County Kerry holds records of millions of Irish families. Yours may be one of them.
Kerry sits in the far south-west of Ireland. Its coastline wraps around the Atlantic. High mountain passes cut through the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. Quiet valleys still carry the names of families who lived there for centuries.
If your ancestors came from Kerry, this five-day plan will help you find them.
Why Kerry?
Kerry sent hundreds of thousands of people to America. The Famine years of 1845 to 1852 hit the county hard. Entire families packed what little they had and made the crossing.
Many settled in Boston, New York, and Chicago. Others went to Springfield, Massachusetts — a town still tightly linked to the Dingle Peninsula. That connection runs deep to this day.
The most common Kerry surnames are O’Sullivan, McCarthy, Moriarty, O’Donoghue, Hussey, O’Connor, and Shea. If any of those names run in your family, your roots very likely reach into this corner of Ireland.
Your great-great-grandparents may have looked at these same mountains before they boarded a ship. They left through Dingle Harbour or Valentia Island. Most never came back.
Kerry Records You Need Before You Travel
Good research before you fly saves days on the ground. The key is to find your family in the records and note their townland before you arrive.
Civil Records and Parish Registers
Ireland’s civil registration started in 1864 for births, 1845 for marriages, and 1864 for deaths. These records are free to search at IrishGenealogy.ie.
For Catholic baptisms and marriages before 1864, Kerry’s diocesan records are your best option. Many Kerry parish registers are now digitised. Search them at IrishGenealogy.ie or at RootsIreland.ie.
Our Irish Parish Records Guide explains how these records work and what they contain.
Griffith’s Valuation
This land survey ran from 1847 to 1864. It recorded every household in Ireland, the land they rented, and its value. Griffith’s Valuation is often the earliest record that places a family in a specific townland.
You can search it free at AskAboutIreland.ie. Our guide to Griffith’s Valuation explains how to read the entries and find your family.
Once you find your ancestors in these records, note the townland. That small patch of land is where your journey in Kerry begins.
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Your 5-Day Kerry Ancestry Itinerary
Day 1 — Tralee: Start at the Source
Fly into Cork or Shannon and drive to Tralee. The town is the county capital and your research base for the week.
Kerry County Archives
The Kerry County Archives sit inside the county council building in Tralee. You will find original rate books, estate records, and Poor Law documents here. These often name individual families and their landholdings.
Ring ahead before you visit. The archives are not a walk-in service. Book an appointment at least two weeks in advance. A staff member will help you find records linked to your family’s townland.
Kerry County Museum
The museum covers Kerry life from ancient times to the present. It gives you a clear sense of what daily life was like for your ancestors — the work, the housing, the hardship. Spend the evening in Tralee, which has good hotels and a busy town centre.
Day 2 — Killarney and the Muckross Estate
Drive south from Tralee to Killarney. The town sits beneath the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks — the highest mountains in Ireland.
Killarney Diocesan Records
Contact the Kerry Diocesan Archives before you arrive. Their records go back to the 1780s in some Kerry parishes. Staff can help you locate baptismal and marriage entries for your family name.
Muckross Abbey
This 15th-century Franciscan friary holds the remains of many Kerry noble families — the O’Donoghues and the MacCarthys among them. Walk into the cloister. The clans buried here controlled Kerry for centuries before Cromwell’s wars drove them out.
Many of their descendants ended up in America. Standing in that cloister, you feel the weight of what was lost — and why so many Kerry families were scattered across the world.
Day 3 — Ring of Kerry and the Iveragh Peninsula
The Iveragh Peninsula is one of the most scenic stretches of land in Europe. It also has deep ties to Kerry’s emigrant story.
Cahersiveen
This small town on the Ring of Kerry was the birthplace of Daniel O’Connell — “The Liberator.” He won Catholic Emancipation in 1829. For Irish-Catholic families in America, his name carried great weight. Visit the O’Connell Memorial Church and the Barracks Heritage Centre.
Portmagee and Valentia Island
Portmagee is a quiet fishing village at the edge of the Iveragh Peninsula. From here, you can see Valentia Island across a narrow strait of water. Valentia was one of the main departure points for Kerry emigrants crossing to America.
A road bridge connects Portmagee to the island, or you can take the seasonal car ferry from Renard Point near Cahersiveen. Once there, visit the Valentia Island Genealogy Centre. They hold local records and emigrant lists that may include your family name. Stay in Portmagee or Waterville overnight.
Day 4 — Dingle and the Blasket Islands
The Dingle Peninsula is where the Irish language has survived longest in Kerry. Its emigrant story is one of the most powerful in all of Ireland.
