Irish Ancestry Tours
Private heritage experiences to explore your family roots with expert local guides.
Reconnect with your Irish roots on a bespoke ancestry tour through Ireland.
Our custom genealogy tours are designed for travelers who want to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors, visiting family towns, local churches, graveyards, and archives. Whether you know your family name, parish, or just a story passed down, we’ll help turn that into a once-in-a-lifetime journey.
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Uncover the footsteps of your Irish ancestors.
As seen on CBS Sunday Morning
10 Powerful Reasons to Add an Irish Ancestry Trail to Your Private Tour of Ireland
Go Beyond a Tour – Embark on a Personal Journey of Self-Discovery.
Experience a deeper, more meaningful connection to Ireland through your family story.
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Understand Your Roots on a Deeper Level.
Discover where you come from and how your ancestors lived, worked, and worshipped.
Create Lasting Memories With Your Family.
Share this powerful experience with loved ones — it’s a unique opportunity for connection and reflection.
Enjoy a Personalised and Authentic Perspective of Ireland.
No two ancestry trails are the same. Your itinerary is built around your family’s unique story.
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Get Off the Beaten Path and Away From Tourist Crowds.
Explore quiet villages, countryside chapels, and hidden places most visitors never see.
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Support Local Communities and Genealogy Services.
By visiting lesser-known areas, you help sustain rural heritage centers, small businesses, and local historians.
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Build New Bonds and Feel at Home in Ireland.
Many guests form lifelong friendships with locals and leave feeling like Ireland is a second home.
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Deepen Your Understanding of Irish Culture and History.
Learn how your ancestry fits into Ireland’s broader cultural and historical landscape.
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Visit Sacred Sites: Ancient Graveyards, Churches, and Homesteads.
Walk through the places your ancestors knew — often in their exact towns or parishes.
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You Can Still See Ireland’s Iconic Sights.
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Combine heritage exploration with famous attractions like the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry, and more — it’s your tour, your way.
Litle Gem's Recommended
Geneology Experts
Little Gem works with a variety of independent, professional genealogist's around Ireland. We can connect you with an appropriate genealogist based on the information provided.
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Learn more about our recommended professional genealogists here -
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Check Out Our Ancestry Tour Blog....
Have a read of our travel blog and find more about our private ancestry tours of Ireland.
Little Gem 10 - Reasons to try an Ancestry Tour of Ireland...
A Little Gem guest favourite is our personalised, ancestry trails of Ireland. Uncover your family roots and gain a deeper understanding of Ireland's history and culture. This highly personal addition to your family private tour of Ireland provides you with a completely unique, private Irish experience. Below we have put together our top 10 reasons to try our ancestry tour of Ireland along with lots of useful links...
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Stories from Travelers Who Reconnected with Their Irish Roots
Ancestry Tour - They Listened…and they DELIVERED…FANTASTIC
The Tour Feedback
Having been to Ireland 3 previous times, we had visited all the ‘coach’ venues, so we were looking for an off-the-beaten path experience. My wife also had a list of hamlets to explore for family genealogy.
So how to combine these interests into a meaningful trip?
We had heard positive things about Little Gems tours doing small custom tours. From our initial contact it was obvious they truly were interested in understanding what we really wanted to do and see…or not see. Rural Ireland…farms…local crafters…country pubs and local meals…historical sites…and the genealogy destinations. A few contacts followed as a trip outline was developed.
AND THEY DELIVERED…a fantastic trip ensued. Led by our knowledgeable and thoroughly engaging driver/guide Martin, we went on small roads to see Jakob sheep; learned the history of fairy trees and the Otherworld, learned to cut peat out of a bog; saw ring forts; and visited the impactful Famine Museum at Strokestown. On the genealogical front, my wife’s highest hopes were not only met, but exceeded. Martin used his local Irish charm at key moments to go into shops and knock on house doors…and we ended up at what we are all certain was the very street and property of the ancestor at the heart of her search…a truly touching highlight of a marvellous customized trip.
