The ‘War to end all Wars’ came to an end on Monday 11th November 1918. After over four years of fighting and death, it was finally over. The sense of relief is captured in the pages of the weekly newspaper, …

Church of Ireland Gazette coverage of WWI, November 1918 Read more »

The Representative Church Body Library currently holds 1,114 collections of parish records covering a variety of time spans (some dating back to medieval times, but most from the late 17th Century onwards). They contain a wide variety of sources relating …

The importance of parish records: the case of Shrule, County Longford Read more »

The Representative Church Body Library has welcomed the announcement of a €100,000 capital grant towards the digitisation of Church of Ireland parish registers as part of the Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht’s digitisation scheme.  The funding was announced by …

Government grant for digitisation of Church of Ireland Parish Registers Read more »

In addition to approximately 70,000 books, the RCB Library is the repository for the records of some 1,110 parishes. These registers often contain baptism, marriage, and burial records, but also numerous other items, such as vestry books, account minutes, and …

The Caddy Caricature: Hidden Aspects in a Church of Ireland Parish Register Read more »

Another decade’s worth of editions of the weekly newspaper, the Church of Ireland Gazette, from 1924 to 1933, has just been digitized and uploaded online by the RCB Library, where they may be consulted as a freely-searchable resource. This means …

Human interest stories from the Gazette: the miraculous escape of St Mark’s church congregation, 1912 Read more »

The value of the Church of Ireland vestry minute book as a resource for social, economic, religious, and indeed legal history at parish level is immeasurable. A local historian and native of Roscommon, Alan Moran, has transcribed the entire content …

The Strokestown (Bumlin) Vestry Book, 1811-1870 Read more »

Sit back, relax, and read the hidden story behind the dismissal of the curate in the parish of Berehaven 150 years ago… Having discovered that not one but three addresses affirming support for Revd George F Stoney (1826-1869) had been …

Divided Loyalties in a West Cork Parish: the Revd George F Stoney of Berehaven Read more »

One of the fascinating aspects from the pages of the Church of Ireland Gazette (formerly Ecclesiastical Gazette up until 1900 and the Church’s weekly newspaper since 1856) are the lesser known stories that can be found when researching. Unearthing how Laragh Tin …

A weekend read: The Tin Church at Laragh, County Monaghan Read more »

The Representative Church Body Library, Dublin, has an exhibition showcasing some of its collection of miniature and small books available on display in the Library. Two particular items are worth noting: one is a miniature Bible presented to the Library by …

Little books with big interest at the RCB Library, Dublin Read more »