Finding your Donegal ancestors

For anyone looking to find their Donegal ancestors, it is not something that I can tell in a single post. You could try Lindel's site, she has a lot of good resources and tips for looking. But here are some pointers from my own searches.

Ask your relatives! This is very important and should always be the first step. Sisters, brothers, parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents. You would be surprised how much information can be gotten that way. If, for example, you're grandparents are alive and they remember their grandparents, that's five generations.

Link up. Find out if any relatives are researching also. It can lead to a lot of new info and also it's a lot more fun. At this point I should give a special mention to Kerrin McCadden, friend and cousin for many years now and who has worked with me in putting the McCadden's family jigsaw in a coherent shape. Also link with people who are not related but are looking in the same place. It's a good chance to swap stories and source.

Keep track of as much detail as you can no matter how insignificant, or how irrelevant it may seem. You'd be surprised how much small details can change significance when you find out a little more. A case in point, when I 1st looked at the Irish Census records I was after names and birth dates. I didn't pay attention to the building descriptions that are also included. But the next time I looked at the records after some advice from an expert I realised how much of the family's lifestyle can be worked out from those small details.

Finally the record sources. A lot has been said about historical records in Donegal. Or more precisely the lack of records. The best suggestion I have is to work backwards. And remember - places, names, dates. Without townland or parish references in Donegal it's really like looking for a needle in a haystack.

There's probably a whole load more good suggestions that I'm missing.