Perry McIntyre has been involved in Irish history and genealogy since the late 1970s. She has professional qualifications in history. Her PhD on convict family reunion was first published by Irish Academic Press in late 2010 and republished by Anchor Books Australia in 2018. She has served on the History Council of NSW and was the President in 2005 & 2006; was a councillor of the Society of Australian Genealogists for 20 years and has also served as a councillor on the Royal Australian Historical Society, the Australian Catholic Historical Society and has served on the Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee for several years including 5 years as the Chair. She has published and spoken extensively on immigration, particularly 19th century Irish. She has lead or co-lead nine successful tours to Ireland between 1991 and 2007. She also worked for 6 years as the archivist at St John’s College at the University of Sydney. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at the State Library of New South Wales.