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

The Great Hunger Memorial Statues with flowers

Did your Irish Ancestor Live Through this terrible time?

Ever wondered about the stories and trials your Irish ancestor might have faced during the great famine? As I delved into the resilience and hardships of my own O’Regan lineage, it made me reflect on the untold tales each of our ancestors might hold.

The Irish Famine - Cottier Class

How the Irish Famine Wiped out a Whole Group of People

The Irish famine had a profound effect on a large group of people in Ireland who often went unrecorded. While some records of Irish ancestors are lost due to incidents like fires, many times no records were made in the first place.

Letter From ireland

10th Anniversary of the Letter from Ireland

We’re having a birthday celebration here in Cork, and not just any birthday – it’s the 10th anniversary of this Letter from Ireland!

I’m sipping on my regular cup of Barry’s Tea, do join me with a cup of whatever you fancy yourself, as I share the story of how this little Letter from Ireland came to be.

The City of Belfast

explore the city of Belfast’s unique history and its divergence from other Irish cities. Through a conversation between Colleen and our Belfast-born genealogist, Jayne McGarvey, we’ll delve into the lives of ancestors, the events that moulded them, and the reasons behind their migrations.

Do You See Yourself As Irish?

When I am travelling in Ireland and someone asks me – “Where are you from?” – the answer is usually expected to be the county where you live. It’s only when I travel abroad that I start to think of myself as an “Irish man” as opposed to a “Cork man”. Do you have a similar experience?

Irish Genealogy & Family History Podcasts

Irish Genealogy – An Irish Family History Research Guide (#404)

Do you know where to start with your Irish Family History Research? Irish Genealogy has it’s quirks as you may have discovered! In this episode we bring you around our new Green Room Research Wheel that we have recently launched for our Green Room members.

Rowan Gillespie Hobart

The Convict Irish in Australia – A Trip to Van Diemen’s Land (#401)

Were any of your Irish ancestors shipped to Australia as convicts? Join us as we travel around Tasmania off the south coast of Australia – a place known to many of our Irish ancestors as “Van Diemen’s Land”.

Irish church at gougane barra, county cork, Ireland

The Shopkeeper and the Irish Saint – My Grandfather’s Hidden History (#309)

Carina always wanted to find out more about the place where her paternal grandfather grew up – so she did – and discovered a lot more about her Irish grandfather’s “Hidden History”.

From an Irish Cottage to a Castle – A Journey into one Woman’s Hidden Past (#308)

Carina never knew the surname that her paternal grandmother was born with – she only knew to call her “Granny”! So, we decided to find out a little more. What did we discover? Well, join us in this episode of the Letter from Ireland show as we go on a voyage of discovery – starting in a small shop in the Irish countryside – then on to a cottage on the fringes of Cork City – before finishing up at a grand castle.

An Irish American Story – From County Kerry to Illinois (#306)

In this episode of the Letter from Ireland Show we follow the trail of one Irish Emigrant family all the way from County Kerry to Chicago and Illinois in the USA. Join us as we start in the family homestead just outside Listowel in County Kerry.