
Your Ancestry Tour
Your Ancestry Tour
John Ducie our founder, as well as being an Irish Tourist Authority Approved National Tour Guide and university qualified Genealogist and Family Historian. John is also joined as required by other experts recruited through his contacts built up over many years of his working within The National Trust movement.
How Can Irish John’s Tours of Ireland Help with a Family Heritage or Ancestry Themed Tour of Ireland?
John’s Tours of Ireland acknowledges the needs of clients who wish to visit Ireland, undertake research and seek out authentic, genuine family records and/or actual authentic experiences of where their ancestors lived or worked. We also understand that researching family history may only be part of the reason for visiting Ireland and that you will want to take in all the sites and experience that make a visit to Ireland so special. There may also be a need for repeat visits to follow up leads and because of strong emotional connection. Guests may have need to:
- Access more information
- “Walk in the footsteps of their ancestors”
- Connect with other people
- Connect with ‘Irish Identity and understand the meaning of being Irish today’
- Visit the National Archives in Dublin and Special Collections Department of National Library in Dublin and the Public Record Office for Northern Ireland in Belfast.
Recognising that many people may have some research done on their family history already and come to Ireland with the intention of connecting to their Irish heritage. We can provide three one day trips to enhance your knowledge of what being Irish is all about.
or you can ask us about our tailor made options;
Tailor Made;
We work with you to produce expert Genealogical Research for your Irish family and devise an itinerary for your holiday that will bring you walking in footsteps of your ancestry. Tours are very personal and focus on understanding the meaning of being Irish as well as exploring your own family history. We also understand that researching family history may only be part of the reason for visiting Ireland and that you will want to take in all the sites and experiences that make a visit to Ireland so special. We are well qualified to guide to all of these as well.
Or when individual family research is completed and an itinerary agreed we can assist by providing.
- An escorted motor tour with guide to any part of Ireland and overnight lodgings with breakfast.
- Transport is by E class Mercedes Car (seats 3 – 4) . Larger groups can be transported by arrangement by minibus
- Email for a quotation.
Family Trees
When research is completed we can produce for you a detailed report on your Irish Ancestors accompanied by a family tree. We can also search for your relatives that remained resident in Ireland.
Background information on Ireland and its people:
The Irish people today are essentially a mixture of three great core populations:
The Gaelic Irish, these are thought to be the original inhabitants that settled on the island from in the Stone Age (c4000 bc onwards). The Irish or Gaelic language belongs to this group and it is thought to be one of the ten oldest continuously spoken languages on earth. They largely did not participate in the protestant reformation of the 16th century and overwhelmingly remained adherents of the old Roman Catholic faith. The majority of the Irish people today are descendants of this group with 90% of the population of the Republic of Ireland and 48% of Northern Ireland descended from them. Surnames often have Mac, Mc or O” in front of them. They are frequently referred to, as “Celtic” like the Welsh and the Scots but included in this group are also the later Viking peoples who became assimilated into them.
The Anglo Irish: These are the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from the 12th century Norman Conquest of Ireland onwards. Among them the English language was born in the 14th century at the same time as in England and this is the language of the majority of the people of Ireland today.
They further divide into two great groups:
The Old English who largely remained Roman Catholic but loyal to the kings of England in the 16th century. They frequently lost power and lands due to their refusal to become protestant to a new wave of English settlers in the 17th century and also often threw their lot in with the Gaelic Irish becoming assimilated into Gaelic Ireland and rebelling with them. Names are often of Norman origin with prefixes like “Fitz” or “De” e.g. Fitzgerald, DeBurgo (Burke) etc.
The Anglo Irish Protestant Ascendancy: These families came to Ireland from the 17th century onwards and the final defeat of the Gaelic Irish. Numerically they are the smallest group but they have had a huge effect on Irish heritage. They ruled Ireland in the days of the British Empire and were frequently rebelled against by the other groups. Most of the great aristocratic families have bloodlines from these settlers as well as many professional and urban dwellers today as well as some farmers. They are majority protestant, mostly Anglican (Episcopalian) with various other protestant faiths also represented.
The Ulster Scots Irish:
Ulster, the northern most Gaelic kingdom was the last to be defeated in the early 17th century just as the crowns of England and Scotland became united. As a result it was settlers from Scotland particularly Lowland Scots who came to colonise this part of Ireland with names like Alexander, Armstrong, Hamilton, Paisley etc. a significant group were also Scottish Gaelic who also used the Mac or Mc prefix as in MacDonald. They are overwhelmingly Presbyterian by religion like the mainland Scots and loyal to the British Crown. It is they that give Northern Ireland its distinctive history with approximately 52% of the population descended from them with the remaining 48% being Gaelic Irish and Roman Catholic.
