The 1922 Public Record Office of Ireland Fire
On 30 June 1922, a devastating explosion and fire swept through the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI) in Dublin. The blaze broke out during the Battle of the Four Courts at the beginning of the Irish Civil War, when an ammunition store inside the complex detonated under artillery fire. Burning debris fell onto the archive building, and within hours, seven centuries of Irish records were destroyed.
Written by GenealogyDirect
What Went Up in Flames?
The PROI served as Ireland’s central repository for historical and administrative records. Almost everything stored in its six-story Record Treasury was lost, including:
1. Church of Ireland parish registers
About half of all Church of Ireland parishes had deposited their older baptism, marriage, and burial registers in the PROI. All deposited volumes were destroyed. Catholic registers survived because they were kept locally.
2. Pre-1901 census returns
The 1821, 1831, 1841, and 1851 censuses perished. Combined with the earlier disposal of the 1861–1891 returns, only the 1901 and 1911 censuses survive in full today.
3. Wills and probate records
Original wills and probate files for the entire island were kept in the PROI and were almost entirely lost, apart from indexes and abstracts preserved elsewhere.
4. Court, legal, and government archives
Centuries of court cases, parliamentary papers, tax files, state documents, and administrative records disappeared in the fire.
5. Historic land and property records
Many deeds, estate papers, and maps stored in the PROI were destroyed. The Registry of Deeds survived because it was housed in a separate building.
What Survived?
Despite the scale of the disaster, several essential collections remain available:
- Civil birth, marriage, and death records
- Catholic parish registers
- 1901 and 1911 census returns
- Registry of Deeds records from 1708 onward
- A number of charred fragments from the ruins, now digitized
How to Continue Your Research Despite the Loss
Although the 1922 fire created major gaps, many strategies allow researchers to continue building Irish family histories.
1. Use the surviving national records
Civil registration, Catholic registers, the 1901–1911 censuses, and the Registry of Deeds form the backbone of Irish research today.
2. Turn to record substitutes
Sources such as Griffith’s Valuation, valuation revision books, newspapers, estate papers, and street directories often offer information that replaces lost parish registers and census entries.
3. Explore modern reconstruction projects
Initiatives like Beyond 2022: The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland digitally rebuild parts of the lost archive using fragments, overseas copies, and pre-1922 transcripts.
4. Apply cluster research techniques
When direct records are missing, research into neighbors, godparents, witnesses, and associated families can reveal origins and connections.