It’s often said that people are Ireland’s most important export. Millions of people left their homes here to seek a better life in another country. For some it was a matter of choice, for most a matter of desperation.
Now their descendants are returning, keen to learn more about the stories of their grand parents and great grandparents. Genealogy has become big business.
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Starting to trace your roots can seem a daunting task, but there are two things that make it quickly seem more manageable.
The first is that you almost certainly already know more than you think, and the second that there is a LOT of help and information already out there, if you know where to find it.
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Official records in the past were not in the language of the people, Irish, but in either English or Latin, which can lead to a lot of confusion over names.
Dates too may be slightly inaccurate and a single place can have multiple names. How do you make sense of all this?
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An overview of the major genealogical and other records of interest to you while tracing your ancestors in Ireland – with links to more detailed information about each.
Many Irish records are simply unavailable, they were destroyed by fire on two famous occasions in the past – but this isn’t as bleak a situation as it is often assumed to be.
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Sadly none of the Irish census records from the 19th century remain other than a few isolated fragments.
A recent project at the National Archives to put the entire census returns of 1901 and 1911 online (some are already available) will result in an extremely valuable researchable archive for researchers.
Read MoreYou don’t absolutely need any special software, but having an easy method of storing and cross referencing information can be extremely useful, especially as the volume of data grows.
This is a brief list of widely available genealogy software, both free and available for a reasonable charge, with some of the pros and cons of each.
Read MoreA network of family history centres in Ireland, plus many professional genealogists, provide a range of services to people researching their Irish roots.
Some of the centres are community based and run, others are professional services. In most cases they charge a research fee, and in some a fee to access or search their records.
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