28 February, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

NOTE (15 Jan. 2025): All the consultation slots for this day have been sold. We are taking a short reserve list (4 places) where if a cancellation is received before 28 February, those on the reserve list might be contacted. Registering for the standby list does not guarantee a consultation slot will become available. Thank you.

To be placed on the reserve list, please enter your details in the form below

Register for a consultation

Have you run into a brick wall with your Irish or Scots-Irish research? Do you feel you need some assistance to see if you can find a workaround, get some advice or would like a fresh pair of eyes to consider your research conundrum.

You can sign up for a personal one-to-one research consultation with experts from one of Ireland's leading research agencies and publishing houses - Ulster Historical Foundation.

Gillian Hunt (Research Officer) and Fintan Mullan (Executive Director) of the Foundation will be providing a day of consultations at the California Genealogy Society Library, 2201 Broadway, Oakland California, courtesy of our hosts the California Genealogy Society.

A face-to-face consultation with a member of our experienced research team could save you a considerable amount of time and greatly increase your chances of success.

During a consultation, you will receive research advice and guidance from a professional genealogist who will use their Irish family history knowledge and archival experience to help solve your family tree puzzles.

Gillian consultation Wanaka 2017 cropped

A consultation is suitable for both the beginner needing guidance on how/where to start and the more experienced researcher who has come up against a “brick wall” in their research.

While the staff are from Ireland's most northern province (Ulster) and their archival work covers this area, our advisory service covers the whole island of Ireland, so whether you are researching ancestors from the Beara Peninsula, Co. Cork or Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, our staff can try to assist you with your research.

Spaces are limited and consultations are priced at $50 (note: charges will be made in UK Pounds, thus the current comparative price of $50/£39.99 is for information only). Each consultation lasts 30 minutes (20 minutes + 10 minutes turnaround).

NOTE (15 Jan. 2025): All the consultation slots for this day have been sold. We are taking a short reserve list (4 places) where if a cancellation is received before 28 February, those on the reserve list might be contacted. Registering for the standby list does not guarantee a consultation slot will become available. Thank you.

FM consultation Wanaka 2017 cropped

Note: After you have registered for the reserve places our Membership and Research Secretary, Kevin Keenan, will contact you directly to acknowledge your place on the standby list. Any cancelled slots will be reallocated on a first come first served basis, but we cannot guarantee a consultation slot to those on the reserve list.

"I am ecstatic with the results and I thank you for your efforts on my behalf. This definitely makes my future trip to Ireland more exciting."
Linda Worley
Gillian assisting research delegate at PRONI

About the presenters - Gillian

Gillian Hunt is Research Officer with the Ulster Historical Foundation and is responsible for the management of the Foundation's many genealogical activities. As well as managing the genealogy side of the Foundation’s work, Gillian carries out research for clients and is a hugely experienced user of the General Register Office and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.


She regularly teaches courses in Northern Ireland and gives talks on family history in the rest of the UK and Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Gillian has been co-presenting our annual North American lecture tours since 2013 and has been with the Ulster Historical Foundation since 2001.

FM consultation 2018

About the presenters - Fintan

Fintan Mullan is Executive Director of the Ulster Historical Foundation and has been responsible for the management of this successful Northern Ireland-based, educational non-profit since 2001. He has extensive experience in Irish family history research and is a regular international speaker on Irish genealogy, having spoken in Ireland, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and most of the lower 48 states of the USA. He has managed the production of over 150 Irish history and genealogy titles, including the perennial favourite, Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors.


Fintan has ensured the Foundation has been at the forefront of developments in Irish genealogy, including heritage tourism products and the provision of online resources. He helped to pioneer www.rootsireland.ie, the unique database with over 22 million Irish historical records. He is a non-executive director of the Irish Family History Foundation.

About the Organisation

Ulster Historical Foundation has been helping people to trace their Irish and Ulster ancestors for 65+ years, and is one of the most experienced, long established and highly reputable organisations in Ireland in the field of Irish family history. For more information on our services please visit: www.ulsterhistoricalfoundation.com

The Foundation is a leading genealogical research agency in Ireland and a major publisher of historical, educational and genealogical source books. It has also devised a series of ground-breaking online historical and genealogical resources, which have helped to transform the availability of Irish records for family historians at home and abroad.

The Foundation is a non-profit organisation (Registered Charity No. NIC 1002800) based in Northern Ireland and established in 1956 to promote interest in Irish genealogy and history, with reference to the historic nine-county province of Ulster.