Compulsory civil registration of non-Roman Catholic marriages began on 1st of April 1845,and the registration of births, deaths and all marriages commenced on 1st January 1864. The General Register Office (GRO), which is located in Lombard Street Dublin, holds copies of all civil records for the whole of Ireland, from the commencement of registration, up to and including the year 1921. >From 1922 onwards, the GRO holds copies of the records for the Republic of Ireland only, those records for the six counties of Northern Ireland are held by the Public Records Office in Belfast, Co. Antrim. Index Books at the Gro have to be asked for at the counter and a fee is paid for the use of these books, and sometimes if you dont get there early enough you have to wait for the books to become free to use yourself. If you find a name and reference in the index you can get a photocopy but sometimes the staff decide that they are not doing it while you wait and it is posted out to you.at a fee of 1.90 euro each.( Document) The opening times are Monday to Friday only, 9.30 to 12.30 and 2.15 to 4.30. There is usually a queue in the street before each session but be aware that some are there to register the new citizens of Ireland and not seek their ancestors. Some Parish registers do exist but it is hard to pin the parish priest to a viewing, him not being interested in Geneology but some within the parish are but without a county, townland, barony or even sometimes a poor law union it is hard to find ones ancestors. Representative Church Body ( who do not do lookups) hold most Church of Ireland records, but as you have all been told from time to time that a lot of Irish records no longer exist if they were not burnt in the fire at the Four Courts or bombed in the 1913 Uprising they were trashed to help the war effort. Cheers Cara