Tracing your ancestors

The place to begin in the search for your ancestors in Ireland
is your own Country. Irish sources, although plentiful, are limited
somewhat by the effect of the penal days, and the loss by fire during the 1922
uprising of many basic civil records as already noted.

First of all collect all facts and dates known in the wider
family circle. Death certificates, while not always completely reliable, can
nevertheless provide some crucial information - microfiche records, readily
available throughout Australia, facilitate greatly access to death records. Often
some relevant research will have been completed already by local historians,
including the recording of cemetery headstone details.

A check with regional, city and national libraries should
reveal considerable helpful sources: shipping records, for example that of the
50,000 bounty migrants, free settlers who came to eastern N.S.W. over a few
years from around 1835, convict records, newspaper obituaries, and so on.
Getting in touch with other researchers, such as through the internet, may
prove worthwhile.

I recommend "Hand book on Irish Genealogy" by Heraldic Artists
Ltd, available in Ireland, as a compendium of sources there. The
publication L'lrish family research made simple" from Summit Publications, P.O. Box
222, Munroe Falls, Ohio, 44262, should be a help towards
ascertaining sources both in the U.S.A. and Ireland.

Over I have listed, by courtesy of "lrish Roots" the various
genealogical centres in Ireland which carry out research for a fee: of
course the more precise the details presented, the more economic and fruitful
the work is likely to be. This applies particularly to date and place (parish,
townland) of birth and marriage. I have found the Tipperary Heritage Unit most
helpful.

Having begun you will be driven relentlessly onwards, back into
the mists of time. A glimpse of the past will be your reward, but the
picture in full not this side of eternity.

"Ceart na Suad Abu!"

RESEARCH CENTRES
List of the county based genealogy centres

It is an updated version of a similar table published in Irish Roots issue 2, 1995

All centres were written to and asked to send on contact details and information on the levels of service offered. The centres in dimmed text did not respond and the information included about them is the same as in the table published last year. It may not be up-to-date.

Centres in bold offer a full service, meaning complete genealogical research on relevant records, though the centre may not have all of the records computerised or on their premises.

The centres in Italics (Carlow and Cork City) offer no service as yet.

The other centres offer a partial service, meaning research on those records, which they have indexed or computerised on their premises. A centre for Cork West is still to come.

All but two of the centres (Tipperary Heritage Unit and the County Wicklow Heritage Centre) are involved in the Irish Genealogical Project (IGP) which is a countrywide effort to computerise all major Irish genealogical sources. Those two centres do similar work but not under the aegis of the JGP.

Centres are independent units and differ greatly from one another. Efforts have been made to standardise services and charges. In general, it can be said that centres undertake two types of commission: full family history research leading to a detailed report on a particular family; and searches of specified records for specified items of information.

Normally, when a centre receives an enquiry, an application form is supplied to the client and a preliminary assessment fee of about £15 is quoted. On the return of the application form and fee, an assessment is made of the information likely to be turned up by a search and the time such a search is likely to take. A quotation is then sent to the client. Again, it is difficult to generalise about the cost of a full search since the amount of information available can vary enormously from one family to another. Expect a minimum charge of around £50.

PHONING IRELAND
The phone numbers listed in this article are local numbers with the area code in brackets. When dialling numbers in Northern Ireland from the Republic, dial 08 and then the full number as listed. When dialling a number in the Republic from anywhere outside the Republic, dial the international access code first (00 if you are in Northern Ireland), then the prefix code 353; then dial the listed number omitting the first digit '0' of the area code.

