There are many people in America and Canada who have ancestors that came over to North America from Ireland. One way to find out more about those great-grandparents and other relatives is through doing genealogical research. The research in itself can be a rewarding pursuit as one turns up names, dates and places. Taking that information and making it part of a trip to Ireland can make for a truly memorable experience. Before hopping a flight across the Atlantic, it’s important to do the proper planning and research and get help from people who can help travelers make the best of their trip.
Researching Irish Ancestors
Since searching for Irish ancestors is a common theme for those visiting the Emerald Isle, Tourism Ireland, the official travel board for the country, offers a special handbook with tips on how to best handle the process.
In terms of where to look for records before actually going over to Ireland, one good place to start is at FamilySearch.org, a not-for-profit Web site operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church also operates the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The library has 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, and an entire section devoted to Ireland. There are also 4,500 branches of the library known as Family History Centers located throughout the world.
Finding Where Irish Ancestors Lived
David Rencher, the chief genealogical officer for the Family History Department of the LDS Church, says that before taking a trip in search of ancestors, “You have to ask what is that one thing you need to come back from your trip with so that you say to yourself, ‘It was money well spent and it was a great experience.’”
There are many different ways to focus a trip, but in the case of Ireland, the best option is usually finding the exact house where previous generations of the family lived. For various reasons, including fires, it is very difficult to find records that go back beyond 1800. So it is often impractical to try to focus on extending the family line back beyond the 19th Century. However, the good news is that Ireland has a unique set of records called the “Griffith’s Valuation” which provides very detailed maps and lists showing exactly who was living at a particular property from the mid-1800s up through the 1970s.
Professional Irish Genealogists
Even if one is able to find the names and dates for ancestors and even the places they lived through Griffith’s Valuation, that is only the beginning of making a genealogical trip to Ireland a success. It’s important for travelers to bring in a professional Irish genealogist who can help guide them through a system that can often seem like a maze to outsiders.
There are many options available, and the genealogist can even be combined with accommodations in the case of the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, which employs Helen Kelly as a “Genealogy Butler” to assist guests with tracing their ancestry in a number of different ways.
By providing Kelly with names, dates and places before the trip, she can prepare an extensive report before the trip. Once in Dublin, the Shelbourne Hotel is conveniently located near a number of government offices where records are kept and Kelly can assist in helping guests obtain birth records, copies of Griffith’s Valuation and other important documents.
Visiting Irish Townlands
Once guests have the information they need, Kelly also provides valuable knowledge about the ins-and-outs of making a successful visit to Irish villages, known as “townlands” and getting assistance from the locals without causing offense. After all, the highlight of the trip will likely be actually getting to stand on the property where one’s great-grandfather once lived, gaze upon the house where relatives once gathered for family dinners and look out onto the landscape they would have taken in every day.
“Bring yourself into that terrain,” Kelly advises, “because often it hasn’t changed. What I always say, to Americans in particular, is ‘Get out of your car and walk around.’
“It’s about taking yourself into that territory that takes you from your concept of what it is, to what it really is. Walk gently in that area, because now you’re right down in the heart of it. You are coming back into that community.”
Tourism Ireland
800-SHAMROCK
Family History Library
35 N. West Temple, Salt Lake City (866) 406-1830
Shelbourne Hotel Dublin
27 St. Stephen’s Green 353-1-663-4500
Helen Kelly - “Genealogy Butler”
353-1-278-4040
Travel and Irish genealogy can both be fun pursuits by themselves, but when combined, they can create a memorable experience for those who want to know more about their Irish ancestors.
Kathleen Curry - As a self-professed travel guru Kathleen Curry has spent many of her days and future retirement savings on travel. She has worked in the ...
