How to Search for Your Irish Ancestors

Ten years ago I started researching my family's genealogy. I knew my ancestor had come from Ireland. Everyone told me that you won't find anything in Ireland, all the records had been burned, your ancestor probably dropped a letter from his name, it's to hard to try and research anything from Ireland. Many people would like to find out about there family but they believe they can't find anything on their Irish ancestor so they don't even start. Well, it's just not so!

I can tell you that Irish genealogy can be challenging but with the explosion of interest in genealogy this has lead to published books and the internet full of Irish how-to-guides, access to more and more records and tons of researchers that are willing to help each other in the search. So where do you start? Start with yourself!

This where you have to find everything you can from family members. Search for clues like, birth and marriage certificates, obituaries, family Bibles, and any kind of sources you can think of; don't forget cemeteries.

Keep all you information that you find organized by using Family Group Sheets or if you prefer, use a genealogy program and enter all information to it. You can even scan certificates, pictures, what ever you like right into the program.

Here are some important questions that you should try and find the answers to about your Irish ancestors.

Do you know where they lived or at least the area?
Do you know the time frame that they lived there?
Do you know what religion they were, Protestant or Catholic?
Do you have any idea what time period they came to America?
Did my Irish ancestor have any family members that stayed in Ireland?
Do you have any idea what social status they held in Ireland?

Now as the years have gone by stories that are handed down generation after generation can somewhat change. You should keep this in mind when you are asking questions. Don't assume that the stories are correct so you disregard the answers you are given. Write down everything you are told whether or not you know it is true or not. Remember everything that you are told could or can be clues for your hunt!

What do you do if you don't know where in Ireland to look; well you have to start searching in the country where your ancestor settled. If the only thing you know is that your ancestor came from Ireland, that's not enough! You have to narrow down the area in Ireland so you can search the parishes or townlands. The reason being is that in the 18th century the Record Tower in Dublin Castle was destroyed and the fire of 1922 at the Public Record Office, which nearly destroyed all the civil records. So the research has to be done by knowing the parish and town land.

The Dublin Library has been working hard all these years for all parishes and by asking native Irishman to make copies of documents and send them to them. This will go on for a long time plus many of the records will be lost forever.

But if your Irish ancestors lived in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, you might be in luck and not have to go too far for your information. You need to check out these sources:

Naturalization records
Tombstone inscriptions
Military records
Wills and probate records
Newspaper obituaries
Passenger arrival lists
Deeds
Bible records

One thing to remember is that these records might and might not point you in the right parish or townland in Ireland, it depends on the location and time period that your ancestor lived in that particular country.

For example, I know that my Irish ancestor arrived in America around 1682 from Ireland but these records don't go back that far so I haven't been able to find anything, yet!

There is one thing that you should know and that is the Irish tended to stay in groups, even as they migrated from one state to another. Look for siblings, friends, neighbors and other relation.

If you are only able to find the county then search the parishes, poor law unions, dioceses, probate districts and counties. These were all used through out Ireland's history. If you do find your ancestor within one of these sources them search that specific location for your ancestor, you might have to search by surname if your ancestors name is a common one.

The four main Irish records that are important to anyone working on Irish ancestors are:

1. Civil Records of birth, Death & Marriage in Ireland
State registration of non-Catholic marriages began in 1845
Birth, Death & Marriages have been registered since 1864

2. General Register Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast
Research is limited by space constraints and pre-booking up to two week in advance.

3. General Register Office in Dublin
Research is only allowed in the indexes, and then purchasing a photocopy is necessary to obtain further information.

4. Irish census
Census started in 1821 and was done once each decade. The years 1821, 1831, 1841, and 1851 were partially destroyed in the 1922 fire but fragments do exist. The 1861, 1881, and 1891 censes were completely destroyed prior to 1922; this was ordered by the government.