Many budding genealogists believe that tracing their Irish family history begins in Ireland, but it doesn’t. To make a trip to Ireland worthwhile, you must first learn as much as you can about the ancestors you’re looking for, including their Irish surnames, where they lived in Ireland, and the dates they lived there.

The fact that you have family history in Ireland is not enough. Try to find specific information about a particular Irish relative; the more you know before you attempt a search of Irish records, the better. Try to find:

- the townland or parish address
- year of emigration
- port of immigration
- name of spouse and children, if applicable

Of course this is an intimidating task, and you will need to search various Irish records to find this information. But you can build on the many clues you will find as you work on your Irish genealogy-just remember when search any records, you are looking for three main points: name, location and date.

Speaking of Irish names-and especially Irish surnames, be aware that the surnames found in Ireland reflect the history and variety of people who settled in Ireland. The use of surnames became widespread in the 11th century as the population grew. In the beginning, Irish surnames were formed by adding “Mac” to the father’s personal name (MacNeil was the son of Neil) or “O” for an earlier ancestor (O’Brien was the descendant of Brian). Also be aware that a very large variety of spellings of the same Irish name occurred because of the process of Anglicization as well as the widespread illiteracy in Ireland before the 20th century. For instance, the Irish surname “Cairns” has been spelled variously as Cairns, Carns, Cearnes, Kerns and Kearnes. This makes tracing your Irish genealogy difficult, but once you are aware of the possibilities, you should be able to find your Irish records.