The National Library of Ireland offers an excellent service- they have genealogists available to answer your questions on family tree research, for free, when you visit them in Dublin. These genealogists are very knowledgeable and can give you about ten or fifteen minutes worth of advice to get you started. But every year the lines grow longer, and I am astounded by how many people have flown all the way to Ireland, without having done their proper homework back in North America. The patron is often set up on a computer database, which they could have accessed from North America, or sent to the General Registry Office to order documents that they could have ordered from home. Don't waste precious vacation hours holed up in the library, when you could have done your prep work on a cold winter's night at home or at the local library or Family History Center! Instead spend those hours accessing documents not available online or via microfilm, or spend those hours visiting your ancestral county or townland, if you've been able to determine them.

If you are planning a trip to Ireland, and want to make the most of your research hours, I can help. Not everyone has the interest or time to figure out what information is available in Dublin or from home. Based on your research goals and how much time you realistically want to spend in the libraries or archives in Ireland, I can give you a research plan to follow. I can do your preliminary research from Canada, or add it to your plan if you would like to do your own. Either way, before you pack your bags for your trip of the lifetime, make sure that you have your genealogy homework in order.

Photo of the National Library of Ireland, Dublin.

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