The Blasket Centre, Dunquin
The Blasket Centre tells the story of the Great Blasket Island community. These islanders were Ireland’s last true Irish-speaking fishing community. From the 1920s onward, many of them moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. Their descendants still hold reunions there today.
The centre holds photographs, personal testimonies, and emigrant records. Fishermen from the Ó Criomhthain and Ó Sé families wrote memoirs of island life that are now classics of Irish literature. If your family came from this part of Kerry, this visit may move you in ways you did not expect.
Gallarus Oratory
Drive a few miles east to Gallarus Oratory. This dry-stone church was built over 1,200 years ago. It is one of the best-preserved Early Christian monuments in Ireland.
Near Gallarus, you can find ogham stones — carved pillars bearing Ireland’s oldest written script. These stones date back 1,500 years. They record names, likely those of local chieftains, carved in an alphabet used nowhere else in the world. Standing beside one connects you to a tradition that existed long before the Norman or Viking invasions.
Spend the evening in Dingle town. Ask a local about the session nights. Traditional music is still part of daily life here, passed down through families the same way your ancestors would have known it.
Day 5 — Kenmare and Departure
Drive to Kenmare for your final morning. This elegant market town on the Kenmare River has strong ties to the Famine emigration story.
Kenmare Heritage Centre
The centre covers the story of the Marquess of Lansdowne’s estate and his assisted emigration schemes during the Famine. Many Kerry families were sent to North America under these programmes — whole communities relocated together.
If your ancestors came from the Kenmare area, staff at the centre can help you find out whether they were part of these assisted departures. Drive back to Cork or Shannon after lunch.
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Key Resources for Kerry Ancestry Research
Use these before and after your trip to fill in the gaps in your family tree.
- IrishGenealogy.ie — Civil records, digitised parish registers, and the 1901 and 1911 Census — all free
- AskAboutIreland.ie — Griffith’s Valuation, searchable by name and county
- RootsIreland.ie — Transcribed parish records from Kerry parishes
- Kerry County Archives — Estate records, rate books, and Poor Law documents in Tralee
- Valentia Island Genealogy Centre — Local and emigrant records for the Iveragh Peninsula
- How to Trace Your Irish Ancestry — Our full step-by-step guide to Irish genealogy
Once you know your family’s townland from Griffith’s Valuation, use the Irish Civil Registration Records to find births, marriages, and deaths connected to that place.
If your family left through a port, our guide to finding Irish ancestors by emigration port will help you pinpoint where they crossed.
Tips for a Meaningful Kerry Heritage Trip
- Book archive visits well in advance. Kerry archives have limited opening hours and staff. Email at least two weeks before your arrival. Describe the surnames and townlands you are researching.
- Print your records and bring them. Print your Griffith’s Valuation entries and parish register screenshots. You will want to compare them in the field — not on a phone screen.
- Hire a local genealogist. Kerry has several accredited researchers who can access records on your behalf. Check the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland for certified researchers in the county.
- Talk to local people. In smaller Kerry towns, long-established families remember the surnames linked to certain townlands. A conversation in a pub can open a door that no archive can.
- Walk the graveyards. Every Kerry parish has a graveyard. Walk the headstones slowly. You may find your name carved in stone — and a generation you did not know existed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common surnames from County Kerry?
The most common Kerry surnames are O’Sullivan, McCarthy, Moriarty, O’Donoghue, Hussey, O’Connor, and Shea. O’Sullivan is the most widely distributed surname in Kerry and Munster as a whole. Many O’Sullivan families emigrated to the United States during the Famine years of 1845 to 1852.
Where can I find Kerry genealogy records online?
The best free resources are IrishGenealogy.ie for civil records and digitised parish registers, AskAboutIreland.ie for Griffith’s Valuation, and the National Archives online portal for the 1901 and 1911 Census. RootsIreland.ie has transcribed records from Kerry parishes and charges a small fee per search.
Did many Kerry people emigrate during the Famine?
Yes. The Famine hit Kerry very hard between 1845 and 1852. Hundreds of thousands left the county. Many departed from Dingle Harbour, Valentia Island, and Cahersiveen. The Marquess of Lansdowne also funded assisted emigration from the Kenmare area, sending whole communities to Canada and the United States.
Do I need to speak Irish to trace my Kerry ancestry?
No. Most Kerry genealogy records are written in English. Older Catholic parish registers use Latin for baptisms and marriages, but the format is standard and easy to follow with a guide. Some place names may appear in Irish, but all major archives have English translations available.
How far back can Kerry records go?
Civil registration begins in 1864 for births and deaths, and 1845 for marriages. Catholic parish registers in Kerry go back to the 1780s in most parishes. Griffith’s Valuation covers the 1840s to 1860s. For older records, you would look at tithe applotment books from 1823 to 1837 or estate records that survive from the 1600s and 1700s.
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