Three Wishes on St. Patrick’s Day :-)

I’m dancing the Irish jig this year! I caught a leprechaun on a whim and he granted me three wishes! Since the details of my Irish ancestors have been elusive, I just had to have his help in locating the final resting place of two of my immigrant ancestors. Wouldn’t you know, they are found in a commonly named cemetery in unmarked graves! Nevertheless, I have found them in the first of seven likely places :-)

For those who may have missed my post last year, I found a resource, available for download, that is a treasure trove of information on seeking those elusive, and not so elusive, Irish ancestors. It is titled, Tracing Your Ancestors in Ireland. It includes step-by-step instructions, including a number of websites, a bibliography, and information directory.

Other sites have created resources to assist those seeking to discover their Irish ancestry as well. The FamilySearch Wiki is a perpetual resource for international research guidance. Ancestry.com has created a 3-page guide available for download titled, “10 Places to Find Your Irish Ancestors in America.” A number of paid sites have made collections relating to one’s Irish ancestors available today at no cost. Check out ancestry.com, myheritage.com, and, as always, familysearch.org. Rootsireland.ie has the “largest database of family records in Ireland.” Findmypast.com has a large Irish collection. They offer a 14-day free trial if you are not a current subscriber.

With so many records available on-line today and throughout the year, others may be green with envy! What about my last leprechaun wish? My wish is to place headstones on my immigrant ancestors’ graves so they will be remembered by the generations to come!

So, on this St. Patrick’s Day, “may you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!”[1] For me, it’s a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream :-)

1. IslandIreland.com. http://www.islandireland.com/Pages/folk/sets/toasts.html. accessed March 2014.