How to trace your roots in Ireland - tips on finding your Irish ancestors

Looking out on the same water, Killala Bay, as my McAndrew ancestors and seeing the Ox Mountains as they did was thrilling. I felt they were looking at them again through my eyes. It certainly was like coming home. Yes, the house and barn are gone but the land remains the same in Co, Mayo

If you love colcannon....know how to cook the roosters...and leave your soda bread recipe in the will...your Irish!

My greatgrandmothers came from Ireland after the famine and we have photos of them and on the various census's they participated in here in the US place of birthg just lists Ireland, no county now townland but we are fortunate that in both cases we have the names of their fathers, not mothers name. On one side oral history tells us Cork and the other supposedly Cavan but my mom's only surviving brother says Mayo. And of all the years my mom told me Cavan. Those who do their history have a rough go because American census' do not list but the country of birth. 19th century Irish immigrants who came to Texas for example didn't talk about their origins as they were too busy trying to survive on the frontier.

Do you anything about the town of Carden The family name is now Cardin, we are looking for relatives

@IrishGirlyGirl -- there is also a branch of Collins in Mayo, the Castlebar area, for the last few centuries. My grandfather was born in Castlebar, as was his father,and his father before that, and this would have been from early 1800s onwards at least.

CARDIN does anyone have any information about the CARDIN or any alternate spelling of this name. We have a coat of arms and motto the Motto is Love and fidelity

If you can put an O in front of your last name without it sounding stupid you are probably Irish. E.g Barack O'Bama, Dalai O' Lama are good ... Brad O' Pitt is not so good !!!!

The Clare County library has had these documents up for Clare for years. Very easy to use.

As a Researcher, helping many Americans to find their Ancestral Homes, I receive ten e-mails per day on this subject. Lots of Americans, poor spellers, poor grammar, poor English, amaze me with their e-mails which are below Kindergarten standard, are now searching for their Irish Ancestors. My direct e-mail is jack.storey@btconnect.com

Location, Location, Location is the key to finding out about ones Irish ancestors especially with some of the more common Irish surnames like Kelly, O'Brien, O'Sullivan and the like. This is a problem for people who only know that their Kelly ancestor was from Ireland. One must narrow down where ones Kelly ancestor was from to a specific County and hopefully to a townland also.

I've always been interested in my history, and also unlike Obama and Ali, I know that I am Irish, and I'm very proud at the least. My mother is entirely Irish, and I believe my father is 50%-80% Irish, the rest of his blood being English or Scottish. I've taken a lot of my interest from my father, who spent years researching our family history. From what I know, my mother's grandparents came from Ireland to America sometime, either in the late 19th century or early 20th century. This article has been a great use for me. I did see that episode with Rosie O'Donnell, and really enjoyed it. Anyone out there would really enjoy the show, that's the only episode I've seen, but I am planning on watching more. Adding on to my family history, my mother's maiden name is Collins, and all my family on her side is from County Cork, and I'm almost wondering if I'm related to Michael Collins in some way. (I doubt it though) My last name is Rainey, which I found in a surname dictionary is a modern form of an old Irish name.