Know your Place – Irish places and their names
1. Introduction Finding the home place of your ancestor is central to finding the records they left behind. However, those new to Irish family research often find the nature of the land-divisions used, and their names, very confusing. Even those who are experienced in Irish research often find difficulty in locating places identified in old […]
Tenants of New Ross, Co. Wexford in 1768.
Small Sources 67: This is a rental containing 119 tenants of Arthur Lord Viscount Valentia’s estate in New Ross and Old Ross, Co. Wexford compiled in 1768. The original document is in the National Library of Ireland (NLI Ms 8470 (9)). The detail provides, for each tenant, the rent due; and the lease details (see […]
Tenants in Strokestown area of Roscommon 1810-15
Small Sources No. 66. This is a list of 94 tenants of the Pakenham-Mahon estate in Roscommon in the period 1810-1815. All tenants have properties in Strokestown and neighbouring townlands, and particularly in Cloonslannor, a neighbouring townland. The original document is in the National Library of Ireland (NLI Ms. 5501). It is one small item […]
How comprehensive are early Irish Civil records?
Registration of births, deaths and marriages in Ireland started in 1864 except for non-Catholic marriages which start in 1845. There are over 15.5 million records available on-line and they are a major resource for family history research. A separate blog provides the details of the records that are available and how to access them. However, […]
Civil Registration of Birth, Marriage and Death in Ireland
Civil records of birth, marriage or death are the gold standard in proof of an event in an ancestor’s life, and certificates make a nice artefact in your collection. In Ireland, civil registration of births, deaths and marriages started in 1864, except for non-Catholic marriages which start in 1845. Within the Republic of Ireland, the […]
The Irish Ancestry of Joe Biden
This piece of work was researched and written by expert genealogist, Ita O’ Boyle. The Irish Ancestry of Joe Biden Joe Biden’s ancestry traces back to the famine years in Ireland when hunger, despair and destitution propelled many of the Irish population to cross the Atlantic in search of a better future. Born on 20 […]
Catholic Church Records: Lecture Notes
The notes below accompany an on-line presentation on ‘Catholic Church Records‘ given by Dr Jim Ryan of Ancestor Network Ireland has historically been a predominantly Catholic country. In the 1861 census 78% of Irish people were Catholic, and up to 95% of those in the provinces of Munster and Connaught. However, the earliest (and very […]
What will we do when we finish researching?
When we start researching, it seems like our family history will be a never-ending tapestry of people and events. New lineages spread out in all directions and exciting connections with history and with other families are discovered. The numbers of different lines of family which can be researched, and the diversity of their lives and […]
The Irish Ancestry of Beto O’Rourke
Beto O’Rourke recently launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 US Presidential elections. Embracing his Irish heritage, both his paternal and maternal ancestors fled the ravages of the Irish Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth Century when the spread of the Potato Blight precipitated widespread starvation and disease throughout the country and migrate […]
Is the Census Return You Seek Possibly Registered in the Irish or Gaelic Language?
If you think Irish research is already too complicated, look away now! As you are aware, on-line access to the 1901 and 1911 census returns has been one of the great developments in Irish genealogy. However, perhaps you are one of those who have not been able to find your family on the census?
