Probate Records
Probate records are court records that deal with the distribution of the persons estate. Not every person who died left a probate estate. Most wills left property to the male heir. Some times the estate will contain children's names and spouse's name.
Pre-1858
Irish probates prior to 1858 were handled by the ecclesiastical courts (from 1536-1858). Most probate wills recorded during this period were destroyed in the 1922 fire in Dublin. Fortunately, prior to the fire the wills and admons had been indexed. Most of the indexes survived the fire and have been microfilmed through the LDS Church.
Post 1857 Probate Courts
In 1858, the government began to approve wills and administrations. Eleven district registries and a Principal Probate Registry in Dublin replaced the church probate courts. All the copies of wills and administrations, originals and all the records of the Principal Probate Registry, and all probate records from Dublin and Kildare were destroyed by the fire in 1922.
Copies of other registries and those of Northern Ireland are gathered at the National Archives and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
