Finding Your Way Home: Tracing Roots in County Kerry from The Lake House Kerry
The Coastal Beauty of Kerry speaks to your soul
Finding Your Way Home to the Shores of Kerry
There is something different about coming to Kerry when it isn’t just a holiday.
When it’s a homecoming.
For generations, families left these shores — sailing from Cork, from Kenmare Bay, from small harbours along the Wild Atlantic Way — bound for America, Australia, Canada and beyond.
Now, many are returning.
Searching for a townland.
A parish.
A headstone.
A hearthstone.
If you are tracing roots in County Kerry, there is no better place to begin than here — among the lakes, mountains and old family names that still shape the landscape.
A Kerry Genealogy Retreat on the Beara Peninsula
Returning Home is an existential experience
The Lake House Kerry sits quietly between the Caha Mountains and the shores of Kenmare Bay, overlooking the Cloonee Lakes on the Beara Peninsula.
For many families — particularly O’Sullivans and O’Donoghues — this region isn’t just scenic. It’s ancestral ground.
Unlike staying in separate hotel rooms, The Lake House allows families to gather under one roof — up to 26 guests — creating space for stories, shared discoveries, and the kind of late-night conversations that only happen when cousins meet for the first time.
This is not just accommodation.
It is a base camp for your Irish diaspora homecoming.
A Gathering of the Kerry Clans
Kerry is rich in surnames that echo across the world.
You’ll still hear them spoken daily in shops, pubs and parish churches:
O’Sullivan (the most common name in Kerry)
O’Shea
O’Connor
Murphy
McCarthy
Fitzgerald
Moriarty
O’Connell
O’Donoghue
Casey, Foley, Mahoney
Whether you are an O’Sullivan returning to Beara, an O’Donoghue listening for echoes at Ross Castle, or a Fitzgerald tracing links to the old Earls of Desmond, Kerry carries the memory of those who came before.
There is something grounding about standing where your great-grandparents once stood — looking at the same mountains, the same Atlantic horizon.
Local Resources to Help You Trace Your Roots
If you’re planning a Kerry genealogy trip, these are essential stops:
Killarney Genealogical Centre – Expert guidance on Kerry family history
Kerry County Library – Archives, local studies and historical records
The 1901 & 1911 Irish Census (available free online)
Parish church registers — often holding baptism and marriage records going back generations
Start With These Three Steps:
Identify your townland — this is more important than the county.
Check the 1901 and 1911 census returns.
Visit the parish church connected to your family name.
In Kerry, local knowledge still matters. A quiet conversation in a village shop can reveal more than hours online.
