Irish records?

[Thistledew]

I have an ancestor who lived in Ireland in the mid to late 1700s about whom I would like to find out more.

What's the best way of doing so?

She was in a relationship with and had four sons with a man who was a reasonably well known public figure (there is plenty of information about him available from a Google search) but there is nothing easily accessible about her other than her name.

I would love to know more about her. Who her family were and why she and her partner never married, in particular.

Can anyone suggest where I should start?

Can be difficult to get records from that time but you might get lucky. Try starting on irishgenealogy.ie which is free. Let me know if you want any help with searches.

Did you find any information @Thistledew ?
If the partner is well known, his biographers may have information on her.

Depending on whereabouts in Ireland, you might find some really useful information on Google. My ancestors were in the Limerick area, and as it happened, some really helpful people had put everything online for free for their area- census, church records etc. Of course I can't find the link now! But I'm sure it's in an email somewhere, I will have a look if you like on the off chance it leads somewhere?