Laois Local Studies
Laois Local Studies is located in Portlaoise Library and holds a large amount of unique material useful for genealogical research including:
- family histories
- local history journals
- cemetery records
- gravestone transcriptions
- local newspapers
- trade directories
- photographs
- local government archives
- private archives of local organisations and businesses
This special collection consists of
- books
- journals
- newspapers
- photographs
- maps
- slides
- microfiche
- microfilm
- archival material.
Local Studies is available for everyone, and particularly appeals to students, people researching the localities of Laois, those searching for their family histories, local historians and researchers who wish to avail of primary source material for their future publications and works.
Online resources
In recent years, many of the records necessary for doing genealogy in Ireland were digitised and made available to search online. Some are available on free to use websites, while others can be accessed on popular subscription sites.
Genealogical websites can be accessed on public PCs in the Local Studies reading room including popular subscription sites such as
- Ancestry
- Findmypast
- British Newspaper Archive
- Irish Newspaper Archive
A detailed guide to genealogical resources for County Laois is available on the Laois Local Studies website.
Further information
For more information, email localstudies@laoiscoco.ie or call 057 862 2333.