Welcome

Welcome to the Irish Special Interest Group, the first WAGS' Special Interest Group to be formed, probably because at the time, most members seemed to have at least some Irish connection. 

Our Motto   Irish research: challenging - not impossible!   

Tips 

Come along - to the Irish Special Interest Group meetings, share what you have learned, share details of your ancestors - anyone joining the Irish group for the 1st time complete this Interests Form to aid the discussion;  be inspired by the members stories, get research news and ideas with an Irish focus.

The group loves a challenge, bring along details of your research 'Brick Wall' using our questionnaire to our next Brickwall Forum/Research meeting. 

Explore - the many informative guides, newsletters and meeting notes on this page including - 

Irish Family History Records Timeline - see what records are available, where and over what period  NEW!

New to the Irish Special Interest Group - how the group works, how to start researching  NEW!

Post Your Interests (FHWA members) - Post details of your Irish ancestors (names, places and dates, as much as you know) under the FHWA Members Interests Directory. This may increase your chances of being found by a distant cousin - or at least someone researching in the same area. Go to Home > Members Area > Members Interests Directory. 

Links  - Check out the Links page of the WAGS website. There are over 100 links to websites related to Irish family history.

Join- the Irish SIG forum- details at the top of this page, share your search with the world 

 Current Irish SIG projects 

• County Research Guides - guides to family history research in each of the 32 traditional counties of Ireland (Northern Ireland and the Republic), plus one more for when the birthplace county is unknown. If you'd like to help please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The first six guides were launched on 15 January 2017 and two more were launched on 21 Jan 2018. The template or model guide shown below with the guides under Publications.
• Developing an online index of relevant biographical and historical articles from 18 years of Perth's Irish Scene magazine. 
• Working in partnership with researchers in Ireland to discover what happened to the young women who came to Western Australia on the Palestine in 1853 from the Mountbellew Workhouse in Co. Galway  

 Irish Family History Seminar Sun 28 May 2017

 Nearly 80 people attended the Irish Family History Seminar at the State Library of WA on Sunday 28 May from 1pm-7pm. 90% were members of WAGS, associates or affiliated societies. 34% were members of the Irish Special Interest Group of WAGS. 

Handouts to download (distributed on the day)

CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO IRISH SIG PUBLICATIONS

  FHWA Irish SIG Forum

Frequently Asked Questions about Forums

Join the Irish SIG Forum and post a query or share your latest find. This can be seen by anyone in the world, so giving names, dates and places of your Irish ancestors might help you link up with others researching the same name or place. To join the Irish SIG Forum, log into the FHWA website and follow the links under the Forums tab above. See how to do it step by step using these screenshots:

How to join FHWA forums 1           How to join FHWA forums 2           How to join FHWA forums 3

 Contacts

Convenor:         Robyn O'Brien                                          

Email:                SIGS Contacts - Convenor - Irish SIG

Newsletter:       Elissa Livingstone & Maureen Mulligan       

Email:                This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    download past issues below

Meetings & Events

Four Courts Memorial Lunch 28 June 2020 cancelled

Irish Records & the Four Courts Explosion

No, not all the genealogical records held by the Public Record Office were destroyed in the 1922 fire at the Four Courts during the Battle of Dublin! Much was already destroyed before then. Read what's been lost and what was not!  Join us when we commemorate the record loss with our annual Four Courts Memorial Lunch.  

In 2020 the annual Four Courts Memorial Lunch planned for Friday 26 June in at Rosie O'Grady's, Northbridge from 12 noon, will not be able to happen, due to COVID19 restrictions needed to keep FHWA members safe & well. For further information, contact the Convenor.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 You can book for the lunch by clicking on this link  https://www.trybooking.com/BHZRE 

2020 meetings: Sundays 19 January 2pm, 19 April 2pm, 19 July 2pm and 18 October 2pm

The group usually meet every three months at the WA Genealogical Society, 48 May Street Bayswater, in January, April, July and October. 

However due to the continued closure of the Bayswater meeting room  we will be holding our next meeting 2pm 19th July, ON-LINE, via Google Meets (no special application required on your PC, just access via the Google browser). It is essential to book your place via Trybooking through the Events tab above (or use the link below) to get access to the electonically generated link to our on-line meeting.

