Memories and Fantastic Finds

• Beautiful remote Graveyard in County Mayo
• Finding out an old Family Tale was true in County Sligo
• Meeting our Real Cousins in County Meath
• Family History and a ring of Kerry Tour
• Incorporating My Family with an Amazing Tour of the Famine House 1845-50 County Cavan
• Taking an original old Stone from the Ruin of 1800s Home in County Tyrone
• Finding My Cousins based on Facts not just DNA in County Sligo
• The Original Church and Graveyard from 1400s County Kildare

Beautiful remote Graveyard in County Mayo

Adventure of a lifetime!
Five stars aren’t enough stars to rate what a tremendous experience this was for me to be able to walk in the house where my ancestors lived. Sean and Ian were a joy to be with on the long journey from Dublin to Cloontakilla in County Mayo where my ancestors lived. Their passion for genealogy and knowledge of Irish history is second to none. This was truly an adventure of a lifetime for me. If you want to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors, look no further than My Ireland Family Heritage to help you achieve this goal.

Finding out an old Family Tale was true in County Sligo

The tour we took with Sean and Ian was, simply put, one of the best travel experiences we have ever had! The time, preparation and effort they put into planning our tour was much appreciated; as was the fact that they were as excited as we were to learn about our family’s historical roots! Sean, Aisling and Ian are an extraordinary team! They have clearly developed a wonderful way to provide people with unique opportunities that build family ties and create long-lasting memories! We very highly recommended My Ireland Heritage!

Comment

The Parks family originated in the Sligo area in fact they were big Land owners in Drumcliff after the Cromwellian wars of 1649-53. Arlene came to My Ireland Heritage to find her relations .We pride ourselves on working with facts only and once the project was developed it was found that her Family of Parks were from the Bunnyconlain /Emlymoran areas but through marriage with the Stephens family were found in Kilglass close by. The Original House was still there one of the interesting items were try as we might we could not find the Stephens/Parks in four different Graveyards until we unravelled a connection of burial with the Conway Family.

Arlene remembered a very old family story she told to Sean about a death on a Farm in Kilglass which was told many times in America by her family. Astoundingly this story was told by a local neighbour at Kilglass when Arlene met him for the very first time , that in fact it was death by a Bull reassuring Arlene that the Old stories are maybe more factual than what we think they are.

Meeting our Real Cousins in County Meath

Our experience with My Ireland Heritage Tours was amazing!! Better than we could have hoped for. We had done much genealogy research before arriving to Ireland but without Sean, Ian, Aisling and their research staff our journey to find our Irish roots would have been lacking. With their help we were able to visit many sites where our ancestors lived. We visited their burial sites and places where they were baptized and married. Amazingly Sean arranged tea with our Irish cousins. My mom turned 82 while we were in Ireland and she was so delighted. My Ireland Heritage Tours turned a wonderful trip into the trip of a life time. Thank you!!

Family History and a ring of Kerry Tour

Sean and Ian did a fantastic job on our tour! My wife bought this experience for me for my 50th birthday and it was well worth it. Sean and his team communicated with us throughout the process and it became clear that he had done quite a bit of research in preparation for our day together. I was impressed by Sean’s knowledge of Irish history as well as the effort he put into finding the pieces of my familiy’s history in Ireland, He met with us the night before our tour to go through his research and map out the day for us, I was able to pinpoint our ancestral home(s) as well as the churches where my ancestors would have attended, He brought us to our family grave sites, which was a very moving experience for me.

Sean made the entire experience very personal and he and Ian (his son in-law) were a delight to spend the day with. As an added bonus, Sean showed me how to find other pieces of my family history as well as doing a bit of extra research himself after the tour based on information we learned along the way. Last but not least the book, which contains the research he gathered, is a treasure my family will have for generations to come!

Comments

The Moriarity Family from the United States revisited all the old sites on this Trip. What was fantastic after we found the exact location of the House from 1820 the Family were able to enjoy the beautiful Ring of Kerry Tour as all in one occasion. The tour was completely customised and the Townland itself was one of the largest in Ireland. Townlands are not marked in Ireland and extremely difficult to find.

Incorporating My Family with an Amazing Tour of the Famine House 1845-50 County Cavan

I had high expectations and the My Ireland Heritage team exceeded them.  I had the pleasure to work with the My Ireland Heritage team in identifying our family’s ancestral townland in County Leitrim.  In advance of arriving in Ireland, I communicated via email with Sean and Aisling providing them with the limited information I had. They researched the Irish records and identified records regarding my two times great grandparents.  Once we arrived in Dublin, Sean called me prior to our trip to visit the townland.  He suggested first visiting St. Columba’s house in Kells, where the Book of Kells resided for a time, and then visited the nearby workhouse in Bawnboy.  What a suggestion that was. We first visited St. Columba’s house and then visited a nearby famine graveyard.  Then onto the Bawnboy Workhouse. It is largely intact but in need of restoration.  The Bawnboy Workhouse was impressively poignant as it drove home the reality of our ancestors in the mid-nineteenth century. An amazing and unexpected walk through the workhouse followed which I will never forget. 

