Ireland Genealogy

Ireland has been known by many names throughout time. The first name given to the land was Island of Woods, and this name was given by a warrior of the people of "Nin, son of Bel.” The second name was Land at the Limit of the World, and the third name was Noble Island. In the time of the "Firbolg" it had this name on it. The fourth name was Eire, and this is from the name of the queen of the Tuatha De Danann, that is to say Fodhla and Banbha. The next name was Inis Fail, the Island of Stone, which is the stone of destiny that the Tuatha De Danann brought with them. It is a tabu-stone, for it used to roar under the person fit to be king when the assembly of the men of the island met at Tara. The next name was Isle of Mists, and the next was Scotia. The next name was Hibernia, and after that Irlanda. This means the land of Ir, who was the son of Mile, and he was the first man of that clan to be buried on the island. It is said that the Greeks called the land Ogygia, which is to say the most ancient land.

Beginners' Corner
Choose an event to learn about in the life of your Irish ancestors:
 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death/Burial
 * Place of origin

Featured content

 * Browse by topic: Pages for Ireland
 * Gravestone inscriptions can be a useful source of family history information. Gravestones may give birth, marriage, and death information. They may also give clues about military service, occupation, or family members buried in the same area. Sometimes they give more information than the parish burial register or civil certificate of death.
 * Topographical maps
 * Griffith's Primary Valuation was published between 1847 and 1864. It is one of the best records for locating Irish ancestors.

Counties
Click on a county to go to that county's page:

News & events

 * Irish census records, 1901 and 1911, are now being digitized by the National Archives of Ireland.

Useful websites

 * National Archives
 * Irish Family History Foundation
 * Historic Maps
 * From Ireland
 * Ask About Ireland
 * GenUKI
 * Stirnet Limited: Families Database: Index (unfettered access requires fee or significant data contribution; manually search index for surnames of interest)
 * More Ireland Websites ....