Irish Roots: Who makes a living from genealogy in Ireland?

Making a living from genealogy isn’t easy in Ireland. There is no career path, very few employers and lots of competition.

But many people involved in family history want to do nothing else, meaning there are quite a few groups and individuals who do use it to try to earn a crust.

Accredited Genealogists Ireland (accreditedgenealogists.ie), of which I am a member, is a standards body aiming to provide potential research clients with security about the quality of commissioned research, and some collegiality for individuals involved in the field.

Eneclann (eneclann.ie) is a long-established company providing high-quality research and archival services. It employs a small number of researchers.

ProGenealgists (progenealogists.com) is an American company affiliated with Ancestry. com that provides research mainly to North Americans. They have recently taken on a small number of Irish genealogists in Dublin.

Ancestor Network (ancestornetwork.ie) is a company based in south Dublin that uses a group of part-time researchers, most of them connected to the Genealogical Society of Ireland (familyhistory.ie).

There are many individuals offering themselves for research. The National Library keeps an unvetted list, which is the first step for most people trying to get into the field. See: tinyurl.com/zx49cbv

As for courses that lead to qualifications, the field is thin.

UCC runs a two-year part-time adult education course in Cork (goo.gl/dG3rNe) that leads to an NFQ level 7 qualification, the equivalent of an ordinary-level primary degree.

The University of Limerick runs a masters in the history of the family – goo.gl/fUJylN – which is as much sociology as family history, I think.

Seán Murphy used to deliver a well-regarded three-year certificate course in UCD, but that has been discontinued. He is continuing with courses other than the Certificate: goo.gl/i8Qo4l

City Colleges in Dublin (citycolleges.ie) has a 10-week intensive course that aims to provide a detailed overview of sources and methods. I deliver these courses, and the next one starts on February 11th.

irishroots@irishtimes.comirishtimes.com/ancestor