inspire1

Hi Fellow Travelers,
I am looking to research genealogy records in Ireland. Is there a key library that I should visit to do my research?
Jeanene

MmePerdu

The Public Records Office in Dublin was destroyed in 1922, making Irish genealogy less centrally accessible, more time-consuming than in many other places. There are a number of websites that offer alternative sources, so begin with a basic google search for “Irish genealogy”.

Where to begin will depend on how much accurate information you already have, working backward from, for instance, your immigrant ancestors to determine where in Ireland they originated and also knowing their church affiliation can be very helpful for finding records.

OReilly64

National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911

As MmePerdu said .. its not easy. 1901 and 1911 are the most complete. You might also try the Mormons.

Padraig

There is a considerable amount available online. How much use you can make of it depends on how much you already know.

Have a look at https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/. This gives access to birth, marriage, and death records, and also church records from the C19th.

If you know where your ancestors were located, you might be able to make use of Griffith's Valuation

StCirq

Parish records, at the end of the day, were the key to finding the records I needed to obtain Irish citizenship, if that's what you're after.

inspire1

Thank you all so much! You gave me sources I had not known. I am researching mid to late 1700's for an ancestor with the last name "Brawdy" and am guessing the name is Irish or Welsh. I am planning on a trip to Ireland this Spring/Summer and would like to visit with someone there that could help me with this name search. Any more ideas would be appreciated!

MmePerdu

Do not rely on 1 spelling as there were no fixed ways until relatively recently. Or written down incorrectly by authorities or simplified by an ancestor. An example of creative spelling from previous centuries is my maiden name, McCord. McCorde, McCourt, McCordy, etc. are all the same name. So I’ll guess your “Brawdy” could also have been spelled Brody, among others.

If you’ve ever read anything written, for instance, by Elizabethans you may remember the variety of spellings of common words, sometimes differently in the same document, and no different with names. So never assume where you’re looking will spell your family name as you do now. It’s easier to go wrong, in my experience, than right. Always look for corroborating evidence, more than 1 proof if it really matters to you.

MmePerdu

Indeed, and why I mentioned confirming the religious affiliation of your ancestors. Again, make no assumptions.

Dee_Dee

I too am doing genealogical research on ancestors from Europe (Germany, UK, France, Switzerland). I would really recommend joining a Irish Facebook genealogy group. I've joined several for the areas and countries I am researching. The information I have learned combined with the help of incredibly kind people from the European countries has allowed me to make breakthroughs.

Padraig

I never came across the name "Brawdy" in Ireland, and some casual searching suggests to me that it is a placename in Wales. The only instances of its being a surname that I found were in the US.

I imagine that it is an alternative spelling, and I think the best bet is that it started as the Irish "O Bradaigh", pronounced O BRAW-dhee and usually anglicised as "Brady". Many Irish migrants to North America were illiterate or had poor literacy, and English might have been their second language. They ended up with a spelling of their name constructed at the port on entry by officials who might have had no familiarity with Irish names.

Now for the bad news: there are very few Irish genealogical sources earlier than 1800 except for Protestant church records, and Brady is a name more likely to be found among Catholics.

inspire1

You are correct Padraig. There is a farm at St. David's, Wales named the Brawdy farm. It is a pig farm but no one could tell me where the name came from there. And, when I reviewed the records in St. David's parish, no one had the name"Brawdy". Many people in St. David's had immigrated from Ireland years before so that is why I am searching in Ireland. I do think the name was changed somewhere along the line. For example, I have found many name variations in my research such as Broadway, Broaday, Broady, Brady. I just was hoping there was an immigrant center or genealogy in Dublin that could help me do the research in the late 1600 to early 1700's.

Dee Dee, thanks for the suggestion of the Irish Facebook group. That's a good idea too.