We then visited my ancestor’s family church in Drumeela, Leitrim.  To pray for them in the exact church 150 years later was another memory for the ages.  Sean then took us to meet with some locals with whom we discussed the families in the townland. Very helpful. Although we have no relatives living in that townland, the locals helped identify where some descendants moved.  Sean then took us to several ancestral home sites. Climbing over wrapped cattle fodder bales, we entered and explored one of the old home sites.  Just an incredible experience and supported by records which were provided to me in a hard copy book. One final point, in an early email I noted that a significant reason for the trip was to connect our two teenage daughters to their Irish heritage. Sean took that to heart and went out of his way to explain everything to our daughters who ate it up. I heartily endorse Sean, Ian and Aisling as we had just a fantastic experience.

Comments

Visiting your correct church and Graveyard is paramount we take pride in finding this substantiated with “Facts” which you will see. To Find the Original House which we excel in and to know you were there is beyond a Dream.

To build your customised Tour with Irelands History such as the Bawnboy famine House is our Pleasure after all this is you’re Past, Our Findings and your Journey.

Taking an original old Stone from the Ruin of 1800s Home in County Tyrone

It really is a challenge to know where to start. We were lucky enough to have both Sean and Ian on our one day whirlwind tour to trace the lives of relatives from Dublin up to Tyrone. The historical information they shared was enough for me to pull out my notebook and begin taking notes! But, clearly, the work that they did to actually find exact locations where our ancestors lived was incredible! Not only did they locate the family churches since the 1700’s but they located my Great (x6) grandfather’s grave and helped us honor him- a very touching moment. And if that was not enough, we visited the land on which our relatives resided – and were able to stand at the center of my Great (x5) grandmother’s home. Topping that off would be hard but they did. To end the day, we met distant cousins who welcomed us in, served us tea and cakes, and said “Welcome home.” It was much more than I had expected and the memories will stay with me forever!

Comments

Townlands are not marked when you come to Ireland and can be 6000 acres we at My Ireland family Heritage research this and reduce this to 10 yards allowing you as Susan did to find the exact spot for your Family house.

Finding My Cousins based on Facts not just DNA in County Sligo

From the moment Sean greeted us with that warm welcome in Dublin, we knew we were in good hands. Sean, Aisling and Ian did an amazing job putting our story together with the preliminary information we were able to provide. It was especially endearing how they allowed our story to play out during our recent visit. We are so grateful for the attention to detail and for taking us off the beaten path to show us the beautiful countryside of Ireland.

Our first day we headed to Culleens, County Sligo where we visited the town graveyard where many of our relatives were laid to rest. Walking through and viewing the headstones of our ancestors brought so many different feelings. As we prepared to depart the graveyard, Sean handed us a spade and each of us were given a daffodil bulb to plant at the grave site. It was an indescribable moment and gave us great joy knowing each year those daffodils will decorate that grave. We moved on to the land where our ancestors lived, some still holding remnants of the old stone homes. We visited the coast and stood at the beach trying to imagine our family members standing at the same site over 150 years earlier. Sean and Ian took us through the documents they were able to find from land records, tax records, and census records. Sean’s ability to speak the Gaelic language was key to helping us understand many of the records. Our day ended with a surprise visit to a home nearby in Ballyogan where we met Mrs. Margaret Hannon, a distant cousin found by Ian during the genealogy search for our ancestors. Two of Margaret’s sons and some of her grandchildren joined us where we shared many stories over tea and cake. It was such fun to be able to connect with them and a true joy to see the excitement in Margaret’s grandchildren who were intrigued by their American cousins.

Over the next four days we toured Wicklow Jail, Roundwood, Glendalough, St Kevin’s Monastery, Barnamire, Powerscourt, Kilkenny Castle, St Canice’s Cathedral, a famine graveyeard in Dunshauglin, Newgrange, Monasterboice, Ancient Hill of Slane, Spire of Lloyd, and the Ancient Hill of Tara. The vast knowledge of Ireland history that Sean and Ian shared with us along with the breathtaking scenery truly made this the trip of a lifetime.

We thank you for your kindness, your wealth of knowledge, the attention you gave our 84 year old mom, and the many laughs we shared over the past week. There is still so much of Ireland for us to see and we couldn’t imagine having any other guides show it to us! We will be back…

Comments

We cannot express enough that when traveling to Ireland it is imperative that you discover all of your family’s history. What was the history leading up to emigration and why they left? So taking one of our Historic tours as an added Tour will totally enhance your experience.

The Original Church and Graveyard from 1400s County Kildare

I cannot thank Sean and Aisling enough for putting together all the detailed information about my ancestor in Kildare. The personalised tour of all his local places including where his house once stood is something I will never forget. My highlight was meeting some locals and being welcomed into their house for tea.

I really appreciate all the digging Sean did to find my ancestor and his encyclopaedic knowledge of Ireland’s history. It was a great day and Sean did everything to make it informative and enjoyable. I would certainly recommend him to anyone wanting to trace their Irish roots.

Comments

Justine story was a fantastic experience. We really enjoyed investigating this on her part. At the time of the Famine her relation was wrongly accused of stealing some sheep to feed his family and was sent to Australia where he spent some years in confinement but was released and went on to make a fantastic life for both himself and his wonderful family.