About

Hi, I’m Claire.  I'm an Irish genealogical and historical researcher, based in Meath, with a particular interest in family, social and women's history.

I’ve always been fascinated by people and their stories, particularly the lives that can so easily disappear between the lines of official records.

For me, genealogy isn't just about building a family tree or collecting names and dates.  It’s about discovering who those people actually were: where they lived, what they did for a living, who they loved, the families they raised, the challenges they faced, and the communities they called home.

That curiosity eventually led me back to university and into the world of genealogy and family history.

I hold a First-Class Honours MA in History of Family from the University of Limerick and a First-Class Honours Diploma in Genealogy (N.U.I.) from University College Cork. I also hold a Certificate in History of Family and Genealogical Methods from the University of Limerick.

Through my studies and research, I’ve spent countless hours following people through census returns, parish registers, birth and marriage records, newspapers, archives and all those wonderful little historical clues that can suddenly make someone who lived 150 years ago feel very real.

And that is still my favourite part of the research.

There’s something incredibly special about finding a record that answers a question a family has wondered about for years, or uncovering a tiny detail about an ancestor that nobody knew before.

I also believe that family history isn't only about those who came before us. Some of our most precious family history is sitting around the kitchen table with us today.  The memories of our parents, grandparents and relatives are every bit as important as the records we find in an archive, which is why preserving family stories and oral histories is also an important part of what I want The Book of You to offer.

I created The Book of You because I wanted to use my research experience to help other people discover those stories, whether that's tracing an Irish ancestor, solving a family mystery, finding an original record in an archive, recording the memories of someone they love, or uncovering the wider story of a family across generations.

Because behind every record is a person.

And every family has a story worth preserving.

Member of WHAI https://womenshistoryassociation.com/

Member of the Genealogical Society of Ireland https://familyhistory.ie/