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Going to Ireland: A Genealogical Researcher's Guide

by Nora Hickey and Sherry Irvine

84 pages; Black coil; catalogue #97-0002; ISBN 1-55212-077-5; US$13.50, C$16.75, EUR10.90, £7.60

This is a clear and compact guide designed to make anyone's research trip to Ireland that much easier. There is sound advice on how to approach the preliminary groundwork, as well as information on the resources and services of the major repositories.

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about the book     about the authors     table of contents     introduction     review by George B. Handran     catalogue info

About the Book In a few weeks, a few months, next year, sometime-- you are going on a genealogical research trip to Ireland. Success will depend upon having names to work with and on some knowledge of place and time; progress will be better if some things are done before departure. How do you prepare, and do your best to insure research time is well spent? Start with this guide. The authors have considerable experience in helping genealogists begin their research in North America and in guiding them through the steps they must take in Ireland. The book introduces researchers to Irish boundaries, Irish records and Irish repositories. There are suggestions for what to do at home, outlines of the contents and services of archives and libraires in Ireland, as well as some travel advice. The bibliography lists those how-to books and reference works which will build understanding and even speed the process. As well as being full of useful information, this handy guide is easy to take along. Don't leave home without it!

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About the Authors Sherry Irvine grew up and was educated in Canada, England and the USA. Her history degree is from Queen's University, Canada, and her post-graduate degree from the University of Illinois. She has taught genealogy courses since 1984. In 1993 her first book was published, Your English Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans (Ancestry). A second book, Your Scottish Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans (also issued by Ancestry) became available early in 1997. Irvine lectures at major conferences in Canada and the United States, and for the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. She established Interlink Bookshop and Genealogical Services in Victroria, BC, Canada, in 1988 to provide finding aids, maps, research books and consulting services for those doing British and Irish research. In addition, she leads research tours to Britain and is the editor of the Newsletter of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. In 1997 she was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Nora Hickey was born in Cork, Ireland, and educated at Loreto College, Manchester, England. After returning to Ireland in 1974, she studied history and philosophy at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, a constituent college of the National University of Ireland. Her B.A. thesis was genealogical; a study of the Norman family, the de Berminghams of Leinster. For many years she served as Honorary Editor of Local History Review, the journal of the Federation of Local History Societies, of which she was a founder member. Subsequently, she was Honorary Editor of Irish Family History. She is the country advisor for Ireland to the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. Mrs. Hickey was a founder director of the Irish Genealogical Project until she resigned in 1991 to develop her own business, Cork Family History, an Irish genealogical, family history and heritage information service. This brings her to the USA several times year to lecture and hold seminars. She also hosts a County Cork Summer School and organizes research visits to the Dublin archives.

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Essential Preparations
	Place Names and Boundaries
	Family Details
	Cautionary Notes
	Irish Research Before You Go
Chapter Two: Dublin Repositories
	General Register Office
	The National Library
	The National Archives
	Genealogical Office
	Representative Church Body Library
	The Valuation Office
Chapter Three: Belfast Repositories
	Northern Ireland Registrar General's Office
	Presbyterian Historical Society
	Belfast Central Library
	Linen Hall Library
	Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Chapter Four: Research at the County Level
	Libraries and Archives
	Heritage Centers, Projects, Museums
Chapter Five: Useful Information
	Travel Tips
	Other Ideas
	
Useful Addresses
Web Sites
Bibliography
Index

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Introduction

Sometime, whether in the recent or distant pass, all of us have had the same experience. We have entered a strange record office or library and have been stymied, unable to think of what to do . The staff looks unapproachable, the place is hushed, and we came unprepared. For the novice, visiting another country, the impulse might be to exit faster than you came in. Going prepared makes a difference.

This guide will help. There is advice on the most important and effective preparatory work. Information about what to expect and what you will find in the major repositories in Dublin, Belfast and elsewhere means you can think about what is to be achieved, what records you want to see, and what sort of questions need to be asked. You have no doubt heard that research into Irish ancestry is more difficult because so many records are missing. This simplistic view is misleading. Some records are missing altogether, but, on the other hand, some types of records for Ireland are unusualy extensive. Some aspects of research are quite different, but regard this more as an interesting challenge rather than an insurmountable problem. Much has been done and is being done to compensate for the difficulties.

Going to Ireland: A Genealogical Researcher's Guide is a beginning. There is more to be done than digging up information about the immigrant family and organizing your material. Your research is more likely to succeed if you read about the records which can be searched, understand the reasons why the information was collected at the time, and acquire some rudimentary knowledge of Irish history. The bibliography mentions many books on Irish genealogical records, and some on Irish history.

The rest is up to you.

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Review by George B. Handran, C.G.

Reviewed in "The Irish At Home and Abroad", vol. 4, no. 2 (1997)

This 82-page guide by two well-known speakers and lecturers in Canada and Ireland developed from Hickey's own syllabus prepared for participants in her "research weeks" in Ireland as well as Irvine's editorial work with the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. As suggested in the introduction, this guide is only a beginning, filled with advice on what to do before leaving your own country to do research in Ireland.

The "Essential Preparation" chapters detail many excellent sources, some little known except to the experienced researcher, and give some cautionary notes. The discussion of the use of the Family History Library and its family history centres is particularly helpful for those who have not used that library. The "Dublin Repositories" and "Belfast Repositories" chapters detail all of the major repositories succinctly and helpfully, displaying real local knowledge.

In "Research at the Country Level," it is particularly helpful to learn what one might find in the country which does not exist in large city repositories, as well as to read "Useful Information" for some excellent tips. I wish I had read this guide before my first trip to Ireland. The authors have done a wonderful service for the beginning researcher in Ireland, as well as for the experienced researcher who may have overlooked some of the details discussed.

The "Addresses" section is very complete, even to the listing of "Where to write for diocesan permission to access Roman Catholic registers," including North America, England, Northern Ireland, County Registration Offices, to name but a few, as well as "Tourist Information and Attractions." A splendid bibliography rounds out a superb, affordable source. Don't leave home without it; even more importantly, don't do Irish genealogy without it!

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Catalogue Information

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