Family tree search system is wilting

THERE is currently a boom in genealogy in Ireland and abroad as witnessed by the growing numbers flocking to record offices.

Yet on a recent visit to the General Register Office (GRO) search room in the Irish Life Centre, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, I was struck once again by the inefficiency of the system in operation there.

There are no computer research facilities for GRO users who must search manually for birth, marriage and death entries in printed indexes of which there are only single copies.