How to Search and Read Griffith's Valuation | Roam Your Roots

Griffith’s Valuation is one of Ireland’s most detailed genealogical resources, and it can be searched for free online by surname or by location—then decoded using a consistent set of letters, brackets, and columns that describe who held land, who lived on it, and how rent and property value were assessed. The survey was carried out under Sir Richard Griffith and covered the entire island, recording taxable land parcel by parcel so officials could estimate the annual income each property should have produced at the time. Because the valuations were published county by county (not all at once), the county and the year a given county’s valuation was taken can determine whether the record will help track an ancestor who emigrated in a specific year.

Searching is straightforward in two main ways. A surname search pulls up all matching entries across Ireland, which can then be narrowed by adding a county—useful for names that appear in multiple places. A location-based search is better for studying family clusters and neighbors: it can start at the county level and then drill down further into barony, union, and parish. Either approach leads to valuation pages that look dense at first glance, packed with plot numbers, letters, brackets, and multiple categories of land and occupancy.

Reading a page depends on understanding what each column means. Plot numbers (like 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.) correspond to a detailed accompanying map, one of Griffith’s Valuation’s biggest genealogical advantages because it helps pinpoint where a family lived—even when place names can repeat across different parishes. Soil-type codes use uppercase letters such as A and B to show whether a plot had one or multiple soil categories. Lowercase letters such as A and B indicate houses on each plot: typically, A marks the main landholder’s house, while B marks a secondary house. That lets researchers infer how many households existed on a single land parcel and who lived where.

Brackets are the key to the financial relationships behind the land. They show when multiple people held the land “in common,” meaning both were responsible for rent to the landlord. The transcript contrasts cases where no bracket appears—suggesting a different rent arrangement—with cases where a bracket binds names together, indicating shared responsibility. Another column lists landlords and clarifies rent chains, including situations where one tenant effectively rents from another tenant rather than directly from the landlord.

Additional columns break down property details: “tenement” descriptions (such as house, land, or offices), acreage measured in acres, roots, and perches (or poles), and the “rata(b)le annual valuation” expressed in pounds, shillings, and pence. Brackets in the valuation columns indicate which entries combine into shared totals, and some people may show only land value or only building value depending on whether they held land, a house, or both. With practice, the letters and bracket patterns become a readable map of family residence, tenancy structure, and assessed value—turning a confusing table into a usable genealogical record.