National Heritage Week Genealogy Clinics - Dundalk Library

What to Expect

Dundalk Library runs free genealogy clinics on three consecutive days during National Heritage Week 2026: Wednesday 19, Thursday 20 and Friday 21 August. Slots run from 11am to 7pm and are allocated in one-hour blocks, so each person gets dedicated time rather than a shared workshop. Booking is essential and the library takes them by phone. The long evening finish on all three days is deliberate, making it possible to take a slot after work.

An hour with a librarian who knows the local sources is worth a great deal more than an hour of guessing on a subscription website. Louth’s records are unusually good for a small county: the library service holds Griffith’s Valuation and tithe applotment material, local newspaper archives going back generations for the Dundalk Democrat and the Argus, graveyard surveys, and the online resources that Irish public libraries provide free to members, including Findmypast and the Irish Newspaper Archives. Add in the National Archives census returns for 1901 and 1911 and the Catholic parish registers digitised by the National Library, and most people can get several generations back in a single sitting. Bring whatever you already have, however scrappy: names, approximate dates, townland names, a marriage certificate, an old photograph with something written on the back. Guesswork about where a family came from is the usual sticking point, and townland names are the key that unlocks most Irish research.

Good to Know

• Wednesday 19, Thursday 20 and Friday 21 August 2026
• One-hour slots between 11:00am and 7:00pm on each of the three days
• Venue: Dundalk Library, Roden Place, Dundalk
• Free, but booking is essential: phone 042 9353190
• Part of National Heritage Week 2026, running across Louth from 15 to 23 August
• Bring any names, dates, townlands or documents you already have
• Library membership is free and gives access to the online genealogy databases from home

Getting There

Dundalk Library is on Roden Place beside St Patrick’s Cathedral, in the centre of Dundalk. It is a few minutes’ walk from the bus station on the Long Walk and about fifteen minutes from Dundalk Clarke rail station on the Dublin to Belfast line. Drivers should leave the M1 at junction 16 or 18 and follow the town centre signs. The Marshes Shopping Centre multi-storey and the Park Street car parks are nearest; on-street parking on Roden Place is limited and metered during the day.