Please don't be daunted by the move to on-line meetings, the SIG committee have experience with these meetings and encourage you to come onboard. For further information on the steps involved, contact the Convenor.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We discuss how to do Irish family history research from many angles. Meetings also feature speakers and workshops. Once again our October meeting will be devoted to personal research in the WAGS Library and Resource Centre or our 'BrickWall' Forum in the FHWA meeting room to help members and visitors re-ignite their research with ideas coming out of this discussion group. To aid the discussion we have a Questionnaire which can be downloaded here. Bring along the completed form with as much as is known of your 'Brick Wall' to get the most out of the day. The PDF of the 2020 Breaking Down Brickwalls Presentation is availale here.

Next Meeting - have a look at WAGS events calendar by clicking on the Events tab above. FHWA Event Listing and look for the Trybooking Irish Group Icon. 

Since late 2016 we stopped producing formal meeting minutes, but do issue meeting notes which record decisions and agreements only. They are circulated to group members, provided you have given us a clear record of your email (or postal) address. If you have not attended a meeting or event, nor sent apologies for 12 months, your name is removed from the mailing list. Come to a meeting to get your name added again. 

Speaker Notes

Christine Timoney, introduced Ireland Reaching Out, interactive website connecting Irish Diaspora with ancestral Parishes, July 2020

Emily Chambers, guest speaker from ECU, Immigration of Domestic Servants to Western Australia in the 1850s and 1890s, 16 July 2017

Jenni Ibrahim What's New in Irish Family History Research Mandurah Family History Society 12 August 2017

Jenni Ibrahim Researching Your Irish Ancestors at State Library 9 August 2017 in Grow Your Family Tree Seminar as part of National Family History Month

Jenni Ibrahim on Introduction to Major Irish Census Substitutes: Griffiths Valuation and Tithes Applotment 23 April 2017

Maureen Mulligan on Finding My Ancestors in Griffiths Valuation 23 April 2017

Cheryl Hebbs on Finding My Ancestors in Tithes Applotment 23 April 2017

Jenni Ibrahim on County Research Guides Project 15 Jan 2017 updated with names of volunteers developing guides for next 10 counties

Sabrina Armstrong Using Facebook for Irish Genealogy 16 Oct 2016

Whats New in Irish Family History Research 1 Oct 2016 presentation by Jenni Ibrahim to Rockingham Family History Society 1 October 2016

Mike Kiely speaker on 19 April 2015 DNA Science or Marketing Ploy

Mike O'Brien speaker on 19 April 2015 Cork Evictions

Lynne Roberts speaker on 19 April 2015 Searching for those Elusive McConvilles

Graham Mahony speaker on 18 Jan 2015 Hiring a professional genealogist handout G Mahony 18 Jan 2015 - Check List

Hiring a professional genealogist slides G Mahony 18 Jan 2015 - Slide Presentation 

 History of the Irish Special Interest Group 

Irish County Research Guides

General Research Guides

Developed by members to help people new to Irish family history research.

Newsletters 

In 1992 the Irish Group decided that the people in the country and city people unable to come to the WAGS library regularly, may appreciate more information in the form of a newsletter. The first quarterly newsletter was published in February 1993.  Newsletters are now sent all over Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and America. Until recent years this cost $10 a year. The fee is currently suspended.

Make sure you provide your contact details clearly so you can receive a copy!

We really welcome your contributions. Your success story, brickwall, photo or information may help others. To submit an item - long or short - please contact Newsletter Editors Elissa and Maureen via  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Previous editions of the WAGS Irish SIG Newsletter are available to download below  (in PDF Format) Get free Acrobat Reader to read PDF files here.

2020

Irish SIG News Jan 2020   Irish SIG News April 2020    Irish SIG News July 2020  

2019

Irish SIG News Jan 2019   Irish SIG News April 2019    Irish SIG News July 2019   Irish SIG News Oct 2019

2018

Irish SIG News Jan 2018    Irish SIG News April 2018    Irish SIG News July 2018    Irish SIG News Oct 2018

2017

Irish SIG Newsletter Jan 2017   Irish SIG News April 2017  Irish SIG News July 2017   Irish SIG News Oct 2017

2016

Irish SIG News Oct 2016  Irish SIG news Jul 2016   Irish SIG News Apr 2016   Irish SIG News Jan 2016

2015

Irish SIG News Jan 2015   Irish SIG News Apr 2015   Fire at the Four Courts 3 presentations 30 Jun 2015  

Irish SIG News Jul 2015   Irish SIG News Oct 2015