How to Trace your Irish Family History: a Step-By-Step Guide

The article does at least confirm what has become very clear to me in trying to research my Ireland-born ancestors, namely that it is nearly impossible to trace individuals born in Ireland before about 1800 or even slightly later. I would think that most serious, experienced genealogists can push their Ireland research back to about 1840 or even 1820 or so, but in my case, my maternal grandfather’s Irish side (who were so-called ‘Ulster Scots’) were born in County Londonderry, and I believe as well also the Belfast area, around or slightly before 1800; they immigrated to New Brunswick (now Canada, not at that time of course) in the early 1800s. Another Irish line (on my maternal grandmother’s side) were originally pre-Revolutionary immigrants to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, but as Loyalists they ended up being driven from the US in 1783 and they relocated to Nova Scotia. In going over DNA-predicted connections I have found some matches which I now am fairly certain point to a common link in Ireland, and around or before 1800, but what use is that in the end?

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