CHURCH OF IRELAND NOTES
For Saturday 8 August 1998

Summertime and the Genealogists

August is traditionally the month of holidays for the Church of Ireland community. Schools are out, parish clubs and organizations are suspended, the councils of the Church, at all levels, are prorogued, and many of the clergy are freed from their parish responsibilities. Yet this is also the peak of the tourist season and, as a recent article in The Irish Times pointed out, an increasingly evident theme in the promotion of Irish tourism is heritage and, in particular, genealogy.

Church of Ireland parish registers are a vital source for many visiting genealogists and for them immediate access to these records is a matter of prime importance. In recent years considerable progress has been made in the care and custody of Church of Ireland records and many registers are now easily accessible. All Church of Ireland parish registers in Northern Ireland are available in copy form in the Public Record Office in Belfast while in the Republic non-current records have been gradually transferred to the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin which has been developed as the Church's principal repository for its archives and manuscripts. Records from over 600 parishes are now available, within minutes, to readers in the RCB Library and records continue to be transferred to the Library.

However, many parish collections remain in the custody of the local clergy and access to these records is, from time to time problematic. Clergy and parish officers may be on holiday, especially at this time of the year; the parish may be vacant, and sometimes vacancies are prolonged; and clergy, particularly in busy urban areas or in widespread rural locations, may not always be able to meet genealogists within the visitors' limited timespan.

Various local indexing projects can make information from parish registers available to researchers and this reduces demands on local custodians and reduces wear and tear on the original registers. However, the Church of Ireland has an enduring responsibility for the safety of the original records and has sought to exercise this responsibility by providing purpose built archival accommodation at the RCB Library where the records are professionally managed. This facility is freely available to all who have custody of Church of Ireland archives.

Details of the holdings of RCB Library and general information on Church of Ireland records may be had from the Representative Church Body Library, Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14 (tele. 01-4923979; fax. 01-4924770). The Church of Ireland website (http://www.ireland.anglican.org/) includes a page on genealogical searches which aims to prepare genealogists for some of the particular demands of family history in Ireland.

Today (Saturday) the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis will sing Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin where they will sing the services tomorrow (Sunday).

Tomorrow (Sunday) RTE will broadcast Morning Service from Holy Trinity Church, Templebreedy, Crosshaven, where the rector is the Revd Lionel Mackey while BBC Radio Ulster will carry a service from the Church of St John the Baptist, Agherton, Portstewart, conducted by the Revd Patrick Rooke.

On Monday the Oscar Fredriks Chamber Choir from Gothenburg, Sweden, will give a concert in Christ Church, Clifden and this thirty strong ensemble will sing again on Wednesday in St Patrick's Church, Greystones. In Dublin the choir of St Peter's Church, Bexhill will sing Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday while on Wednesday the Christ Church Organ Scholar, Stephen Mailey, will give the lunchtime organ recital in St Patrick's Cathedral.

 Church of Ireland Notes appear in the Irish Times whose web site may be found at http://www.ireland.com/