Planning a Genealogy Trip to Ireland - International Institute

Genealogy Trip To Ireland
Most family historians want to meet long-lost cousins and see where their ancestors lived. There are always records that have not been filmed or made available in print or electronically. These are compelling reasons for making that dream trip a reality.

To get the most out of the time and money you will be spending there do take time, lots of time, to plan properly. If you have only got one opportunity to go then a year is not too long for the preparation. Take advantage of the advice of others who have trod the same path before and can offer wise and practical counsel.

The Genealogical Office is the place to contact for assistance in locating records held in different archives. There are many good archives and libraries in Ireland wherein you may consult original documents. However, don’t waste time and money visiting the Heritage Centres because you cannot view their materials yourself. If you need to consult their indexes then do it by mail or online before you go.

Irish Archives
Archives in Northern Ireland

Archives in the Republic of Ireland

The Irish Genealogical Project and Heritage Centres
An ambitious, government-funded project to transcribe, computerize and index all major genealogical records for the whole of Ireland was started in the early 1980s. The various local county-based Heritage Centres are each proceeding at their own pace with church records, Tithe Books, Griffith's Valuation, civil births, marriages and deaths, the 1901 and 1911 censuses, emigration records, and gravestones inscriptions for their own area. It is envisaged that the Heritage Centres will have exclusive custody of these computerized records. There will be a comprehensive research service available for a fee, but the plans do not include public access; the latter point causing considerable dismay amongst both professional and amateur genealogists. There are continuing problems getting this project off the ground in a few counties and not all centres are co-operating with the coordinating body.

Irish Heritage Centres

Irish Family History Societies
The main ones are given here and most have links to many other Irish societies, databases, information and chat rooms.

Republic of Ireland Family History Societies
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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course Research: Irish Ancestor offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page.