Menu

Down the Rabbit Hole: How to Trace Your Irish Ancestry

The History of Medieval Kilkenny City

Do you want to trace your Irish family ancestry?

That’s a great idea. However, you must prepare for a long journey as it can be a long journey that requires a lot of effort. If you’re willing to put in your hard work, then go for it. However, you must take a methodical approach to ensure your genealogy research is efficient and valuable. Here’s a guide on how to trace your Irish ancestry to help you get started:

Talk to your family

Before you start digging in the online directories, you must talk to the elders in your family to learn more about your heritage. Your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and any other members of the family must know something about your heritage. You can gain valuable insights about your decedents and their whereabouts by talking to your family.

You must try to gather your Irish ancestor’s name, place and date of birth, marriage and death, religion, etc. It will help narrow your search and save you plenty of time and effort.

The History of Medieval Kilkenny City

Online resources

The easiest part of the research is going to Irish genealogy sites and online directories to dig the information, right? Unfortunately, the answer is no. While it’s relatively easier to browse online journals to learn about your heritage, you must know where and what to look for. Do your homework and organize all your research, so you focus on the right direction.

There are many websites for researching Irish ancestors, but you must have sufficient information and the ability to analyze and interpret record sources to get the desired results.

Go in the field

Once you have gathered sufficient data from family and online resources, it’s time to visit libraries and relevant places to find the missing parts of the puzzle. You must go through genealogy archives, census records, biographies, memoirs, cemetery records, plot maps, and different materials — it can be quite a challenging and time-consuming activity.

You must record everything that you find and organize it properly in a binder or a laptop, so you can perform analysis and connect the dots to your heritage.

Final word

Does the process of tracing Irish ancestry seem overwhelming to you? It’s understandable. Genealogy research is a complex, resource-intensive, and time-consuming process. Fortunately for you, you can always opt for a professional genealogy company to do the hard work for you. Working with a professional will allow you to expedite the process and help you learn about your heritage without any hassle.

If you want to find out about your ancestors and visit the place where they lived, contact us today! At My Ireland Family Heritage, we help people trace their ancestors and learn about their lives. We have been serving people for the last 20 years in the fields of Irish Genealogy and tourism.

Call +353 1 689-0008 or visit our website for more details.

Related Posts

Experts in finding all available records and your ancestor’s original home from the 1800’s

Site map
Contact Us
Join our community
Facebook-f X-twitter Instagram Tripadvisor
Copyright © 2025 My Ireland Family Heritage. All Rights Reserved.
Scroll to Top

Customised Genealogy & Historical Tour

Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser Oct 2024 By • Family TomBarron2013 New York City, NY2

Once in a lifetime experience

Oct 2024 • Family

We highly recommend My Ireland Heritage for anyone who wants to learn and be guided to their Irish “roots” and much, much more. Sean Quinn and Ian Darragh of My Ireland Family Heritage have deep knowledge or the areas we wanted to visit in Meath, Sligo and Kilkenny. While we knew about one side of the family history back to 1690, there was nothing known about the other that arrived in the US in the 1870s.

Ian, Sean, and Nicola did thorough research on our localities and locations from which our ancestors left for America in 1849 and later. In addition, Ian and Sean did separate day-long “recons” in advance of our time with them, seeking out local people and the specific properties with maps and whatever records still available. Their results were absolutely outstanding! In both our cases, they found and took us to our still-existing cottages and shops from the early 1820s.

It was so enjoyable to be with Ian for three days and for a special day with Sean. Whether it was the Newgrange World Heritage sites 5,500 years old , the Battle of the Boyne 1690 , or the local cemeteries and churches of our ancestors. Ian was especially attentive to my wife throughout the travels after she twisted her ankle in a rain-soaked old cemetery.

Throughout the process of trip preparation over months to giving us the final, wonderful books of Meath and Sligo, Aisling was highly professional and responsive with all the many details. The bound books she prepared are treasures! Thanks to all for truly exceptional experiences.

Newgrange World Unesco Site 5500 years old
Battle of the Boyne 1690 AD
Customised Historical Tours Trim Castle
Entrance stone at Newgrange

Self Drive Product

Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser by Shelley L @ sjlively

Exceptional in every way!

Over the last few months of preparing for our trip, every single detail was meticulously attended, not only professionally, but helpfully, and in such a friendly manner, that I felt as if I knew Sean, Aisling and Ian before I even stepped off the plane.

The amount of work these wonderful people put into our personal history is mindboggling. My mother was an avid amateur genealogist, and had worked for decades to bring to light the trail our family took, but our resources are limited.

Sean knows exactly where to look, and was able to fill in so many gaps that had eluded us for generations. Some of the information he found, unbeknownst even to him, actually solidified the findings we had amassed over the years. Ours was a family in coal mining – I only found on our tour that they had originated from a mining area, and their arrival on the  border coincided exactly with the decline in the mining industry in County Wicklow.

I would have been overjoyed simply with the knowledge of why they left when they did, about 12 years before the famine. Breaking through our brick wall of great grandparents even farther back on the family tree was a dream come true, but to be able to set foot on not only the area they lived, and find that the house is still there was overwhelming. Seeing the family church and cemetery where our ancestors and extended family still rest is a truly moving experience.

The care taken by this company in each and every aspect of the journey cannot be overstated. Only about 2 weeks prior to my trip, Sean contacted me to let me know that he had also stumbled across some of my husband’s family name in the process and included them as well in his research. How often can anyone say that they not only got what they paid for, but more than they ever imagined? I can say that. They were even kind enough to answer a few follow-up questions after my return home, as I was so stunned on my tour with Ian that I didn’t think ask at the time.If you have the opportunity to make the trip to Ireland, contact My Ireland Family Heritage before you go.

If your family was there, Sean will go above and beyond to find them. Even without family, contact them anyway. Ian is a walking encyclopedia of history, and so fun to talk to. Aisling will make sure every “I” is dotted, and every “T” is crossed.  Thank you so much for the trip of a lifetime, and the opportunity to pass on everything we have discovered to future generations

The Consultation at Hotel / Office or by Phone opens all doors
Genealogy gets you off the Beaten Track to see the Real Ireland

Unique to Every Address with My Ireland Family Research