Céad Míle Fáilte

"A Hundred Thousand Welcomes" to the website of the Genealogical Society of Ireland - Ireland's most active genealogical organisation!

The Society was established in 1990 to promote the study of genealogy and related subjects as educational leisure pursuits available to all in the community irrespective of age, prior-learning, background or socio-economic circumstances. The Society promotes an interest in genealogy in Ireland by organising Open Meetings, lectures, workshops, publishing genealogical material and exhibiting at major relevant events in the Country.

The Cathaoirleach (Chairperson) of the Genealogical Society of Ireland now invites you to join our Society and to get involved in your personal family research and resolving the queries surrounding your own Irish roots. You owe it to yourself to do this and, of course, you post your queries in the special section in the members' only area. Our monthly Gazette keeps you up to date with what is happening in Ireland and our annual journal is always a very interesting read. Past copies of the GSI Journal can be ordered through our  on-line shop [currently under reconstruction]

I encourage you to visit the Society's shop and to view the many interesting booklets that we have published, the work done in recording cemetery inscriptions and the memorials of the military personal stationed in Ireland. These you can easily order by using a credit card or PAYPAL.

The Census of Ireland taken in 1901 and 1911 are now freely available on the website of the National Archives - it's easy to make a start! The Society has successfully campaigned to have the release of the 1926 Census of Ireland included in the new Programme for Government and hopes that the amending legislation will be introduced without delay. We are also delighted that the Programme for Government includes a commitment to amend the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997 to provide a proper legal basis for Irish heraldic services since 1943.

The Society's Archives and Research Centre, An Daonchartlann, is located at the Carlisle Pier, Dún Laoghaire Harbour. Members are encouraged to visit and use the Society's Archive by appointment with our This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   The Society's Archive & Research Centre is open every Wednesday and Friday from 10.30hrs to 16.30hrs (except 4th Weds. open at 13.00hrs)  for visitors without appointment.

For information on the Society's new group project - Irish DNA Atlas - please checkout the 'Irish DNA Atlas Newsletter'  which clearly outlines the objectives and methodology of this important All-Ireland project.  Hopefully, members and friends from around the thirty-two counties of Ireland will paricipate in this exciting project which is conducted in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The Irish DNA Atlas project is based at the Society's Archive & Research Centre, please see the opening times on our "Facebook" page which is accessible via the link on the top right of this page and through the Breaking News button to the right. You can also follow the Society on Twitter - getting all the updates and news on @GenSocIreland

If you have some books, magazines etc with a genealogical theme which you would like to donate to the Society's Archives & Research Centre please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or any of the Directors on the Board who will make arrangements to collect these items and bring them to An Daonchartlann.

As a totally independent genealogical organisation in Ireland and a registered educational charity, the Society is a strong advocate on behalf of its members on matters of public policy and legislation relating to genealogy, heraldry and heritage matters in Ireland and overseas.

Good luck with your research and I look forward to welcoming you as a Member of "Ireland's most active genealogical organisation".

Pádraic Ingoldsby, MGSI - Cathaoirleach.

 RESEARCH INFORMATION

The Genealogical Society of Ireland strongly recommends that anybody wishing to trace their Irish ancestry, as a first step, get a copy of 'Tracing Your Irish Ancestors' by John Grenham, MA, MAPGI, FIGRS, FGSI, published by Gill and Macmilla. Make sure it's the latest edition - see: www.gillmacmillan.ie 

However, in the meantime please download the information booklet produced by Fáilte Ireland 'Tracing Your Ancestors in Ireland' from the panel to the right on this website. It's an excellent source for useful websites etc. There are also some very useful websites listed under 'Links' on the bottom right panel of this website.

Remember  it is always of great assistance to join a genealogical organisation - this Society always welcomes new members.

The Society does not undertake commercial genealogical research assignments and therefore, we direct all such enquiries to the following:

Although there is no official accrediting body for Irish genealogists involved in commercial research, many have successfully completed diploma courses offered by University College Dublin and other institutions in Ireland. Lists of professional genealogists are provided by the National Library of Ireland, National Archives of Ireland, Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland Limited (APGI) and on the website http://24-7genealogist.com

Remember the Society's Archive & Research Centre, An Daonchartlann, at the Carlisle Pier (Old Mail-Boat Pier) in Dún Laoghaire is open each Wednesday and Friday from 10.30hrs to 16.30hrs (except 4th Weds. open at 13.00hrs) providing a Free Family History Advisory Service to visitors to this unique facility.   

20th Anniversary Appeal

The Society is supporting the initiative by Bosnian students and acdemics to restock the Library of the University of Sarajevo which was totally destroyed in 1992 during the Bosnian civil war. The university's library collection was housed in the iconic National Library building which was destroyed by shelling with the loss of over two million items, including thousands of historic manuscript.

With the 90th anniversary in 2012 of the destruction of the Public Records Office in Dublin at the start of the Irish Civil War in 1922, we in Ireland must fully appreciate the loss experienced by the Bosnians when their main national cultural institution was engulfed in flames in 1992. Therefore, the Society has developed an initiative in conjunction with the students at Sarajevo and some MEPs to mark these two anniversaries at European Union level. Further information will be available early next year.

In the meantime, authors and Publishing Houses are encouraged to donate copies of their academic works in any discipline to the Library of the University of Sarajevo. Ireland's premier academic publisher, Four Courts Press, is supporting this initiative. 

Individuals around the world are also encouraged to assist with the project by donating any unwanted contemporary academic works in any discipline (in any of the main world languages) to the Library of the University of Sarajevo.

Donations of books should be sent to:

For further information see the project website: www.books4vijecnica.com