A Letter from Ireland

What was life like for an Irish shoemaker in 1926? Mike uses the new census to reconstruct the daily world of Carina's Moynihan ancestors in Cork.

The post A Day in the life of an Irish Shoemaker appeared first on

A West Cork shopkeeper filled in his 1926 census form on a spring night in Ovens. A hundred years later, you can sit down and read exactly what he wrote.

The post One Spring Night at the Kitchen Table: The 1926 Census is Live appeared first...

Most people arrive at Irish genealogy with only fragments. A name passed down through the family. A grandparent’s story about a county they never saw. A census entry in America, Canada, or Britain that lists a birthplace simply as “Ireland”. From there the questions begin to multiply.Which county? Which parish? What records still exist? Where…

The post

This page introduces the key ideas behind Irish genealogy research and directs you to the sections of this site where each topic is explained in depth.

The post How to Research Your Irish Ancestors appeared first on

For many people, the desire to trace Irish ancestors begins with something small. A family name.A photograph.A story about “coming from Cork” or “somewhere in Mayo.”Perhaps a census record abroad that lists a birthplace simply as Ireland. From that point onward the same question usually appears: Where do I begin? Irish genealogy becomes far easier…

The post