The Society of Genealogists (SOG) in London: www.sog.org.uk and the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) in Birmingham: www.ffhs.org.uk both publish how-to booklets on various research topics. While these are mainly English topics, they can strategically be used to complement your Irish research.

Remember the government records we use in Ireland are based upon English Law. This means there are common terms and concepts. These same Irish records were often generated by people trained in England. This means these how-to booklets on military, taxes, wills, land and court records can easily transfer over to Irish records.

For example, in the SOG booklet My Ancestors were Manorial Tenants (1994), by Peter B. Park, he presents the history and records of the landlord-tenant relationship, including an eight page “Glossary” of terms in the back of the book. Remember, many of the Irish estate owners were from England or steeped in English culture.

Another example is the FFHS publication Militia Lists and Musters 1757-1876 (2004), by Jeremy Gibson and Mervyn Medlycott. After presenting the history and records, the authors inventory militia records, for all of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

My last example is land records. The FFHS booklet by Julian Cornwall, Reading Old Title Deeds (1997) concerns land in England. However, I used the five page “Glossary” in the back of the book in developing my two-part blog “Historic Terms Used in the Irish Registry of Deeds” on 14-15 May 2012!

Yes, before you dismiss books about English research as not applicable to your Irish research, remember that part of Irish society under English rule was based on English Law.