diff --git a/girparser.c b/girparser.c
index dcfaacd17..9a7554ca1 100644
--- a/girparser.c
+++ b/girparser.c
@@ -327,6 +327,12 @@ locate_gir (GIrParser  *parser,
         }
     }
 
+  path = g_build_filename (g_get_user_data_dir (), GIR_SUFFIX, girname, NULL);
+  g_debug ("Trying %s from user data dir", path);
+  if (g_file_test (path, G_FILE_TEST_EXISTS | G_FILE_TEST_IS_REGULAR))
+    return g_steal_pointer (&path);
+  g_clear_pointer (&path, g_free);
+
   for (dir = datadirs; *dir; dir++)
     {
       path = g_build_filename (*dir, GIR_SUFFIX, girname, NULL);