Thank you for registering for the online seminar, Finding Irish Ancestors: A Guide to Civil and Church Records!
Unlock your Irish family story! In this five-week, online course you will learn how to move past brick walls and discover new generations of ancestors. Led by nationally recognized genealogy experts, this course guides you step by step through Ireland’s most important civil and church records—showing you not only what records exist, but how to use them successfully. You’ll explore Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, and Quaker records, along with lesser-known sources such as minister’s diaries and membership rolls that can reveal rich details. Packed with practical strategies, expert insights, and real-life case studies, this course will give you the confidence and tools you need to make meaningful breakthroughs in your Irish ancestry research. Whether you’re just getting started or revisiting long-standing puzzles, this course will help bring your Irish ancestors—and their stories—into clearer focus.
This course includes five 90-minute classes and exclusive access to handouts and recordings of each presentation. These recordings and all course materials will be available for the foreseeable future.
JOIN THE LIVE BROADCASTS
Click here to join the live broadcasts: https://zoom.us/j/95762578231
Tuesdays, March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31, 6:00 – 7:30 PM ET
If you are unable to attend the live sessions, you will be able to view recordings on this course page.
CLASS TOPICS
March 3 - Class 1: Understanding Civil Registration, Presented by Judy Lucey
In this first class you will build a strong foundation for Irish family history research by mastering Ireland’s civil registration records. This session introduces birth, marriage, and death records—what information they contain, where to find them, and how to use them effectively. You’ll learn how civil registration evolved over time and how to extract clues that can lead you to earlier generations, even when details seem sparse.
March 10 - Class 2: Other Civil Records, Rhonda R. McClure
What do you do when civil records are missing or incomplete? Before moving on to Church records in later classes, this session will discuss a myriad of other sources that can substitute for lost or destroyed records and provide important details of your ancestors’ lives. Learn how historical events and record loss shaped what survives today—and how to compensate using census substitutes, Giffith’s Valuation and other land records, estate and tax records, and creative research strategies that keep your Irish ancestry search moving forward.
March 17 - Class 3: Leveraging Church Parish Records, Melanie McComb
Church parish records are often the key to unlocking Irish ancestry before civil registration. This session provides in-depth guidance on locating and using Catholic, Church of Ireland, and Presbyterian parish registers. You’ll learn what types of records exist, what information they may reveal, and how to access them in Ireland and online—opening the door to earlier generations and deeper community connections.
March 24 - Class 4: Exploring Other Church Records, Eileen Pironti
Go beyond baptism, marriage, and burial registers to discover lesser-known church records that can add richness and context to your research. This class explores minister’s diaries, membership rolls, Quaker “sufferings,” and other denominational records across Catholic, Church of Ireland, and Presbyterian traditions. These sources can provide rare insights into daily life, religious affiliation, migration, and personal experiences.
March 31 - Class 5: Piecing it Together: Case studies, Rhonda R. McClure
See Irish genealogy research in action through real-world case studies that bring together civil and church records. This concluding session demonstrates how experienced researchers analyze evidence, overcome obstacles, and piece together family stories despite record gaps. You’ll leave with practical problem-solving techniques you can immediately apply to your own Irish ancestry research.
COURSE HANDOUTS
To come.
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
To come.
OTHER RESOURCES
Fan Club Spreadsheet Template (.xlsx)
Archived Webinar: Researching Famine Irish Ancestors in Ireland's Poor Law Unions
Archived Webinar: The Scots-Irish in American: Origins and Migrations
Archived Webinar: Anniversary of the Four Courts Fire in Dublin
Archived Webinar: Understanding Irish Land Divisions
Research Guide: Irish Genealogy
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Judy Lucey, Senior Archivist, oversees the management and preservation of the American Ancestors Special Collections. She received a B.S. in Education from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Library Science from Simmons College. She is co-author of the Genealogist's Handbook for Irish Research and frequently contributes to American Ancestors magazine. Her areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, the Atlantic Canadian Provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and New England.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy; is compiler of more than 120 celebrity family trees; has been a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History. Her areas of expertise include: Immigration and naturalization, Late 19th and early 20th Century urban research, Missionaries (primarily in association with the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions), State Department Federal Records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software (FTM, RootsMagic, TMG, Reunion), digital peripherals, and uses both Mac and Windows machines.
Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist, assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is an international lecturer who teaches on a variety of topics. Melanie holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She previously served as the social media coordinator for the NextGen Genealogy Network, a non-profit that creates a community for younger genealogists, where she managed the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She continues her interest in helping younger genealogists get involved at American Ancestors by assisting with educational programs from local schools, scout groups, and universities. Her areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, DNA, Atlantic Canada, Jewish genealogy, and military records.
Eileen Pironti, Senior Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press graduated with a B.A. from Saint Anselm College, and received an M.S. from American University. She wrote about her ancestors’ participation in the colonization of Nobles County, Minnesota in “‘An Invitation to the Land’: Reconstructing James and Eliza Conlon’s Migration to Minnesota,” which was published in the Summer 2011 issue of American Ancestors magazine. She lectures frequently about Irish research in particular and co-led research tours to Dublin and Belfast for American Ancestors. Eileen's areas of expertise include Irish, Scottish, and 19th century New England research.