If you are looking for a customized Irish trip, Little Gems Tours should definitely be contacted.
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21 June 2023
Ancestry Tour -
A trip in memory of our Mother
The Tour Feedback
When my brothers and I started talking about a trip to Ireland, Tom, the organized one of the family, started researching tour companies and found Little Gem Tours and Rosie Dooney. We lost our mother early last year, and since both of her parents emigrated from Ireland we decided to take a family trip in her memory. In choosing Little Gem Tours for our private tour we found the pot of gold.
We visited in May 2023 and had a few must-do items on our agenda like stay in a castle, visit our grandfather’s homestead, hike the Costal Walk on the Cliffs of Moher, and visit a distant cousin of our mother’s. Rosie got to work and planned a wonderful trip that included time for all those destinations and so much more. From the time we were picked up by our tour guide, Tony Corcoran (more about this amazing lad later) we were on a whirlwind tour of Ireland. The accommodations were amazing – first we stayed in Dublin at the spectacular Merrion Hotel, and then the next two nights were at a working Irish farm. We also experienced the life of the aristocracy staying two nights at 800 year old Ashford Castle in Cong where Rosie upgraded our rooms to a beautiful water view. Further south in Doolin we stayed at Sheedy’s Bed and Breakfast where we had some of the most beautiful breakfasts of our entire stay, and that says a lot since we had the breakfast experience twice in the George V Dining Room at Ashford Castle!
Rosie also booked side adventures along the way. We dug peat on the farm with Eddie Joe, had a walking tour of the local village, and ended with a wonderful evening of local music by the fire in the cottage. We visited 9 Irons Forge and welded with the local blacksmith Pat, which was really fun. We had high tea at Ashford Castle, a carriage ride around the grounds and a boat tour of Lough Corrib, which was amazing. Rosie took our agenda into consideration and allowed us a lot of flexibility, and that’s where Tony took our days and gave us an up close and personal view of his Ireland. Rosie could not have picked a more perfect tour guide for our family. (see Tony’s review)
We highly recommend Rosie Dooney and her company, Little Gems Tours, for planning your Ireland vacation. She not only listened to our ideas, but also made suggestions according to what we wanted to do and customized a tour to meet our abilities and expectations. It was by far the best trip we could have ever planned, and when we go back to Ireland we will call Rosie to plan our trip and Tony Corcoran to be our guide again as we cannot imagine Ireland without them.
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May 2023
Ancestry Tour - The Quinn's 7 Day Northern Ancestry Trail
The Tour Feedback
Having been to Ireland 3 previous times, we had visited all the ‘coach’ venues, so we were looking for an off-the-beaten path experience. My wife also had a list of hamlets to explore for family genealogy.
So how to combine these interests into a meaningful trip?
We had heard positive things about Little Gems tours doing small custom tours. From our initial contact it was obvious they truly were interested in understanding what we really wanted to do and see…or not see. Rural Ireland…farms…local crafters…country pubs and local meals…historical sites…and the genealogy destinations. A few contacts followed as a trip outline was developed.
AND THEY DELIVERED…a fantastic trip ensued. Led by our knowledgeable and thoroughly engaging driver/guide Martin, we went on small roads to see Jakob sheep; learned the history of fairy trees and the Otherworld, learned to cut peat out of a bog; saw ring forts; and visited the impactful Famine Museum at Strokestown. On the genealogical front, my wife’s highest hopes were not only met, but exceeded. Martin used his local Irish charm at key moments to go into shops and knock on house doors…and we ended up at what we are all certain was the very street and property of the ancestor at the heart of her search…a truly touching highlight of a marvellous customized trip.
If you are looking for a customized Irish trip, Little Gems Tours should definitely be contacted.
