Wednesday 27 May 2020

Big increase in National Archives of Ireland's web traffic

The National Archives of Ireland's Genealogy website has seen an impressive increase in visitors over the first months of the year, according to a statement from the Department for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DCHG).

Figures just released show that the census sections of the site saw a 54% increase in visitors from 4.4 million in February to 7 million in April.

Overall, the Genealogy website, which, in addition to the census holds records from will books, land records, marriage bonds and much more, together with the NAI's main/general website, with its documents, photographs and videos telling the story of the Irish State since its foundation, saw an increase of more than 26% in online visits.

The NAI's social media traffic also increased over recent months with its Instagram followers increasing by 33% and its Twitter followers increasing by more than 10%.

Releasing the figures, Minister of the DCHG Josepha Madigan T.D. commented: “These unprecedented numbers demonstrate that as people spend more time at home, online records made available on a free to view basis by the State are proving hugely popular. The National Archives website is a real treasure trove to the past, just waiting to be explored.

"We have seen increases in web traffic to many of our National Cultural Institutions, all of whom are making a great effort to bring their collections online and provide new digital resources for the public during this time.”