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 Latest Irish Genealogy News

Rolling news for Irish family historians
Last updated on 1 May 2026

Irish Genealogy News: May 2026

The Search Room and Reading Room of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast will be open from 10am-8pm on selected Thursdays and from 10am-2pm on selected Saturdays, as follows: 

Saturday 2 May

Thursday 21 May

Saturday 6 June

Thursday 18 June

Outside of these dates, opening hours are 9am-4.45pm, Monday to Friday only.

Please also note that PRONI will be closed for both of this month's bank holidays, on Monday 4 May and Monday 25 May.

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Irish Genealogy News: April 2026

Ireland, National Census Reports 1926-1991: Containing 17,068 pages of government-produced reports and statistics pulled from the census returns, this collection provides information about the world and society in which your 20th-century Irish ancestors lived. Among the topics you can explore are population density, employment levels, household sizes, housing conditions, the main local and regional industries, and much more.

The National Archives of Ireland has released the 1926 Census of the Irish Free State. It covers all 26 counties that now make up the Republic of Ireland and offers details of just under three million individuals. 

The collection is free to search and you can also download images of the census returns without charge. You don't even need to log-in. 

Work to check, refine and complete the data is ongoing. Updated and corrected information, including a small number of households which have been incorrectly linked to the wrong townland, will be released in phases over the coming year.

Find out more about the phased release programme here.

FindMyPast has updated a tiddler-sized collection of employment records - Ireland, Dublin Port Employment Records, 1862-1925. Absolutely no information about this collection is provided. Maybe some will come along after Easter. 

(I'm assuming this is an extended version or sister register of the Names Book held by Dublin Port, which was launched online a few years back. However, that Book covers only those manual workers (but not dockers) employed between 1906 and 1925. You can search the Name Book here. It's free and there are also historical maps and photos of the port on the website.)

The FindMyPast record set consists of 1,636 employment records dating back to 1862. An example is a record of one William Byrne who entered service at the Port aged 32 in 1874. He was a Lightkeeper on the North Wall. He must have been thrilled when his pay of 4 shillings was increased in 1911 to 4 shillings and sixpence when he was promoted to Principal LightKeeper. He was suspended from duty from 3-17 August having been absent on 1 August and then retired with a pension on 19 August 1915.

FindMyPast (UK only) is offering a range of discounts across its subscription offers. These reduce the costs as follows:

20% off 1-month subscription was £24.49, now £19.59

20% off 3-month subscription, was £59.99, now £47.99

30% 0ff 12-month subscription, was £169.99, now £118.99. 

For more details, click the image above. 

The offer is available until 11.59pm BST on 13th April 2026. Terms and conditions apply.

Over the course of March, Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGPA) uploaded new or additional materials to the following record sets:

• Donegal - Headstones Christ Church, Buncrana - Updated
• Londonderry - Headstones Alla Municipal Cemetery, Claudy
• Roscommon - Miscellaneous Labourers in Stokestown - 1820-21
• Wexford - Headstones St. Munn's Graveyard, Taghmon

IGPA is free to explore. The records are donated by Irish family historians for the benefit of other researchers and is entirely managed by volunteers. 

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