Genealogy Services

Genealogy in Ireland has the reputation of being frustratingly difficult to navigate.  Let us take the stress out of the research for you with our range of family history packages to suit all budgets and expectations. 

​Our qualified and skilled lead family historian, Jennifer McLaughlin-Doherty is based in Co. Donegal, Ireland and is knowledgeable in all aspects of tracing families from all over the world back to their origins in Ireland and the UK.  Learn more about Jennifer by clicking here.  Perhaps you are searching for your ancestors for the first time or are an amateur genealogist who has hit a "brick wall" and would like guidance from a professional in the field, there is help available. 

 Expert guidance on DNA testing is also offered - helping you choose the right test, understand your results, and make sense of your matches. Whether your interest is personal, genealogical, or both, we will work with you to uncover the stories in your family’s past and help you connect with living relatives through DNA evidence and traditional records.

Expert guidance on DNA testing is also offered - helping you choose the right test, understand your results, and make sense of your matches. Whether your interest is personal, genealogical, or both, we will work with you to uncover the stories in your family’s past and help you connect with living relatives through DNA evidence and traditional records.

With over 30 years of experience in family history research in Ireland and in emigration research world-wide, we can build a traditional family tree, framed scrolls, family history book, digital GEDCOM File for uploading,  and much more. ​

One-Off Enquiries / “Brick Wall” Problems
From €50 Euro / $60 US Dollars /  £45 UK Sterling for single date / name enquiries

Irish Citizenship / Irish Passport Applications 
From €100 Euro / $120 US Dollars /  £90 UK Sterling for single date / name enquiries

Family History Packages
From €750 Euro / $860 US Dollars / £650 UK Sterling - for full single surname research. Four levels of research package to suit

Probate Cases / Legal Documentation
Please enquire for case by case prices / retainer required

The Irish diaspora (Irish: Diaspóra na nGael) refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland.

The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages, but it is only possible to quantify it from around 1700: since then between 9 and 10 million people born in Ireland have emigrated.  This is more than the population of Ireland at its historical peak of 8.5 million in the 1840s.  The poorest of them went to Great Britain, especially Liverpool in England and Glasgow in Scotland; those who could afford it went farther, including almost 5 million to the United States.

After 1840, emigration from Ireland became a massive, relentless, and efficiently managed national enterprise. In 1890, 40% of Irish-born people were living abroad. By the 21st century, an estimated 80 million people worldwide claimed some Irish descent, which includes more than 36 million Americans who claim Irish as their primary ethnicity and 14 million in the UK.​

Driven by famine, poverty, political unrest, or the hope for better opportunities, millions of Irish men, women, and children boarded ships bound for North America, the Caribbean, and beyond. The most prominent ports included Dublin, Cork (especially Queenstown, now Cobh), Limerick, Belfast, and Derry. These cities were bustling with emigration traffic, especially during the peak years of the Great Famine in the 1840s.Cobh, located in County Cork, became the single most important port of emigration. It was the last sight of Ireland for over two million people, making it a powerful symbol of loss and hope. 

​Belfast and Derry played vital roles in the north, particularly for Protestant emigrants and those heading to Canada or the American colonies. Smaller ports like Sligo and Waterford also saw significant traffic, especially from poorer rural counties.
These ports were more than physical gateways - they were emotional thresholds. Each departure marked a final break with homeland and family, often with no return. The legacy of these journeys still echoes in Irish diaspora communities around the world, rooted in the paths that began at Ireland’s shores.

Understanding Ulster-Scots ancestry requires a distinct approach to family history research. The majority of those who emigrated from Ulster to North America during the eighteenth century were descendants of Scottish Protestant settlers who arrived in Ireland during the Plantation of Ulster in the early 1600s.

Between 1710 and 1775, an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 Ulster-Scots emigrated to the American colonies. Many settled first in Pennsylvania before spreading south through Virginia and the Carolinas and west into Ohio, Indiana and the Midwest. Their influence remains particularly strong throughout the Appalachian region.

Today, historians estimate that between 20 and 30 million Americans possess some Ulster-Scots ancestry. Their descendants have played a significant role in shaping the United States, from frontier settlement and military service to politics and industry.

More than twenty American presidents are believed to have Irish or Ulster-Scots roots. Among them are Andrew Jackson (County Antrim), James Buchanan (County Donegal), Chester A. Arthur (County Antrim), Woodrow Wilson (County Tyrone), Ronald Reagan (County Tipperary) and Joe Biden, whose ancestry can be traced to Counties Mayo, Louth and Galway.

The Ulster-Scots story is therefore not only an Irish story, but an important chapter in the history and development of the United States itself.