Genealogy Chat

Thank you all for your advice/thoughts! Will just have to keep hunting! Shame the Irish have ruin the fun for us in UK - makes it so much harder than it needs to be! Helen

I agree with all the above comments. Would anyone suffer mortal injury if the Irish had something similar to 1837online? Would anyone be emotionally scarred if you asked for a birth certificate WITHOUT stating mother's maiden name and place of residence? If the thought of putting the surviving censuses online gives the Irish nightmares, I'm sure Ancestry would LOVE to have them - they'd make an absolute fortune.

Theresa, I lived in Cork for a while Douglas (which was great) and outside Middleton. I live in what I consider (well its my opinion) one of the Great Parts of the Country County Wicklow I am beside the Sea Mountains and a short journey into to Dublin. I agree its well worth especially people near Ireland visiting here, yes its a beautiful place, its great to meet the people plenty of characters but that said it should not be Compulsary for researchers that they have to visit, especially as I am not crazy on flying myself and can understand people needing to travel such a long distance for any information they can get. I too visit graveyards, I have just returned from Kilrane near Rosslare looking for graves, (Not any of my lot )its all part of the fun of research. I still hope those who dont want a long journey or those who cannot travel should have access to more Irish records. Pat

I would agree with Theresa that Ireland is a very beautiful country and well worth visiting. For those down under or America it is more tricky but for the Brits it is easy to get there and I have certainly found myself in many beautiful areas I would not have visited but for the Family History addiction! I will continue to make trips across the water to get to grips with my Irish Roots and I have no intention of paying a "professional " researcher to do my work for me until I am unable to travel, as Pat says half the fun of Family History is getting to grips with the detective work yourself. Irish newspapers are wonderful for obtaining the minutiae of the 1800 and 1900's and often give lists of names of people. These can be searched in London as well as Ireland. Incidentally one of my Irish cousins decided to do the research "quicker" by paying the Tipperary Heritage Society to do the work for her. She paid her money in 2001 and was still waiting for the information in February 04! I offered her my research but at the time she declined as she thought she would get it quicker. She eventually accepted my free help! Janet

The Irish side of research really bugs me. I live in Ireland now and find its easier to continue looking on my English side than to bother with the few Irish Ancestors I have. I refuse to pay ridiculous money to Professional Researchers, and anyway half the fun is the search i.m.o. Its about time the Irish put more of whats left of the records on the net for a reasonable subscription or pay to view scheme. I would say most people Globally have some Irish in the family and it must be a nightmare if you live in America or Down Under. Good luck to anyone doing Irish Research. Pat x

This is from the UHF (Northern Ireland, but it may give you a rough idea): Preliminary assessments are designed for clients with imprecise or incomplete information. For the modest fee of £20stg $31, we can carry out a feasibility study that will provide you with some information on the distribution of the family throughout Ireland. We will also refer to a number of standard sources and carry out a thorough search of our databases. The purpose of a preliminary report is to assess the feasibility of research and it should not be viewed as a genealogical report in its own right. Clients requesting a full family history report pay a non-refundable registration fee of £25stg which covers administration costs. The minimum research budget is £90stg but it should be noted that only a limited amount of work can be undertaken for this amount. The research budget covers the time spent searching the records and compiling the final report. In order to commence research we require an advance of £75stg. This consists of the registration fee plus £50stg of the authorised budget. Incidental expenses (limited to a maximum of 10% of the research budget) are charged as extra. Clients resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland will also be charged VAT at 17.5%. While it is possible to research both the spear (male) and distaff (female) lines simultaneously, you will need to complete separate registration forms and allocate distinct budgets.

I paid $120NZ for, basically, a list of places I could try...what a rip off...never again...I'll keep hoping that one day they may put some Co. Kerry records online :-( Sylvia

If you decide to go through one of the Heritage Centres in Ireland then the basic cost for this research is between £100 and £250.(Translate now to Euros!) It can take a long time to give you a report and no money back guarantee. They also want you to supply as much info as possible to help them research for you! Certain areas of Ireland are tricky to research without some professional help and Tipperary is one of those areas as you cannot access parish registers for Tipperary in Dublin without Bishops permission, and Archbishop of Cashel and Emly refuse permission to everybody. There are ways around the system though and I have researched back to 1796 in Tipperary without professional help. Janet

I was talking to a woman at LEEDS REGISTER OFFICE that had been in touch with DUBLIN office.She told me that she had paid £30 for a search by DUBLIN OFFICE,So goodness knows what a researcher will charge.By the way she was looking for her grandmothers/grandfathers marriage certificate,she had all details and knew they were married in Southern Ireland and what township but DUBLIN TOLD HER THEY COULD NOT FIND IT.She didnt get any money back. so beware with researchers unless they have been recommended by someone you know. Good luck with your research. Sue

Hi. We paid for a search to be done in Co Mayo. The basic search cost 75euros then we paid for the indepth search which was 300euros. We were pleased with the results as it got back four generations. We provided information on the granparents and they did the rest. Gail

Anyone got any ideas of how much professional geneologists cost for a searcho frecords in Southern Ireland? Anyone had any experiences with prof gen? Thanks Helen