Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genetic genealogist specialising in ancestry from Ireland
The story of the sinking of the RMS Leinster on 10th October 1918 is one that always loomed large in my family because my great-great grandfather, Michael Joyce MP, was aboard when it happened. He survived the disaster but more than 550 people lost their lives. The figures are not exact because travel between Ireland…
One of the common problems for the family historian exploring the new world of DNA testing is people not replying to your messages. I tested my great-aunt (now 92 & going strong) in the summer of 2015 with Family Tree DNA. As one of only two remaining in my grandparents’ generation, I thought it was…
My ancestor Thomas Henry Guerins had a younger brother called Joseph Francis. Here is the family on the 1911 census in Limerick city. He disappeared at some stage in the late 1910s and was never seen again. Using a combination of traditional genealogical research methods and DNA testing, I’m thrilled to say that I found…
I’ve written extensively about my MP ancestor, Michael Joyce before but I had never identified his parents’ marriage. Richard Joyce and Bridget Tubbs‘ oldest recorded child was born in 1847, so there was a likely marriage date of 1-2 years before that but nothing showed up in the various Limerick city church registers. There was…
Who is this man? I found this photo, and another copy of it in my grandmother’s photos. There’s no name or any writing on the back and he doesn’t look like any known member of the family. She has photos of other family members in this bundle but most date from the 1920s/1930s. This man’s…
I contributed an article the the IGRS’s 80th Anniversary Archive about my ancestor, James Guerins.
Watch out for my article in the spring edition of Irish Roots.
I’m pleased to announce I’ll be presenting a paper at the 14th annual Historic Houses of Ireland conference in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth on 9th-10th May 2016. This year’s theme is the Big House & Rebellion. My topic will be the unwilling involvement of the Quaker Goff family of Horetown House, Co. Wexford…
This article has been compiled from various published materials and my own personal family research. See the bibliography at the bottom of the page. Michael Joyce was one of my maternal great-great grandfathers. He was born in September 1851 to Richard Joyce and Bridget Tubbs and baptised on 6th September in St Mary’s Church, Limerick. …
The Irish Genealogist, the premier journal for Irish genealogy, featured an article written by me on the Davis-Goff family of Waterford & Wexford. This journal is available to members of the Irish Genealogical Research Society worldwide.