Southern California Genealogical Society
SCGS INTEREST GROUPS - Irish Interest Group

Irish Interest Group

Meets: 5th Sunday of the month (check calendar)
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact: for more information.
Location: 417 Irving Drive, Burbank, CA 91504
Southern California Genealogy Society building
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The Irish Interest Group meets at the library whenever there is a fifth Sunday in the month (usually four times a year). On these days we have the entire library to ourselves from 10:00am - 4:00pm

To find out more about what is happening with the Irish Interest Group, you may subscribe to the SCGS Irish Interest Group Mailing List. Contact for more information.
Irish Workshop Dates:

Irish Online Research Sites


Meeting: January 29, 2023, 1-4 p.m. ONLINE
https://meet.goto.com/170016421
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412
Access Code: 170-016-421


The January Irish will be a question and answer workshop. Be sure you are signed up to receive notices. If not, send an email to irishinterestgroup@scgsgenealogy.com with the word “Join” in the subject and body of the message.

Have your questions ready as this meeting will be from 1-4PM online, or until you run out of questions. Be sure that you are subscribed to our mailing list. If you are not, you can subscribe by sending an email to irishinterestgroup@scgsgenealogy.com with the word JOIN in the subject and in the body of the email. If you have any other questions you can also contact me at that address. I hope to see you there, Marge Golden Rossini.


The Irish Interest Group just keeps on growing at SCGS and we encourage all of you who have Irish heritage to join us. Our group includes descendants of native Irish as well as Anglo, Norman, Welsh, and Scots-Irish, and many others.

With over twelve percent of the United States population having Irish ancestors, and another near two percent with Scots-Irish that's a lot of Irish cousins out there! Why not come and find one of yours? That has happened before in this group!

We explore the history of our ancestors as much as we explore the resources that are available for use in tracking those forebears.

You probably know that it was the Vikings who settled Dublin, but did you know that the O'Sullivan Clan of southwest Ireland, in the province of Munster, are descended from the Milesians of the Basque region in Spain?

The Irish Interest Group is here to share knowledge among the members and to help those new to this area of interest. Where do you look if all you know is that your great-great-grandfather was born in "Ireland?"

We're here to help. Bring those questions with you when you come to the next Irish Workshop and we will help you sort them out. We may not have all of the answers, but we will give it our best try.

Past discussions have covered topics as varied as ancient Celtic customs, Brehon laws, Penal laws, travel back and forth from Scotland, migration patterns, the Plantation period, battles, treaties and the effects these have all had on our ancestors, right up to the present-day topic of DNA.

We mix historical facts with research tips and look at many new websites and online resources and databases as they become available.

We constantly review what Irish records exist to help in our searches and what substitute records can be used to fill in the gaps. We explore the new and exciting ways we have to find those elusive ancestors of ours.
We have a growing collection of books in the Scots-Irish section. Highlights include:
  • The Great Book of Irish Genealogies
  • The Kenmare Manuscripts
  • MacLysaght's books
  • 1659 Census of Ireland
  • Casey collection
  • Famine Immigrants
  • Irish Passenger Lists
  • O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees
  • Gravestone Inscriptions
  • Plantations in Ulster
  • Monumental Inscriptions Scotland
  • Scottish Settlers in North America
  • Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland
  • and many, many more.
  • We invite you to come and see for yourself. Céad míle fáilte (we welcome you).


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    Mission Statement

    The Irish Interest Group of the SCGS
    is dedicated to promoting interest in and supporting those who are researching their Celtic heritage. This includes all whose ancestors ever lived in Ireland, be they Anglo, Norman, or Scots-Irish. From the earliest times people came from distant places to settle in Ireland. Many moved back and forth across the sea periodically. When times were tough, many left Ireland and settled here in America and Canada while others sailed to Australia and other places. It is our aim to bridge the gap from our ancestors' world to our own. We welcome those whose ancestors ever set foot in Ireland and stayed for even the shortest amount of time.