Before starting your search in Ireland it's a good idea to start by learning all you can about your ancestors in their new country. Any details you can establish from your known line outside Ireland can be a big help in locating your correct family line. These details are important for all searches but vital if you need to search before the start of full civil registration (1864).
Records outside Ireland to Check : Census returns often include place of birth, and age (England/US etc), and sometimes (US) date of arrival or naturalization
Birth certs for some locations (e.g. Scotland) include place of marriage of parents
Marriages certs some locations (e.g. US States) can include places of birth, parents, etc for bride and groom
Death certs (e.g. US, Australia ..) can show parents names etc
Immigration records can show town/townland of origin, and include parents and siblings travelling together
Newspaper articles, death notices/obituaries, wills etc
Essential details for starting your search in Ireland : Full name
Year of birth or marriage
Place of birth or marriage (i.e. registration district, town, townland, parish)
For parish records you need to know the denomination of the family
Useful details : Names of parents or at least father's name
Date that family left Ireland
Other details that may help : Father's occupation
Sibling's names
Details from other countries vary greatly depending on the location and timeframe. Some of the specifics are listed in the topics below:
England/Wales Scotland U.S.A. Canada Australia New ZealandIn addition this article by John Grenham on the Government of Ireland website is well worth a read as an introduction -
http://www.gov.ie/en/essays/genealogy.html (
a couple of details included relating to online records are slightly out of date)
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