Introduction to Civil Parish Reports for County and Diocese of Derry
The key to unlocking Irish family history origins is the knowledge of place.
From a family historian’s perspective, the most effective way to view Ireland is as a country that is subdivided into 32 counties, which in turn are subdivided into 2,508 civil parishes, and which in turn are subdivided into 60,462 townlands.
Many record sources of value, both civil and church, to family historians were compiled and recorded by parish. By mid-19th century, County Derry was subdivided into 46 civil parishes. Realistic genealogical research, in the absence of indexes and databases, generally requires knowledge of the parish in which your ancestor lived.
In addition, the Diocese of Derry extended into Inishowen and the Finn Valley in County Donegal and into north and west Tyrone as far south as Omagh. Civil parish reports are also provided for these parishes in counties Donegal and Tyrone, which were part of the Diocese of Derry, as this larger area was effectively the catchment area for people departing Derry port for a new life in North America and further afield.
Each parish report describes and locates the parish and details the major record sources for that parish: Church Registers, their religious denomination and commencement dates; Graveyards and their location in mid-19th century; and Census Returns and Census Substitutes dating from 1663 to 1911.