Newly released records detailing the stories of Irish convicts sent to Australia during the 19th Century provide an "unbelievable insight" into what life was like for Irish people at the time, according to an ancestry website.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Joe Buggy, a genealogist with Ancestry.ie, said in particular they tell what life was like before the Famine.
Mr Buggy agreed that people were transported and convicted for relatively trivial crimes.
He cited the case of Alexander Humphreys from Co Fermanagh, who was convicted of stealing potatoes to feed his family and sentenced to seven years in prison.
The father of Australia's most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly, was among those convicted and transported, in his case for the crime of stealing a pig.
Mr Buggy said women who were convicted had their children transported with them.
He said it was a very exciting collection that would allow people to learn more about their family histories.
The website has released the records to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook setting sail to Australia.