To call 021-873227 from outside Ireland you would dial as follows

00353-21-873227

Genealogy Centres (May 1996)

Antrim/ Ulster Historical 12 College Square East, Shane McAteer
Down/Belfast Foundation Belfast, BT1 6DD (01232) 332288

Armagh Armagh 42 Englisg Street, Grace Greer
Ancestry Armagh, BT61 7BA (01861)521802

Carlow Carlow County Famity c/o Old CBS, College St, Jim Kearney
Heritage Research Ltd. Carlow. (0503) 30850

Cavan Cavan Heritage and Cana House, Main Street, Mary O'Sullivan
Genealogy Centre Cavan, County Cavan. (049) 61094

Clare Clare Heritage& Church Street, Corofin, Antoinette O'Brien
Geneaological Centre County Clare. (065) 37955

Cork City Cork Ancestry C/o Cork County Library Ruth Flanagan
Farranlea Road, Cork (021)546499

Cork North Mallow Heritage 27-28 Bank Place, Mallow, Liz Cronin
Centre County Cork. (022) 21778

Derry Genealogy 4-22 Butcher Street, Brian Mitchell
Centre Derry, BT48 6HL. (01504) 261967

Donegal Donegal Ancestry Old Meeting House, Back Lane, Joan Patton
Ramelton, Co.Donegal. (074) 51266

Dublin North Fingal Heritage Carnegie Library, North St., Bernadette Marks
Group Swords, Co. Dublin (01) 8403629

Dublin South Dun Laoghaire Moran Park House Moran Park, Siobhan Harding
Heritage Society Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. (01) 2806961

Fermanagh/ Heritage World 26 Market Square Feargal O'Donnell
Tyrone Dungannon, Co. Tyrone (01868) 724187

Galway East East Galway Family Woodford Heritage Centre Ms Angela Canning
History Society Woodford, Co. Galway (0509) 49309

Galway West Galway Family Histroy Unit 3, Venture Centre, Marie Mannion
Society West Ltd Liosbaun Estate, Tuam Rd. (091) 756737

Kerry Killarney Genealogical Cathedral Walk, Killarney, Marie O'Sullivan
Centre County Kerry (064) 35946

Kildare Kildare Heritage and c/o Kildare County Library Karel Kiely
Genealogy Company Newbridge, County Kildare. (045) 433602

Kilkenny Kilkenny Rothe House, Mary Flood
Archaeological Society Parliament Street, Kilkenny. (056) 22893

Laois/ Family History Bury Quay, Tullamore John Kearney
Offaly Research Centre County Offaly (0506) 21421

Leitrim Leitrim Genealogy County Library, Ballinamore, Marian Burns
Centre County Leitrim. (078) 44012

Limerick Limerick Regional The Granary, Michael St, Mary Pyne
Archives Limerick. (061) 410777

Longford Longford Heritage 1 Church St, Longford. Jimmy Lennon
Museum/Centre (043) 41235

Mayo North Family History Enniscoe, Castlehill, Fionna Flynn
Research Centre Ballina, Co. Mayo. (096) 31809

Mayo South South Mayo Family Main Street, Ballinrobe, Gerrard M. Delaney
Research Centre County Mayo. (092) 41214

Meath/ Meath Heritage Mill Street, Trim, Noel French
Louth Centre County Meath. (046) 36633

Monaghan Monaghan Ancestry 6 lullv, Monaghan, Theo McMahon
County Monaghan. (047) 82304

Roscommon Co RoscommonHeritage Church St, Strokestown, Mary Skelly
& Genealogy Centre County Roscommon. (078) 33380

Sligo County Sligo Heritage Aras Reddan, Temple St, John O'Hara
& Genealogy Centre Sligo. (071)43728

*Tipperary Tipperary Heritage The Bridewell, St Michael St, Anne Moloney
Tipperary. (062) 52725

Tipperary The Gate House, Kickham St, Nora O'Meara
North Nenagh, County Tipperary. (067) 33850

Tipperary Bru Boru Cashel, Deirdre Walsh
South Heritage Centre County Tipperary. (062)61122

Waterford Waterford Heritage Jenkin's Lane, Carmel Meehan
Genealogical Centre St Patrick's Church, Watertord. (051) 76123

Westmeath Dun na Si Arts & Moate Catherine Butler
Cultural Centre Co. Westmeath. (0902) 81183

Wexford Tagoat Community Tagoat, Rosslare, Maria Pask
Community Development County Wextord. (053) 31177

*Wicklow County Wicklow The Courthouse, Wicklow Joan Kavanagh
Heritage Centre County Wicklow. (0404) 67324

*Centres not involved in the Irish Genealogical Project( IGP)