Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths for the whole population of Ireland, started in 1864. The civil parish was an important administrative unit used for land and taxation purposes. Many Irish records used in genealogy are arranged by civil parish, such as the Tithe Applotments etc. When Civil Registration began only non-Catholic marriages were recorded starting April 1, 1845. It wasn't until January 1, 1864 that Catholics were expected to comply with the reporting requirements and from this date all marriages, births and deaths were recorded in earnest.
The regulations required that births be reported by someone present at the birth. The information reported included the child's name, if one had been given, the date and place of the birth, the child's sex, the father's name, occupation and residence, the mother's name, including her maiden surname, and information about the informant.
