How do I plan my reaserch in Ireland?
I have been doing my family tree and have gone as far back as I can on the internet.
I am going to Ireland on Saturday (very short notice) and don’t know how to begin planning what to bring and how to plan what I need to do
Any hints and tips would be really appreciated as it’s very unlikely I can afford to go any time again soon so want to make the most of it.
I have used all original documents to trace my tree so far. I will be using the national archives in Dublin.
I know I am going to sound negative but you should have not relied solely on the internet. Information in family trees online frequently have errors. Even when you see the same information repeatedly over and over by many different subscribers that doesn’t mean it is accurate. Too many people copy without verifying. If you stuck with the original source records, for instance, like Ancestry. Com has then you will be better off. You always have to distinguish between their subscriber submitted family trees and the records they have obtained and put online.
You would have to depend on church records in Ireland as their state records went up in flames, I believe at the Four Courts during the Civil War that started in 1916.
Also don’t make the mistake that many advise. Just because your people were Protestants doesn’t mean they came from what is now the State of Northern Ireland and if they were Catholic they came from what is now the Republic of Ireland.
There are 9 Ulster counties, 6 in the state of Northern Ireland and 3 in the Republic. Of the 6 that are in the state of Northern Ireland 3 of them have always had a majority Catholic population, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Also the southern 2/3 of Derry does as well as the southern 1/5 or 1/6 of Down. Most of the Protestant population lives where the majority of people of the state of Northern Ireland live, in County Antrim and the environs of Belfast. Also at time of partition many Protestants who lived in counties now part of the republic wanted to remain under British rule and pulled up stakes and went north.
At the same time the Republic is well over 90% Catholic. Still, for instance, County Donegal, which is in the Republic has a Protestant population of about 1/3rd.
Anyway, enjoy yourself!
Edit: I have been informed that you are in London. Most of us are on an All English speaking board and we can’t always tell a person’s origin.
I know I am going to sound negative but you should have not relied solely on the internet. Information in family trees online frequently have errors. Even when you see the same information repeatedly over and over by many different subscribers that doesn’t mean it is accurate. Too many people copy without verifying. If you stuck with the original source records, for instance, like Ancestry. Com has then you will be better off. You always have to distinguish between their subscriber submitted family trees and the records they have obtained and put online.
You would have to depend on church records in Ireland as their state records went up in flames, I believe at the Four Courts during the Civil War that started in 1916.
Also don’t make the mistake that many advise. Just because your people were Protestants doesn’t mean they came from what is now the State of Northern Ireland and if they were Catholic they came from what is now the Republic of Ireland.
There are 9 Ulster counties, 6 in the state of Northern Ireland and 3 in the Republic. Of the 6 that are in the state of Northern Ireland 3 of them have always had a majority Catholic population, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Also the southern 2/3 of Derry does as well as the southern 1/5 or 1/6 of Down. Most of the Protestant population lives where the majority of people of the state of Northern Ireland live, in County Antrim and the environs of Belfast. Also at time of partition many Protestants who lived in counties now part of the republic wanted to remain under British rule and pulled up stakes and went north.
At the same time the Republic is well over 90% Catholic. Still, for instance, County Donegal, which is in the Republic has a Protestant population of about 1/3rd.
Anyway, enjoy yourself!
Edit: I have been informed that you are in London. Most of us are on an All English speaking board and we can’t always tell a person’s origin.
References :
I’ve done research in Ireland on my ancestors, all of whom are from County Tyrone in the North.
If you know where your relatives lived then certainly you would want to contact the church they may have attended. The church records are not always complete but because some official government records were lost in the fire mentioned above, the church records are a valuable source of information.
Also plan to visit PRONI (public records office of Northern Ireland) in Belfast and/or GRONI (general registrar’s office of Northern Ireland) also in Belfast. Check out websites for each of these so that you know what records are held in each and what times they are open to the public etc. http://www.proni.gov.uk and http://www.groni.gov.uk
There are some online sources that may be helpful as well. emeraldancestors.com is one that I have used. If you relatives happened to have been Catholic in the North there is the research library associated with the Catholic Cathedral in Armagh that has quite a repository of records and they are quite helpful to the public.
Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library eolas@ofiaich.ie
Going armed with as much information as you can gather will really help make your searches targeted and more likely fruitful.
The National Archives of Ireland has some online databases available but they also detail the records that are available for searching at the Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.ie
Hope this will be helpful to you and that you have great success in your search.
References :
Ní féidir liom a thuiscint le do cheist. Bain sult as in Éirinn!
References :