Irish Genealogy - Professional Reserch

[xpress4]

Hi All,

I have hired a few genealogists in the past, only to learn their knowledge was limited and I'd already found the same information on my own prior to contacting them.

Is it possible to hire the same level of expertise as celebrities enjoy on WDYTYA? Any suggestion?

Thanks so much,
Brenda

[JACK GEE]

The lure of free publicity and the chance of national[international?] exposure would certainly open doors. These programs also have 'producers' whose job it is to source these things.

Cheers
Jack Gee.

[Dundee]

Yes you can, this is the WDYTYA research company in Ireland.  I think you will need deep pockets.

https://timeline.ie/

Debra 

[xpress4]

Thank you!

[aghadowey]

I've done research for 2 episodes of WDYTYA. For the first one I was contacted by the production company and put them onto a relative of the celebrity who I knew had already traced the family here in Ireland.
In the second instance they contacted my with minimal details but luckily the ancestor in question had left a wonderful trail in newspaper accounts, English census and vital records, etc. Here in Ireland there were also newspaper accounts of the family which I had found for my own research many years ago. I was able to tell WDYTYA exactly where the family lived (house still standing which they did film but not include in the finished programme) and the current location of important documents previously in the possession of the landlord's solicitor (these they also filmed but did not use). I submitted my research to them along with sources. Then started the phone calls, first the original person who contacted me, then his boss, then her boss, etc. Each time I had to explain why my information was correct and how I had gone from one fact to the next bit of information (at one point I also submitted the research trail on paper). I did also spend time checking and correcting some of the 'facts' their team had discovered.
Overall I was not at all impressed with the standard of their own research but I was not told exactly who in England was responsible for starting to look for information at the early stages of planning. I suspect most, if not all, episodes are done in a similar manner.
If you are hiring anyone for any sort of research I think it helps to know in your own mind what information you are missing or would like to find out and also if such information might exist. A good researcher should hopefully be able to tell you what sources can be checked for the information you are looking for or they should have any idea where to search further.

[Wexflyer]

To expand on Agadowney's reply:

A professional genealogist can't create sources that don't exist.

So, if OP has already personally consulted primary sources, the question becomes the following:
What sources does the OP want the professional to consult that have not already been considered?
Are they known to exist, or is this really more a situation of hoping that the professional somehow knows of sources that OP is unaware of?

[xpress4]

Great feedback from both of you. What an experience for you Agadowney!

Wexflyer, you are exactly right. Having spent 22 years extracting every online resource I can find, I felt at the end of my rope. I indeed hoped a professional genealogist might recommend resources not online that might be of value. So your last statement is totally accurate.

It is hard for me to believe that someone sitting in the United States combing the internet for transcribed records has viewed all there is to see. For example, my ancestor in Ireland worked for the Ordnance Survey beginning in the late 1830's. I was told there are pay lists in Ireland that might list him. Although the value might not be great as far as determining what townland he came from (birth record not found). However, it might help me determine where he joined and the path he took. Where he might hae met his wife along the path of the survey (marriage record not found), so some value anyway. Point being, I would not have known the record existed if I hadn't reached out looking for direction.

I think it might just be a matter of coming to the realization I have reached the end of the line and need to end my search. However, a last ditch effort to contact someone in Ireland well versed in the subject, felt like a solid final effort.

I know, having done research in the States, there are a fixed number of records availabile online. However, when I visited local libraries in the towns of interest, I found a number of records and facts in old dusty files that will never see the light of the internet. I just don't have the same luxury when searching Ireland.

Thanks again to you both for your feedback.

Brenda

[arthurk]

For Ordnance Survey records, I take it you're aware of these sites:

https://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/digital-book-collection/digital-books-by-subject/ordnance-survey-of-irelan/index.xml

https://www.ria.ie/library/catalogues/special-collections/modern-manuscripts/ordnance-survey-ireland-archive

[AntonyMMM]

Look for a member of AGI

https://accreditedgenealogists.ie/