Ireland Genealogy

Ireland has been known by many names throughout time. The first name given to the land was Island of Woods, and this name was given by a warrior of the people of "Nin, son of Bel.” Other names were Eire, Isle of Mists, and Irlanda. It is said that the Greeks called the land Ogygia, which is to say the most ancient land.

Ireland is located in Far Western Europe, in the North Atlantic Ocean, and separated from Great Britain by Saint George's Channel on the south-east, the Irish Sea on the east, and the North Channel on the north-east. Politically, the island is divided into Northern Ireland, a constituent part of Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland, formerly Eire. The island is divided into four historical provinces – Connaught (Connacht), Leinster, Munster, and Ulster – and administrative units called counties. The Republic of Ireland consists of Connaught, Leinster, and Munster provinces, totaling 23 counties, and 3 counties in Ulster Province. Northern Ireland consists of 6 counties in Ulster Province.

Where did my ancestors come from?
Do you know where your ancestors came from in Ireland? Do you know where they lived? Do you know how to find out? Start here.

Step 1: Search the records of the country where your ancestors settled
Do this because:


 * There are 32 counties and thousands of parishes in Ireland. There may be dozens of people by the same name as your ancestor.
 * Ireland didn't keep general records of the population before protestant marriages began in 1845.

Records in the country where your ancestors moved to can give you clues about where they lived in Ireland. To learn about these records, click on a country where they settled.

Beginners' Corner
Choose an event to learn about in the life of your Irish ancestors:


 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death/Burial

Featured content

 * Browse by topic: Pages for Ireland
 * Gravestone inscriptions can be a useful source of family history information. Gravestones may give birth, marriage, and death information. They may also give clues about military service, occupation, or family members buried in the same area. Sometimes they give more information than the parish burial register or civil certificate of death.
 * Topographical maps
 * Here's access to The Family History Library's Patron Desktop Irish " Favorites". Please note that currently there are significant county 'collections' for just about every single one of the following genealogical subjects--including Probate, Census, Land &amp; Property, Genealogy and Church/Civil Registration with but few county exceptions!

Counties
Click on a county to go to that county's page:

News &amp; events

 * The National Archives in England have added early Irish maps c.1558 - c.1610 to their website. Mainly for the province of Ulster, the maps can be searched for by place, and new or old catalog reference.


 * Irish census records, 1901 and 1911, are now being digitized by the National Archives of Ireland.

Useful websites

 * National Archives
 * Irish Family History Foundation
 * IFHF Irish Family History Foundation on-line research
 * Cumann Geinealais na hÉireann - Genealogical Society of Ireland
 * Historic Maps
 * From Ireland
 * Ask About Ireland
 * GenUKI


 * More Ireland Websites ....