Nature of Source
Between 1820 and 1900, nearly four million people emigrated from Ireland seeking new beginnings abroad Most settled primarily in United States, Canada, Britain or Australia. This vast movement of people marked one of the most significant population shifts in European history.
Major Phases of Irish Emigration
The earliest wave of mass emigration from Ireland took place during the mid-17th century, when tens of thousands of Irish men, women and children were forcibly deported to the Caribbean and North America under Oliver Cromwell’s rule.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, many others left Ireland as indentured servants in the American colonies. Among them were Scots-Irish (Ulster Scots) Presbyterian farmers seeking new opportunities in the New World.
Transportation to Australia began in the late 18th century and continued well into the 19th, primarily involving Irish convicts but also some voluntary migrants. By 1840, around 200,000 Irish people had already voluntarily migrated, seeking a better life in America from poverty, land pressure, and recurring crop failures.
The rebellions in Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars and the victory of the British led to high numbers of transportation which mainly involved Catholic and Protestant convicts. Australia became a favoured destination for the transportation of convicts which began in the late 18th century and continued well into the 19th.
By 1840, around 200,000 Irish people had already voluntarily migrated, seeking a better life in America from poverty, land pressure and repeated poor potato crops. The most dramatic wave of emigration occurred during the Great Famine (1845-1851), when widespread starvation and disease led to the loss of approximately one million lives and prompted nearly two million people to leave Ireland. By 1854, the majority of these emigrants had settled in the United States, although significant numbers also went to Canada and Britain. It was common for would be emigrants to first sail to Liverpool for their Atlantic crossing. However, many chose to remain in Liverpool or dispersed to other parts of England.
English Based Records
After England gained full control of Ireland during the reign of Henry VIII, the country was effectively ruled and administered from London until independence in 1922. This means many official Irish records can be found in English repositories such as The National Archives in Kew. Due to the popularity of England as a place of migration for Irish people, many English records such as census returns, military records and probate records contain details about Irish-born individuals and their families.
Key Resource: The Irish Emigration Database
The Irish Emigration Database is a digitised collection of primary source documents from archives and private collections on Irish emigration to USA and Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries. It includes names and references drawn from sources including emigrant letters, newspaper articles, shipping advertisements, shipping news, passenger lists, official government reports, family papers, births deaths and marriages and extracts from books and periodicals. The database is available at the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies which also houses a large collection of books, journals and maps on the subject of Irish migration. The database sources documents from: Centre for Migration Studies, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, private collections and other institutional archives across Ireland and the UK.
Additional Resources
The following GenGuide sources could assist in researching Irish emigration records:
Where Found
- Series CO, Records of the Colonial Office, Commonwealth and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices. The files hold records concerning convicts and settlers in Australia and registers, lists and correspondence mentioning Irish emigrants, especially those sponsored or assisted to emigrate.
Mellon Centre for Migration Studies
The Centre is a research library located at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, Northern Ireland. It focuses on the history of the peoples of Ireland worldwide, particularly Irish migration to North America and beyond. The Centre houses an extensive collection of over 17,000 volumes including books, journals, maps, newspapers and primary source documents such as emigrant letters, passenger lists, shipping news and family papers. It also offers access to the Irish Emigration Database, which is available online and contains detailed emigration records from the 18th and 19th centuries.
National Archives of Ireland
The Archives holds a variety of Irish migration and emigration records such as census returns, outbound passenger lists, inbound passenger lists from 1878 to 1960, convict transport records and records of travel to and from Ireland.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
PRONI holds a variety of Ulster Irish migration and emigration records including copies of outbound passenger manifests from Irish ports, published emigrant lists and indexes, tenant evictions, clearances or assisted emigration schemes, workhouses records listing those who received emigration assistance and personal correspondence from emigrants to family in Ireland.
