Here are some of the best family research sites that are available online

Over the past number of years, IrishCentral has witnessed history in the field of Irish genealogy. 

The 1901 and 1911 censuses are online and provide a wealth of information for Irish Americans and Irish Diaspora all over the world. 

The Internet has shown itself to be a massive asset when it comes to doing preliminary research on your Irish roots. Last August an Irish Voice story showed us just how useful the Internet can be as a professional genealogist traced, Margaret Kelly, the oldest Irish woman in America’s, past back to her birth in Clare, in 1922, in just a couple of hours online.

With over 70 million people around the world claiming Irish ancestry, there’s a chance that you have some Irish roots. Why not take look? Your Irish roots are only a click away.

We’ve put together a list of some online genealogy sites that we thought might help you connect with your Irish roots.

If you know of any other useful sites for our readers please let them know in the comments below.

Here's our list:

Ireland's National Archives

This site is most certainly one of the most valuable genealogy assets to have emerged in recent years. Here you can look back at the Census of Ireland in 1901 and 1911 and find your ancestors. The censuses also provide information on religion, occupation, relationship to head of the family, literacy status, county or country of origin, Irish language proficiency, illness and child survival information.

You can also view business records and national education records.

Findmypast

Findmypast has over 114 million Irish family records and over 4 billion searchable records worldwide. Findmypast has collaborative partnerships with several prominent family history organizations, libraries and archives including the Federation of Family History Societies, the Society of Genealogists, FamilySearch, The British Library, the Imperial War Museum, The National Archives & the National Archives of Ireland.

Ancestry.com

This site is truly incredible and really needs no introduction. This site can allow you access to records from all over the world. You can search for details on certificates, military records and a myriad of other details on your ancestors.

Irish Genealogy

This site allows access to the records of the Catholic dioceses of Ireland, and the Church of Ireland in certain counties, providing details on baptisms, marriages, and burials. This site also gives you tips on how to start your search and plan a visit to Ireland to search for more details.

General Register Office of Ireland

This is where birth adoptions, stillbirth, marriage, and death certificates in Ireland live. Through this site, you can get access to any of these certificates for the price of €10.

General Register Office of Northern Ireland

Similarly, this site gives you access to certificate records in Northern Ireland from 1864 on.

Ellis Island records

The famous port of Ellis Island has a fantastic collection of records. It allows you to view the passenger manifest, ship manifest and even an image of the ship your ancestor arrived in the United States in. It also has a huge collection of histories, images, and other fascinating information.

Ancestry Ireland

This site provides a service by which their experts will carry out the research into your ancestors and roots on your behalf. This site established by the Ulster Historical Foundation also allows you to do the research yourself they can give you access to birth, marriage and death certificates, gravestone inscriptions, and street directories. They also have detailed townland maps.

Internment.net

This website is used by genealogists and local historians to help them locate burials. You can track down where family members were buried and learn about the cemeteries.

Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1823-1849

This site does exactly what it says on the tin. You can search for your ancestors by name or by a specific date.

Clare Library

If your families roots are in County Clare then you’re in luck. This library website is a wealth of information on genealogy in the area, from a list of tithe payments to group memberships and school registrations.

Belfast Families

This site contains records of 276,000 families in Belfast, apart from the east.

Immigrantships.net

Here you can search arrival zones boat by boat to find information on ancestors who emigrated from Ireland to the US, Argentina, and several other locations.

RootsIreland.ie

Here you can carry out a free search for birth, baptismal, marriage, burial, death, census, and gravestone inscription records.

Landed Estates

This website allows you to search for information on historic houses in the regions of Connacht and Munster.

If you have a story you’d like to share with the IrishCentral Community please sign up to the IrishCentral Contributor’s Network here. Your story will be reviewed by IrishCentral’s Editorial team.

*Originally published in 2013