Exploring Your Irish Ancestry

The tragic image of the starving Irish emigrant is burned in our collective consciousness. It was born in the Great Famine of 1845-51, the watershed of Irish emigration. But the Irish had been leaving Ireland long before then, and still were long after.

Not all emigrants left because of hunger. Many were attracted by the promise of 600-acre plots in the Midwest, or a claim on the Californian or Victorian goldfields.

Between 1871 and 1961, the average annual net emigration from Ireland consistently exceeded the natural increase in the Irish population. While for the old country, the resultant population drain was disastrous, for the new countries, particularly the United States and Australia, the Irish diaspora proved a boon. The Irish worked hard in their new homes, filling posts from publican to police officer to politician.

Today, more than 40 million Americans have Irish ancestry. Sixteen out of the first 42 US presidents were of Irish descent, a fact which is celebrated at the Andrew Jackson Centre in County Antrim and the Kennedy Homestead in County Wexford.

The Irish contribution to Australia has been similarly profound. One in three Australians has Irish ancestry, and Irish-Australian's have been leaders in every facet of Australian life, from sports to literature to fighting conscription and organising the labour movement.

For an insight into the emigrant experiences, a visit to one of Ireland's best museums, the Ulster American Folk Park, is a must. The connection is a close one: the American Declaration of Independence was signed by several Ulstermen. The park is the outdoor museum where the 'living history' exhibits are split into Old World and New World areas, cleverly linked by passing through a replica emigrant ship.

The Queenstown Story Heritage Centre in County Cork contains an interpretive centre that explores, among other things, the 'coffin ships' that transported thousands of Irish convicts to the Australian colonies; it also contains a genealogy centre for those wishing to trace their ancestry.

There are an ever-increasing number of services assisting visitors with their genealogical research. Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel even provides a Genealogy Butler for its guests.