Irish Genealogy & Family History Resources
Are you interested in discovering more on your Irish family history? In this section, I have included letters (and podcasts) that include stories, explanations and approaches to help you investigate your own Irish family history. You may even receive a little inspiration to break down one or two family history brick walls!
Browse the features listed on this page and jump to one that interests you, or enter a placename, surname or other item in the search box below to see related letters and podcasts.
Irish Genealogy & Family History Letters
Just last night, we had a lovely dinner of poached salmon, new potatoes and green beans. The reason I mention this is because we celebrate the old feast of “Lughnasa” (pronounced Loo-nasa) about this time of year. It’s a traditional time in Ireland to mark the beginning of the harvest – and it certainly feels…
I’m writing to you from the City of Montreal – as we continue our journey along the Irish Ancestry Trail in North America. I’m having some straight-up Montreal coffee as I write – and I do hope you’ll have a cup of whatever you fancy as we start into today’s letter. Just a couple of…
We’re spending our last day in Toronto as we conclude this leg of the “Irish Ancestry Trail”. One of our readers, Tony Dolan from Prince Edward Island in Canada – recently shared a story. Tony emigrated to Canada from County Roscommon in the 1970s and started work as a chef. He stayed in close contact…
Weather-related events and disasters seem to be all around us at the moment, don’t they? Here in Ireland, we’re staring into the face of Hurricane Ophelia – due to hit our shores on Monday evening. There will be high winds, stormy seas and damage to trees and electricity lines – but we are fortunate here…
A few weeks back, we chatted about the various “Irish Ancestry Trails” around the world – I asked readers to share their own “trail”. We received some great stories of whole families leaving Ireland during difficult times – and how their descendants spread to the many parts of the world we find them today. Richard…
Irish Genealogy & Family History Podcasts
In this special Irish family history episode we take two letters from our Green Room members. We chat about the approach they should take to uncover more about their respective Irish ancestral homelands.
On our latest episode, join us on an Irish genealogy trip as we embark with Boston-native Cathy Abraham back to County Cork. Unraveling the romantic tale of her great-grandparents’ elopement to America, we uncover hidden truths and visit ancestral lands connected to the O’Callaghan and Richardson families. Prepare for some fascinating discoveries!
In this episode, we look at a very difficult time in Ireland – one that triggered a time of death across the population of the island as well as emigration for many generations afterwards.
In this episode we look at two different styles of story-telling. First, Carina reads out “Which County did your Irish Ancestor Come from?”. In the second feature we ask an Irish Poet/Bard to look at the family history of one of our Green Room members and then to put the entire saga into verse.
In a follow-up to our recent episode about traveling from Cobh to Ellis Island – we head back to the Cobh Heritage Centre in County Cork and hear 7 stories of emigration from this very spot to many places around the world. Many thanks to Jack Walsh and all the team at the Cobh Heritage…