Have you reached a “brick wall” in your genealogy research? Onsite genealogy research in Ireland may just be the key to extending your Irish ancestry. We have genealogists in Ireland that can help!
Challenges in Irish Genealogy Research
In the nineteenth century, Ireland saw one of the largest historic diasporas of people to countries throughout the globe. This means most Irish research will need to begin in the destination country so the exact hometown in Ireland can be identified first. While many helpful Irish records have been digitized, millions of others (such as most censuses and numerous Catholic records) have been destroyed or lost, to an unusual degree. Irish methodology can also be tricky—common names and the tendency to travel alone and to urban areas among Irish migrants means extensive work is usually necessary to differentiate your ancestor from others and determine where they might have originated in Ireland. From there, it is seldom research is successful tracing a line back pre-1800 due to record loss and historic religious discrimination—especially for the poor and working class. Onsite research in Irish or Northern Irish archives may be necessary as well, especially if your ancestors belonged to a minority religion, or if they owned property.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
If you have Irish ancestry, our professionals can help track down the town of origin of your ancestors, determine where that location is today, and identify where the records for that place are currently kept. We can also do the preliminary research in immigrant destination countries to learn the Irish hometown, if necessary. For those areas that don’t have records available online or on microfilm, our onsite agents can visit that location to obtain any documents that are available. In most cases, it will be necessary to complete substantial research in the United States or other migrant country first, which can be time-consuming.
Onsite Archive Access in Ireland
Our onsite genealogy researchers have access to the following archives, repositories and libraries in Ireland to help track down the records you need to extend your Irish family history:
- National Archives of Ireland
- National Archives
- Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
- National Library of Ireland
- Genealogical Office
- Linen Hall Library
- Trinity College Library
- National University of Ireland
- The Queen's University of Belfast
- Valuation Office
- Department of Western Manuscripts
- British Library, Newspaper Library
- National Library of Ireland