Tracing your family history is about to get a lot easier, when parish registers go online.

Over 370 thousand images of Catholic registers from the 1740s to the 1880s have been digitised by the National Library of Ireland.

The records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history, before the 1901 census.

Juliette Gash reports;

Assistant Keeper with the National Library of Ireland, Ciara Kerrigan, shows Minister Heather Humphreys and Taoiseach Enda Kenny the online resource.

The US Ambassador says the publication online of parish records from the 18th and 19th centuries will increase the number of Americans visiting Ireland.

Ambassador Kevin O’Malley says it will provide a huge boost to those looking to trace their heritage;

Baptismal record for Thomas McDonagh, signatory of the 1916 Proclamation of Irish Republic.