The Search Reports Database is, in essence, a record of the research questions that people have brought to the Ulster Historical Foundation over many decades.

The reports cover a remarkably broad range of subjects. They include investigations into:

• Individuals and families
• Surnames and family relationships
• Places and townlands
• Estates and landholding
• Churches and religious communities
• Occupations and local communities
• Historical events and circumstances
• Genealogical and historical records

Rather than being a collection of individual source records, the database provides access to the catalogue of research undertaken by the Foundation's professional researchers. A report may draw together evidence from numerous sources to answer a particular question, making each entry potentially valuable to anyone researching a related person, family or place.

One of the most exciting aspects of the database is its chronological depth.

The earliest reports date from 1957, just one year after the Foundation was established. The collection therefore spans almost seventy years of genealogical and historical research.

This gives the database an additional significance beyond its value for individual family historians. Collectively, the reports document changing interests, research questions and approaches to genealogy over several generations.

The Foundation's work sits within a long tradition of specialist Irish genealogical research. Today, the Foundation continues to provide resources and research services for people investigating their Ulster ancestry and history, alongside its extensive online collection of Irish genealogical databases.

Note: This first batch of reports added to the database start in 1957 and end around 1980. More reports will be added to the database in the future

For anyone researching an Ulster family, the database could provide a useful new avenue of investigation.

Perhaps you have reached a dead end in your research. You know the name of an ancestor but cannot determine where they lived. Or you have identified a family in one generation but cannot establish the connection to the previous generation.

Searching the reports catalogue may reveal that the Foundation has previously undertaken research involving the same surname, townland, estate, church or family.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the existing report will answer your question directly — but it could provide new clues, references or avenues for further research.

And sometimes, genealogy is all about finding that one clue that opens the next door.

We are committed to protecting client confidentiality when adding reports to our Research Report Database. No personal or identifying information will be included, and clients are always free to opt out of having their report added. As a general policy, we aim to maintain a minimum ten-year gap between the submission of research and its inclusion in the database. Where clients are happy for their report to be included, their contribution helps build a valuable body of research material that can support and inform other researchers, while maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of the individuals concerned.

The Ulster Historical Foundation has built an extensive collection of Irish genealogy databases, covering subjects ranging from births, marriages and deaths to census material, directories, gravestone inscriptions, wills, occupations and much more.

The new Ulster Historical Foundation Search Reports Database adds another dimension to this collection: a window into the Foundation's own long history of genealogical and historical research.

Whether you are an experienced family historian, researching your local community, studying Irish history, or simply curious to see what previous researchers have uncovered, we invite you to explore the database and see where the research trail leads.

You may be surprised by what has already been discovered.

We've also produced a short video introducing the Search Reports Database and explaining how it can help with your research