Find your Irish Ancestors today with the Irish Family History Foundation online research service
We are delighted to announce the publication of our latest issue of ‘Irish Genealogy Matters’, in which we keep our readers abreast of all of the latest developments in the Irish Family History Foundation and new records online! Click on the image above to read the newsletter in full. We hope you enjoy!
Ulster Historical Foundation are pleased to announce that the booking pages for their 2026 Irish Family
History Conference’s are now Live!
Early Booking Offer -£100 Deposit
Each programme has a strict limit on the number of attendees, and places are already being filled due to
early bookings and expressions of interest from our mailing lists. Secure your place today with a low
deposit of just £100 to avoid disappointment (offers end 30 November 2025)
Make 2026 the year you finally uncover your elusive Irish ancestors!
3-Day Research Conference, 21–24 June 2026
This enhanced research programme gives you the chance to spend three days researching in the archives
– being guided and supported by our team of researchers. The programme revolves around focused
research sessions that are designed to help you make real progress with your family history.
Delegates at the Foundation’s 2025 programmes indicated that the shorter 3-day schedule very much
suited their travel needs (some included the 3-day programme at the start of a longer trip/vacation or only had a limited time they could devote to research in Belfast), thus the Foundation is pleased to enhance their 2026 schedule by offering a 3-Day Research Conference in June 2026
Click here to register with just a £100 Deposit (Full price £649.99)
Return of the Ulster Historical Foundation’s “classic” week-long Conference
02-09 September 2026
‘It’s back’! The Ulster Historical Foundation’s “classic” week-long family history conference returns in
September 2026 – promising a delightful mix of personal research, guided tours, and experiences that bring your family history vividly to life.
Whether you come on your own, as a couple, with friends, research partners, or as part of a larger group,
this is your chance to combine meaningful research and genealogical breakthroughs with an unforgettable Irish experience.
Over eight inspiring days, you can:
Dive deep into your family story with assisted personal research in Belfast’s archives
– Explore Ireland’s historic sites and cultural treasures on guided tours
– Soak in breathtaking landscapes while tracing your family history
– Learn more about the land and experiences of your ancestors
– Share the experience with like-minded family historians eager to connect to their ancestors
As with previous Tracing Your Irish Ancestors programmes delegates will be able to shape their own
experiences by choosing to either research in the archives or join the Ulster Historical Foundation’s staff on daily excursions through Ireland’s beautiful landscape to some of its most historic sites, or a mixture of the two.
Click here to register with just a £100 Deposit (Full price £1,199)
5-Day Research Conference, 04–09 October 2026
Immerse yourself in a week of discovery with Ulster Historical Foundation’s enhanced 5-Day Research
Conference, designed for those eager to make significant progress in uncovering their family history.
Over five focused days, you will work in the archives with personal guidance and support from the
Foundation’s experienced research team, ensuring your time is productive, rewarding, and inspiring.
This 5-Day research conference is always one of the Ulster Historical Foundation’s most popular
programmes, and is ideal for genealogists seeking extended, hands-on research sessions, with expert
guidance to help break through brick walls and make meaningful progress in uncovering their family history.
Click here to register with just a £100 Deposit (Full price £949.99)
Are you wishing to find out more about your Irish ancestors? Have you been thinking of what to do or where to go for your 2025 Summer holiday?
Unlock your family story with one of Ulster Historical Foundation’s 2025 research programmes!
With their research-focused format and limited capacity, you’ll enjoy dedicated support from expert researchers to delve even deeper into your Irish and Scots-Irish heritage.
From now until 31 May register for one of these programmes with just a £100 deposit! (normally £200).*
The Foundation staff have also looked at ways to improve upon the previous programmes (taking the recommendations and suggestions of previous delegates) and hope that the programme’s devised for 2025 will better improve your research experience and visit to Ireland.
Places are filling up fast, with both the June 2025 programme and September 2025 programme almost at capacity. Reserve your place today and let Ulster Historical Foundation help you find your elusive Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors!
*Note: Deposit is non-refundable
26th October – 29th October 2025
This research programme gives you the chance to spend three days researching in the archives – being guided and supported by our team of researchers each day. It is the ideal programme to compliment a longer holiday or research trip that you might already have planned.
Register now with just a £100 deposit! (full price £649.99).
Click here for more information
Conferences Almost Sold Out
22nd June – 25th June 2025 (less than 3 places remaining)
This research programme gives you the chance to spend three days researching in the archives – being guided and supported by our team of researchers each day.
