The earliest Irish newspapers were published in Dublin at the end of the 17th century. It was not until the mid-18th century, however, that they became widespread and began to carry information of genealogical value. The period of their prime usefulness is from about this time, c. 1750, to around the mid-19th century when other sources become more accessible and thorough.

Not all areas of the country were equally well served, particularly at the start of this period. Publications tended to be concentrated in particular regions, as follows:

Dublin
The most important 18th-century publications were the Dublin Evening Post , started in 1719, Faulkner's Dublin Journal, from 1725, The Freeman's Journal, from 1763, and the Dublin Hibernian Journal, from 1771.

Cork
After Dublin, Cork was the area of the country best served by newspapers, with many publications following the lead of the Corke Journal which began in 1753.

Limerick/Clare
There was a great deal of overlap between the earliest Clare newspapers, the Clare Journal from 1787, and the Ennis Chronicle from 1788, and those of Limerick, where the first publications were the Munster Journal (1749) and the Limerick Chronicle. As well as Clare and Limerick, both groups of papers had extensive coverage of County Tipperary, and in the case of the Limerick publications, this coverage also extended to Kerry and Galway.

Carlow/Kilkenny
This area was covered by a single publication, Finn's Leinster Journal, which began in 1768.

Waterford
The earliest newspapers here were the Waterford Chronicle , (1770), the Waterford Herald , (1791), and the Waterford Mirror (1804). Few of the earliest issues appear to have survived.

Belfast and Ulster
The single most important newspaper in this area was the Belfast Newsletter , which began publication in 1737. It had a wider geographical range than any of the Dublin papers, covering virtually all of east Ulster. Outside Belfast, the most significant publications were the Londonderry Journal , from 1772, which also covered a good area of Donegal and Tyrone, and the Newry Journal and Strabane Journal, of which very few, if any, early issues survive.