So, even if living in some country district in Ireland, all he requires is to locate himself for some time in the Irish metropolis.
There he will find, in the Dublin Record Office, the Wills and Administrations which he needs, both Prerogative and Diocesan.
There he can revel in the Chancery and Exchequer Bills and Answers which, apart from the direct object of his search, very often supply most interesting and even amusing information.
Cause Papers, another variation of legal documents, are to be found there; also Marriage Licence Bonds for the whole of Ireland, and, indeed, nearly all the more important documents of the various kinds enumerated in earlier chapters.
Besides these, the Dublin Record Office holds the greater number of Irish Parochial Registers, either in the original or as copies, both equally valuable to the searcher. This is a great advantage to him, as he may find what he wants in the registers of a country parish while searching in Dublin.
But many parishes still keep their registers in their own possession, and have not forwarded any “parochial returns” to the Dublin Record Office.
“Inquisitions post-mortem” and “ad quod damnum” of early dates can be consulted there; they are written in Latin, and a novice would not find them at all easy to decipher. The majority of them, however, have been printed in ponderous old volumes, which can be studied by all interested.
The pedigree-hunter should go through as many indexes of documents as he can during his visits to this Record Office on the chance of coming across something new and valuable.
There are bookcases lined with volumes of indexes round the walls of the Search Room, and others, such as those required for Chancery and Exchequer Bills—known as “Bill Books”—will be given to him on application.
Though so much is discoverable at the Record Office, the Dublin searcher must not confine his attention to it, as there are other treasure-houses in that metropolis also.