Irish Links

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Hope you enjoy the day with family and friends!  Now is the perfect time to spend some time researching your Irish roots.  It’s been interesting to see how many more records are available online.
Let's explore Irish links (not the golf course variety, sorry couldn't resist!) that may help you with your family story.

Irish Genealogy Links
Ireland.com  Whether you are just getting started or have been researching your Irish ancestors for some time, you will find the links on this page of Ireland.com to be helpful.  It provides a brief description of the sites and the records available.  Here are a couple of the areas referenced.  These happen to reside on the Irish Genealogy site:
Church Records
Civil Records
 
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum and Irish Family History Centre  This site is focused on the actual museum with opportunities to learn more about the Irish culture and experience.  The link I provided takes you directly to the Genealogy section which was created in partnership with the Irish Family History Center.  You may be most interested in downloading their Family Tree Pack for free.  It includes basic information about getting started, some great questions to ask family and relatives and some Irish trivia plus a printable family tree.  It’s always good to look at the basics no matter how long you’ve been searching.
 
Ask About Ireland  has a nice search database for Griffiths Valuation Records.
 
There are paid sites including the Irish Family History Centre, Irish Ancestors,  Ancestry and Find My Past and others.  Places like Family Search have Irish records for free. They can be very useful and provide access to online information and records, but you do need to do your research in the United States and Canada before you leap across the pond.  Even with a county location, it can still be challenging to locate your ancestor’s home village.  Mine usually used the broad stroke of “Ireland” when noting where they came from! Oh, for a little more detail!  If you do know your county in Ireland, there are now sites that are focused on the country resources in Ireland. I’m sharing these sites to provide you with ideas to get started but you will need to use your own discretion to determine if you want to pay for or use these sites.
 
In addition to his site, Irish Ancestors and his book, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide 4th Edition, John Grenham has a weekly blog that you might find interesting located here. 
As you write your story about your Irish ancestors, be sure to include information about what a typical emigrant might experience as they came to America and Canada or elsewhere.  You might not have a detailed diary of their journey, but you can better understand the conditions they were leaving and their hope for the future by reading more about Irish history, including the famine years, both online and in reference books and journals. May the luck of the Irish go with you on your journey!
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 “May You never forget what is worth remembering nor ever remember what is best forgotten.”