Friday, January 15, 2010

Irish Genealogy Site

Research Your Irish Ancestry Online using "Irish Genealogy" Website

The Irish Genealogy Site is chocked full of helpful guides and search options. You’ve probably have already heard that “You can view over 1.3 million pre-1900 church records [Baptism, Marriage and Death] from Duplin and Kerry free of charge.” And, by using the “Irish Genealogy” site, https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/, you can make educated traveling arrangements and be fully prepared to research in Ireland.

Irish Genealogy allows you to search by person, location or date. A “Step by Step Guide” gives the researcher a quick reminder to “work back through the generations” hopefully preventing you from putting a stranger on your tree.

This site is quite generous with links and overviews of available records. It even gives the researcher a brief history of documentation survival and the location to the various records: Quakers, Jewish, etc. church records, the Registry of Deeds, and Irish census returns. Most of the Irish census returns were lost for the 19th century, but the link to the national archives is provided for the 1901 and 1911 census returns.

It would behoove any Ireland researcher to be familiar with the Valuation Office and (Sir Richard) Griffith’s Valuation which was used for assessing taxes to support the poor. As the census records were destroyed, these records can be used as a substitute. Through it the researcher can locate the presence of surnames (by townlands) throughout Ireland. I believe this is an essential step when beginning a new Irish surname. Of course these surveys are only available between 1848 and 1864, but you will find them most useful.

For researching online, the site provides links to valuable “Irish genealogical websites.” In checking the repositories mentioned, I was not able to connect to the National Photographic Archive, but this was not a deterrent for me, as I did not need access to it on my current project. All of the other links worked without fail.

The C.S.I. tab - Central Signposting Index (not Crime Scene Investigation) - is designed to easily assist the genealogist in tracing that “elusive Irish ancestor.” I found it fascinating that the site further gives a breakdown of the records by type for ten locations.

Even if you are not going to Ireland any time soon, be sure to go to the “Planning your Trip” tab to obtain the “Tracing your Ancestors in Ireland” poster. I have this poster readily available anytime I’m doing Irish research. On the 2nd page (or back), “The Major Records Repositories in Ireland” and “County Genealogical Centres” can be seen in a glance. This one poster has a listing of Useful Irish Addresses,” as well as Tourism Ireland addresses in the USA, Britain, Canada, and Australia. Unfortunately, I have not been able to utilize the tourist side lately.

And as a true believer of historical education, and social and cultural knowledge, I encourage all Irish researchers to stock your personal libraries with a few of the books mentioned. They are provided on the quick-glance poster or under “Getting Further Help” on the Site Map.


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Happy Hunting. I’m sure you will find this site to be helpful in your Irish research.

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy
Accurate, Accessible Answers
a3genealogy@gmail.com



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