Possibly the swiftest route to your roots.
Irish genealogy website directory.
library.law.umn.edu/irishlaw/intro.html
Description:
In Ireland, the "Penal Laws" is the name given to the code of laws passed by the Protestant Parliament of Ireland which regulated the status of Roman Catholics through most of the eighteenth century. These laws are key to understanding the history of the period as well as the sectarian conflicts that still plague Northern Ireland.