REQUESTING A SEARCH OF THE CENTRE FOR MIGRATION STUDIES IRISH EMIGRATION RECORDS

If you are unable to visit the Centre in person you may request staff to conduct a search of the Centre's resources on your behalf. The fee will be £25 sterling per hour or part thereof payable in advance.
Payment should be by
· A sterling cheque drawn on a UK bank or
· A sterling Bankers Draft/International Money Order made payable to The Mellon Centre for Migration Studies, Ulster American Folk Park or
· A credit card can also be used by phoning the Centre (Acceptable Card Types)
· Regrettably we cannot accept foreign cheques or foreign currency
· The initial fee will be £25 per hour or part thereof. We will advise you if we exceed this proportion of time

The service will include a search of the Centre for Migration Studies Irish Emigration Database and any relevant books held in our library collection. The Irish Emigration Database is a virtual collection of historical documents dealing with emigration to North America (United States and Canada) in the 18th and 19th centuries and which currently holds 33,000 documents. Types of documents on the Database include:

Passenger Lists
Please note that the Irish Emigration Database is an ongoing project and our passenger lists cover the period 1800-1860 and are not complete for that period.
· Emigrant letters
· Shipping Advertisements
· Official documents dealing with Irish Emigration
· Journals/Diaries of Emigrants
· Newspaper Reports
· Shipping News
· Births, Deaths, and Marriages of emigrants reported in local newspapers

You should provide us with any information you have about your ancestor:
· First and last name
· Where they lived in Ireland
· Where they settled in America/Canada
· Date of emigration
· Travelling alone or with family (include names and ages of additional family members if relevant)
· Ports of departure and arrival
· Date of birth and/or death

Any or all of this information is useful.

Please note that we only hold migration-related records (not church or civil records of births, baptisms, marriages or deaths). Passenger lists do not include ships sailing for Australia, New Zealand or any other areas of the Irish Diaspora.

Staff are unable to undertake extended research projects.

To use this service:

Credit Card: Please phone the Centre on 0044 28 8225 6315 to give card details
Cheque or money order: Please make these payable to Centre for Migration Studies
The initial fee will be £25 per hour or part thereof. We will advise you if we exceed this proportion of time.

Please download the Query Form here. Fill the form out and email the completed form to: cms@librariesni.org.uk

Or write to Librarian, Centre for Migration Studies, Mellon Rd. Castletown, Omagh, Northern Ireland BT78 5QY

We will endeavour to answer your search request within 15 working days of receipt of payment.

The public are welcome to visit the Centre in person (Monday to Friday 10.30am to 5.00pm) and conduct their own research free of charge. Staff will be glad to support them in this and answer their questions.