# Catholic Archives — catholicarchives.ie

> Free online access to archival records of Irish Catholic religious institutions, hosted on the AtoM (Access to Memory) open-source archival platform. Run by Boyne Archives (boynearchives.ie), a professional archivist service based in Ireland.

## About This Site
Catholic Archives is a shared multi-repository AtoM instance providing searchable, standards-compliant (ISAD(G), ISAAR(CPF)) access to the records of Irish Catholic religious orders and institutions. All holdings are freely accessible to the public.

## Hosted Repositories
- /little-sisters-of-the-poor-18: Little Sisters of the Poor — Irish province
- /glenstal-abbey-archive: Glenstal Abbey Archive — Benedictine monastery near Limerick, Ireland
- /sisters-of-st-joseph-chambery-3: Sisters of St Joseph of Chambery — Ireland
- /passionists: Passionist Congregation — Scottish province
- /irish-vincentian-archive: Irish Vincentian Archive — Vincentian Fathers, Irish province
- /irish-capuchin-archives-6: Irish Capuchin Archives — Capuchin Franciscan province of Ireland
- /st-gabriels-retreat-the-graan-enniskillen-25: St Gabriel's Retreat, The Graan, Enniskillen
- /dublin-diocesan-archives-3: Dublin Diocesan Archives — Archdiocese of Dublin
- /carmelites-irish-province-archives: Carmelites Irish Province Archives
- /presentation-sisters-congregational-archives-3: Presentation Sisters Congregational Archives
- /poor-clare-galway-convent: Poor Clare Convent, Galway
- /rosminian-congregation-ireland-usa: Rosminian Congregation (Ireland and USA)
- /sisters-of-our-lady-of-apostles-district-of-ireland: Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles, Ireland
- /holy-ghost-fathers-spiritans-archives: Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) Archives — Irish province
- /limerick-diocese-2: Diocese of Limerick Archives
- /diocese-of-cashel-2: Diocese of Cashel Archives
- /the-missionary-society-of-st-columban-2: Missionary Society of St Columban

## FAQ
- /index.php/faq: Frequently Asked Questions — what the site is, which archives are hosted, how to search, access policy, standards used

## Key Browse Pages
- /repositories: All hosted repositories
- /informationobject/browse: Browse all archival descriptions
- /actor/browse: Browse authority records (persons, families, corporate bodies)

## Standards Used
- ISAD(G) — General International Standard Archival Description
- ISAAR(CPF) — International Standard Archival Authority Record
- IIIF — International Image Interoperability Framework (for digitised material)

## Operator
Boyne Archives / Matthew Bruton — professional archivist, Ireland
Related site: https://catholicarchives.co.uk (UK-focused AtoM instance)

## Irish History Resources Guide
- /index.php/irish-history-resources: Comprehensive guide to online resources for researching Irish history — covers national archives, church and religious archives, genealogy and civil records, digitised newspapers, manuscript collections, historical maps, and diaspora resources. Compiled by Boyne Archives using multi-stage verification. Last updated March 2026. Includes approximately 80 resources across 8 categories with Twitter/X handles for each institution.

### Categories covered on the Irish History Resources page
- National Archives & Libraries: NAI, NLI, PRONI, Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, Military Archives, National Museum, Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dictionary of Irish Biography
- Church & Religious Archives: catholicarchives.ie, catholicarchives.co.uk, catholichistory.ie, NLI Parish Registers, O Fiaich Library, Salamanca Archive at Maynooth, Sisters of Mercy, Spiritans, Columbans, Dublin and Derry dioceses, Glenstal Abbey
- Genealogy & Civil Records: IrishGenealogy.ie covering births 1864-1925, marriages 1845-1950, deaths 1871-1975; GRONI; census 1901/1911; 1926 Census due April 2026; VRTI Population Portal 100,000+ names; RootsIreland 25 million+ records; Findmypast; Ancestry; Irish Deeds Index; Will Calendars; Landed Estates Database; Ulster Historical Foundation
- Digitised Newspapers: Irish Newspaper Archive 260+ titles 1738-present; British Newspaper Archive 160+ Irish titles; Irish Times 1859-present; Belfast Newsletter Index 1737-1800
- Manuscripts & Academic: Irish Script on Screen 450+ manuscripts; TCD Digital Collections; 1641 Depositions; JSTOR Ireland; Marsh's Library; Duchas 500,000+ folklore pages; Digital Repository of Ireland
- Maps & Historical Geography: Down Survey GIS 1656-1658; NLI Map Collections; Tailte Eireann historic OS maps; PRONI Historical Maps Viewer Northern Ireland only; RIA Ordnance Survey Archive
- Specialist Collections: Great Famine GIS at UCC; IrishFamine.ie Heroes of the Famine; RIA Annals of the Four Masters; NLI Gaelic Manuscripts; VRTI Gold Seams; local authority archives for Cork, Limerick, Donegal, Galway, Kerry
- Diaspora: UK National Archives; Irish in Britain; Dunbrody Emigration Database; Library and Archives Canada; National Library of Australia and Trove including AJCP and O Farrell Collection; The Southern Cross Argentina 1875-present