Challenges in Irish Family History Research

Administrative Divisions

Records in Ireland were gathered based on one or more administrative divisions: province, county, barony, parish, townland, or poor law union. Identifying your ancestors' townland in Ireland is your goal. The townland is the smallest and most ancient land division in Ireland; there are 60,462 townlands, most are as small as a few hundred acres. Townland names are not unique to a geographic area.

Misspellings

Consider all possible spellings of your surname (including with and without the O' or Mac), given name variations and nicknames. The Irish often use a formal version of a name on legal/official documents but a more informal version in everyday life (e.g. Helen vs. Nellie).

Age Variations

Recorded birthdates and christening dates may vary by as much as 10 years from what the person reported later in life (e.g. on the census, a ship's log at immigration, on marriage certificates, etc.).

Registrations

Many births simply were not registered, or in US, if birth was at home, there may have been a delay in registering the birth or other error, e.g. a name variation.

Family Lore

Family stories and memories provide very valuable leads. However, over the years these stories may have been embellished or details otherwise altered in the telling and retelling, and memories lose accuracy. Remember, everything in genealogy is subject to corroboration through research!

Keep an open mind; don't discount info because it doesn't match what you think you know!

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