Knowledge Graph
for Irish HistoryThe Knowledge Graph for Irish History is a dynamic research tool enabling discovery of information about Ireland’s deep history.
The Knowledge Graph for Irish History
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Ready to explore? Here are some suggested starting points
Suggested starting points
Welcome to the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland
VRTI is an all-island and international research partnership hosted by Trinity College Dublin, working to reconstruct the Public Record Office of Ireland — a magnificent archive destroyed in 1922 at the outset of the Civil War. This is an ever-growing, open-access resource, freely and permanently available online to all those interested in Ireland’s deep history, at home and abroad.
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Portals
Population Portal
17th – 19th Centuries
Discover name-rich population records from Hearth Money Rolls (17th Century) to the pre-Famine Censuses (19th Century)
The Age of Revolution
18th – 19th Centuries
Discover how Ireland was transformed between 1760 and 1830 during the global Age of Revolution
The Age of Conquest
12th – 15th Centuries
Discover how Ireland was ruled in the centuries after the English conquest of 1169
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Gold Seams
Gleanings and Fragments from the Censuses of Ireland, 1813–1891
19th century
Curated by Dr Brian Gurrin
The Irish House of Commons, 1776–1801
18th Century
Parliamentary Debates from Legislative Independence to the Act of Union. Curated by Dr Joel Herman. Generously supported by the Fitzpatrick Family Foundation.
The Chief Secretary’s Papers, 1770-1830
18th – 19th Centuries
The Administration of Crisis, Conflict, and Control. In partnership with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Curated by Dr Timothy Murtagh.
1766 Religious Census
18th Century
Ireland's First Census. Curated by Dr Brian Gurrin. Generously supported by the Fitzpatrick Family Foundation.
State Papers Ireland, 1660–1715
17th – 18th centuries
Transforming access to the records of early modern Ireland. Curated by Dr Neil Johnston with Simon Neal, The National Archives (UK)
Cromwellian Surveys
17th Century
Cromwellian land surveys including volumes from the Books of Survey and Distribution, the Civil Survey and maps from the Down Survey of Ireland. Curated by Dr David Brown.
Fiants of Tudor Monarchs
16th – 17th centuries
Originally calendared by the Public Record Office of Ireland Between 1875 and 1886. Curated by Dr Peter Crooks, Dr Eamonn Kenny and Sadhbh Dunne.
CIRCLE 2.0
1244 – 1509
A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters, 1244 – 1509. The inspiration and foundation collection for VRTI. Edited by Dr Peter Crooks.
Royal Revenue, 1270-1450
1270 – 1450
The culmination of five years’ work to fully digitise and translate the largest series of late-medieval Irish documents in The National Archives (UK). Curated by Dr Elizabeth Biggs with Dr Paul Dryburgh and Dr Peter Crooks.
Deeds of the Guild of St Anne, 1237 – 1778
13th - 18th centuries
Illuminating five centuries of Dublin’s History in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy and the Irish Manuscripts Commission. Curated by Dr Lynn Kilgallon and Dr Theresa O'Byrne, with Dr Peter Crooks, Sadhbh Dunne, and Dr Éamonn Kenny.
Parchment Conquest, 1171–1307
12th - 14th centuries
150th Anniversary Digital Edition of A Calendar of Documents Relating to Ireland (CDI 2.0). In partnership with The National Archives UK.
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Curated Collections
Census Reports, 1821-1891
19th centuryPublished Reports and UK Parliamentary Papers on the Censuses of Ireland. Curated by Dr Brian Gurrin.
The Calendars of the Rebellion Papers (1790-1808)
18th centuryExploring Dublin Castle’s Secret Archive (1790-1808), in partnership with National Archives, Ireland. Curated by Dr Timothy Murtagh.
Home Office and Ireland, 1782 – 1851
18th centuryFrom Rebellion to Union. In partnership with The National Archives UK. Curated by Dr Timothy Murtagh with Dr Neil Johnston.
The papers of William Molyneux and the Dublin Philosophical Society
17th – 18th centuryExploring the Irish past: stories from pre-modern Ireland. Curated by Dr Eamon Darcy and Dr Ciarán Wallace
Dublin Gazette, 1750-1800
18th centuryPublished by Authority. Curated by Dr Ciarán Wallace and Dr Eamonn Kenny in partnership with the Oireachtas Library.
The Registry of Deeds
18th centuryExploring Eighteenth-Century Irish Property Records in partnership with Tailte Eireann. Curated by Dr Brendan Twomey and Dr Patrick Walsh.
Map Room
15th — 20th centuriesCurated by Dr David Brown with the L. Brown Collection and Participating Institutions.
Grand Jury Records and Maps
19th — 20th centuriesIn partnership with Local Government Archivists and Records Managers.
Wills (1536–1813) from the Prerogative Court of Armagh
16th – 19th centuryIndexed by Sir Arthur Vicars in 1897 and curated by the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland in 2025.
Philadelphia Papers
17th centuryIreland’s historical collections have been scattered far and wide. Now, for the first time, many of them can be reunited on screen.
Irish Kings and English Rulers
13th – 15th centuriesIn partnership with The National Archives UK. Curated by Dr Elizabeth Biggs with Dr Paul Dryburgh.
Memoranda Rolls: Originals, Copies and Extracts
12th — 15th centuriesMoney, memory and malpractice in the Irish medieval memoranda rolls, in partnership with National Archives, Ireland. Curated by Dr Elizabeth Biggs.
Christ Church Deeds
12th – 19th centuriesExplore the earliest collection of records in the Public Record Office of Ireland. Curated by Dr Stuart Kinsella in partnership with Representative Church Body Library and Christ Church Cathedral.
Merchants and Mariners in Medieval Ireland
14th – 15th centuriesCurated by Dr Daryl Hendley Rooney in partnership with Timothy O'Neill.
Deputy Keeper’s Reports
19th — 20th centuriesSearch the annual reports of Ireland's chief archivist
PROI Publications
19th centuryExplore seminal publications by the Public Record Office of Ireland before the blaze.
Deep History, Deepening Connections
Check out some of the presentations from our July 2023 Virtual Treasury 101 Research Showcase: "Into the Past + Back to the Future".
Retracing Archival Footsteps (Sarah Hendriks)
From Rebellion to Union: the Home Office and Ireland 1793–1803 (Tim Murtagh)
Irish Kings and English Rulers in the Middle Ages (Paul Dryburgh and Elizabeth Biggs)
1922 Salved Records: Conserving Ireland's "lost' archive (Jessica Baldwin)
Censuses of Ireland, 1813–1851 (Brian Gurrin)
Hidden Stories
Copying Magna Carta for an Irish context.
James Ware, Magna Carta Hiberniae and the Armagh Robinson Collection
‘Distrusting Irish Information’: Dublin Castle and the Campaign for Catholic Emancipation
‘A Victory Achieved by the Populace’: The Waterford Election of 1826
Lord Anglesey in Ireland, 1828-1833
Governing in the Era of Catholic Emancipation
William and Samuel Molyneux, Astronomers
of Castle Dillon, Armagh.
The 1766 religious census of Ireland (5 March – 5 May 1766)
Registry of Deeds: Memorial One
Interpreting a Memorial Record
A Charmed Life: Prayers, Property, and Perseverance in St Anne’s Guild
Finding Women’s Voices in the Rebellion Papers
Testimonies, Petitions, and Letters from 1798
The Discovery of Newgrange
Letter from Edward Lhuyd, January 29, 1700 respecting the cave at New Grange