It is the ideal programme to compliment a longer holiday or research trip that you might already have planned.
Register now with just a £100 deposit! (full price £649.99).
Click here for more information
31st August – 05th September 2025 (less than 5 places remaining)
This enhanced research programme gives you the chance to spend a whole week researching in the archives – being guided and supported by our team of researchers each day. It offers you a great opportunity to break down any genealogical brick walls and unlock your family history.
Register now with just a £100 deposit! (full price £949.99).
Ulster Historical Foundation is pleased to announce that Gillian Hunt (Research Officer) and Fintan Mullan (Executive Director) will be returning to the United States for a genealogical lecture tour programme – their first visit since 2023!
The itinerary for this US lecture tour will run from Friday 28 February to Tuesday 18 March 2025
Lecture programmes, full days and half days will be offered.
In addition, at a number of locations individuals will be able to register for a one-to-one personal research consultation with either member of the Foundation’s team where they can benefit from our knowledge and experience to help overcome ‘brick walls’ or advance their Irish and Scots-Irish roots.
We hope we might meet you at one of these events, and would be pleased if you would share any relevant location to friends and genealogy buddies who might be interested.
Having sold out its original print run, Ulster Historical Foundation is delighted to announce that the Townland Atlas of Ulster is being reprinted!
Thanks to incredible enthusiasm and unprecedented demand, the first print run sold out in just 6 weeks. To ensure everyone who missed out has a chance to own this remarkable publication, Ulster Historical Foundation is now taking pre-orders on the bookstore.
The Townland Atlas of Ulster is an essential reference guide for both newcomer and serious researcher, showing exact locations and where to look for related records. By using the maps and indexes, family and local historians can easily grasp the essentials of our ancestors’ lives – where they worked, paid their rent, went to church and market, etc.
Don’t miss this second chance to own your own copy of this invaluable research guide
Expected release date – April 2025
Click here for more information
Today, as Ireland becomes increasingly urbanised and new housing estates proliferate, authentic townland names are in danger of disappearing. A wonderful book such as this is, therefore,
invaluable in maintaining a record of a rich shared heritage and a culture, north and south, that speaks to everyone.
Prof. Terence Dooley, Maynooth University Department of History
To have mapped and provided such comprehensive detail for each of Ulster’s 16,000 townlands is an achievement that will stand the test of time. It (the Townland Atlas of Ulster) will or should become a standard reference book for those people tracing their Ulster roots. I now know that if I’m seeking a visual representation of townlands, parishes and estates in a particular area I will be straight to your maps; and if seeking, for a particular townland, details of church registers (CoI and RC) and 17th and 19th century landlords my first port of call will be the Index of Townlands.
Brian Mitchell, Derry Genealogy
I received the Townland Atlas of Ulster this morning and am delighted with it. The quality of the book is exceptional and the content fascinating. As someone who is fascinated by maps, and loves
the townlands where I grew up in County Down, it unexpectedly made me feel quite emotional to see them memorialised so beautifully. It will certainly be a big help to my research, especially as I
pursue DNA matches who relate to my unknown great grandfather in County Antrim, territory unfamiliar to me. I just wanted to congratulate everyone on its production and of course particular
thanks go to Andrew Kane.
Lyn from Encinitas
The beautiful atlas has arrived. It is a magnificent publication.
Ann from Canberra
I received my pre-ordered copy today and must say it’s an incredible piece of work to have. A great reference book.
Well done to all involved !!!
Paddy from Gweedore
A magnificent achievement – I look forward to delving into the vast array of resources beautifully arranged and presented.
Larry from Maynooth
My copy of the Townland Atlas of Ulster arrived safely yesterday. To say that I am thrilled with it is an understatement. It’s a wonderful book with superb production values, packed with information. I probably will not get much work done this weekend as I explore it in more detail.
Angela from Dublin
The book launch of Townland Atlas of Ulster that was held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) on 05 December is now available to watch on YouTube. Click the video below to hear from author Andrew Kane, and popular local television presenter and programme maker Joe Mahon as they discuss the value and significance of Ulster’s Townlands.
We are delighted to announce the publication of our latest issue of ‘Irish Genealogy Matters’, in which we keep our readers abreast of all of the latest developments in the Irish Family History Foundation and new records online! Click on the image above to read the newsletter in full. We hope you enjoy!