Genealogy in Ireland

Go to EPIC The Irish Immigration Museum in Dublin. They have really interesting stuff in there, plus a genealogy section.

Thank you!

The Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin has genealogy records, https://www.glasnevinmuseum.ie/genealogy/.

Thank you for the in depth clarification James Woods. We have information that one person was from Enniskillen which is in NI so I appreciate your information about GRONI in Belfast. How do I know how the lines changed between Republic of Ireland and NI over the years? Enniskillen is close to the border. Are there any records in the small towns? Does GRONI have emigration records? Looks like our James Wilson emigrated from Derry (Londonderry)? Thank you!

The 1901 and 1911 Irish census are online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

If you do not know of any existing family members in Enniskillen (and I realize you may already have such info), but if not, do not overlook talking with B&B owners, shopkeepers, local government office, church, etc. to see what folks might know about your family name and if there are any people with the same last name, and then try to connect with them. (And, you could also Google the family name while still at home, to see what you come up with).

It was by chance that I emailed a B&B owner in the small town where I knew a distant cousin lived (but I did not know her married last name...just the original family name), and magically the B&B owner knew the family and helped us to connect. That resulted in our meeting them, having her and her husband collect us at our hotel, show us the old family home (where my grandmother was raised....I had an old tattered black/white photo from my childhood), family graves, family church, etc. as well as where the great-grandparents had lived. It was truly a WOW experience and one that would never, ever have happened without my chance email to the B&B owner (and yes, we did stay at his B&B in that town).

So, sometimes taking an outside-the-box approach can really work. We found a lot of older Irish people have incredible knowledge about the family heritages. My cousin mentioned that in church they have a special day when they pray for the immigrants (and she meant US) and said we were the first immigrants to come home to visit them. A different twist, but okay.....never thought of myself (a three generations later) as an immigrant....LOL.

It really was a magical experience connecting with them and having that first-hand guide to show me sooooo much. Something I never, ever dreamed I would experience when I was a kid seeing that little photo of the modest stone house.

Hi from Wisconsin,
I also have some Northern Ireland roots and went looking. Belfast is where I found excellent mapping. I forget what they are called for sure, but I think they are the six inch map. That is six inches on the sheet of paper equals one mile of actual land. Extremely detailed, nearly shows you every fence post as of ...hmmm....1837? These maps are found on line if you know what you are looking for. https://libguides.ucd.ie/findingmaps/mapshistIreland

The beauty is that the map shows houses, sheds, roads, trails, wells and the place names that have no home any more. I found Ballymccaffry, town of Mccaffry. Locals and priests weren't of as much use as I thought they might be. Priests aren't always a local boy grown up. A couple of priests were able to point out historic, no longer in use, cemeteries. Very useful. And which extinct parishes used them. Keep in mind that church records may not be open to you. Here in WI, our local bishop, and he's a piece of work, has banned public access to church records.

Yes, many records in Dublin were destroyed during the uprising of 1916. I think the goal was political. Maybe an attempt to destroy land records of the 1690 Scottish/English planters' invasion.

And Rathmelton in Donegal holds fond memories for my wife and me. Keep in mind that from Portrush to Larne...Northern Ireland is beautiful. The famous Green Glens of Antrim and the Antrim Coast road. Just great.

Drive those rural roads and soak up the beauty. Drive as if there is an obstacle around each corner.

Wayne iNWI

Thank you everyone for all the great information. We are on ancestry and have gone as far as we can go on there. I will also check out my husbands side if time allows since his side of the family is from the Republic of Ireland and I'll check in Dublin for that information. Many thanks again!

Hi from Wisconsin again,

My last name can be spelled in any number of ways. And considering even recent ancestors were illiterate, marking official documents with an X, strangers often determined how a name was spelled. I got quite a lesson from a priest I visited with in 1973. He suggested that Eagon and Hagan and Gauagan might be the same name depending on the visiting Priest and whether of not you had a cold in your nose the day of the baptism, wedding or funeral.

So first things first...be creative in how you think your name might possibly be spelled. Does it end in ery, ary, rey, ry, etc. Is it O something or O'Something. In Wisconsin if your voting records show O'something and you use Osomething, your vote is contingent on you changing your registration in the week that follows. Same with McC or Mc C. I fell through the gap and my vote was provisional. Little differences make computer searches problematic. Be creative.

