We doubt if many of you need much of a push to visit Ireland – to connect with your ancestral and spiritual home, however just in case you do, a website called https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com promises the push you deserve. If ever Ireland could be condensed into an online website then the team behind https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com have managed to do just that! The site is an eclectic mix of everything you need to know before you go and while you’re t ... More

A recent international survey of 1200 adoptees revealed that over 50% of them had been able to find a sibling or a parent through the use of DNA. In fact, 8% of them found their parent or sibling waiting for them as soon as they opened their results. [1] The survey was conducted between October 2016 and April 2017, and since that time the number of people in the DNA databases has increased from about 8 million to about 12 million. So the 2017 figures are already out of date. And by the time ... More

  Genealogical Term Description Further Details Archdiocese   Administrative church area comprising of dioceses.  In Ireland today there are 4 Roman Catholic archdioceses.     http://bit.ly/2IgrcJ2 Barony   A group of civil parishes.  Baronies originally related to tuatha, tribal division of old Ireland. ... More

Digitising Your Family Tree - Where to Start  Maeve Rogan is a hobbyist family historian who is a keen user of online resources, apps and social media for genealogy. In this article she shares some options for getting your tree off paper and into the digital world. Digitising Your Family Tree – Options for Everyone. I started my genealogy research with names on a very basic chart on an A4 sheet of paper. I carried it everywhere, folded up in four, just in case I picked up ... More

35  Ways To Trace Your Irish Ancestors by Nicola Morris 1. Griffith’s Valuation, also known as the Primary Valuation of Ireland was compiled between 1847 and 1864 and recorded the head of each household who was responsible for paying the rates on their property. This is Ireland’s most comprehensive 19th century census substitute.  2. Griffith’s Valuation can be found online at www.findmypast.ie and www.askaboutireland.ie. Search for the person who woul ... More

7 ESSENTIAL RULES WHEN RESEARCHING YOUR IRISH ANCESTORS The following are some tips and what to watch out for when researching your Irish ancestor; WHERE TO START ON YOUR RESEARCH. When you start the research on your family, begin with yourself and work your way back through the male line.  For example: if you are researching your grandmother’s family start with her father and work your way back researching the male line. THE GOLDEN RULE WHEN DOING YOUR FAMILY RESEARCH. ... More

7 MORE UNUSUAL WAYS TO TRACE YOUR IRISH ANCESTORS The following are some Genealogy repositories and online sources you may not have thought of when searching for your Irish ancestor; Do You Know The Parish Where Your Ancestor Lived? If you know the parish where your ancestor lived, it is always worthwhile contacting the parish priest or parish secretary for that parish.  The parish priest may know a wealth of information about your ancestor; Names of the local cemeteries old ... More

7 UNUSUAL WAYS TO TRACE YOUR IRISH ANCESTORS. When people plan to trace their ancestors in Ireland, they normally think of searching the Church records (baptisms, marriages), Civil records (birth, marriages and deaths) and property/land records, to identify their ancestors.  The following are some Genealogy repositories and online sources you may not have thought of when searching for your Irish ancestor; Did your ancestor have a dog? Dog licences were introduced into Irish Law in ... More

7 Essential Resource Websites For Irish Family History Research. There are a number of great family history research websites available where you can now research your Irish ancestors online from the comfort of your own home.  More and more are becoming available on line, it can be difficult to keep track at times, but we can’t complain as it is becoming more accessible for people to trace their ancestors in Ireland from any part of the world.    Many of the es ... More

Over the last few issues of Irish Roots Magazine I have given an overview of the most common records used in Irish research. However unless you know where in Ireland your ancestors came from it’s almost impossible to locate your ancestor in any Irish records. Key points to remember when locating the origins of an ancestor Until 1922 Ireland was part of the British Isles with total freedom of movement between the two islands.  Thus from the earliest of times people travelled back ... More

Using U.S. Sources To Trace Your Irish Ancestors Who Worked At Sea Occupation Sources: U. S. Merchant Seamen by Judith Eccles Wight, AG When I was first approached about writing quarterly articles for Irish Roots, I immediately thought about occupation sources.  It has taken me a couple of years to actually address this subject.  This is the first article in a series that will be written for future issues of Irish Roots. In genealogical research we are often faced with the dif ... More

Over the centuries, one of Ireland’s greatest exports has been its people. This has taken many guises be it voluntarily to travel the world, to explore seeking fame and fortune, economic migrants, trade, colonise, govern or forcibly transported, to fight or to garrison some far off settlement". It is estimated that there are over one million people of Irish birth in Britain today, plus numerous second, third or fourth generation Irish - precise figures are not available. Over 40 mi ... More

Locating Living Descendants By Nicola Morris - Part One Issue No 93 Irish Roots magazine March 2015 I have met many people researching their family history who want to find out what happened to the siblings of their ancestors and locate long lost cousins who are alive today.  In some cases joining up with other branches of your family tree and sharing information can shed new light on your own research.  A collection of letters held by your fifth cousin in New Zealand may hold t ... More

Irish Church Records Parish registers are the most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the commencement of the civil registration of births, deaths and marriages in 1864.  Prior to this parish registers may contain the only surviving record of a particular individual or family and can supply evidence of direct links between one generation and the next (via baptismal registers) and one family and another (via marriage registers). Following the reformation C ... More

While it is true that more and more resources for family history research are coming online, before you step out onto the busy information highway you need to identify the websites that are going to help rather than confuse and misdirect you. Over the course of this year I will identify the really useful websites, what you should expect to find on them and the pitfalls of online research. The first step for anyone tracing their ancestors is asking family members for information about earlier g ... More