Searching by location
The online search facility also allows you to search for records by location. The basic topographical structure for the church records are: Diocesan Area (or more commonly, Diocese); Parochial Area (Parish); Townland or Street. When searching by location all records containing that location in one of the address or location fields are presented.
When searching for a street, parade, avenue, terrace, square, gardens etc., only put in the name of the street, without suffix e.g. Glengariff for Glengariff Parade, Mountjoy for Mountjoy Square, Park for Park Avenue.
Please be aware that a search by townland may not present the anticipated number of returns. Address information was not uniformly entered in the records and addresses were often not recorded at all. Furthermore, the spelling of townland names varies considerably, even where entered (e.g. Ballynagare, Ballinagar, Ballinagare, etc.).
Finally, over the period covered by the records, the traditional boundaries of townlands could have been prone to change or be mistaken. For instance, a family whose address is recorded variously as Ballynagare and Curraghcroneen may not necessarily have moved. Instead the clergyman completing the register may not have been sure of the boundary between these two adjoining townlands.
Two external online resources may be of assistance on topographical issues, particularly as they relate to townland names and locations. The Placenames Database of Ireland - Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann is a useful reference and can be accessed online at www.logainm.ie. This is a valuable resource for historians and researchers in genealogy and provides details on the location and meaning of placenames.
Ordnance Survey Ireland is the national mapping agency of the Republic of Ireland and is accessible online at www.osi.ie. This site contains an interactive map viewing facility which allows the user to view, not just maps of the locations but also aerial photographs of the area taken in 2000 and 2005.