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
One of the best things about Irish family history research is the availability of so many Irish records online and for free. One of the most useful sets are the civil records which were centralised by the Irish administration starting in the middle 1800s. The Irish Civil Records. A centralised Civil registration system for marriages…
Three years ago, the great Irish playwright – Brian Friel – was laid to rest in his ancestral homeland of Glenties in County Donegal. Do you know Brian or any of his plays? They included: “Philadelphia Here I Come”, “Dancing at Lughnasa” and “Translations” to name but a few. His plays were always based on the Irish family…
Do you have any biblical names in your Irish family tree? Of course, there are plenty of Davids, Marys, Michaels and Theresas spread across our shared families – but how about some of the more “biblical-sounding” names? Names like Moses or Cornelius? Or maybe Isaiah or Jeremiah? While many of these names have been prominent…
Last week, I shared a letter from one of our Green Room members – Annie Keleher. She was feeling frustrated as she tried to track down one of her elusive Irish ancestors. So, we will use her letter today to tease out a typical puzzle that many of us face on our Irish family history…
Maybe you have heard that many Irish records were destroyed in a fire in Dublin in 1922 – and, as a result, it is difficult to source the details for any of your ancestors born in Ireland before the 1860s? While there is some truth in that assertion (there was a fire!) – but Ireland…
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…