My research in Ireland has led me lots of places. I’ve climbed over iron fences, rusted farm gates, and stone walls to explore abandoned cemeteries in sheep fields and surrounding medieval churches. I’ve searched for relations and historians in pubs, restaurants, post offices, and even local nursing homes. And I’ve knocked on dozens of strangers’ doors—sometimes the wrong doors! But people happily pointed me in the right direction.
Despite what may sound like exhaustive research, not once have I said, “I’ve searched everywhere, but still can’t trace my Irish ancestry.” A successful genealogist must have perseverance, positivity and creativity to break down an Irish brick wall.
Record losses often discourage people from even attempting Irish research. True, many records were destroyed by fires or government order. But surviving church records, civil registration, and censuses provide critical information as far back as the mid-1800s.
Earlier time periods are more challenging, but not impossible. I haven’t, for example, found a baptismal record for my immigrant ancestor Patrick Coffey, born c. 1825. But I was able to trace his family back to 1705 using other resources, a feat I would never have accomplished by using only websites and archival records.
Rather, my success came from friendly locals, collateral research, cemetery visits, and thorough analysis of every scrap of information I could find. The following tips—along with a wee bit of Irish luck—will help you solve your Irish family mystery.
STUDY IRISH NAMING PATTERNS
Many families adhered to the traditional Irish naming pattern. Names had personal, often familial relevance and weren’t as seemingly random as they often are today:
• The first son was named after the father’s father
• The second son after the mother’s father
• The third son after the father
• The fourth son after the father’s eldest brother
• The fifth son after the