In addition to the three major groups there are also many other Irish ancestries to be told such as that of the Jewish, Quaker, Huguenot, German Palatines etc.
Whatever your Irish ancestry we can assist you in tracing their records and finding their homes.
Tracing Irish Family History
There are many and varied information sources, including:
- Census Returns
- Old Parish Records
- Local Newspapers
- Records of local societies.
- Poor Law Records
- Trade Directories (Post Office Directories)
- Trade Societies Records
- Hearth Tax Records 1652
- Registry of Deeds (Land Transfers)
- Confirmations and Inventories (wills).
- Valuation Rolls
Official records of former burghs and councils. - Maps
- Local Archives
- Registration Offices (births, deaths and marriages).
- General Register Office for Ireland
- Burial Grounds Records
- Local Family History Societies
- Irish Genealogy -official Irish Government source of genealogical data.
- Professional genealogists (ancestry researchers).
How Can John’s Tours of Ireland Help with a Family Heritage or Ancestry Themed Tour of Ireland?
When individual family research is completed and an itinerary agreed we can assist by providing.
- An escorted motor tour with guide to any part of Ireland and overnight lodgings with breakfast.
- Transport is by chauffeur driven E class Mercedes Car (seats 3 – 4) . Larger groups can be transported by arrangement by minibus
- Email for a quotation.
Sample Full Family History Report available (Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the client)
Price
Email for Quotation
No. of People
1 - 5
Duration
Tailored to Suit You
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What our customers say

- Tourist87226
A group of us with an interest in Gardens took a private tour with John to visit Kilruddery and Powerscourt Gardens. With John's expert knowledge of both history and horticulture... read more the experience was excellent, he made each part of the day and every element of the gardens interesting and a great learning experience.
May 15, 2022 - GeorgiaK27
We had a fabulous day with John driving south from Dublin through beautiful coastal villages to Powerscourt and then up into the Wicklow mountains with the final stop in Glendalough.... read more He is a wealth of knowledge and we learned about Irish history, politics, society and flora and fauna. We would love to travel more with him when we are back in Ireland which we hope will be soon!
April 21, 2022 - 607leannd
The McAllister Family is so grateful to have been connected with John via Approved Tourist Guides Ireland (ATGI)! John transported us from Dublin to Kerry with stops including the Rock... read more of Cashel and a recommended nearby lovely lunch spot. John's depth of knowledge and love of country shined through and made our Irish-American family feel connected to The Land of Saints and Scholars. Highly recommend!
November 10, 2021 - nkreikemeier
Great day with John Ducie. I’d describe him as passionate and knowledgeable, what else could you want in a tour guide!
Very well spoken, and easy to understand (hard... read more for my mother sometimes depending on accents), we very much enjoyed jump starting our knowledge of Dublin shortly after arriving so we can effectively get a handle on the city early on.
Would recommend John to anyone for anything, but that Dublin tour seemed like home for him.
September 5, 2021 - mark d
My wife and I just finished an 8 day tour of Ireland with John. We saw Ireland from coast to coast with so much in between! Be it... read more the City of Dublin, Galway, The Cliffs of Moher, The Dingle Peninsula or the many quaint towns and villages along the way we saw it all and more. We had never been to Ireland and had no clue as to where to go, what to see or where to stay. With John's help and guidance we had a wonderful flawless experience. John's fantastic knowedlge of Irish history is a real gift that we greatly appreciated.
My wife and I highly recommend John Ducie as your tour guide for Ireland!!
September 26, 2019 - Trip643730
John researched two of our ancestors who left Ireland in the 1750's. There are not many records from that era unless your ancestor was rich or a criminal. ... read more John tracked the family name and connected it to the area where the family name was or could now be found. We visited multiple sites and John explained what was happening before and after our ancestors left. We were unable to make direct connections with ancestors but we have an appreciation of where they lived, what life was like for them, what caused them to leave and who was in control of the region. We highly recommend John as a tour guide.
August 16, 2019 - Judy B
John picked up us in Dublin from our cruise ship, and took us to Belfast and the Titanic
Museum. It was a great day, John is so knowledgeable about... read more the history of Ireland and really explained it well. He kept us well entertained for the whole day.
His vehicle was immaculate and a pleasure to ride in and he had water for us for the trip. Couldn't have asked for a better guide or a better day. Thank you John. Happy to recommend him to any people looking for tours.
He is also very knowledgeable in history in general and economics. He is a very well rounded person and a pleasure to spend the day with.
August 4, 2019