The Irish Family History Forum

The three biggest Irish genealogy societies in the United States are The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), based in Boston, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI), and the Irish Family History Forum (IFHF), located on Long Island, New York. I have previously profiled TIARA (here and here) and now it is the turn of IFHF. IGSI will be profiled at a later date.

IFHF was founded in 1991 and since then has grown to be the premier Irish genealogy society in the New York metro region. Meetings are held on the third Saturday of every month, except in July and August. For the first hour of the meeting Kathy McGee, who I can vouch for as an Irish genealogy expert, runs a help session where different topics are discussed, patrons can ask questions,  and provide success stories about their research. A guest speaker comes for the second hour of the meeting. Meetings are held in Bethpage Public Library, starting at 10am.

The IFHF also produces an award-winning quarterly newsletter. This publication is a fantastic resource to get in your mailbox every few months. In-depth articles, the latest Irish genealogy news, and people’s experiences with their research are just some of the excellent features that one can read. Even if you live nowhere near Long Island, it is worth being a member just for the newsletter.

You can consult their website for more information about the Irish Family History Forum. You can also interact with them on Facebook.

Note: I must disclose that I have been a member of this organization, on and off, since I first moved to the United States. They have also, very kindly, had me speak a number of times at their meeting in the last few years.