Period Covered
1650 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
N/A
Further References
Emigration Specific
- Buggy, Joseph. Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2014
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1988
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1660: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1988
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1661-1699: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1990
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1700-1750: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1992
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1751-1776: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1992
- Davis, Graham. In Search of a Better Life: British and Irish Migration: The History Press, 2011
- Dobson, David. Irish Emigrants in North America: Consolidated Edition. Parts One to Ten: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2023
- Glazier, Ira A & Tepper, Michael. The Famine Immigrants: Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York, 1846-1851: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2014
- MacKay, Donald. Flight from Famine: Coming of the Irish to Canada: Dundurn Press, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Irish Emigration Lists, 1833 to 1839: Clearfield, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871: Lists of Passengers Sailing from Londonderry to America: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2010
- Mitchell, Brian. Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806: Lists of Passengers Sailing from Ireland to America: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2010
- Mitchell, Brian. Derry-Londonderry: Gateway to a New World. The Story of Emigration from the Foyle by Sail and Steam: Clearfield Company, 2014
- Punch, Terrence. Erin’s Sons: Irish Arrivals in Atlantic Canada 1761-1863: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009
- Quillen, Daniel. Mastering Immigration & Naturalization Records: Cold Spring Press, 2012
- Richards, Eric. Britannia’s Children: Emigration from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland since 1600: Hambledon & London, 2004
Family History Guides
- Adolph, Anthony. Collins Tracing Your Irish Family History: HarperCollins, 2007
- Caball, Kay. Finding your Ancestors in Kerry: Flyleaf Press, 2015
- Begley, Donal. Handbook on Irish Genealogy: How to Trace Your Ancestors and Relatives: Heraldic Artists, 1984
- Connell, Gretta. Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Corrigan, Mario & Durney, James & Kiely, Karel. Tracing your Kildare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2014
- Davis, Bill. Irish Ancestry – A Beginner’s Guide: FFHS, 2001
- Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scottish-Irish Ancestral Research: GPC, 1981 (1962)
- Franklin, Margaret. Tracing your Limerick Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Grenham, John. Irish Ancestors, A Pocket Guide to Your Family History: Gill & Macmillan, 2004
- Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: Gill & Macmillan, 2011
- Hamrock, John. Tracing your Roscommon Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2007
- Kinealy, Christine. Tracing Your Irish Roots: Appletree Press, 2009
- McCarthy, Tony. The Irish Roots Guide. Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1991
- McCarthy, Tony & Cadogan, Tim. Tracing Your Cork Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Ancestors in Northern Ireland: A Guide to Ancestry Research in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland: Stationery Office, 1997
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Armagh Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Down Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. How To Trace Your Irish Ancestors: How To Books, 2009
- Maxwell, Ian. Your Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2008
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Northern Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2010
- Meehan, Helen & Duffy, Godfrey. Tracing Your Donegal Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2008
- Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Basic Guide to Irish Records for Family History: Clearfield Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Tracing Derry-Londonderry Roots: Clearfield Company, 2014
- Mitchell, Brian. NEW Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy Paperback: Clearfield, 2020
- O’Connor, Michael H. Tracing your Kerry Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 1994
- O’Dowd, Peadar. Tracing your Galway Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Ouimette, David. Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide: Ancestry.com, 2005
- Paton, Chris. Discover Irish Land Records: Unlock the Past, 2015
- Paton, Chris. Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
- Prochaska, Alice, Irish History from 1700: A Guide to Sources in the Public Record Office: British Records Association, 1986
- Raymond, Stuart. Irish Family History on the Web: The Family History Partnership, 2007
- Roulston, William. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2005
- Ryan, James. Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local History: Flyleaf Press, 1997
- Ryan, James & Smith, Brian. Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2009
- Ryan, James. Tracing your Sligo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Scott, Jonathan. Tracing Your British and Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2016
- Smith, Brian. Tracing your Mayo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Smith, Brian & Kennedy, Gerry. Tracing Your Clare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2013
- Stewart, Alan. My Ancestor Was Irish: A Guide to Sources for Family Historians: Society of Genealogists, 2012
Other
- Bradshaw’s Railway Map Great Britain and Ireland 1852: Mapseeker Publishing, 2013
- Connolly, S.J. The Oxford Companion to Irish History: Oxford University Press, 2007
- Coogan, Tim, Pat. The Famine Plot: England’s Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
- Dickson, R.J. Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-1775: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1976
- Grenham, John. The Little Book of Irish Clans and Tartans: Book Sales, 1995
- Robinson, Philip. Plantation of Ulster: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Smith, Paul & Turner, Keith. Railway Atlas of Ireland Then & Now: Ian Allan Publishing, 2014
Websites
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Information leaflet: Emigration records. The information leaflet gives an overview of emigration records outlining what records are available, what information can be found in the records and how and where the records can be accessed.
