Getting to the roots of the family tree

The success of the television series, Who Do You Think You Are?, proves that roots research is no longer the preserve of middle-aged American tourists, writes Angie Mezzetti

Kieran Boylan, from Co Monaghan, is typical of the new breed of roots researcher. Aged almost 50, he is Irish and male and stumbled into researching his family tree through an interest in local history.

"I came across Boylans who were ancient rulers in Co Monaghan and I just wondered if I was related to them," he says. It has become a bit of an obsession for him now. "The family think I am a bit mad, but the more I am held back in my research, the more I want to know."

Boylan is using the free advisory service in the National Archives, where he plans to look up the 1901 and 1911 Census returns. If you know where your parents or grandparents lived in those years you can see the return they filled out on Census night in their own handwriting.

The National Library of Ireland was the first national body to offer a free advisory service and the National Archives has followed its example. In both locations you can talk to a professional genealogist and get free advice on how to start looking up the church and State records of members of your family. The genealogists don't do the research for you, but most people enjoy the process of looking up the records for themselves and linking the various bits of information.

Boylan recommends talking to older members of the family.

"A living person will tell you more than you will ever discover in a record," he says. His main motivation is to be able to hand down this information to future generations. "Children in school need to know where they have come from and it teaches them about their own history."

This desire to pass on information about the family is sometimes called "top-of-the-ladder syndrome". It's when you are nearing the top of the family ladder and older members are moving on to the next life; it's a time of reflection.

Genealogist Helen Kelly works in both the National Library and the National Archives services and she believes family research is a kind of spiritual journey.

"It taps into the essence of our being or identity," she says. "We are all carrying characteristics and issues from earlier generations, and doing your family tree can elucidate things lying dormant. We are a little more distant from our ancestors and we see things with new eyes and often more emotional detachment. Social structures have changed so much and you have to be mindful of this when you start this journey."

The popular BBC2 series, Who Do You Think You Are?, has delved into some of these issues as it follows celebrities tracing their roots. The series has led to a rise in family history research in the UK and here in Ireland, where it is the number-one use of the National Library.

"Irish people are increasingly interested in tracing their roots," says the National Library's Colette O'Flaherty, who has seen an increase in callers to the service. "Visitors from the US are always the biggest users of the genealogy advisory service. The UK used to be next, but now Irish people are the second-highest user group."

In 2003, 36 per cent of visitors were from the US, with Irish residents accounting for 29 per cent. The National Archives has noticed a rise in interest from Irish people too.

"Normally it gets quieter before Christmas, but surprisingly our visitor numbers are up in October and again in November," says service manager Aideen Ireland. "Most people are looking for Census returns and wills, but we are also responsible in law for the parochial records of the Church of Ireland up to 1871."

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, recently announced funding of 1.17 million to facilitate a proposed Irish-Canadian project to digitise the 1901 and 1911 Census data and make it available on the Internet. This should take about three years.

The Public Records Office fire in the Four Courts during the Civil War in 1922 is partly responsible for the popular misconception that there is no point in doing research in Ireland. While the loss was substantial, previous generations left many different kinds of paper trails. In general, church baptism and marriage records long pre-date government records of birth and marriage. Microfilm copies of most Irish Catholic parish registers up to about 1880 are available to view in the National Library.

There is much work being done to computerise church and other records under the auspices of Irish Genealogy Ltd (IGL), the official coordinating body for the Irish Genealogical Project, supported by the Irish Government and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland. IGL has a central signposting index on the Internet to help anyone who does not know their ancestral county of origin, but it refers searchers to local family history centres for more in-depth research, which you can commission for a fee.

"The initial thinking was that the economic benefits should flow to and remain in the local centres," says Eamonn Rossi of IGL, which has felt the impact of the BBC series, especially at its Derry centre.

"There is a reconciliation side to this work because all traditions are working to uncover our shared history," says Rossi. State records of births, deaths and Catholic marriages go back to 1864, while registration of all other marriages began in 1845. These indexes can be searched for a fee at the General Register Office in Lombard Street, Dublin, and photocopies of index entries are available on request.

For people who are unable to do the research themselves, it is possible to commission a professional to do it, usually for an hourly rate of between 30 and 50. The advantage to this is that they know how to navigate the sources.

The Professional Association of Genealogists in Ireland is an all-island body and AUGRA is a professional organisation specialising in Northern Ireland records.

Don Drach, from Washington, initially used a professional to look into his Moore Street origins, but now comes back regularly to do his own research.

"I went 30 years without any interest in my roots," he says. "At a certain point in your life you want to know more about what came before you and why you are the way you are."

The old perception of family research as an exclusively American pursuit is changing, according to Paul Gorry, an adviser in the National Archives.

"Twenty-five years ago Irish people just weren't interested in their roots," he says. "Now people in the local area who you would not normally expect are coming in for advice and enjoying the search. What I tell them is start with yourself and work back."

Research tips

Remember that the family tree starts with you and works backwards. Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins before you go near any repositories. You will need to know approximate birth, marriage and death dates in your family. Take note of any addresses where the family lived, particularly in 1901 or 1911, the years of the Census.

Use tape recorders, Dictaphones, minidiscs and video cameras when talking to relatives (if they are agreeable).

Note family naming patterns.

Expect the unexpected. Infant mortality rates were much higher in our parents' and grandparents' time, so you may discover family members who were never talked about. Black sheep may surface, but often look grey or white with hindsight.

Ages recorded on old documents such as Census returns are not always accurate.

Remember that Ireland worked with two languages (Irish and English), so a name such as Shanaghan may be recorded as Fox.

Other people wrote down your family names, so the spelling is likely to change occasionally.

In large cities many people lived in rented accommodation and moved around often.

When looking at Census returns take note of neighbours, as these may often give clues to occupations and context.

Keep information in one folder, recording what you searched for on which date, and your sources.