s (Knocknarea) | 1842 -1899 | 1843 – 1898 | 1842 – 1899 |
Presbyterian Register
| Baptisms | Marriages | Deaths | |
| Sligo Circuit | 1806 – 1899 | 1845 – 1899 | |
| Dromore West | 1849 -1934 | 1854 – 1945 | |
Methodist Register
| Baptisms | Marriages | Deaths |
| Sligo Circuit | 1819 – 1899 | 1846 – 1899 |