Hi Nancy,
I hope that someone with information contacts you before your trip.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.
Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Waterford at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.
There are some places where you can search online, however these do not have complete collections
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
You could also check for record of the family in the land records pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Some other websites that you may find useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/waterford/index.html
Waterford Library: http://www.waterfordcity.ie/library/localstudies.htm
Irish Genealogy Tool-kit: www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/index.html
You could also try contacting Waterford Heritage Services if you do visit Waterford for some assistance, however a fee may apply: http://www.iol.ie/~mnoc/
All the best,
Genealogy Support
