Unlock your Irish family story! In this five-week online course you will learn how to move past brick walls and discover new generations of ancestors. Led by nationally recognized genealogy experts, this course guides you step by step through Ireland’s most important civil and church records—showing you not only what records exist, but how to use them successfully. You’ll explore Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, and Quaker records, along with lesser-known sources such as minister’s diaries and membership rolls that can reveal rich details. Packed with practical strategies, expert insights, and real-life case studies, this course will give you the confidence and tools you need to make meaningful breakthroughs in your Irish ancestry research. Whether you’re just getting started or revisiting long-standing puzzles, this course will help bring your Irish ancestors—and their stories—into clearer focus.

Course Topics

March 3 - Class 1: Understanding Civil Registration
Presented by Judy Lucey

In this first class you will build a strong foundation for Irish family history research by mastering Ireland’s civil registration records. This session introduces birth, marriage, and death records—what information they contain, where to find them, and how to use them effectively. You’ll learn how civil registration evolved over time and how to extract clues that can lead you to earlier generations, even when details seem sparse.

March 10 - Class 2: Other Civil Records
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure

What do you do when civil records are missing or incomplete? Before moving on to Church records in later classes, this session will discuss a myriad of other sources that can substitute for lost or destroyed records and provide important details of your ancestors’ lives. Learn how historical events and record loss shaped what survives today—and how to compensate using census substitutes, Giffith’s Valuation and other land records, estate and tax records, and creative research strategies that keep your Irish ancestry search moving forward.

March 17 - Class 3: Leveraging Church Parish Records
Presented by Melanie McComb

Church parish records are often the key to unlocking Irish ancestry before civil registration. This session provides in-depth guidance on locating and using Catholic, Church of Ireland, and Presbyterian parish registers. You’ll learn what types of records exist, what information they may reveal, and how to access them in Ireland and online—opening the door to earlier generations and deeper community connections.

March 24 - Class 4: Exploring Other Church Records
Presented by Eileen Pironti

Go beyond baptism, marriage, and burial registers to discover lesser-known church records that can add richness and context to your research. This class explores minister’s diaries, membership rolls, Quaker “sufferings,” and other denominational records across Catholic, Church of Ireland, and Presbyterian traditions. These sources can provide rare insights into daily life, religious affiliation, migration, and personal experiences.

March 31 - Class 5: Piecing it Together: Case Studies
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure

See Irish genealogy research in action through real-world case studies that bring together civil and church records. This concluding session demonstrates how experienced researchers analyze evidence, overcome obstacles, and piece together family stories despite record gaps. You’ll leave with practical problem-solving techniques you can immediately apply to your own Irish ancestry research.