POPULAR IRISH WEBSITES
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
… this a website where “You’ll find all the information and contacts you need to help you discover your heritage in Ireland. Whether you’re just starting out on your family history search or you’ve already made some headway on your journey, Irish Genealogy Toolkit will lead you to a greater understanding of how your ancestors lived and where you come from.providing information on getting started with family research in Ireland”
Irish Government Websites
- National Library of Ireland – Family History Research Section
(providing information on getting started with research in Ireland) - National Library of Ireland – Sources Section
(providing information on the library’s Irish research collections in the form of over 180,000 catalogue records for Irish manuscripts, and for articles in Irish periodicals.) - National Archives in Dublin (NationalArvhives.ie – Genealogy)
(providing access to Census Records for 1901 and 1911, Census survivals for 1821-51, Census Search forms for 1841-51,the Tithe Applotment Books from 1823 to 1837, the Soldiers’ Wills from 1914 to 1917, and the Calendars of Wills from 1858 to 1922) - Ireland Reaching Out (XO) website
(a website specifically set up by the Republic of Ireland
to connect local Irish volunteers with the descendants of
Irish Expatriots (Expats) seeking to find a link to the home
of their Irish ancestors)
- Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
(dedicated to preserving and making available Northern Ireland’s unique archival heritage and community memory) - Northern Ireland’s GRONI website
(a website developed to facilitate access to historical
and archival records within Northern Ireland)
Other Irish Genealogy Websites
- John Grenham’s list of Irish genealogy websites
- Irish Language Dictionnary
- Irish Family History Foundation (IFHF) Website
(Official Website of Ireland’s County Genealogy Centres – IFHF – providing a centralized capability for searching for one’s ancestor in all Irish counties except for Carlow, Kerry and Cork South) - Ireland’s Genealogy Projects Website (IGP-Web.com)
(not-for-profit website providing access to many historical records, but limited in scope; of particular interest is the Co. Carlow portion of the website ) - LDS’s FamilySearch Website (FamilySearch.org) – Irish Records
(providing, among other things, transcripts of approx. 30 Roman Catholic parishes, mostly in Counties Kerry, Cork and Roscommon) - IrishGenealogy Website (IrishGenealogy.com)
(providing a centralized register of links to Irish records available online: Church Records, Census Records, Property Records – e.g. Griffiths & Tithe Applotments, Migration Records, Graveyards, Military And Police Records, Records of Irish Abroad, etc;
some records for Counties Cork and Kerry) - Fáilte Romhat Website (FailteRomhat.com)
(providing free-of-charge information extracted from various censuses, postal and commercial directories, cemeteries and newspapers in the form of online databases and transcribed documents; some records for County Cork ) - Ireland’s GenWeb Website – (IrelandGenWeb.com)
(providing links to known online genealogical resources within Ireland – part of the WorldGenWeb Project) - UlsterAncestry.com Website
(providing access to online information supporting ancestral research in Northern Ireland) - Documenting Ireland – Parliament, People and Migration Website (DIPPAM & EPPI)
(providing an online virtual archive of documents and sources relating to the history of Ireland and its migration experience from the 18th to the late 20th century) - … feel free to suggest another Ireland-specific Research Link
QUICK SEARCH in IRELAND
- Familiarize yourself with Irish Geography
(this webpage provides links to other websites where the researcher can learn more about Ireland’s religious and civil land divisions, down to the “townland” level, a townland being a parcel of land within a county not only with a given land measure but also with a name, such as Shangarry, Kilmaglush, etc.) - Search in this website’s Family Stories database
(many stories from around the world are documented here;
the researcher may browse by geograpical area and also do a general search” using keywords) - Search in this website’s Memorials database
(many tombstones in and around Co. Carlow are documented here; the researcher may browse by cemetery and also do a general “search” using keywords) - Search in the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837)
(these books record land holdings and tithes payable by occupants) - Search in Griffith’s Valuation (1847-1863)
(these books record valuations for properties and occupants) - Search in the Irish Censuses (1901, 1911)
( looking at the image version (PDF file) of these censuses, may reveal additional valuable information such as the number of years a person has been married and, on occasion, relationships beyond the immediate family such as when a cousin, brother-in-law, etc. is recorded as living with the family)
ANCIENT ANCESTORS
Based upon currently known Nolan DNA test results (at the FamilyTreeDNA website) we know that most modern-day Nolan descendants, like most males with European origins, belong to the R1b haplogroup/subtree of the human family.
Armed with this fact, you may also want to explore what modern-day archaeogeneticists have discovered about the early wanderings of our distant Nolan ancestors prior to reaching Ireland.
IRISH HISTORY
- Old European culture (prehistoric context)
- Irish History, Genealogy and Culture
- An Overview of Irish History and Culture
- The Story of the Irish Race
- A View of Irish History through Maps
- European and Irish History Pins (on Pinterest)
- You may also wish check out the
history links at the Clans of Ireland website - …
- feel free to suggest your favourite Irish history website
Of particular interest to Nolan descendants should also be a book published in 2000 under the sponsorship of the modern-day Nolan Clan family association. Entitled O’Nolan – The History of a People it is still available for purchase (if interested click on the above link).
IRISH GEOGRAPHY
TRAVEL TO IRELAND
- Official Website of Tourism Ireland – Things to Do, etc.
- Discover Ireland Website – Things to Do, Where to Stay, etc.
- Ireland Reaching Out (XO) Website – Advice on Planning
- Fat Tire Tours Website – Advice on Travel to Find Your Roots
You may also want to take a look at the:
- Nolan-Miller Family History website
… besides documenting the results of personal family history research by a Nolan descendant (Lewis “Buzz” Nolan), this website also includes a travelogue component, describing the travels of Buzz and his wife Betty
For information on an area in Ireland where you plan to spend more time I recommend that you do an Internet search for a website for that area. For example, entering search parameters [ “Ballon Village” website ] in the search field of your favourite search engine (e.g. Google.com), you will find the Ballon Village website amongst the top 5 search results. Such “local” websites offer prospective visitors a rare glimpse into modern-day life in Ireland.
Here are links to a few such “local websites” identified using the technique described above:
- Ballon Village, Co. Carlow
(Ballykealey townland, home to the last historically known Nolan Chief, Cahir O’Nolan, is located just outside this village) - Carlow Town, Co. Carlow
- Bunclody, Co. Wexford
- Bree parish, Co. Wexford
- Wexford City, Co. Wexford
- Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny
- Waterford, Co. Waterford
- Galway City, Co. Galway
- Dublin City, Co. Dublin
Although you can theoretically make all your arrangements for travel and accommodation before leaving for Ireland you will inevitably want to make some arrangements once in Ireland. For the benefit of visitors, Failte Ireland (the Government tourism agency) has a network of tourist offices strewn across the country, including at airports, where travel and accommodation may be arranged.