Wicklow Genealogy Tours
My Ireland Heritage find your Ancestors and exact house location from the 1700’s to the late 1800’s, and all available records in Ireland. We are an Irish family business dedicated to assisting you in your Irish Genealogy research for your roots and records of your family history of past generations in Wicklow, as well as providing you with a once in a lifetime Irish Genealogy tour experience to visit your families original family house and Walk in the Footsteps of your Irish Ancestors.
Sean and the Team at My Ireland Heritage are a Government certified & approved Genealogy & Touring Company, and will personally guide you on the journey into your Irish ancestry to any County in Ireland.
Many companies are genealogy research only, many companies are touring companies only, we at My Ireland Family Heritage are proud to be able to encompass your research and tour together enabling us to work with you throughout the process to customize your tour with you and for you. To achieve a full genealogy tour experience consider adding one of our one-day historical tours.
Our Tours
Our Ancestral Townland Experience Tours
County Wicklow, long known as the Garden of Ireland for its mountains, forests and river valleys, held small farming communities across a landscape that ranges from the early Christian monastic site of Glendalough to the wilder uplands of the Wicklow Mountains. Its proximity to Dublin meant some Wicklow families moved to the city for work over the generations, while others remained on the land until emigration, particularly from the Famine period onward, sent later descendants much further afield.
Wicklow’s mountainous terrain meant church access for some rural communities involved genuinely long journeys, and parish boundaries here can reflect that geography more than a simple administrative line on a map. We work through Wicklow’s parish, graveyard and townland records with the same careful approach we apply everywhere, confirming the actual church congregation your family used before identifying the specific location connected to your family history, including cases where a family’s story includes time spent in nearby Dublin.
A Wicklow tour can combine the dramatic scenery around Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains with a visit to your family’s own townland, a genuinely beautiful, historically rich setting that makes for one of the most visually memorable genealogy tours we offer.
- Wicklow has 7 baronies
- Wicklow has 59 Civil Parishes
- Wicklow has 81 Electoral Divisions
- Wicklow has 1354 Townlands
- Wicklow has 60 sub townlands
County Wicklow the second last of the traditional 32 counties to be formed, as late as 1606, it is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingaló, which means “Vikings’ Meadow” and the population of the county is 142,332.
Traditionally known as the Garden of Ireland, the Wicklow Mountains, Dublin Mountains and Black Stairs make up the longest chain of Mountains in Ireland. Famously the last Wolf was shot at Mount Leinster in 1786.
County Wicklow was the last of the traditional counties of Ireland to be shirred in 1606 from land previously part of counties Dublin and Carlow. Often under the Power of the O’Byrnes clan. The Military Road, stretching from Rathfarnham to Aghavannagh crosses the mountains, north to south, was built by the British Army to assist them in defeating the rebels still active in the Wicklow Mountains following the failed 1798 rebellion. The ancient monastery of Glendalough is located in County Wicklow along with the wonderful Powers court domain. (see our Wicklow Way Tour)
The Irish Celtic Tribes By Ptolemy 1st Century 500BC-500AD
- County Wicklow – The Manapioi
Family Dynasties 1500-1600 AD
- Irish – O’Byrne, O’Toole, Redmond, Kavanagh
- Norman – Fitzgerald, Butler
- Scottish – None
- Viking – None
County Wicklow – Things to do and may be possible to include within your Ancestral Townland Experience Tour
- Powerscourt Gardens and House (Enniskerry)
- Wicklow Mountains National Park (Glendalough Village)
- Part of Ireland Ancient East
- The Wicklow Way
- The Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk (Bray)
- Glendalough Monastery
- Powerscourt Waterfall (Enniskerry)
- Wicklow Gaol (Many were held here prior to transportation to Australia)
- Military Road (Enniskerry)
- Blessington Lakes (Wicklow)
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Wicklow families sometimes move to Dublin before emigrating further?
Yes, given Wicklow’s proximity to Dublin, this is a common pattern, and we can trace a family across both locations where relevant.
Does Wicklow's mountainous terrain affect where parish churches were located?
In some upland areas, yes, with church access shaped by the terrain rather than straightforward administrative boundaries, which we take into account during research.
Can a Wicklow tour include Glendalough?
Yes, this historic site is a natural addition to a Wicklow-based genealogy tour, alongside your family’s specific parish and townland.
