Information provided by Margaret Purcell

Between 1848 and 1864, Sir Richard Griffith and his team of surveyors carried out the Primary Valuation of Ireland, known as Griffith's Valuation. 

It was a survey to evaluate property holdings to assess liability to pay the support rate for the poor and destitute in each Poor Law Union, either in or out of the workhouse. 

Together with the earlier Tithe Applotment Books, Griffith's Valuation is useful to the family historian as a substitute for the 19th century census records which were destroyed.

The Valuation is arranged by county, barony, civil parish and townland. It gives an Ordinance Survey map reference number relating to the location of the holding as shown on the first edition O.S. map; the name of the occupier (householder); the name of the immediate lessor (the person from whom the property was leased); a description of the holding (house, offices, garden, land); the area in acres, roods and perches; and the value of the property.

As a help in using this valuable 19th century record, the National Library in Dublin arranged an Index of Surnames. By county, the listing shows the number of households of a particular surname recorded in a barony, with a letter T if the name also occurs in the Tithe Applotment Books. For example, in County Carlow in the Barony of Idrone West, there are fifteen Ryan entries with at least one entry in the Tithe Books. In the index this is shown as RYAN G15 T.

Similarly, the index is broken down further into civil parishes, and the number of Ryan households in the parish of Old Leighlin in Idrone West Barony is five, shown as RYAN G5 T.

A more recent index is the CDRom published by the Genealogical Publishing Co. in the USA, together with Heritage World, Dungannon, Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It has a full name index with county, parish and townland details.

For those who know where in Ireland an ancestor originated, Griffith's Valuation will pin-point exactly where the family lived and the type of property they inhabited. If only a county is known, the absence of a surname in any parish will indicate where searching may be postponed until all other parish registers have been examined.

Griffith's Valuation may be seen on film or fiche in the National Library or the National Archives, Dublin, or by arrangement at a Mormon Family History Centre. This Society has also obtained a copy of the fiche for members' use by arrangement , and whenever an Irish workshop is arranged at branch level.