Family history concerns itself with mapping people to places. We need to be familiar with the places where events in our ancestors lives may have taken place. One of our ‘go to’ sources for this information is the work of Brian Mitchell, including hisGuide to the Parishes of Ireland. Guide to the graveyards and parishes in Ireland  and the new edition of hisAtlas

These publications are an invaluable source for family historians.  The simple numbering of parishes, of all denominations, within counties can signal  to us to the scale of our task. At a glance we can see, for example, how many Presbyterian congregations there may be in a given civil parish. We are then alerted to the extent of our possible search.

As graveyards are a constant source of interest for family historians, Mitchell’s listings of graveyards by denomination within counties , together with Ordinance Survey reference, can really help to pinpoint a likely place of burial for our ancestors,