There are a number of problems in locating Methodist records that are specific to a church. Firstly, the origins of Methodism, as a movement rather than a church, gave its members a great deal of latitude in their attitude to church membership. Records of the baptisms, marriages and burials of Methodists may also be found in Quaker and Presbyterian registers as well as the registers of the Church of Ireland. In addition, the ministers of the church were preachers on a circuit, rather than administrators of a particular area, and were frequently moved from one circuit to another. Quite often, the records moved with them.

For the nine historic counties of Ulster, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland have produced a county-by-county listing of the surviving registers, with dates and locations. It is appended to their Parish Register Index. No such listing exists for the rest of the country. Pettigrew and Oulton's Dublin Almanac and General Register of Ireland of 1835 and subsequent years provides a list of Methodist preachers and their stations, which will give an indication of the relevant localities.

The next step is to identify the closest surviving Methodist centre and inquire about surviving records. Many of the local county heritage centres also hold indexed copies of surviving Methodist records.

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