The Importance of Wills In Irish Genealogy

Wills are a vital source of information in genealogy. They take on a greater resonance in Ireland, where there's really no 19th century census material available to study. Irish wills give you a picture of a family - not only what someone owned, but also of relationships within the immediate and extended family. The information you gain from a will can significantly further your family history knowledge.
What An Irish Will Tells You For Family History
Most wills, be they Irish or otherwise, are going to give you the same basic information about the testator - name, address and occupation, along with when the will was made and when it passed through probate, as well as the names of the executors. However, that's just the beginning. You'll also learn about the beneficiaries, sometimes even their addresses and occupations, as well as details of loves and hates within the family. Even where the facts aren't directly useful, they help paint a broader picture of your ancestor to fill out a family history.Irish Wills, Probate And Genealogy
The Church of Ireland Consistorial Courts in each diocese had responsibility for granting probate in Irish wills (which means authenticating the will and granting executors the power to administer the deceased's estate) until 1857.After the Probate Act of 1857, things shifted from ecclesiastical to secular hands, to the Principal Registry in Dublin, which controlled eleven District Registries. Sadly the majority of their records were destroyed in a 1922 fire. However, a number of Will Book transcripts survived (for Cork, Ballina, Limerick, Cavan, Kilkenny, Mullingar, Waterford and Tuam) and you can find these in the National Archives, with the ones for Northern Ireland in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. The indexes for the Will and Grant books also survived and these too are in the National Archives, which are a great genealogy resource. They're in alphabetical order, with the testator's address, the year of probate and if you're lucky, his occupation. You can also find administration bonds indexes, for those who died intestate. These are arranged annually, under the initial letter of the surname of the deceased. You'll be able to learn the year of the bond, the full name of the deceased and in most cases his address, so a genealogy search can help you find good basic information on your ancestor at least..