Each district is divided into sub-districts, each of which has a registrar responsible for the registration of births, marriages, civil partnerships, and deaths in his or her area. Overall responsibility for a district is held by a superintendent registrar.
Registration districts are not always co-terminous with county boundaries, and so in the past were grouped into "registration counties" for statistical purposes. They remained in use for the census from 1851 to 1911.
Scotland
Registration districts in Scotland came into being with the introduction of civil registration there in 1855; away from the cities their boundaries usually coincided with civil parishes. Prior to 1 January 2007, registration districts did not coincide with council areas in many areas; commonly both geographically large and densely populated Council Areas had several registration districts, each with a registrar within easy reach of most residents. The Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 aligned the boundaries of registration districts (or groups thereof) with those of the 32 Scottish council areas. The Act also allows births and deaths to be registered with any registrar in Scotland, rather than solely in the registration district where the event occurred or in the registration district of usual residence.[1]
Ireland
There are approximately 164 Superintendent Registrar's Districts (SRDs) in Ireland and Northern Ireland; some were dissolved, split, or merged in the mid to late 1800s, and a few (such as Fingal) were created in the 1900s. Many of the SRDs share the name of the Irish county in which most of their land exists: Specifically, the SRDs of Londonderry, Donegal, Antrim, Sligo, Monaghan, Armagh, Cavan, Longford, Roscommon, Galway, Kilkenny, Carlow, Limerick, Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford, and Cork. However, the SRDs follow the general outlines of Poor Law Unions that preceded them (see accompanying map), and often overlap across two or more counties. SRDs are also distinct from civil and ecclesiastical parishes.[2][3][4]
When searching for the birth, marriage, or death record of an Irish ancestor, you need to know or at least have a good idea of the specific SRD and townland in order to find the record in the databases.
Starting from the northwestern tip of the island, including both Ireland (the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland, and moving successively southward as if reading sentences in a book from left to right, the SRDs (with alternate spellings or new names) and the country or counties in which each one occurs are as follows:
Dunfanaghy – Donegal.
Milford (Millford) – Donegal.
Inishowen – Donegal.
Glenties – Donegal
Letterkenny – Donegal
Stranorlar (Stranolar, Strandlar) – Donegal
Strabane – Donegal, Tyrone
Derry – Londonderry, Donegal
Newtown – Londonderry
Limavady – Londonderry
Coleraine – Antrim, Londonderry
Ballymoney – Antrim, Londonderry
Ballymena – Antrim
Ballycastle – Antrim
Larne – Antrim
Donegal – Donegal
Castlederg – Tyrone
Irvinestown – Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone
Omagh – Tyrone
Gortin – Tyrone
Gortin was abolished in 1889 and its land split between Omagh and Strabane.
Cookstown – Tyrone
Dungannon – Tyrone
Magherafelt – Londonderry
Antrim – Antrim
Belfast – Antrim, Down
Newtownards – Down
Sligo – Sligo
Ballyshannon – Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim
Manor Hamilton (Manorhamilton) – Leitrim
Enniskillen – Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone
Lisnaskea – Cavan, Fermanagh
Clones – Fermanagh, Monaghan
Clogher – Monaghan, Tyrone
Monaghan – Monaghan
Armagh – Armagh, Tyrone
Lurgan – Antrim, Armagh, Down
Banbridge – Armagh, Down
Lisburn – Antrim, Down
Downpatrick – Down
Dromore West – Sligo
Tobercurry – Sligo
Boyle – Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo
Carrick on Shannon – Leitrim, Roscommon
Bawnboy – Cavan, Leitrim
Mohill – Leitrim
Cavan – Cavan
Cootehill – Cavan, Monaghan
Castleblayney (Castleblaney) – Armagh, Monaghan
Carrickmacross – Monaghan
Dundalk – Armagh, Louth, Monaghan
Newry – Armagh, Down
Kilkeel – Down
Belmullet – Mayo
Killala – Mayo
Ballina – Mayo, Sligo
Ballina was reduced in size in 1850, creating Killala and Belmullet.
Swineford (Swinford) – Mayo, Roscommon
Castlerea (Castlereagh) – Mayo, Roscommon
Strokestown – Leitrim, Roscommon
Longford – Longford
Granard – Cavan, Longford, Westmeath
Oldcastle – Cavan, Meath
Bailieborough (Bailieboro) – Cavan, Meath
Kells (Ceanannus Mor in Irish) – Cavan, Meath
Navan (An Uaimh in Irish) – Meath
Ardee – Louth, Meath
Drogheda – Louth, Meath
Newport – Mayo
Newport was abolished in 1886 and its land merged into Westport.
^[Index of Townlands http://www.irishancestors.ie/search/townlands/index.php]
Registration Districts of Ireland, Michael J. Thompson, copyright 2009, 2012. This document and its contents are made available for non‐commercial use only.
External links
Status details for Registration District (A Vision of Britain)
Registration Districts in England and Wales (1837–1974) (GENUKI/UK BMD)
General Register Office for Scotland: List of Parishes and Registration Districts (GROS)
Analysis of the Response to the second Consultation on Proposals to Improve and Modernise the Registration Service in Scotland (Scottish Executive)