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
Dear Grandma Margaret (or I guess Maggie as they used to call you!), I know I never got the chance to meet you, since you passed just before I was born, but I felt your love through my father, and I hope you have felt my love right back. After many years of researching my…
Which County in Ireland holds your Irish Roots? Everytime someone joins our “Letter from Ireland”, we ask the question: “Which County in Ireland did your Ancestors come from?” So far, we have had thousands of replies – and have built a list of 6470 entries. In the map above I have shown the distribution of…
So, I got in touch with Noreen Maher of Hibernia Roots and asked her some questions that we frequently come across in our reader forum. The purpose of this interview was to: Look at Irish family history research from the perspective of an active Genealogist on the ground. Provide you with a means of deciding…
Do you have Irish ancestors/an Irish surname in your family tree? What is the Irish character and what does it mean to you? Read on to find out various opinions on what it means to be Irish?
Do you have a favourite Irish name? Supposing you were looking for an Irish-related first name for your new baby (or wanted to gently hint about one for your grandchild)? What would it be? Seán? Kelly? Colleen? Conor? Patrick? Well, in Ireland we have experienced the highest birth rate of all the European countries over…
Irish Genealogy & Family History Podcasts
We look at the connections between the Irish name “Brigid/Bridget”, Saint Bridget of Kildare and the Irish Celtic Goddess Brigid. This is all very appropriate as we come up to the celtic festival of “Imbolc” – celebrating the start of a celtic spring as well as Saint Brigid’s day. We hope you enjoy! You can…
This week we have a special episode that takes you around ten counties on the island of Ireland. We stop off at each point and share a song – as well as more on the place and the person featured in the song. Please note that this episode was broadcast in a different format inside…
In this episode we trace the origins of Carina’s Irish grandfather – Bartholomew Cronin. He died well before she was born and she only recently realised how little she knew of his early days, the wider family and his final resting place”. So, join us as we look to solve this mystery – with plenty…
In this episode we trace the origins – and more – of Carina’s mystery Irish grandmother. I say “mystery” because Carina only ever knew her as “Granny Cronin”. So, join us as we look to solve this mystery – with plenty of journeys, unexpected turns, twists and interesting characters along the way. We hope you…
Have you ever wondered how the Irish surnames in your family tree came about? Understanding just HOW your Irish surnames developed is KEY to understanding more about your Irish origins and likely locations in Ireland. In this episode we take two very different Irish surnames and use them to illustrate the sometimes simple – and…