The image above on the left is a detail from Richard Bartlett's A.D. 1602 map of Ulster showing the inauguration of the O'Neill chief/king at Tullyhogue, County Tyrone. Bartlett has been called, "…

My Irish backpacking, no-low budget, roving reporter tour as it stands now:

- Arrive Dublin from Bristol Sept 1

- Taking bus or train to Carrick-On-Shannon, County Leitrim.

- Meeting WG admin Anna Porter (she followed my google streetview lead and found the ruins of PJ Clarke's actual homestead for OUR FROM IRELAND TO MANHATTAN VIDEO on the Irish immigrant turned Manhattan pub owner) and Eileen…

My family visited Wexford in June of 2008. We rented a car while in Wexford and on the second day drove out to see the Jamestown House Stud Farm. My ancestor Joseph Gray built the house at the farm in 1811. Another Gray house is located at Whitefort. The ruins can be seen on the website of Tarquin Blake, "Abandoned Ireland." We enjoyed driving around Co.Wexford to view the…

My search for information on my long lost sister, Kathleen, using all means available.

The first knowledge I had concerning the existence of my sister, was relayed to me in Scotland, in January, 1996.  I was on holiday, visiting a cousin, along with my eldest daughter and my youngest…

My maternal Grandmother was a Corcoran from Knockaderry in County Kerry.  Knockaderry is just around the corner from the Kerry Airport in Farranfore.  One of thirteen kids, Grandma could not wait to get off the island.  Thankfully, she waited until a few days after the 1911 census!  She emigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago where other family members had already…

UPDATE:  My Irish Backpacking, No-Low Budget, Roving Reporter Tour So Far!

The Ferry to Rosslaire across the Irish Sea from Pembrook or a flight to Dublin from Warwickshire and a train down to the Parish of Carne and the most likely villages of my Scallion and Doyle ancestors? A bus to one of the two hostels in Gorey and/or pick up a tent and sleeping bag and camp out at beautiful…

Mum told me a story years ago about her godchild's mother and aunt being shot by the British army. Even though I have been digging around in her O'Rourke past, she always refers me to this other side of her family who she reminisces about with such fondness. When mum ran away from home, she went to live with Uncle James who…

Photo courtesy of Jane Lyons

For any of you who are researching their family history in Ireland, you might want to take a look at:…

The online availablity of core genealogy material such as census returns, births, marriages and deaths records, emigration/immigration lists, military service records etc can prove such an attractive lure to family history researchers that they often overlook the wealth of information that can be gleaned from newspapers. Although census returns and BMD data can provide the bread and butter facts needed to compile a family tree, newspapers can provide the details that flesh out a person's…

Branch: M42

Age: About 75,000 Years Ago

Location of Origin: Africa

The common direct paternal ancestor of all men alive today was born in Africa around 140,000 years ago. Dubbed “Y-chromosome Adam” by the popular press, he was neither the first human male nor the only man…

(First published in December 2011)

Maura Mulligan was first-born in a family of six siblings, children of farmers who ran the family farm in the rural village of Aghamore, County Mayo.  After immigrating to the United States and working for telephone companies and even trying life in the convent, Maura took up memoir and fiction…

By Susan Kimura



During Ireland's Great Famine 3,000 Irish Quakers contributed their time,…

This Q&A with Genealogist Deborah Large Fox was previously posted in our weekly newsletter but we feel is well worth posting this very popular genealogy blogger's interview, in it's entirety, for those who have not signed up for our free newsletter...enjoy!…

Almost all genealogy researchers have a goal of discovering the immigrant ancestor especially the Irish! Where did they come from? Why did they choose this land? What did they do after they got here?…

Susan Potts Kimura read an article in TheWildGeese.com on Tennis In Ireland by James Doherty. Her famous Waterford relative Tennis Player Joshua Pim (Right: nicknamed The Ghost) was featured with a photo.  Susan had never seen a likeness of him and…

By Megan Smolenyak, Genealogy Expert & Author of "…