Diocese sets the parish record straight

IN response to the letter from Kevin McCormack (“Have the diocesan records been moved?”, Irish Examiner March 28), the following will help to clarify the situation as far as the Diocese of Cloyne is concerned.

Parish registers are the property of the individual parishes. They are very important records of family history. Fifty years ago the diocese arranged to have the parish registers up to 1880 microfilmed by the National Library. They were available there for individual consultation on application to the bishop.

In 1998, this requirement was set aside by Bishop John Magee so as to facilitate individual consultation of the records without recourse on each occasion. Recently it became evident that some research agencies were employing access to the microfilmed parish registers for commercial purposes.

This was never the intention of the facility granted in 1998. Furthermore it compromises the interests of the Cloyne Diocesan Heritage Centre with serious concerns about its viability.

This has necessitated a return to the pre-1998 arrangement. The parish records remain available for individual consultation at the National Library in Dublin.

Enquiries will find the National Library staff ready to help. The Diocesan Heritage Centre in Mallow has compiled a data-base for family history in all parishes of the Diocese of Cloyne (022-50302, [e-mail]).

Msgr Denis O’Callaghan

Diocesan Heritage Centre

27-28 Bank Place

Mallow

Co Cork