This was a wonderful experience that was easily the highlight of my family’s trip to Ireland!

Working with My Ireland Heritage Tours was a great experience from… read more beginning to end.

I gave Sean the information on a family line from the Glenswilly area of Donegal that my aunt and I (both experienced amateur genealogists) have been researching for literally decades with very little luck once we hit Irish records. Due to the surnames in question being very common in that part of Donegal (McMonagle, McLaughlin, McDevitt, Hagerty), my aunt and I had never been able to locate with certainty where our family lived while in Ireland using the existing records available through commercial genealogy sites.

Based on the family information I provided to Sean, he was able to find the townlands that my family was from and then he was able to drill down even further and provide us with the actual locations where my McMonagle, McLaughlin, McDevitt, and Hagerty ancestors had lived between 1847 – 1864 in Donegal.

All of Sean’s findings on my family were backed up with supporting evidence in the form of tax evaluations, land plats, and census records, and presented to my family in a lovely hardbound book. As we had chosen the "self drive" option, Sean also provided us with maps pointing out the physical locations on google maps of where my family had lived as well as the Eircodes for those locations. This information allowed my family to visit the actual sites where my ancestors lived or worked land. We were also fortunate to find remnants of structures that were likely either built or used by my family for three of the locations.

My Ireland Heritage Tours was a wonderful experience and I am glad that we chose the self drive experience because not only did it allow us to go at our own pace and take side trips when we wanted, we were also able to break out the experience over several days and fit in visiting the family locations between other activities.

It meant a lot to me to be able to walk along Stroove beach, which was a quarter mile from where my Hagertys lived, and think about the fact that my ancestors had no doubt walked the same beach and looked out at the same views. With the self driving tour package there was no rush and we could take as much time as we needed at each place.

I cannot speak highly enough of this experience, or of Sean and the rest of his team. Every interaction was professional and the communication leading up to the trip was great. You could tell that this is a company that really values their clients and believes in what they do.

I would recommend this experience to anybody with family roots in Ireland who wants to "walk in the path of their ancestors". It was magical.

  I found My Ireland Heritage a year ago when planning our trip to Ireland to see where our ancestor who immigrated to America lived. We contacted Aisling and got an… read more overview of what they could do for us. Aisling is great. A very good communicator and so very friendly. They guarantee, with the information you give them to start with, they can find where your ancestors lived within ten yards. They did that and more. They even found a relative, another direct descendant of our family’s great great grandfather from his second wife we didn’t know he’d had.

Ian took us all around where the family lived and farmed. He is a hoot. We had such a great time. Not only did we spend a day touring the ancestral area, but we took another tour the next day. Both days were fantastic. He has a great knowledge of Ireland and it’s history as well as the specific places we visited. Some very good stories also. If we can get back to Ireland, we will definitely take another of their tours or two.

I don’t think you could find a better genealogical searcher or tour guide than this group of people. They even put together a book of our family and Irish history.

One thing about Irish county roads, they are only as wide as a car but are 2 lane with no ditches along the side. Instead they have tall hedges atop rock walls lining the road. If you meet someone, somebody has to back up. So very different than US country roads. I’m definitely glad I didn’t have to drive.

If I could give them 10 stars I would.

  My Ireland Family Heritage was fantastic to work with. Aisling, Sean, and Ian went above and beyond for our research and customized tour. Aisling kept us well informed and was… read more always available for questions. Sean’s research leaves no stone unturned, and you can always be assured that his findings are factual. The book of family research presented at the end of your tour is heirloom quality and will leave you and your family with information hard to find anywhere else. Ian’s tour was the highlight of our trip. His reconnaissance shows how far they are willing to go for their clients. Ian was able to find my ancestral townlands complete with churches, graveyards, houses, and farms. The topper to the tour was Ian’s ability to find family still living in Northern Ireland and setting up a time for us to meet them.

You think that you are just going for a tour, but what you actually leave with is a once in a lifetime experience that will leave you with friends in Ireland. If you are interested in your Irish heritage, contact My Ireland Family Heritage – you will not be disappointed.

  What a truly exceptional experience my husband an I had with Sean, Aisling and Ian! Not only did they deliver the promised experience, but they do it in such… read more a way that you will feel like you’re leaving behind three new friends in this stunningly beautiful country.

Sean was FANTASTIC! He took the information I gave hi about my Irish ancestors and did copious amounts of research which provided the backbone for myTownland experience. He also guided us on our tour of historic County Meath, which included walking through sites predating the pyramids! He is an absolute font of information and his passion for what he does is evident. His enthusiasm is contagious and we never experienced a dull moment as he brought Ireland’s history to life.

Aisling was responsible for coordinating our trip, and for our BEAUTIFUL family book—full of information uncovered through Sean’s research. There were a good number of emails and phone calls exchanged during the process, and Aisling was always thoughtful and accommodating. She made the logistics of our trip run smoothly.

Our "Townland Experience" was nothing short of BRILLIANT (as the Irish would say). Ian was responsible for the reconnaissance prior to our trip and then taking us to the land my ancestors had lived and worked on. We saw churches where babies were baptized, family graveyards, and the land they had built their homes on. We fell in love with beautiful Ireland as we explored the winding country roads in search of these places. Ian was so personable and fun to be with as he lead us on our adventure. He made connections with multiple people in the area—one being a gentleman who had lived there for many years who shared many details about the area. Another was a woman whose father’s property backed up against what had once been my family’s property. She was helping her dad garden when we pulled up and after a few minutes of conversation, we determined that we may well be distant relatives!

You know all of those beautiful pictures you see of Ireland? Well, believe them! It truly is that stunning. And the things you hear about the Irish being friendly? Believe that, too—especiallly if you choose to work with Sean, Aisling and Ian!

