It may be obvious to some visitors that my name is of Irish origin. I have always known that my paternal grandparents were Irish, and although both myself and my father were born and raised in England, I do consider myself part Irish and I am both proud of and interested in learning more about my Irish heritage.

Although when I began researching my family tree, I originally stuck to my maternal line, it was natural that I would move onto tracing my Irish ancestors; something I knew would present more of a challege due to an assumption that at least some records would be available only in Ireland. It wasn't until that I started researching this line that I realised the extent of how much harder Irish research is to English/Welsh.

This article is to give anyone researching their Irish ancestors some tips on how they can find out more about them.