Data used for family history research was originally recorded for other reasons. Family history research is only a secondary use of this material. It is the original reason for this data being recorded that determines the structures, access and guardianship of these historical records.
The guardians of records will have broader concerns than genealogical researchers. For example, the single most important source of information for family history research is the registration of births and baptisms, marriages and deaths, both civil and religious. This information continues to be recorded by civil and religious organisations that have to continue recording this information and will be occupied with current records.
As time passes records become less relevant to their original use and family history research becomes the de facto primary use. They are then of interest not just to the community in which they were recorded but the huge Irish Diaspora. This puts excessive demands on Irish archives, whether public or private.
The IFHF experience is that record holders are generally favourably disposed towards family history research. As guardians their awareness of the importance of these records predates the modern growth in interest in family history research by many generations. It may even be that state archives, in meeting the ever increasing demand of providing facilities for researchers, are diverted from collecting and preserving records.
The IFHF has found that people with Irish ancestry have a great interest in their family history. A smaller section is also interested in the process of researching this history and wish to carry out their own research. Many of those conducting their own research feel frustrated with the services available to them and contact IFHF centres even though they would prefer not to have to use a research service.
The IFHF developed because of problems of access; family history research could not be conducted without visiting archives in Dublin or Belfast. The local centres set out to overcome this problem by their own endeavours. They sought to obtain, or make, copies of records pertaining to their catchment areas. They have achieved considerable success in gaining access through negotiation with record holders.