This article will look at some of the most common barriers we encounter when researching our Irish ancestors and offer some potential solutions. When tracing your Irish ancestors, it’s very easy, for instance, to overlook the fact that there is so much material that isn’t online. From land records, probate indexes and many other collections, there are a lot of overlooked resources that might help with your research.
FAMILY STORIES
Family stories are often the prompt to start us on the journey of researching our family history. These have often been passed down through the generations and may have become distorted and contradictory through the passage of time. This can cause confusion when beginning research into your Irish family history. Before starting the research, take the time to find out more if you can and to try to verify at least some of the information. For example, were your ancestors really from Cork or did they just depart from there?
MISSING RECORDS
One of the first things most learn about Irish genealogical research is how challenging the loss of many historical records has made it. The Public Records Office of Ireland, which held valuable census records, church registers, and other documents, was destroyed during the Irish Civil War in 1922. This event resulted in significant gaps in the available records, making it harder to trace ancestors. However, it did not result in the
