Civil registration of marriages in Ireland began April 1st, 1845, with the registration of non-Catholic marriages as part of the Irish Marriage Act (1844).[1] This legislation covered the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Jewish marriage. There was also a provision for secular marriage in a Registry Office, but this was relatively rare in comparison to church weddings.
This legislation involved the registration of places of public worship where marriages could legally take place. All Church of Ireland pre-existing churches were automatically registered. Presbyterian meeting houses and other religious buildings also had to be registered. The law mandated that registrars had to be present at a meeting house or separate building for the marriage to be lawful. Registrars collected registers of marriages from every relevant minister every three months and submitted these quarterly returns to the Registrar General in Dublin.
The marriage was registered with the local registrar, usually the relieving officer or dispensary doctor of the local Poor Law Union. The registers were then sent to Dublin where they were copied, with the original register returned to the Registration District.[2]
Northern Ireland came into official existence following the partition of Ireland in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.[3] With the creation of Northern Ireland, anyone who had been married in the six counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, between 1864 and 1921, now had their records moved from the General Register Office in Dublin to the newly established General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI).[4] GRONI exists within the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), which in turn is part of the Northern Ireland Executive's Department of Finance.[5] As of 2017, the main office for GRONI and NISRA is located at Colby House, Stranmillis Court, Belfast.[6] Prior to this they were located at Oxford House, Chichester Street in Belfast City Centre.[7]
Finding Northern Irish Civil Marriage Records OnlineFinding Northern Irish Civil Marriage Records Online
Like the Republic of Ireland, indexes for civil registration records in Northern Ireland are available to search on MyHeritage from 1864-1958. Images of Northern Irish marriage records older than 75 years can also be accessed for free through Irishgenealogy.ie.[8]
However, if you need to order a copy of a birth certificate for someone married in Northern Ireland, then you can do so through the GRONI online search.[9] In order to use the search function, it is necessary to create an account with GRONI and then purchase credits.[10] A search will show the number of matches which satisfy your search criteria. You have the option to view the first page of ten basic index results for free. When you view enhanced or full view you will use your credits.
A free name search is also available. You don’t need to register or log in to use the free name search. This search will return the number of records that match in each of the registration types which are birth, death or marriage. You may search a five-year range, for example 1868 to 1872, if you don’t know the exact year of birth.[11]
It is also possible to gain access to the GRONI search system through the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Computer terminals with dedicated connection to the General Register Office of Northern Ireland have been installed in PRONI's Search Room and are available to researchers. This means that a visit to the GRONI reading room in Stranmillis is unnecessary. Researchers using the database on the Internet are restricted to historical marriage records under the 75-year rule, but access via the GRONI/PRONI computers does not have this restriction. Records can be searched right up to current registrations. It is a pay-to-search service, and users must register with GRONI using their website.[12]
The Record of Northern Ireland Connections (RNIC) registers births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and overseas relationships which happen outside Northern Ireland but are connected to Northern Ireland. Copies of records on the register have no legal value but are useful for family history research. Order forms for the records are available through the RNIC sections of the GRONI website.[13]
Ordering a Marriage Certificate in Northern IrelandOrdering a Marriage Certificate in Northern Ireland
You can order a marriage or a commemorative marriage certificate online through GRONI. You will need a credit or debit card and the following information:
- full names of the married couple
- bride's maiden name
- date and place of marriage
A certificate cannot be dispatched if you have not provided the full details needed when you order.[14]
References
- ↑ https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1844/act/81/enacted/en/html
- ↑ https://timeline.ie/irish-civil-registration-records-online/
- ↑ https://www.nationalarchives.ie/2021commemorationprogramme/the-treaty-1921-records-from-the-archives/
- ↑ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/family-history-heritage-and-museums/research-family-history-general
- ↑ https://www.nisra.gov.uk/
- ↑ https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/news/general-register-office-moves-its-public-office-colby-house
- ↑ https://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2016/03/groni-introduces-new-fee-tariff-from-4.html
- ↑ https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/
- ↑ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/go-groni-online
- ↑ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/register-groni-account
- ↑ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/go-groni-online
- ↑ https://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2023/06/new-dedicated-groni-computer-terminals.html
- ↑ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/record-northern-ireland-connections
- ↑ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/order-marriage-certificate-online