subject: Discovering Your Irish Ancestry [print this page] Having an Irish ancestry is something to be proud of. Being part of a wonderful country with a rich history is certainly uplifting. There are also a lot of famous people who come from Ireland such as Bono, James Joyce, Lady Morgan, Arthur Guinness, the siblings who are singers the Corrs, Colin Farrell, Tom Crean, Westlife and many others. The Irish are truly a wonderful people, and sharing the same Irish ancestry with them is such an amazing thing.
For you to be able to successfully discover your Irish ancestry, you first need to gather all the possible information that you can have from your parents, grandparents and other relatives. Ask them all the things that they can remember about your Irish ancestry. You have to list these down and verify them. Also, interview your family members about the county in Ireland where your ancestors have emigrated from. It is also vital that you ask the time period when they left Ireland. If they know the parish and the townland where they came from, then this would be better. You will have an easier research if you have this information since these two data are where the success of your search will depend on.
After gathering information from your family and relatives, you have to develop a research plan. Draw a family tree, and indicate in there where Irish ancestry came from. This is where you are going to start your search. Then, go online and start searching from the different websites available. An Irish government-approved website that you can start with is the Irish Family History Foundation at www.ifhf.org. There are also a number of websites that offer you information about your Irish ancestry. Documentation is important here so that you will not forget valuable data. Every little data that you gather, make a note on this because you never know when you are going to use such. Next step for you is to search for documents that are related to the genealogy of your Irish ancestry. These will include marriage records, death records, census returns and parish records. There are many records available at the websites. However, you may need to pay some fees if you want detailed information.
The rules when discovering your Irish ancestry are to get organized and be prepared. You need to list down every information that you get in an orderly manner since you may lose some information. And also, be prepared of whatever information you may discover. There are some information that may not be that appealing to you. Just be proud of these and take pride in your Irish ancestry.