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Betty & Doug Quinn - June 2023
Ancestry Tour Example 1 -
The Flanagans 6 Day Ancestry Discovery Tour
The Tour Details
6 Day Private Tour - Day 1 - Dublin to Killarney via a day finding the family in County Limerick / Day 2 - The Ring of Kerry / Day 3 - Dublin to Bunratty via The Dingle Peninsula / Day 4 - Bunratty to Galway via The Cliffs of Moher / Day 5 - Galway to Dunboyne Castle via Ashford Castle / Day 6 - Dunboyne to Dublin via Newgrange
The Tour Feedback
" ....We then proceeded to try to find the tiny town of Mountcollins where my husband's grandfather was from. It's not on any maps to speak of (including Google!) so Maggie being the trooper that she is, would stop and ask the locals. Thanks to her translating the Limerick County accent, we were able to find it. Located the cemetery, talked to a Mr. Naughton who knew the family and gave us directions to my husband's relative's farm, but not until we tried a Guinness at Tommy Mick's Pub ( wonderful local village pub). Robbie found the farm - and we met our relative - Out tour ended eventually ended but the knowledge and experiences that Little Gem through their adept and kind guidance will give us lots of great memories and stories or years to come... "
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The Flanagan family of 5 from Maryland, United States, April 2017
Ancestry Tour Example 2 -
The Kiminskys Ancestry Discovery Day Tour
The Tour Details
Boyne Valley and Drogheda Family Ancestry Day Tour from Dublin
13 Hour Day Tour including - The Boyne Valley, Newgrange, Trim Castle, The Hill of Tara, The Hill of Slane, Mellifont Abbey & Family Meet & Greet
The Tour Feedback
" ....We took a tour around the Boyne Valley area and Drogheda areas of Ireland to trace some ancestry. Robbie made wonderful suggestions as to which locations to visit and we felt that we had a busy day filled of exploration. One of our favourite visited of our entire time in Ireland was Newgrange, as per Little Gem Tours' suggestion. It was a bit tricky as we were trying to meet some relatives in Ireland as part of our ancestry, but Robbie was easy going and able to meet our last minute requests. He filled in the remainder of our time with additional stops along the way which worked our perfectly! The additional suggestions by Robbie included Mellifont Abbey, Hill of Slane, Trim Castle an 8th Century Celtic cross and more. At the end of the day, Robbie dropped us off at a restaurant he suggested and we all thoroughly enjoyed.... "
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The Kiminsky family of 6 from Pittsburgh, United States, July 2017
Some Recommended Activities & Resources
Below we have compiled a list of the activities that Little Gem recommends to help you discover your Irish ancestry whilst you travel Ireland. By taking in some of these excellent and informative museums, exhibitions and local experiences you will gain a great sense of real Ireland both present day and during the times of emigration. Whether it be the great Ulster emigration of the 18th century or famine emigration of the 19th century, through to the present day these activities will help you complete your Irish exploration. Add these to your ancestry discovery tour and enhance your private tour of Ireland experience.
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum is an interactive experience located in Dublin’s Docklands. It will inspire and guide you on a journey to discover the stories of Irish emigration around the world, from early times to the modern day.
Dublin City
Follow the trail of thousands of emigrants from the thatched cottages of Ulster, on board a full-scale emigrant sailing ship to the log cabins of the American Frontier.
Omagh, Northern Ireland
Explore a real working Irish village and meet the locals including beef farmer and amateur historian Eddie-Joe, blacksmith Pat Strahan and sheepman Michael. A true Irish experience off the beaten path and away from the crowds.
County Mayo
The National Library of Ireland in the heart of Georgian Dublin may be your first port of call in your Irish Ancestry journey.
Dublin City
Visitors to this restored Georgian house in the heart of Dublin City today, are acquainted with the story of its first occupant, Mrs. Olivia Beatty who moved here in November 1794
Dublin City
Learn about the Irish Emigration story, trace your ancestors, hear about the ill-fated Titanic and the Lusitania, and immerse yourself in Irish naval and military history at Cobh Heritage Centre.
Cobh, County Cork