Ireland Reaching Out
Irish Famine Migration to Quebec, Canada.
Ireland Reaching Out
How to research ancestors who immigrated during the Irish Famine.
Ireland Reaching Out
Where did your Irish Ancestor Emigrate to.
University College Cork
Irish Emigration History
Spartacus Educational
Irish Immigration.
The Irish Famine Memorial
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney. The site commemorates the arrival of over 4,000 young Irish women, mostly teen orphans, who emigrated to Australia between 1848 and 1850 under the Earl Grey Scheme, a program designed to resettle destitute girls from Irish workhouses impacted by the Great Famine.
The Family History Guide
Ireland: Emigration and Immigration. Learn about Ireland emigration and immigration.
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
Irish emigration to America, Britain, Canada, Australia and beyond.
MyHeritage Blog
Irish Migration Patterns and How They Affected Irish Genealogy.
Roots Ireland
Irish Family History Foundation. Irish Passenger Lists.
Timeline Genealogy
Irish Emigrants.
The Irish Emigration Museum
Interactive museum located at the CHQ Building in Dublin, Ireland, focusing on the global impact of Irish emigrants and diaspora communities throughout history.
Legacy Tree Genealogists
Irish Family History: Online Resources to Help Find Your Irish Ancestors.
General Ireland Resources
Irish Genealogy
Irish Genealogical Research: Getting Started. The site offers practical advice and guidance for people beginning their journey into Irish family history research with a number of key recommendations.
FamilySearch Learning Center
Getting Started in Irish Genealogy presented by Marie E. Daly. Lecture designed to acquaint beginning genealogist with strategies and sources for getting started in Irish genealogy
John Grenham
Irish Ancestors. The website is dedicated to Irish ancestry and genealogy research. It offers various tools and resources for people interested in tracing their Irish family history. Key features include a surname search and place name search and guides to researching Irish ancestry.
The Irish Times
How to trace your Irish family history: a step-by-step guide, by John Grenham.
Timeline Research Ireland
Tracing Irish Ancestors Online. A free up to date guide by Nicola Morris.
Irish Genealogy
The site provides information about available church records for family history research in Ireland.
Irish Archives Resource
IAR does not hold any collections itself but helps researchers locate archival records and collections in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by entering the name of a person, place or subject. The catalogue includes many organisations, societies, political organisations and businesses.
RASCAL
Research and Special Collections Available Locally. An electronic gateway to research resources in Ireland. You can use this website to search and browse information about the wide range of research and special collections held in libraries, museums and archives across the region.
Fianna Study Group
The site offers a comprehensive resource for individuals researching Irish ancestry including:
- Transcriptions of primary sources including birth, death and marriage records.
- Guides to Irish genealogical research, including basics, frequently asked questions and detailed instructions on searching records and understanding Irish naming patterns.
- Articles and timelines covering Irish history.
- County-specific resources devoted to each county in Ireland.
- Emigration and migration help including passenger lists, ship records and resources for tracing Irish ancestors who moved to the USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
The Society, founded in 1936, is dedicated to promoting the study of Irish genealogy and preserving genealogical materials, particularly those compiled before the loss of many documents in the 1922 Public Record Office fire in Dublin. The Society manages an extensive reference library of printed and manuscript genealogical materials, considered the most important private collection of Irish genealogical resources globally. Details on how to access these materials are available on their website, along with specifics about their contents. The society offers guidance to family historians through its publications and various other resources.
Online Historical Population Reports
Histpop. University of Essex. The collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937 including official reports, legislation and essays on the censuses including statistical analysis. The documents on the site include indexes to parishes, townships and places used in the official reports.
