Free Irish and Scottish Genealogy Resources: Records, Maps, Archives and Tools

This page brings together free tools, archives, and research aids that can help you trace Irish and Scottish roots more effectively.

Some records are fully searchable online. Others help you identify a place, narrow a parish, or understand the landscape your family once knew.

Free Irish Research Resources

• IrishGenealogy.ie
• National Archives census search
• Older 1901/1911 census interface
• Tithe Applotment Books
• National Library of Ireland Catholic Parish Registers
• Ask About Ireland

Free Scottish Research Resources

• ScotlandsPeople guides
• National Records of Scotland Family History guide
• ScotlandsPeople search records
• ScotlandsPeople church registers guide

Free Research Help on This Site

• Start Your Irish and Scottish Roots Journey
• Ireland Genealogy Resources
• Scotland Genealogy Resources
• Starter Checklist
• County Checklist
• Top 20 Castles in Ireland for Genealogy Travelers
• Top 20 Castles in Scotland for Genealogy Travelers

How to Use These Resources

Start with your most certain facts. Then use the free official tools to test names, dates, and places before moving into deeper local research.

If a regular index search does not find the person you expect, try searching the words inside digitized records as well. This guide to using full-text search to uncover ancestor records can help you look beyond standard name indexes.

If you are working in Ireland, place names such as county, parish, and townland matter enormously. If you are working in Scotland, parish, county, and burgh names are often the key.

Continue Exploring

• Back to Start Your Irish and Scottish Roots Journey
• Use the Starter Checklist
• Explore the County Checklist