Gerard O’Connor
O’Connor Genealogy was started by Gerard O’Connor to help people research their family history find further information on their ancestors. Gerard has been interested in family history for most of his adult life and has been researching his own family history in County Cork and County Kerry over this time. Gerard grew up in a rural area of Ireland and has a large extended family on both his mother’s and father’s sides of the family. Gerard trained as a Chartered Accountant and over the years was involved in a number of IT projects. His passion has always been building on his knowledge of family history. He has been helping family and friends research their family history over the past twenty years. Over this period he has made contact with many new relatives here in Ireland and abroad.
To further his knowledge in local history, in 2013 Gerard enrolled for the two year Diploma in Genealogy course (DGNL) at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. His Dissertation related to his great-great-grandfathers, Edmund Fitzgerald time as a member of the Board of Guardians of Millstreet Poor Law Union (Workhouse) during the 1860s. Having completed the program in 2015, it has given him a broader perspective on other sources of information in relation to family history research.
DNA testing has been a growing area if interest in genealogy for a number of years. In 2014 he did a DNA test to find out more on his origins. Through the DNA test he has made contact with relatives that he was not aware of. Most are living abroad with a number here in Ireland. He has been helping these relatives add to their own knowledge of their own family history.
More recently he has been doing research work for people in the local community and is now offering such a service to others. He finds that skills he developed over his career such as problem-solving, trouble-shooting and patience help in researching records.