These records are of particular value to anyone interested in tracing their family tree as they usually contain the registers of baptisms, marriages and burials, many of which predate civil registration. Not all churches are available. Some have been destroyed or are faded and difficult to read. Other churches have chosen not to release their records to researchers.

The main churches in Ulster are:

Church of Ireland (Anglican) - The established church in Ireland until disestablishment in 1871. Many records date back to the 1600s.
Roman Catholic -These registers do not start until the 1820s and most are usually later than that. The registers are almost entirely for baptisms and marriages, some written in Latin.
Presbyterian – A number date back to the 1600s but until 1782 it was illegal for Presbyterian ministers to perform marriages even of Presbyterians. Some early Presbyterian baptisms, marriages and burials will be found in the registers of the Church of Ireland.
Methodist - The earliest baptism registers date from 1816.
Baptist. - The earliest records begin in the 1860s. As the Baptist church does not practice infant baptism, there are no baptism registers.