The method used by the National Archives of Ireland to digitise its genealogical records was sensible and straightforward. It took the existing microfilms (all created by the LDS Church) as the starting point and used digital images created from the microfilms as the basis of transcription and to provide an online copy of the original.
So far so good.
The first result is that the online collections include any flaws in the microfilms. For instance, the 1901 microfilms omitted the reverse of all Form As, which contain useful place-name identifiers, and so these are missing from the online image collection. Or areas missed by the microfilm team  – Ramelton Road in Letterkenny – are still offline only.
The second result is that it is possible to use the online image collections as if they were microfilm, scrolling forward and back through them in sequence.
How do you do this? In your browser address-bar, you’ll see something like “census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002500860/”. Just add 1 to that number to go forward a frame and subtract 1 to go back.
But the real question is why in the name of all that’s holy would anyone want to treat these image collections as if they were microfilm? Haven’t we spent half our lives praying for an escape from microfilm?
We don’t get away that easy. Just one example: the 1911 finding aid used to oversee the transcriptions included a category “Townland”. Many enumerators’ returns for small, single-street villages left the townland name blank and entered the name under “City, Urban District, Town or Village”. But where the finding aid left the townland blank, the transcribers presumed there were no returns and left it untranscribed. So around forty smallish villages are imaged online, but not findable by searching the 1911 database of transcripts.
The only way to research them is by going to the initial image and scrolling through them by hand. Precisely as if you were at one of those blasted microfilm machines.
So now you know why you couldn’t find Ballaghdereen and Moate and Kinvara in 1911.
Below is a table of the omissions I know of, with a link to the initial file. Let me know if you come across more.
Untranscribed in 1911, but imaged online
County | Start file | DED Name | Comment |
CORK | nai002025430 | Myross | |
CORK | nai002026380 | Crookhaven | |
DONEGAL | nai002096139 | Moville | |
DOWN | nai002248323 | Rosstrevor | |
GALWAY | nai002405276 | Kinvarra | Kinvara town |
GALWAY | nai002456942 | Headford | Headford town |
GALWAY | nai002441621 | Portumna | Portumna town |
GALWAY | nai002370022 | Sillerna | |
GALWAY | nai002423570 | Killeroran | Ballygar town |
GALWAY | nai002423611 | Killeroran | Ballygar town |
GALWAY | nai002426479 | Mount Bellew | Mount Bellew Demesne |
KERRY | nai002499945 | Tarbert | |
KILDARE | nai002561153 | Graney | Castledermot town |
KILDARE | nai002562371 | Donaghcumper | Clonoghlis |
KILDARE | nai002560339 | Ballitore | Ballitore Town |
KILDARE | nai002570290 | Rathangan | Rathangan village |
KILDARE | nai002561729 | Celbridge | Entire DED |
MAYO | nai002951079 | Bunaveela | |
QUEEN’S CO. | nai003161018 | Vicarstown | |
ROSCOMMON | nai003185940 | Ballaghadereen | Ballaghadereen town |
ROSCOMMON | nai003226133 | Cloontuskert | Lanesboro town |
ROSCOMMON | nai003218186 | Croghan | Croghan village |
TIPPERARY | nai003368519 | Mullinahone | Mullinahone town |
TIPPERARY | nai003360703 | Kilbarron | Ballinderry town |
TIPPERARY | nai003365169 | Terryglass | Terryglass town |
TIPPERARY | nai003316315 | Ballina | |
TIPPERARY | nai003381603 | Killenaule | Killenaule town |
TYRONE | nai003434634 | Stewartstown | Stewartstown village, West Street |
TYRONE | nai003436854 | Moy | Moy village |
WATERFORD | nai003957523 | Kilwatermoy, West | Janeville |
WATERFORD | nai003479421 | Courmaraglin | |
WATERFORD | nai003510696 | Faithlegg | Cheekpoint village |
WATERFORD | nai003481043 | Dromana | Villierstown |
WATERFORD | nai003511636 | Killea | Dunmore village |
WATERFORD | nai003475372 | Dungarvan No. 1 Urban | Part of Mitchel Street |
WESTMEATH | nai003525104 | Moate | Moate town |
WESTMEATH | nai003525164 | Moate | Moate town |
WESTMEATH | nai003525203 | Moate | Moate town |
WESTMEATH | nai003525665 | Moate | Moate town |
WESTMEATH | nai003554911 | Kilbeggan | Kilbeggan town |
WEXFORD | nai003574228 | Castle Talbot | |
WICKLOW | nai003641691 | Glendalough | All of Glendalough DED missing |
Untranscribed in 1901, but imaged online
County | Start file | DED Name | Comment |
TIPPERARY | nai003916050 | Clonmel West | Huge chunk missing |
[This post was originally published in March 2016, but got washed away in the Great Delete of June 2016. Joe Buggy wanted it back, so it's his fault. Paddy Waldron continues to unearth other missing returns at Rootschat.]
