Genealogy Chat

PS Try the GENUKI website for Ireland and the relevant rootsweb message boards / mailing lists for the counties and surnames. Joy

Very good advice there. Civil registration commenced in Ireland in 1864. Parish records are more difficult for Protestants / Church of Ireland families, as I know to my frustration! Joining a family history society is very good advice. Try to write something that you know about your Irish family for publication in its magazine - you never know who might read it who could help you. Happy hunting. Joy (great-grandmother - Susan McCusker b about 1856 Dublin according to the 1901 census, 1881 and 1891: "Ireland"!)

Well Done Janet, You have stated very clearly and precisely many ways people who wish to seriously research the Irish Ancestors can do it. It would be of great value to have your piece as a guide for searching Irish lines especially for Tipperary and Cork areas. I find Dublin City with its Tenements and influx of people from all areas of the Country particularly difficult, I don't know if you have had any experience of searching the Dublin records but they are made much more difficult by having such large areas on the indexes and no guidelines for them. Still where there is a will, and all that. Well done once again. Pat x

I think that when you are getting back to 1798 in Tipperary which is what I have already done, then you are touching the limits of Irish Family History altogether, and I have several web sites for Tipperary but none take me back beyond 1798 and none have any of my relatives on there. Having been researching Irish Family History for over 20 years, the best way forward in Irish Family History is to first of all really understand your Irish History, understand the culture and understand their lack of written records because the tradition in Ireland is for oral handing down of records, then you can begin to research your Irish Roots through the Irish Newspapers, which are available through the Colindale Newspaper Library in London, the Full Griffiths which you can obtain through the National Library in Dublin with smatterings of this online, Tithe Applotment Records, and by visiting the Townlands and Baronies of the places your ancestors came from, using guest houses which advertise help for your family history. As I said earlier there are ways around the brick walls in Irish Family History and my tree is as far back as I can take it on all sides. For those with Kerry and Cork ancestors the O'Kief, Cosh Mange records are extremely good. I have not seen any of these online but if anyone has, then I would be pleased to know about them. I would also recommend joining the Cork Genealogical Society for Cork ancestors to which I belong and for those with Tipperary Ancestors I recommend joining the Tipperary Historical Society to which I also belong. I have not heard of a Tipperary Family History Society and when I was in Tipperary in the summer they did not have one then. Even the Tipperary Historical Society has has been getting more difficult of late to get information from them. Ireland does not have a record for having family history societies. If only! My husband belonged to the Wexford FHS but that has now just disappeared. You must divorce the state records of 1864+ from the parish records of those prior to 1864 and it is the records prior to 1864 which are more difficult to obtain outside Ireland. The online records at present are a mere fraction of the records. Even the IGI is very thin on the ground here and certainly none of mine are on the IGI. There are hundreds of Irish web sites which you can use your favourite search engine to find, but few actual records. Many records were destroyed in 1922, although many of those destroyed were protestant records. The Tipperary Bishops make sure that their records remain in Tipperary. I have seen in someones house in Tipperary a book of records going back to the 1600's for the Tipperary area and he's not putting those online! Janet

A Big thank you to all you lovely people I couldn't do it without you Barry :-))

On the contrary Irish records are coming on line day by day. More and more counties are setting up their own Family history societies and they are a mine of information. Use your search engine and look for, sy, Tipperary Family History Society and see what come up. There are so many site now that it is mind boggling. Also have you ever just entered your own name in a search engine and seen what comes up. Type say, J.Bloggs Family History" and see how many other people of your name are out there searching. You may be pleasantly surprised! John

Amanda I tried three times to write COUNTY TIPPERARY . Why would it not come out on board! It is in my main message! Gremlins!! Co Tipperary is where my lot come from so I know the difficulties! But there are ways and means! Janet

As a matter of interest in researching roots in Ireland. To research Co. Kerry at the National Library in Dublin you will need to write to the Bishop of Kerry for permission to research, otherwise the National Library can and will refuse you permission to look at the records. There are a few counties like this in Ireland, Kerry is one but once you write to them there is no problem with receiving a written permission. The only county that I know of where you will have real problems where the bishop refuses permission is County Tipperary. Records pre 1864 will be researched at the National Library in Dublin. There are scatterings of census, griffiths, tithe aplotment records on line but it is a question of using your preferred search engine to find them. Web site for National Library Ireland is: http://www.nli.ie/new_what_res.htm Janet

Barry As far as I know there are no Irish records on the Internet. Have you looked at Tracing Irish Roots on the homepage of this website - you have to scroll down to find it under "Genealogy Resources". Good luck. nell

Hi All. just started this job and am stuck can't find my paternal grandfathers birth or my maternal gt grandfather as he was born in Kerry paternal grandfather charles miles born 1865-6 lived in camberwell 1901 census Maternal gt grandfather philip donoghue born 1851 lived camberwell 1901 census