Firstly Ireland’s island situation is clearly more conducive to a readably traceable genealogical study than would be the case with countries on mainland Europe accessible by land, such as Italy or Poland.

Even the U.K, with its three separate states and similar island situation bears no comparison in its ensuing complexities,largely due to the extent of the British Empire and the resulting mass movements of peoples it caused.

For Irish genealogical purposes the British politician Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘rivers of blood’ speech and the quintessentially Irish contention that “The British conquered theworld and the world followed them home” is actually quite instructive in so far as it reminds usthat Irish genealogy could in fact be far denser than it is.

The diversity of peoples in the U.K is really only comparable with the U.S.A on a broad scale.

In his speech Powell referred to an “Intractable phenomenon on the other side of the Atlantic…interwoven with the history and existence of the U.S.A itself, is coming upon us here…indeed, it has all but come. In numerical terms, it will be of American proportions long before the end ofthe century”.

Powell argued that although “many thousands” of immigrants wanted to integrate, he contended that the majority did not.And that some had vested interests in fostering racial and religious differences “with a view to the exercise of actual domination, first over fellow-immigrants and then over the rest of the population”.

Powell quoted Virgil’s epic poem Aeneid, speaking of “wars, terrible wars, and the Tiber foaming with much blood”.

Fortunately the genealogy of Ireland is on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of volatility, and the new century has dawned without such tribulations.

However, for those undertaking genealogical study two important points remain.

Firstly in general where the integration of immigrants into society is found to be most complete and seamless it becomes more difficult to trace genealogical roots.

This is because the process of assimilation into the host society will invariably reduce the distinguishing cultural and ethnic characteristics of a particular genealogy.

Secondly it is always a good idea to have an awareness of the political climate of the period you are studying.

Because this can dramatically influence the availability of state and religious documentation.Ireland genealogy research can be challenging as we will see in further genealogical articles on this site..but it can be done.

There are many research methods available to Genealogists ranging from the personal to the historical to the scientific. To use a basic example, a father has a personal relation to his son; this is denoted on both his birth and baptism certificates and this, in turn, can now be verified by DNA testing, as Courts around the world have done in innumerable succession and paternity cases.

Many of the salutary tales of DNA testing equally apply back generations and these methods can now be applied to both genealogical and archaeological endeavours. There is however a broader point here; the advent of the scientific age has brought a sea change to genealogical faculties the world over.

Obviously the simplest way of tracing your relatives is by primary aural proofs; clearly this frequently extends to grandparents or great grandparents who may have knowledge of their great grandparents.

Or if that’s too much of a mouthful we can state that the maximum possible number of generations communicable by aural means is eight; your great grandparent may recall his or her great grandparent but to trace your relatives by aural information beyond eight generations would be remarkable indeed.

Beyond that point written documents are the next frame of reference, though it is inevitable that at some stage in the not too distant future genealogical data will be stored exclusively by electronic means; indeed this process is already underway.

However it should be pointed out that for verifiable authenticity a hard copy of original documentation is eminently preferable; the practical approach dictates that there is no need to complicate. Therefore you should always start with the most readily available option when attempting to trace your relatives.

Griffiths Valuation

An extremely useful aide to genealogical investigation is Griffith’s Valuation, named after Richard Griffith is a detailed survey of Irish towns and rural communities, conducted in the mid nineteenth century and published in 1868.

Similarly, the Tithe Books (tithe is the Irish for a tenth or 10% the rate of tax imposed by the English clergy) which contain the names of Church of Ireland tax defaulters in the early 19th century are an exclusive resource and can be accessed by the public in the National Archives of Ireland.

With regard to the National Archive anyone undertaking genealogical research should be aware of the profound impact on the genealogy of Ireland caused by the fact that many public records were damaged and destroyed in 1922.

The Public Record Office of Ireland was located in the Four Courts, a historic group of buildings housing Ireland’s highest courts situated north of the River Liffey in Dublin’s city centre.

On April 13th 1922, anti-Treaty forces in Ireland Civil War occupied the Four Courts and based themselves in the Public Record Office on account of the fact that it was the most readily defendable building, being the most fortified in the Courts.

Of course in a typically imperfect application of Murphy’s Law the area of the Public Record Office most fortifiable happened to contain the most vital documentation.

After a protracted siege pro treaty forces, under pressure from the British government began heavy bombing of the Four Courts resulting the near total destruction of the Public Record Office. All of the documents housed in the Strong Room were destroyed by fire, most notably the 19th-century census returns, from 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851.

Church of Ireland records, declared public records in the wake of disestablishment in 1871, were also destroyed, as were an extensive library of original wills and a mass of sovereign documentation going back several hundred years.

Amazingly in spite of this genealogical disaster there remains a wealth of information on the Genealogy of Ireland which hopefully will prove sufficient for Irish lineal studies in the future.

They were charged with treason for their part in the rebellion, an offence punishable by death. Pleading their case before magistrates Thomas Meagher was ultimately, true to his word
“My Lord, this is our first offence but not our last. If you will be easy with us this once, we promise, on our word as gentlemen, to try better next time — sure we won’t be fools, and get caught.”

The presiding Judge sentenced the nine men to be hung, drawn and quartered. Subsequently Queen Victoria commuted the sentence to exile on account of widespread public and political pressures. The men were shipped to Australia and to the work camps on the inhospitable terrain of Van Diemen’s Land, modern day Tasmania.

Over a quarter of a century later in 1874, Queen Victoria learned that one Sir Charles Duffy, the elected Prime Minister of Australia, was in fact the very same man whom she had exiled twenty five years previously. Upon further examination of the records of the men conviceted alongside Duffy, it was established that his was not the only startling biography.

Thomas Francis Meagher had become Governor of the State of Montana, United States of America. Patrick Donahue and Terrence McManus were both Brigadier Generals in the United States Army. Richard O’Gorman had become Governor General of Newfoundland.

Morris Lyene was now the Attorney General of Australia. Thomas D’Arcy McGee was a Member of Parliament, Montreal, Minister of Agriculture and President of Council Dominion of Canada.

John Mitchell had become an important New York Politician and was the Father of John P. Mitchell, Mayor of New York.

This remarkable story has become part of the United States Congressional Record in Washington, D.C. and is held as a fine example of the excellence of the Irish in exile and it is also a reminder of the importance of what is termed today as’ personal history’ and the fact that this can, in the fullness of time, become history itself..

Without a doubt, the larger the family tree is the more effort that will be required and the greater the level of difficulty involved; this should be considered prior to undertaking your project.

Simplest method to design a family tree

The simplest way to design a family tree is by starting with yourself and progress from there. So unlike with real trees, the family tree begins at the top and traces its way back to the roots from that point.

Documentation and Records

As a general rule your family tree should be supported by as much documentation and evidence as possible.

Accordingly, it is always a good idea to archive any items related to your family tree and then store them separately, thus avoiding the dreaded scenario of having to start again from scratch.

If you are very successful in your research you may find your family tree expanding beyond manageable proportions. At this stage you have a few options.

Pruning

One is pruning, which essentially means removing any persons from your family tree that bear little relevance to what motivated your original interest in your genealogy or removing any persons on whom information is simply unattainable.

Alternatively you could try splicing your family tree; normally this will involve splitting the family tree in two by some category or other such as male/female, paternal/ maternal, maiden name/ married name and so forth.

Strategic approach

You may also find other people who have completed similar research to yourself, so it is always a good idea to list what publications are available to you and adopt a strategic approach, when the temptation can be to dive in head first into a deluge of relations!

Whatever approach you decide to take climbing your family tree is certain to be a challenging yet satisfying experience