"We are because our ancestors were."
Testimonials in brief
Sharon, Wales
"It is my honour and privilege to provide a testimony to Maria O'Brien. In truth there are no words to describe what she has done for me...more
John F. O'Reilly, O'Reilly Law Group, Vegas
"Maria O'Brien is simply the best when it comes to genealogy research. We have seen Maria do what others could not do for years...more
James O'Shea, former editor of LA Times, Chicago
"After nearly 40 years as a journalist at some of America's best newspapers, I thought I possessed unparalleled skills as an investigative reporter. Then, through a chance encounter on the internet while investigating my Irish roots I met Maria O'Brien. It was a humbling experience...more
Turtle Bunbury, Best-Selling Author, Historian, IE
"Maria O'Brien has the water diviner's gift for locating burbling streams and occasional oceans of historical brilliance from those hard-to-reach sources...more
Cyril Lucas, Port Townsend, Washington
"It is my great pleasure to provide my strongest recommendation to Maria O'Brien for her skills in genealogical research and manuscript editing and revision. Maria made contact recently while I was constructing a detailed file on the history of my four great grandfathers and their achievements during...more
Leonard W Riley III, Lt Col., USAF (Ret), OR
"In the spring of 2014 I received an email from Maria O'Brien, a young lady who lives in Dublin, Ireland, with her husband Eamon. Maria had read something that I had posted online about an ancestor I was researching. Maria wrote to send me some information that she had found about this ancestor...more
Lefayre Palmer, Sydney, Australia
"I have no hesitation in recommending Mrs Maria O’Brien
to become a professional genealogist. My 60 odd years in family history research has led me to some wonderful researchers among whom Mrs O’Brien is a "gem’’...more
Eldrith Ward, Hampshire, England
"Maria's research abilities are astounding. My mind has been spinning with all the wonderful social history she has unearthed concerning my family and without my prompting her with the names of relatives. She has an incredible 'nose' for finding the right people...more
Valerine Sunner & Ann Harvey, Ireland
"We spent many years researching our Harvey Family Tree. We had hit a brick wall and despaired about what our next step would be to find any more information. A chance encounter with Maria O'Brien on the Internet...more
Margaret Lamprey Larkin, Canberra, Australia
"Some time ago it was suggested, by a friend, that I get in contact with Maria O'Brien, on the other side of the world, when I was having problems tracing part of my family’s history. So, with some reluctance, I did and, within a very short time, she responded to my queries with information and facts...more
Andrew Melville-Jackson, UK
"Maria is the person who started our visit of a life time. We have been vaguely researching the history of our ancestors who lived in Ireland between 1550 and 1850. Suddenly...more
And many more testimonials if required.
Céad Míle Fáilte!
I took my first step along the road of professional genealogy and Irish Family History when a friend of a friend required help in tracing his Irish roots. So armed with just 2 names, one of which I soon discovered was incorrect, a possible year of immigration of 1863, and also a final place of residence in the USA, I embarked on a voyage of discovery that went back from St. Louis to Kentucky to 'home' in Doonloughan in the Parish of Ballindoon on the Connemara Coast, Co. Galway.
On taking this first step I knew this road was one I didn't ever want to get off. And so since then I have been helping people near and far (see Testimonials) to unearth information that has helped them in some way to trace the footsteps of their ancestors and thus better understand the life they had lived since leaving the land of their birth, the majority forced to flee due to starvation, poverty and man’s inhumanity to man, to embark on a new life in a strange land on the other side of the world.
Some of the people I have helped wanted to know the exact town, village or hamlet their ancestors came from. Some wanted to know if they left parents and/or siblings behind and if so what happened to them. And some just wanted to locate a record, article or notice, that was either elusive or that simply validated their own findings during decades of dedicated research of their Family Tree.
And through my findings for them while walking in the footsteps of their ancestors, no matter how big or small the find, I gained a better understanding and appreciation of what that journey and subsequent life of trial, tribulation, and also triumph entailed for their ancestors and indeed for our Irish emigrants.
Our ancestors are not just names on a ship's passenger list or on a census/city directory or names carved on headstones. They are what makes us who we are. They lived, loved, laughed and cried - just as we do now - and they have stories to tell. Their stories may not win any awards but they deserve to be told and handed down to the next generation, and also to every generation thereafter.
It would be my privilege to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors so that I may help you to honour their memory.
Maria O'Brien, Dublin, Ireland
Assessment Cost = €100, which will be deducted from full cost should you commission me further.
An Assessment allows me to review where you are in your family history research and to understand what your goals are. This will enable me to discuss with you what services, if any, I can offer to try to help you reach your goals. Should you wish to commission me further then please be mindful that no two families are the same and thus no two research queries are the same either. Therefore, following an assessment, the full cost of my continued research and report varies case by case depending on the information you provide and your specific query/queries.
Please go to Assessment & Cost for a Guide to information you should provide, if you have knowledge of it. Here you will also find an Assessment/Contact Form or use the one below. The cost of an Assessment is to be paid in advance, as is the cost of continued research with a final report should you commission me further.
You can also contact me at therootandbranch@gmail.com
No price can ever be placed on the joy felt locating a record, or a newspaper article referencing a beloved ancestor, or a notice of birth/marriage/death. However, if after assessing the information you provide me I feel there may be a possibility that further research may provide further information and you would like to commission me to dig for any possible further information that may be available then there is a price on my time, exclusive of any pre-discussed additional expenses and it can be made via PayPal or Direct Bank Transfer.
Remember: Any piece of information or family lore could prove invaluable in helping me to unearth any possible further information about your ancestor. Please bear in mind that while I have discovered an abundance of new information for clients and others over the years as you will see from my testimonials, there is no guarantee I will unearth anything new on your ancestor – sometimes the information is just not there or not there yet or not decipherable. However, I absolutely guarantee I will do my utmost to try to locate it.
Go raibh maith agat, Maria