Crookhaven didn’t work for me, John. I’m working on that area so it would have been handy. Haven’t had time to try anything else. Doubtless, I’m doing something wrong.
Thanks John. So that’s what happened to my Ellen and Hannah McDaid of Rathmelton Road Letterkenny.
you mighty find this tool handy for scrolling through the images – paste in the image number, without the NAI prefix or slashes
http://irelandgen.com/tools/census_nav.php
Thanks Shane, that’s deadly.
Thank you!
At irishgenealogy.ie the following was the result for my search.
Death results for Julia McAuliffe from ? / ? / 1948 to ? / ? / 1948
No results found.
However, at both FamilySearch and Ancestry I found the following citations.
FamilySearch
Name: Julia Mcauliffe
Event Type: Death
Event Date: Oct – Dec 1948
Event Place: Cork, Ireland
Registration Quarter and Year: Oct – Dec 1948
Registration District: Cork
Age: 81
Birth Year (Estimated): 1867
Volume Number: 5
Page Number: 91
Ancestry
Name: Julia McAuliffe
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1867
Date of Registration: 1948 – Oct-Nov-Dec[1948]
Death Age: 81
Registration district: Cork
Volume: 5
Page: 91
FHL Film Number: 101744
I emailed the GRO for help again and received this response.
“Have you checked for her birth details, the registers start in 1864 and are all online here.  Also, was she married?  Is McAuliffe her birth name or married name?  The death registers often only show the married name.  You can always send a request for a copy certificate to the General Register Office, see https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/civil-records/help/i-want-to-get-a-copy-of-a-certificate-what-do-i-do They can examine the details you submit and check against the original books, if necessary.”
Moving from knowns to unknowns, I knew that she was born, baptized, married and bore children. Therefore, I knew she had to died at some point. Julia’s grandson wrote that she died in late October 1948 in Cork City. I searched at irishgenealogy.ie trying to browse for Julia’s, McAuliffe’s, and 81 year-olds. No results, although a Mary McAuliffe, 81 died in July.
Searching at FamilySearch I decided that I wanted to try to find the seven other people registered on the page with Julia in Volume 5 Page 91 from 1948. I was able to restrict my searches to look at 1948 only. I looked for 4Q deaths only and then opened the index citation to see what page they appeared on. After about 5 minutes I found George Nicholson, 0, Volume 5, Page 91, Cork.
I looked up this little boy at irishgenealogy.ie and found his citation
Name: George NICHOLSON
Year of Death: 1948
Group Registration ID: 2444587
SR District/Reg Area: Cork
Deceased Age at Death: 0
Image
Clicking on the Image button took me to page 91. At number 432 was George Nicholson. Just below his entry at number 433 was Julia McAuliffe, 1948 twenty-seventh October, Cork District Hospital, Julia McAuliffe, late of 280 Blarney Street, F, widow, 81 years, widow of labourer, cardiac 1 year, 8 months, 3 days in hospital certified. 280 Blarney Street is the address that Julia’s daughter-in-law, Christina, had died at in 1947. This was a good find.
I shared my success with the GRO.
Excellent! Just the kind of dog-with-a-bone research these records need.
DED OF Bunaveela in mayo is missing in 1911, 10 Townlands as follows Bunaveela, Fiddaunnageeroge, Glendavoolagh, Goulaun, Keenagh More, Leamadartaun, Lettertrask, Tawnynahulty, Tubbrid Beg, Tubbrid More
as method of locating them would be great espically Keenagh More
Hi Sarah.
Bunaveela DED is now in the table in the post above. Its link will take you to Shane Wilson’s tool where you can scroll forward and back without messing in the browser address. Keenagh More starts at http://irelandgen.com/tools/census_nav.php?rid=002951138
thank you so much 🙂 any chance you know where this one is too Kilbride in DED Derryloughan County Mayo again
This is one of those tricks that has proved extremely useful to me over the year. I do the same when looking for people I know should have their bmds on Irish Genealogy (I had to do it just yesterday for a woman who I had the obit and burial reg for but her death cert was showing an image from the wrong page, so I worked back through the pages as I had the right date for her and there she was)
I sure would like to see some Limerick and Mayo records/images on line. I don’t mind scrolling and I do love all the shortcuts folks are providing. Keep up the good work.
Arlene
Coonogue from Carlow is also missing. I emailed the archives and they had it and sent me a copy.
I’m looking for Kilduffahoo/Doon on 1911 census without success. Any assistance in locating the records for this townland would be greatly appreciated.
Hi John – I’m transcribing my family’s surviving census records (Belmullet, County Mayo) and trying to citations along the way. So are these technically not microfilms? Or are there microfilm numbers I should use, along with the image numbers? Thank you!
I’d use the URL, time and date
JOhn
Big thanks for posting these John!
Thanks John.
The following townlands are missing from Tullaroan DED, Kilkenny in 1901: Lates, Lissballyfroot, Oldtown, Oldtownhill, Raheen and Tullaroan, comprising approximately 57 houses and 230 people.