Sometimes, when you’ve exhausted all family recollections and record sources, the plethora of Irish genealogy message boards on the web can help you overcome brick walls and further your research. People from all over the world post on these boards, and you never know which one of them is going to turn out to be a long-lost cousin with just the information on your family you’ve been searching for for years. Many family connections are discovered and/or renewed on these boards, and the very real chance of finding a genealogical gem in them makes them well worth adding to your roster of research tools.

Here are some of the top Irish genealogy message boards you should be using in your research:

1.  The GenealogyForum.com Irish Genealogy Message Board–This newly re-opened board doesn’t have a search feature, so it may take some time to dig through the posts to find what you need, but the sheer volume of posts means the chances of you finding someone who knows something about your Irish family history is very high.

2.  Genealogy.com’s GenForum Ireland Genealogy Board–This web standard is extensive and easy to search by name, location, or any other keyword you like. With plenty of users from around the world, it’s a must-use board for any family historian doing Irish genealogy research.

3.  Ireland-Information.com’s Genealogy Forum–Includes a moderately-sized (though not searcheable) Irish genealogy forum, as well as links to an Irish genealogy search engine, FAQs about Irish genealogy, and Irish coats of arms.

4.  The Ireland Roots on Facebook–The board here is organized into discussions separated by Irish county, which makes it easier for regional researchers to find what they want. There are also several links for additional help with discovering your Irish roots.

5.  Irish Genealogy Queries at Yuku.com–This is one of the smaller genealogy message boards, with discussions separated into topics. This board has a heavy focus on genealogical queries regarding members of the Royal Irish Constabulary, so if you have an ancestor who was a member, this is a good place to look (or ask) for information on him or her.