A welcome message
from
Michael Walsh
President of AGI
Frequently Asked Questions
Would you like to find out more about Irish genealogy and in particular about AGI and how it can help you?
If you wish to undertake research yourself, there are plenty of Irish records that are freely available online. See our Resources section for various downloadable guides. If you would like to hire a professional genealogist to help you to find your Irish ancestors, visit our Members page, review our members’ profiles and contact several members to discuss their availability and costs, before you decide who to proceed with.
Members of AGI are accredited professional genealogists. This means that their work has been assessed by our independent board of assessors and their membership has been granted on the recommendations of that board, based on the quality of the work reviewed. Clients of our members also have recourse, if they are not happy with the members’ work, and can file a complaint with our Complaints Investigation Committee. When hiring someone to carry out research, particularly from overseas, it is essential you, as the client, can verify that their work meets a high standard and that you have recourse, if there is a issue with the work. How do I know which AGI member to choose? – Go to our Members page, where you will find a list of our members, available for research commissions. Each members’ page will have details of their experience and areas of expertise. We always recommend that you contact more than one member. Our members are often busy and can sometimes have long waiting lists for research commissions, so may not be immediately available to undertake your request. Our members each set their own prices and may recommend different approaches to your research. Once you have received a response from several members, you can make an informed decision as to who you would like to commission.
Our members each set their own prices, so costs will vary from member to member. There is no standard set fees for genealogical research. We recommend obtaining quotes from more than one member. Our members should provide you with an up front fee, agreed with you before research is commissioned. Some members will require payment in advance and others will invoice you on completion.
On our resources page you will find a number of downloadable guides and links to online resources … Resources pages.
The length of time to complete research for clients varies and is determined by the volume of research required for your project and the availability of your selected genealogist. The AGI member should be able to provide a guideline time frame within which the research will be completed.
AGI members will usually only recommend research that they believe is likely to be productive and inform your family history. However, members cannot guarantee the results of their research as they do not know exactly what they will find in the records until they have been consulted. For this reason members cannot guarantee 100% success. However, you can be assured that their research will be thorough, diligent and comprehensive.
If there are are any records to be found, our members will find them.
While a large number of AGI members are based in Dublin, where the majority of genealogical records are held in various repositories, we also have members located throughout Ireland, including Northern Ireland. AGI is an all-Ireland body, which was actually founded in Belfast. Our members can usually undertake research pertaining to any county in Ireland in addition to some members having particular expertise in a specific geographical area.
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