Irish Ancestors: The Gift from John Grenham

If you haven't heard about John Grenham or his website yet, this is your lucky day! John Grenham is one of the leading Irish genealogists, and he has contributed one of the best tools for Irish research.

He went through the entirety of Griffith's Valuation and mapped where surnames occurred. It is now a searchable tools online, which can be accessed at johngrenham.com. The first few searches are free, but then you will be asked to subscribe. If you have lots of Irish ancestry, a subscription shouldn't turn you away. You can even just do it for a day or a month and see all the names that you need. Regardless, you should check it out. Here are a few tools to keep an eye out for on his website.

1. Surname Search- Just try searching for your family's name in the search bar on the main page, and it will bring up the dots where the name occurred in Griffith's Valuation. I've provided an example below of one of my family names.

   
   

   

   
   

2. Name Variants- John Grenham also provides a list of variants of the name that you searched, which can be very helpful when you're looking for records. Name spellings were rarely standardized, so it's important to search the variants of a name when using search terms or even flipping through an original book.

   
   

   

   
   

3. Surname by County- In addition to the whole map of Ireland, underneath that map is a list of counties the name occurred in and the number of households with that surname. You can click on a specific county name underneath the map and it will pull up a map of that county with a more specific view of where they occurred.

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

4. Surname Dictionary- Underneath the county list on your first search page is a small dictionary section. You can find possible meanings behind the surname, where it occurs the most, and the rarity of the variation.

   
   

   

5. Second Surname Search- This is a VERY useful tool, so take note. Right beside the surname dictionary is another search box where you can enter a second surname. When you search using this box, it will bring up the parishes where the two surnames occur together. This can narrow your search down a lot. If you're having trouble figuring out where your ancestors were before they crossed the Atlantic, but you know they were married before they came over, try out this tool to narrow down where to search for marriage records.

   
   

   

6. Browse- This is a great place to find different resources for Irish genealogy. There's too much to talk about it all in detail. However, you can find things like passenger lists, maps of different jurisdictions, research guides, guides to types of records, links to where to find records, addresses for repositories, and more. This is accessible free.

   

7. Wizard- The wizard is provided to help you organize and plan your research. You input your ancestors' information, and it returns to you suggestions for further research, including links. Important note: Your information is not retained.

8. 

   Others- Some other resources on Irish Ancestors is John Grenham's blog, which is full of valuable information. You can even search the blog to find any articles that may be useful to your research. Another is Place Names. This can help you understand the different jurisdictions in Ireland, which can be a little confusing. Finally, Ancestors. You input your information, and it returns a report for you. Check these all out!

All in all, Irish Ancestors is a great website, and can help you deepen your genealogy research. This is not something that you should pass by, and it's worth it to take time and play around with it.

During one of our prep meetings for those joining our Dublin Research Tour, we will explore this more, and we may even meet John Grenham in Dublin, depending on his schedule. Sign up here: https://www.returntoeire.com/2026-research-trip