Once you have a good list of spellings sit down with Griffith's Valuation from about 1850. There are free sites that let you enter a last name and see all the "hits". If you know your county, then it is even better as names are listed by county. I had 175 its on my first try

wayne iNWI.

Thanks Wayne, that is very helpful for that website. The last name my mom is looking for 2 James Wilson's different families etc so I'm not holding my breath we will figure that one out. Might be like looking up Smith here. You see on census for the US they also have crazy spellings depending on the census takers at that location and time. We will definitely look into all of this before we leave in May. Thanks again for another great tip!
Sarah

Years ago I had a co-worker who shared this story:
It was their first trip to Ireland, and they were driving the "tourist loop" from Dublin out to Galway, down thru Dingle and Killarney and then back by way of Kinsale and Waterford. It was in the days before DNA tests and ancestry websites, so all they had to go on was family lore which indicated that the family had emigrated from a small village in West Cork during the famine years. Since their itinerary took them close to the old village they decided to stop off for a look ... mainly so they could say they'd been there I suppose. They happened to be there around lunch time and so opted to grab a bite at a small tea room along the main street of the tiny little place. While chatting with the hostess they discussed how they happened to be there and mentioned the supposed family connection to the village. After hearing more of their story she mentioned that she had a good friend with the same last name (Rafferty) who lived only a few doors away. Dropping everything, she closed the place up, walked them down the street, knocked on her friend's door, and then explained to her friend the possible connection that these two American visitors had to the village... and possibly with her family.
Long story short - the friend invited everyone inside and, over a pot of tea and a healthy serving of scones, it was eventually determined that the two were actually long lost cousins - the American side of the family having long since lost contact with anyone from the old village.
The charming post script to the story was the friend's comment that the Irish Rafferety's had always prayed for the American emigres, long after direct contact had been lost, hoping that someday a member of the extended family would return ... as eventually they did.
So, you never know what the most casual of inquiries may lead to.

Robert, that is indeed a charming story, and one I am absolutely not surprised to read, as that is exactly the helpfulness and kindness we experienced with the Irish (and, as I mentioned in my post earlier, the prayers for those (even generations later) that left for the USA.

I did not mention in my previous post, but a few years after our trip, friends of ours visited Ireland and used the same driver we did. She was hoping to learn more about her ancestors. Turns out, the likely connection was in the Aran Islands. So, the local driver took them there, found the son who ran the bike shop of the same name, who connected them with the father who welcomed them into their home, then showed them around the island, grave stones, etc. One of her fondest memories was of the old man standing at the pier watching them sail off to the mainland of Ireland....waving. They were truly the highlight of his day, likely his week,maybe his month or year. The driver even asked if he could cut a lock of his hair (the driver is a character) so she could do a DNA test when she got back to the US........the pappy guy quickly agreed. He died not too long later, and while it was not certain he was a relative (the DNA test was never done), she will always hold dear the kindness of this maybe-likely relative.

It is our experience that if approached kindly and casually and/or introduced by another local, the Irish (at least in the countryside) are thrilled to learn of the possibility of a long-lost relative from the US.......or they will at least try to assist with whatever knowledge they may have.

A separate aside, we learned (at least about 7 years ago...I think it may have since changed), when mail was addressed in parts of Ireland, unlike the 123 West Main Street, just the person's name and Townsland or City is included. Since many have the exact same last name and often the same first name, he said if he opens something, he will realize oh, " that is for Tony over the hill, not me" and then pass it along to the right Tony. A different way of life.............................. Many really know a lot about each other and their heritage.

Wishes for finding a connection or at least meeting some dear, helpful people along the way that will always be deep in your heart of memories by their sincere Irish kindness.

Side Note...

I once read a good tip and I found it be be true: When you're in the pubs and making conversation, don't jump in with "I'm here researching my family," but rather let the locals establish the first connection..."There's lots of Dolan's in Iowa." And then let the conversation go from there.

Enjoy! We've been to Ireland twice and this last time, I really felt connected to my roots.