What is the difference between a civil parish and a church parish in Irish records?
They are two maps of the same ground drawn for different purposes. A civil parish is a state division, based on the old Church of Ireland parish of the same name, and the state's records are filed by it: the Tithe Applotment Books, Griffith's Valuation and the census returns all run by civil parish and townland. A church parish is where a congregation was baptised and married, and it answers to its own denomination. Church of Ireland parishes usually match the civil parish. Catholic parishes often do not: one Catholic parish can cover several civil parishes, or part of one, and its name may differ from all of them. Research needs both names, the civil parish to find the land and census records, and the church parish to find the register.
Useful pages: The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · The 1926 Census guide · Coming home · Irish around the world · Plan your journey
Sources
- Placenames Database of Ireland: townland, parish and barony records, logainm.ie
More in Surnames and your Irish roots
- Where does the Irish Escapes surname information come from?
- What does the surname map actually show: where a name lives now or where it was rooted in 1890?
- How do I find my surname, its Irish form, meaning and heartland counties?
- My surname is not among the 795 mapped names. What should I do next?
- Does an Irish surname mean I can claim a family coat of arms?