Findmypast
Ireland Census Reports. Learn about the community in which your ancestor lived with census reports detailing population and area statistics from the latter half of the 19th century up to the early 20th century. The reports provide statistical details regarding the number of inhabitants in a given townland. The statistical details are broken down by gender, age, or other similar categories.
Findmypast
Ireland Statistical Surveys. Search these surveys from the early 1800s to learn about the history, customs, politics, and industries of these 10 counties: Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, King’s (Offaly), Leitrim, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, and Tyrone. Discover what pre-famine life looked like for your ancestor.
Townland Resources
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Index of Townlands, 1901. The site offers access to the Index of Townlands from 1901. The index, published in 1904 by the Commissioners of Census, was created as an aid in processing the returns for the 1901 census of Ireland. The index provides an alphabetical listing of townlands and towns in Ireland, along with various administrative divisions such as parishes and electoral divisions.
Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer
Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey Ireland). The service allows users to view historical and townland boundaries and features for the island of Ireland on interactive maps. Enables fast search and pinpointing of particular Irish townlands, names and boundary features.
The IreAtlas
Townland database. Search of the IreAtlas Townland database. The results of a county or townland search show all the townlands within the requested county together with the barony and parish.
nidirect
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. . In this section you can access lists of townlands arranged in the following different ways by county, by parish, within the estates of major landowners and alphabetically.
Irish Homelands
The website offers a tool for exploring Irish townlands. Users can access a detailed list of townlands and search by parish or county if you’re unsure of the townland name.
John Grenham
Irish Placenames. 1851 General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, parishes and Baronies of Ireland. Search the entire Index, together with street listings from Dublin, Cork and Belfast cities, more than 65,000 entries in all.
Irish Genealogy
Family Research 2016: Placenames. This article explains and explores how townlands and parishes got their names with links to useful resources.
Online Databases
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Ellis Island Passenger Search. Search 65 million records of passengers arriving to the Port of New York from 1820 to 1957. The records cover Castle Garden, 1820-1891; Ellis Island, 1892-1924; New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1925-1957 and New York airports. New legislation in the 1920s reduced immigration and Ellis Island shut in 1954. Users can view detailed information extracted from historical ship passenger manifests, which may include the passenger’s name, age, nationality, and port of departure.
National Archives of Ireland
Ireland-Australia transportation database. Search convicts transported from Ireland to Australia between 1788 and 1868. The records sometimes include information about convicts’ family members who were transported as free settlers.
- Ireland, Irish Emigration Lists, 1833-1839. Search an index of residents of County Antrim or County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The records were compiled from notebooks kept during the Ordnance Survey of Ireland and are organised by county, church parish, and last name and are compiled by Brian Mitchell.
- New York, U.S., Irish Immigrant Arrival Records, 1846-1851. This database is a collection of mainly Irish immigrants leaving Ireland during and after the Great Famine.
- New York Port Arrival Records, 1846-1851.
- Irish Records Index, 1500-1920
- Ireland, Famine Relief Commission Papers, 1844-1847.
- US. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995.
- New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
- New York Naturalization Records, 1897-1944.
- Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849.
- Irish Emigrants in North America, 1775-1825. Search David Dobson’s Irish Emigrants in North America (1775-1825).
- Lancashire, Vagrant Passes, 1801-1835 This collection includes lists of people being transported back to their place of settlement in Ireland. Individual records include the name of the vagrant, date shipped, description, whether accompanied by a wife and children, number of passes per family, allowances and expenses and the name of the ship. In some cases, they also listed the parish from which the vagrant was passed.
- Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775. Original data: Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775.
- Transatlantic Migration From North America To Britain & Ireland 1858-1870. The index extracts from the passenger lists details of all the ships, their voyages, and their passengers.
- Scots-Irish In North America Histories. Explore a variety of publications on the Scotch-Irish in North America. These publications will enable you to learn more about the history of the Ulster Scots and their descendants in the United States and Canada.