  Sean, Aisling and Ian were the best tour and Heritage Company that you ever could hope for. My sister had coordinated with Sean and Aisling over a year ago… read more to look into our ancestors. Sean did a wonderful job, Aisling arranged everything and we had the best tour director ever in Ian.
We started in Dublin where Ian picked us up and drove us first to Waterford where our ancestors eventually come to from Wicklow and then went on to the US. He took us all over and showed us places where they would have lived, gone to church and worked as well as the workhouse that part of our family lived in before coming to America as well as other parts of the area. There is so much history in Ireland and he told us all he knew which was incredible. He drove us to Avoca that evening and dropped us off at the cottage we would being staying for the rest of our trip. He picked us up the next morning and took us all over Avoca and surrounding towns where the family originated. He took us to the churches, burial grounds, ruins and places where they would have lived and did so much work before we even got there that made it that much better. We saw the Miners Cross, The Motte Stone, The Vail of Avoca and so many other sights that we never would have seen without Ian and company. If you want a family that will give you their best and make it one of the most outstanding trips please sign up with My Ireland Family Heritage. The book they made for us was so much more than I could have asked for. We had 2 wonderful days of history, sites, laughter and stories that I’ll never forget. We’ll definitely be back for more in the future.

  My sister and I recently took our two daughters to Ireland and utilized My Ireland Family Heritage to access our Irish ancestry and couldn’t have been more pleased. Sean… read more was knowledgeable of our specific ancestry and a delightful guide. Ian, who took over was also charming and took us to all of the places important to our personal family heritage. This obviously included many of the important places of our ancestors including the churches, where the weddings, baptism, and burials were performed and Ian was magnificent in interweaving the times and the political, and religious circumstances surrounding them. I’ve recommended this tour to many friends and coworkers because I was so satisfied.

Sean, Ian and Aisling always seemed to be prepared and were always ready to go above and beyond to ensure our satisfaction. We were given access to a personalized tour tracing our Irish heritage with multiple visits to local and not so local sites across Ireland. All delivered with pertinent information, humor and aplomb. The book we were presented with is dynamic. It shows the amount of research performed and the detail is simply amazing. We met a 93 year-old gentleman who is a relative. This was an incredible trip and I absolutely recommend it.

Sincerely,
Bob Plante

  Sean and Aisling at My Ireland Family Heritage were the perfect local tour professionals to coordinate my Irish ancestry travel plans! Their extensive genealogical review of my Plunkett ancestry records… read more were documented in a beautiful family history book; they then designed a personalized tour itinerary to trace my Irish ancestors’ footsteps, with visits to 12 historical local sites, dating back to the Neolithic age!

The tour started at the Hill of Tara and its ancient burial mounds and monuments, followed by the historic Hill of Ward, overlooking brilliant fields of yellow- and accompanied by a friendly herd of sheep! Next stop was the village of Kells and St. Colmcille/Columba Monastery grounds, once home to an Irish patron saint and the famous Book of Kells. Other historical sites of interest included the local famine Workhouse and paupers’ cemetery, and Trim Castle and village. Sean’s historical expertise and lively narration at each site was so informative and often directly linked to my ancestors- I learned so much about Irish history!

To walk the land where your ancestors lived, farmed, fought battles, raised families, worshipped and died centuries ago is such a meaningful experience. We visited 3 ancestral family locations, including Killeen Castle grounds and church ruins, home of my 17th great-grandparents; Sean managed to arrange entry into the locked church site! Another nearby family estate, Rathmore Castle and church ruins, is now on private land, so we decided to respectfully visit and take photos from the adjacent country road.

The visit to Dunsany Estate and Nature Reserve was definitely the highlight of the tour! It was an honor to meet the current Plunkett family living at the Castle, who graciously shared family stories and artifacts during afternoon tea. Their commitment to honor and preserve the family history and also be good stewards of the estate lands is most evident in the Dunsany Nature Reserve’s rewilding program. A vast majority of the land is returning to it’s natural state, and is no longer used for farming purposes. A tour of the estate’s environmentally diverse grounds provides a unique view of how nature was intended to be.

My tour was a once in a lifetime experience, thanks to the My Ireland Family Heritage staff- highly recommended!

  Took the better part of a year plus a covid cancellation to make this trip happen. But certainly one of the best tour experiences I’ve had.

Aisling is the… read more organizing genius, Sean the genealogy researcher, and Ian the boots on the ground. They took the information I had about an ancestor and spun the whole story, then took us to places that figured in it: places of weddings, baptisms, farms, burials. They were even able to locate a distant relative—in his nineties—still living in the townlands.

Both Sean and Ian are superlative storytellers and lovely fellas to spend your day with.

Save up your money for this: you will be enchanted.

  My husband and I traveled to Ireland in May 2022, we both felt the highlight of our trip was our day spent with Ian visiting Northern Ireland where my mothers… read more ancestors left in 1847. We were able to visit home sites, land they worked, churches where they married and were buried, talk to church officials and saw 200 year old church records. Prior to our visit I corresponded with Aisling and Sean. Both were professional, prompt and informative. They made sure our visit went smoothly. I was also given a large book with Sean’s research and a beautiful painting of what my relatives cottage might have looked like by Sean’s wife and Aisling’s mother. I would highly recommend My Ireland Family Heritage.

  Sean is amazingly well informed about Irish genealogy. I sent him the information I’d been able to find from US sources and he broke through my brick wall to take… read more my family story back in time to my Irish ancestors. He was very passionate about using every source he was able to find about my ancestors. I had so much fun today learning from Sean and I know it will take me a while to assimilate all the new information. The beautifully compiled and bound book he is sending home with me will help me recall what he told me and pass it along to other family members. Hopefully to future generations of family as well.

Aisling was also delightful to work with to set it all up.