Drop us an email, briefly outlining your query (in a few paragraphs). The main things to include are your research objectives and the basic details of the particular ancestors you are concentrating on. Then we will ask you some pertinent questions and, following on our exchange, we will advise whether worthwhile research would be possible.

Sometimes people are more comfortable in writing a letter. That is perfectly acceptable, though a correspondence entirely by letter will slow down our communication considerably. If you wish to make the initial contact by letter you may like to include more detail, but please don’t send us reams of paper to read through! If you have email please include your email address. A letter should be addressed to Gorry Research, 84 Ardglass, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, W91 RH59, Ireland.

People new to ancestral research often find it hard to understand the importance of verification of the family being researched. Unfamiliarity with online sources can send people off on a tangent at an early stage. We don’t want to be tracing the wrong ancestors for our clients, so be prepared to be “interrogated” to make sure you are on the right track.

We need to follow the steps you took that brought you back to the ancestors you are researching. It would help if you could separate your information into two separate sections. Firstly, a brief outline of any relevant family lore that has been handed down the generations. Secondly, the sources you used in your own research and what key pieces of information they gave leading back to the ancestors now being sought. Images of key documents would help.

A family historian who has conducted extensive research and who wishes to have their findings assessed may commission a Research Evaluation. As evaluations are charged at an hourly rate, the more extensive the reading material supplied, the more expensive the process will be. That is why it is best to provide a succinct summary of the specific queried findings, supported by materials (including document images) relating to them.

A consultation meeting may be arranged with visitors to Baltinglass. This may be useful in particular if it involves genealogical or local history research in the general Carlow / Kildare / Wicklow area. To avail of this service please make contact well in advance.

Creating a family history in book form is quite an undertaking. That is why Paul Gorry has taken on very few such projects. However, he will consider proposals. The first steps would be the conducting of a series of commissioned searches (as outlined above) to gather the raw material from which the story will be told. The research reports would be included as a series of appendixes in the book, providing the factual basis of the story. The story (or stories) would be told in chronological order, from the earliest identified ancestors down to the most recent generations. Gorry Research could not write a family history based on someone else’s research. A full discussion of the project would take place with the client before a family history book commission would be accepted.