Tracing my Irish Roots

My paternal grandmother was Edna Judge, whose grandfather, James Judge, was born around 1822 in either County Mayo or County Sligo.  From what I can tell, James emigrated to Canada in his 20s and married Ann Maguire in Quebec at the age of 30 years.  I have no records of James prior to his coming to Canada.  James was Roman Catholic.
I am planning to visit Ireland for the first time at the end of August and would like to spend some time in either Sligo or Mayo to research my family tree.
Any assistance that you could provide me would be most appreciated.
Sincerely,
Frank Charbonneau

Hi Frank,

Welcome to our Community! I can tell that you have already done some research on your family tree. It's great that you plan to see where your ancestors came from.

The first tip I can give you would be to search the County Mayo and Sligo genealogy centers through Roots Ireland for any surviving church records (a birth/baptism certificate of James for instance). You can also contact them to see what they can do to assist once you arrive in August.

Maybe some of our expert genealogists will jump in! 

Best of luck and let us know how your search goes! We are also here to help should you need tips to explore the north west of Ireland.

Cheers,
Antoine