WHETHER through emigration, migration from the countryside to the towns or the breaking down of family traditions, the ties that bind us and give us a sense of identity are being eroded. Yet it has never been easier to reconnect the dots. Technology, particularly digitisation of records, is empowering a new generation of family historians, many of whom are still at school, from homes in Mayo to Massachusetts to Manchester, to begin to make connections again. The Irish Times, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, wants to help you take that first step. Give it a go. You might be surprised what you find.
WHEN RYAN TUBRIDY appeared on RTE’s Who Do You Think You Are? last year, he was startled to discover he is descended from the 14th century King Edward III of England. It seemed at odds with his self-image as a proud son of a Fianna Fáil
IT MAY BE hard to believe, but The Corrs were not created in a laboratory to achieve a perfectly distilled blend of looks, talent and that certain Irish spark. They’re real people with a family history like the rest of us, and Sharon Corr has agreed to let me delve into her family’s past and see where Ireland’s most famous pop siblings (after the Nolan sisters) came from.KEVIN COURTNEY 
A DUSTY WOODEN water bottle and a vague legend about saving Winston Churchill’s life were the only remnants I had of my family’s military past growing up. The water bottle belonged to my grandfather, Robert Brockie; the legend came from his brother, Adam. Little was known about either man’s military past. My grandfather had not said much regarding his army service before his death in 1963 at 77 years and his brother had never even met my mother or her siblings, as he had passed away overseas at just 26 years. JUDITH CROSBIE 
A CONCH SHELL arrived in Dingle by post in the late 19th century. It must have been wrapped well to survive a long journey intact, and its shape and colouring would have seemed exotic to the locals at the time. It had been sent by my great grandfather William Mulcahy to his sister Anne – then Anne O’Connor. Almost 100 years later, in the 1980s, her grandson, Joseph O’Connor, was able to show it to my father, Michael. But where had William sent the shell from and why did he send it? FIONNUALA MULCAHY 
THE JOKES FLOW and are well earned. Sure why would you wonder where Bertie came out of? Didn’t he come out of a cupboard? But this is about ancestry, not legacy. There is something undeniably touching about the scattered, hesitant assembly of several generations worth of revisionism, half-remembered anecdotes and wistful what-ifs. It is touching to stand in a wet, unkempt graveyard in a derelict village in west Cork and trace the name of a direct descendant born more than 200 years ago. It is heartening to enjoy homemade scones and a warm welcome in the old homestead, with its three-foot-thick walls, that Ahern family members still live in today. KATHY SHERIDAN 
TRACKING PERSONAL GENEALOGY to discover names of relations five or six generations back is straightforward compared to the challenge of learning just who the Irish are. It is the simple question of personal origins amplified to represent our island’s entire population: Where did we all come from? DICK AHLSTROM 
THE JOURNEY BEGAN when Colm O’Gorman’s cousin stumbled on family pictures at a local photographic studio. The smile of an aunt on her wedding day as her family became connected in love and in law to that of her new husband, was to spark off a conversation half a century later. JOANNE HUNT 
SINCE THE census website was launched by the National Archives in late 2007, it has received almost half a billion hits and almost 10 million visits. It is extremely popular with academics, genealogists, and most of all, ordinary people who have an interest in their family history and the history of the area in which they live. CATRIONA CROWE 
NEWCOMERS TO FAMILY history who are seeking information about births, marriages, and particularly deaths, often turn to old newspapers. This can often turn up a blank. To use newspapers more successfully it is necessary to know something of the background of early publications and their readership. SÉAMAS Ó MAITIÚ 
WHAT FAMILY IN Ireland does not have a relation or ancestor who emigrated to the US? Family histories are rich with tales of mysterious uncles and aunts who “did well for themselves” after heading west across the Atlantic. Doors to many Irish homes have been answered to find an eager American claiming to be a descendant of a long lost ancestor. These “returned Yanks” usually arrive armed with impressive charts of their family tree and old photographs, and are only too delighted to share their research. EILEEN M Ó DÚILL and MARY T OSULLIVAN 
ANCESTRY.COM BROKE the story in March 2007 that Barack Obama has Irish branches in his family tree. The theory was backed up by further research from Eneclann.ie, which is based in Trinity College enterprise centre, and wargs.com, a genealogy site. The tale centred on Fulmouth, Falmouth or Fulmoth Kearney, who left Ireland for the US in 1850. He seemed to be part of the masses who left after the Famine – a story that is profoundly moving. STEVE MacDONOGHs 
IT WAS THE start of a century and, with the death of Queen Victoria in January, the end of an era. But the 1901 Census, taken in March, suggests the monarch’s epic 63-year reign had not left all that deep an impression on the British empire’s second island. FRANK McNALLY Create your own family tree
Constructing your own family tree is made simple by programmes that take the hard work out of lining up the generations and connecting the cousins. You can do that by going online and using a simple-to-use free Family Echo / Irish Times programme at familyecho.com
Simply put in the details of a family member and then follow the programme's prompts and fill in the connections to parents, siblings and other relations. It will draw the tree. You can save the tree by registering on the site and amend or expand it at any stage. The tree can be downloaded or printed out.
Make sure you adjust the settings for paper size and for the number of generations you wish to show. It may also be necessary to print off several charts as the tree-builder will do in-laws separately - to focus on any one branch of the family just click on the key relation.
Take a look at an example of a family tree »
