The Irish Genealogy Detective: Trace Your Irish Roots

Hey there, I'm Derry 👋

It's really common for guests on our small-group adventure tours to express an interest in tracing Irish roots.

You may be exploring your own extended family ancestry.

You might even be looking for relatives to qualify for an Irish passport.

I sat down with genealogist, Aoife Fitzgerald, to explain her craft and give tips to any amateur archive-diggers out there.

Over 25 years dealing with Irish sources, as well as in the course of researching her book, Aoife has discovered many rich and underused archives.

With her advice, you could access these alternative avenues and start to build a better picture of your Irish roots.

Here we go!

Where To Turn?

Often the problem that people encounter in researching their Irish roots are caused by a lack of primary source material.

Some attribute this to the burning of the Four Courts. This infamous event, in Dublin in 1922, caused many censuses and historical records to be permanently lost.

In other cases, it is a simple lack of knowledge about where to turn.

Never fear! There is still hope.

Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton and his ship, trapped in ice

A Mysterious Shackleton Connection

A client recently came to Aoife with a family connection to Ernest Shackleton.

Alongside Tom Creen, Shackleton is Ireland's most famous polar explorer.

His family home is near Athy in Kildare.

Aoife's client believed the connection to Shackleton was through her father's maternal grandmother. This lady, Dorothy Haughton, had been a Quaker, just like Shackleton.

Aside from surnames, a residence in Carlow — not a million miles from Athy — and some interesting photographs, there was very little information to work with.

Despite this lack of clues, Aoife felt her chances of unearthing results were good.

From the photographs, it was clear that the Haughton family had been well-off.

💡 TIP: FOLLOW THE MONEY. A history of wealth in your family will aid your genealogical research. This is because richer people are more likely to leave a paper trail. Title deeds to propery or businsess and certificates related to marriage settlements can be a great source of information.

Ireland To India & Back Again

One of the photos that Aoife's client gave her appeared to be a scene in India - or at least a more exotic part of the world than Carlow!

This proved to be a key piece of evidence. It was connected to Dorothy's mothers family, the Hollands. It was through the Hollands that Aoife found a link to Ernest Shackleton.

Dorothy's mother was Mary Kathleen Holland. Her paternal grandmother, Mary Bell, was the daughter of William Bell and Ester Foxhall. Therefore, Ernest Shackleton was a second cousin, once removed, of Dorothy Haughton. His paternal grandmother Ellen Bell was a sister of Mary Bell, Dorothy's great grandmother.

Aoife discovered the Shackleton connection only after following the family from Ireland to India, then to England, and finally back to Ireland again.

In the process, Aoife uncovered a rich and complex family story, boasting connections to many other interesting characters.

These included Margaret FitzGerald, the brilliant daughter of Garret Mr FitzGerald, the 15th century uncrowned king of Ireland. Margaret later married her father's great rival, Piers Butler, the 8th Earl of Ormond.

Genealogy is a type of detective work. Aoife's greatest satisfaction comes in combining her academic training with her intuitive detective sense to successfully sniff out a key set of deeds, or a hidden manuscript.

Raise An Ice Cold Pint To Shackleton!

If youre interested in Ernest Shackleton and the epic story of Irish Antarctic exploration, several of our tour itineraries stop at The South Pole Inn in Kerry.

Watch this video of some recent guests who fell in love with The South Pole Inn:

Enjoy an ice cold pint in the very place that Shackleton's cohort, Tom Crean, acted as landlord following the conclusion of several amazing polar adventures.