Who do you think you are? Find out at the Tower Museum

Whether you’re based abroad and want to connect with your Irish roots, or living locally and keen to find out more about your ancestry, the Archive and Genealogy service at Derry’s Tower Museum can assist.

Staffed by a professional Archivist and Genealogist, the department collects, researches, curates and interprets historical collections for visitors. The vast archive collections include records of major shipping lines like the McCorkell and Mitchell families, and minute books of Londonderry Corporation.

The database of Derry Genealogy, at www.derry.rootsireland.ie, is an essential tool for anyone researching ancestors. It contains the bulk of pre-1922 civil birth and marriage registers for the city and county of Derry, the early baptismal and marriage registers of 97 churches, headstone inscriptions from 118 graveyards, and census substitutes and census returns dating from 1628 to 1921.

Appointments can be made with staff, who are also available to deliver information sessions for groups. While staff do not carry out research for visitors, they can advise how to use and access collections, and how to navigate the online databases.