Monday 2 July 2012

Cork records to go online after 18-year wait

Church register records for Cork City are – finally – to make their way online. After an eighteen year wait (they were transcribed in the 1990s under the aegis of the Cork Ancestral Project, which was publicly funded via Fas), the records are to be made available via the Irish Family History Foundation's pay-per-view database RootsIreland 'by the end of July, at the earliest'.

Cork genealogist Margaret Jordan has to take much of the credit for bringing this long fight for access to a satisfactory, if not perfect, conclusion. She has maintained pressure on the powers that be for the last few years, galvanising support via her blog where she says today:

'I am personally disappointed that the records will not be added to www.irishgenealogy.ie, the government sponsored free website. It was my understanding that, in the past, the Cork County Library did not want to add their records to the IFHF website (which was the only Irish commercial website at the time) as their policy was not to charge the public.

'However, I will be glad to see the end of the battle to get these records online!'

You're not alone there, Margaret! Please take a bow. You've done the Irish genealogy community a great service.

So how far off is 'end of July at the earliest'? Past experience tells me not to hold my breath for the next four weeks. But hopefully it won't be too delayed.