Irish Genealogical Research Society

Irish Genealogical Research Society
Name	Irish Genealogical Research Society
Formation	1936
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	London
Region served	Ireland and the Irish diaspora
Language	English

Irish Genealogical Research Society

The Irish Genealogical Research Society is a learned society founded in 1936 devoted to the study of Irish family history, lineage and heraldry. It acts as a focal point for researchers tracing ancestry connected with Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Galway, Limerick and counties across Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster. The society maintains archives, publishes scholarly journals and fosters cooperation with institutions such as the National Library of Ireland, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Royal Irish Academy and university departments including Trinity College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast.

History

The society was established by a group of émigré and resident scholars with ties to figures like E. Estyn Evans-era researchers and contemporaries of Sir John Bernard Burke traditions, responding to losses from the Four Courts fire that affected collections used by researchers into families such as the O'Neill dynasty, the O'Brien family, the Butler family and the MacCarthy dynasty. Early officers included members conversant with archives in Kew and collectors who liaised with repositories such as the British Museum and the PROI predecessors. During World War II the society continued exchanges with scholars linked to the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland and postwar expansion saw collaborations with genealogists influenced by methodologies from Henry B. Wheatley and archivists trained in the traditions of Sir Hilary Jenkinson.

Collections and Archives

Holdings emphasize family pedigrees, private muniments, transcriptions of parish registers from Church of Ireland parishes in Meath, Kildare, Wexford, Kilkenny, and Roman Catholic register copies for parishes in Mayo, Sligo and Roscommon. The archive includes correspondence with genealogists associated with the Irish Manuscripts Commission, estate papers formerly connected to houses like Carton House and collections referencing families such as the Plunket family, the FitzGerald family, the Perceval family, and the O'Connors. Holdings are catalogued with reference to records in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and cross-referenced with materials at the National Archives of Ireland and local repositories including the Cork City Archives and the Kilkenny Archaeological Society collections.

Publications and Journals

The society publishes a peer-reviewed journal that contains transcribed wills, pedigrees, heraldic notes and probate abstracts referencing individuals from houses like the Earl of Kildare, the Earl of Desmond, the Marquess of Lansdowne and legal materials connected to cases in the Court of Chancery and the King's Bench. Articles cite sources held at institutions such as Lambeth Palace Library, the Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library and manuscripts catalogued by the National Library of Scotland. Monographs and occasional papers address research on immigrant families in Liverpool, Boston, New York City, Toronto and Sydney and profiles on genealogists akin to Edward MacLysaght and John Grenham.

Membership and Activities

Membership draws academics, professional genealogists and enthusiasts with interests linking to the Irish diaspora, emigrant streams to United States, Canada, Australia and connections to aristocratic houses like the Marquess of Waterford or civic leaders from Cork and Belfast. Regular activities include lectures, workshops and visits to repositories such as the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the National Library of Ireland, plus seminars on paleography referencing standards used by the British Records Association and teaching sessions modeled on courses from Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin continuing professional development units.

Research Services and Methodology

The society offers research enquiries, genealogical searches and guided use of primary sources with methodology reflecting best practice from archival science as promulgated by figures like T. R. Malthus-era demographic approaches adapted for Irish parish studies, and cataloguing conventions aligned with the International Council on Archives. Services include parish register transcriptions, land valuation cross-checks against Griffith's Valuation, estate map consultations referencing the Ordnance Survey of Ireland and probate retrievals from the Prerogative Court of Ireland and local diocesan registries. Researchers are trained in interpreting plantation-era documents, muster rolls relating to the Williamite War in Ireland and genealogical reconstruction using evidence from sources such as the Tithe Applotment Books and Registry of Deeds.

Notable Projects and Collaborations

Long-term projects have included digitization initiatives in partnership with the National Library of Ireland, cataloguing projects coordinated with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, and editorial cooperations with university presses at Queen's University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin Press. Collaborative work has produced indexes used by family historians tracing lines to figures implicated in events like the Easter Rising and biographies of persons connected to families of Theobald Wolfe Tone, Daniel O'Connell, Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera and émigrés to Boston and New York City. The society has supported projects that reference estate correspondences from houses such as Carton House, military records connected to the Irish Guards, and community history partnerships with local bodies like the Kilkenny Archaeological Society and the Dublin City Library and Archive.

Category:Genealogical societies Category:Learned societies