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     The right of appointing a Judge or Commissary of the Prerogative Court in Ireland was originally vested in the Crown.  By Letters Patent of 20 James L, the Archbishop of Armagh and his successors were appointed the Judges of the Court, and later were empowered (Letters Patent, 20 Charles I.) to appoint a Commissary of the Prerogative Court, instead of being obliged, as formerly, to act in person.
     By the Act 7 & 8 George IV., c. 44, the office of Judge of the Court of Faculties, which dealt with Ecclesiastical causes, was consolidated with that of Judge of the Prerogative Court.
     The jurisdiction of the various Consistorial Courts in Ireland was confined to dealing with the assets of deceased persons who were domiciled in the Diocese, and who had no personal estate in any other Diocese in the Kingdom; and in the case of a person dying out of Ireland, who left personal estate in only one Diocese, the Consistorial Court of that Diocese had jurisdiction over such estate.
     Up to 1816 the Court of Prerogative used to be held in the private residence of the judge, and sometimes in the Chapter Room of S. Patrick's Cathedral, and the original wills and records were not kept in any certain or secure custody, no proper building having been provided for these purposes.
     Owing chiefly to the efforts of Dr. Radcliff, who was appointed Judge of the Court in 1816, the Court of Prerogative was established in Henrietta-street, Dublin, and the original wills and other records were then transferred there, where they remained until removed to the Public Record Office, their present depository.
     By the Court of Probate Act, 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 77), the jurisdiction of the antient Ecclesiastical Courts, and of the few surviving courts of exempt jurisdiction, was abolished, and transferred to the Probate Court, constituted a separate Division of the High Court by the Judicature Act, 1873; and further amalgamated with the Queen's Bench Division, a particular Judge being assigned to deal with testamentary matters, under the Judicature Act, 1897.
     Not till the year 1810, when the Irish Record Commission

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began its labours, did any index to these wills exist, nor was it possible for the public to consult them before that date without considerable difficulty.  Amongst the most useful works undertaken by that body was the arrangement and classification of the Wills of Ireland.
     This work was in a large measure carried out by Sir William Betham, Ulster King-of-Arms, who superintended the alphabetical indexing of the Prerogative Wills, and at the same time, with his own hand, took genealogical notes from each will, forming them into chart pedigrees.  These latter invaluable records are included among the collections of that indefatigable genealogist, and are now deposited in the Office of Arms, Dublin Castle. An idea of the magnitude of the work may be gathered when it is stated that they are contained in 34 folio volumes, and are accompanied by an elaborate Index of Alliances.
     Through the courtesy of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records of Ireland, Dr. J. J. Digges La Touche, who procured the necessary permission of the Master of the Rolls, the Indexes compiled under the supervision and direction of Sir William Betham, Ulster King-of-Arms, were placed at my service.
     Although arranged on the slip system, similar to that adopted in the British Museum Catalogue, the lexicographical order was but loosely adhered to, and it became necessary to largely recast the Index, while, to ensure accuracy, constant reference had to be made to the original wills in the Public Record Office.
     Owing to the variations which occur in the form and the spelling of many names, it has been thought advisable to add cross-references where they seem desirable, in order to afford aid to the less experienced searcher; though no competent genealogist will fail to consult every likely orthographical rendering of the name of which he is in quest.  For a similar reason, cross-references have been given to the surnames of bishops, whose wills are generally indexed under the name of their See.
     In cases where wills were proved in England, only copies of the originals will be found in Ireland, and this is denoted in the Index.

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      A separate Index to the Alliances and Aliases mentioned in the wills (and given in large type in the main Index) is added at the end, where will also be found a Catalogue of some one hundred wills, called the Hawkins Collection, reprinted from the Fourteenth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records in Ireland.
     As the number of wills proved in the Prerogative Court increased considerably after the commencement of the present century, it was thought better not to continue the Index beyond the year 1810 (which is the year in which a break in the series is recognised in the Public Record Office), especially as the later wills are of comparatively small utility for genealogical purposes.
     The complete classification of the wills of Ireland in public custody is as follows :—
          I. Prerogative Wills, 1 536-1858, deposited in the Public Record Office.
          II. Diocesan Wills, 1536-1858, deposited in the Public Record Office.*
          III. A limited number of unproved wills dealing with Real Property only, recorded from the year 1708, at the
Registry of Deeds, Henrietta-street.
          IV. Wills from the Inquisitions (Henry VIII. to George I.); an excerpt of which, with an Index Nominum, is
in the Public Record Office.
          V. A few very early wills in the Royal Irish Academy, and in Trinity College Library.†

     As wills belonging to members of the same families as those mentioned in the Index to the Prerogative Wills are likely to be found among the Diocesan Wills, it has been thought advis-

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     * An Index to the Dublin Diocesan Wills and Grants is printed in the Appendix to the XXVIth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the P.R.O. of Ireland.
† The latter are in course of publication by Mr. Henry F. Berry, M.A., of the P.R.O., under the auspices of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, under the title of  "The Register of the Diocese of Dublin in the times of Archbishops Tregury and Walton, 1467-1483," from a MS. in Trinity College, Dublin.

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able to give a table showing in what dioceses the various Irish counties are situated, which will be found at the end of this volume.
     For further information regarding the depositories of Irish Wills and other particulars concerning them, I would refer to the chapter on "Irish Genealogy" in an excellent little handbook entitled "A Supplement to 'How to write the History of a Family,'" by W. P. W. Phillimore, 8vo, London, 1896.
While thanking the subscribers to this Index for their public-spirited support, I feel I ought to apologize to them for the delay in its publication, which, in a great measure, was due to the necessity of obtaining a sufficient number of subscribers before going to press.
     In conclusion I must not forget to acknowledge the kind help which I have received from the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and his courteous assistants; nor to record my indebtedness to Mr. Edmund Fry, Honorary Secretary to the British Record Society, for valuable hints, and to Mr. Arthur Samuels, Q.C., LL.D., for information concerning the history of the Ecclesiastical Courts of Ireland ; and last, and not least, to the great
help afforded by my assistant, Mr. Frank S. Marsh, of the Office of Arms, who, with remarkable perseverance and accuracy, has prepared for press, and corrected the proofs of, the greater portion of the Index. In a work of the kind, perfection is scarcely to be expected, but I feel that any reputation for accuracy which this work may obtain is, in a great measure, due to his painstaking assistance.
     If I have by the publication of this Index in any way assisted the researches of my brother genealogists, I shall feel amply rewarded; and it is to be hoped that at no distant date an Index to the Diocesan Wills of Ireland may be published.

                                                 ARTHUR VICARS, Ulster.
OFFICE OF ARMS,
     DUBLIN CASTLE,
     November, 1897