Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide

This guide is designed to be of interest to those who wish to trace their ancestors in Ireland. The first section of the book covers the basic sources, those which will have the widest application for researchers who are new to the business of tracing family roots. Part two examines sources which have a narrower application, while part three is a reference guide which allows access to a range of research materials, including county by county source lists, printed family histories, occupations and Church of Ireland records.

Written by a professional Irish genealogist at the Genealogical Office in Dublin, this book is the product of more than a decade of professional research. It focuses on tracing ancestors in Ireland and, while designed for researchers at different levels of experience, its intent is to provide help even for the "hard-bitten veteran." It is organized into three parts: Part 1 addresses the most basic genealogical sources (civil, census, church, and land records); Part 2 discusses more advanced tools (wills, emigration, deeds, newspapers, directories, and the Genealogical Office in Dublin); Part 3 offers a reference guide to a wide range of more fugitive resources (county source lists, printed family histories, church records, and research services, societies, and repositories). Revised editions could profit from more readable maps, more complete and current bibliographical references, an enlarged scope that includes Irish research in the United States and Canada, and a comprehensive bibliography of published sources. Still, the book provides a good beginning as a replacement for Margaret Dickson Falley's Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research (self-published, 1962). Grenham's book is by far the best work available on Irish genealogy and is essential for individuals and institutions researching the subject. For a comprehensive collection development article on genealogy, see the reviewer's "Branching Out into Genealogy," LJ 11/1/92.--Ed.
- Judith P. Reid, Library of Congress
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.