DONEGAL ANCESTRY, which provides a comprehensive genealogy service for people at home and abroad who want to trace their Donegal roots, has relocated to Lifford Old Courthouse.
They have been collecting and computerising genealogy records for over 30 years and have compiled a database of almost 1 million records from the primary genealogy sources for Donegal.
The indexation of genealogy records was started by a local voluntary committee in Ramelton in 1988 and was supported by a government sponsored training scheme.
In 1992, the committee decided to expand the genealogy service, and this led to the formation of Donegal Ancestry CLG.
The Ramelton Centre closed in 2010 following the cessation of public funding. Directors planned to re-open a Centre for Donegal as soon as was feasible to do so.
In the meantime, the genealogy research service was continued by Mrs Joan Patton from her home in Rathmullan.
In July 2024, due to Joan’s upcoming retirement, the board of Donegal Ancestry agreed to reach out to community groups requesting expressions of interest in operating the service in the future.
A number of proposals were received, and after many meetings it was eventually agreed that Donegal Ancestry would move to Lifford Old Courthouse.
In March 2026, after a long moving process, Donegal Ancestry finally began operating again.
The service is now managed by Gillian Graham, and responsible for research is Luke Maxwell.
More information is available at donegalancestry.com or liffordoldcourthouse.com.