This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about Irish Civil Registration (LOL), but here goes: The government began registering all non-Catholic marriages on April 1, 1845. ALL Irish births, deaths and marriages were registered beginning on January 1, 1864. Prior to these dates, records of births, deaths and marriages were kept by the church. The indexes prior to 1878 are arranged alphabetically by year. After 1878, they are alphabetical, but divided by quarter. The index will give you the following information: individual's name, district, volume and page number for the registration entry. (Death indexes list the age at death.) Birth indexes for the Republic of Ireland after 1927, also give the mother's maiden name. The Civil Registration Indexes can be found at the LDS. (They go up to 1958/1959.) I have a list of 'tips' for searching the indexes that I'd be happy to send to the list if interested. Take care, Tracy