When you are starting an Irish family tree, tracing your ancestors can be somewhat difficult. Especially if you do not have any idea of the exact place of origin in Ireland. So to start your search it is recommended to begin in the country where you know your family settled.

You might think just knowing you are of Irish heritage would be enough of a start. Ireland is full of small towns and parishes. Which is the best source of information? There was a fire in Dublin that destroyed many records in the 18th century. There was another fire in the 1920′s the destroyed many public records.

If you had Irish relatives that lived in a country with large Irish communities, such as the US, Canada, Great Britain and Australia you may find the list of sources below to be a help in tracing your family tree.

- Naturalization Records – Tombstone Inscriptions – Military Records – Insurance And Bank Records – Passenger Arrival Lists – Deeds – Newspaper Obituaries – Bible Records – Wills And Probate Records

These records will all vary and some may be of help. It usually depends on the location and time period you are searching. If after searching these records and you still have no luck finding a hometown, I would suggest you expand your search. By that, I mean try looking for siblings, cousins, friends or anyone else you know of that might be in the area at the same time as your immediate family member.

If you have hit a roadblock and can only narrow your family tree search to a county then you may want to try searching these sources. Naturally, by now you know the parishes hold many records but also try baronies, poor law unions, dioceses, probate districts in the various counties of interest.

These sources were quite popular in Ireland at one time and they usually kept very good records of the residents in that district. There is a myth that many of the Irish records have been lost or destroyed. However, that really is just a myth.

There are many records that are intact and very useful for genealogy research. There was a great loss of records when the fire in 1922 destroyed the Public Record Office. Most of those records that were lost were from the 19th-century census and the Church of Ireland parish records. While that was a great loss of information, there are still many records that were not housed in the Public records office that are still available today. Among the records you can search are the civil records of births, marriages, and deaths. Also all the non Church of Ireland parish records, property records and later censuses.

I hope that these tips can help you narrow down your search for your Irish ancestors and help you with your family tree.