- Irish Famine Immigrants, 1846-1851. This immigration record collection includes more than 604,000 immigrants from Ireland during the Great Famine, covering the years 1846 through 1851, and arriving at the Port of New York.
- New England Petitions for Naturalization Index, 1791-1906. This is an index to photocopies of naturalization documents filed in courts in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont from 1791 to 1906.
- British and Irish Roots Collection. Search more than 98 million assorted records from existing collections at Findmypast dealing with 400 years of migration between Britain and Ireland and US, Canada or the Caribbean. Search across millions of passenger lists, census records, naturalization applications and draft registrations, as well as birth, marriage, and death records.
- United States, Transatlantic Migration Indexes. The collection consists of 46 assorted indexes covering ancestors who crossed the Atlantic from England, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, or France between the late 1500s and early 1900s.
FamilySearch
US Immigration Records. Find your immigrant ancestor in United States records. Search millions of passenger lists, border crossings, naturalizations and other records. Collections include:
- New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1920. Passenger lists for over 13 million immigrants arriving in New York City.
- United States, Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851.
- New York Book Indexes to Passenger Lists, 1906-1942.
- New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924.
- New York Passenger Lists (Castle Garden), 1820-1891.
- New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957.
- Germans to America Index, 1850-1897.
- Italians to America Index, 1855-1900.
- Russians to America Index, 1834-1897)
DIPPAM
Documenting Ireland: Parliament, People and Migration. The website offers extensive online resource dedicated to Irish history and migration. It provides free access to primary sources, official documents and first-hand accounts detailing both governmental and everyday experiences from the 18th century to the present.
The archive consists of three main searchable databases:
- EPPI: The Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, holding about 15,000 official publications on Irish affairs from the period 1800 to 1922, including government bills, commissions, and census reports.
- IED: The Irish Emigration Database, which contains more than 33,000 records drawn from public archives and private collections, such as emigrant letters, newspaper articles, shipping advertisements and family papers. It mainly covers emigration to North America.
- VMR: Voices of Migration and Return, featuring over 90 interviews with emigrants and returnees from Ulster, documenting contemporary migration experiences from 2004–2008.
Ulster Historical Foundation
The Foundation offers a range of genealogy databases covering Irish ancestry research including Emigration and Passenger Lists such as Passengers to America, 1773, 1789-93, 1796 and State-Aided Emigration Schemes from Crown Estates in Ireland, c. 1850.
National Archives and Records Administration
Access to Archival Databases. Records of Passengers from Ireland and the United Kingdom, ca. 1820 – ca. 1912.
Irish Famine Memorial
Orphan Database: Search details of young women who came to the Australian colonies during the famine years of 1848 to 1850 who were sent from the workhouses throughout all 32 counties Ireland. A separate database lists the ships that carried the orphans to Australia.
RootsIreland
Irish Family History Foundation. The site offers a unique database of more than 23 million Irish records from 34 county genealogy centres on the island of Ireland. The main sources on the site are Irish Catholic and other church records of baptisms, marriages and deaths. The site also features Census Records, Gravestone Inscriptions, Griffith’s Valuation for Ireland, Irish Ship Passenger Lists and Census Substitutes for Ireland. The passenger lists are records mostly of passengers on ships from Irish and British ports to ports in North America, United States and Canada.
Dunbrody
Irish Emigration Database. This database is compiled directly from the original Ship’s Passenger Manifests. It records Irish, English, Scottish, and Welsh immigrants arriving in US ports on many different ships, from many different ports. It includes the Dunbrody Famine ship passenger list.
Immigrant Servants Database
Price Genealogy. The database aims to create a reconstructed passenger arrival list for people who came to Colonial America as indentured servants, redemptioners (a person who worked as a servant to pay for the cost of the voyage) and transported convicts between 1607 and 1820. Expect to find the name, date of birth, address and occupation of servant; the colony and date of servitude; the port of departure, place of arrival, year of immigration, name of ship and length of indenture.
Ulster Ancestry
The McCabe List, 1829. This record lists 635 named Irish emigrants who settled in Ontario, Canada, including details of their places of origin and relatives who wished to follow them.
