Wednesday 17 July 2013

Memorial card project launched for County Kerry

A project to record details from memorial cards has been launched in County Kerry. It hopes to emulate the success of a similar project in neighbouring County Clare (details here).

The new project plans to include:
  • Memorial Cards for anyone born in Kerry,
  • Memorial Cards for people who lived in Kerry for most of their lives
  • Memorial Cards for anyone who died in Kerry.
In launching the project, Martine Brennan, who is a parish administrator for Ireland XO, hopes to create a new resource for family historians. She explains: 'For many people searching for their Irish roots, memorial cards provide information that has passed from living memory. The cards were (and still are in some cases) printed when someone dies to honour them and were traditionally kept in prayer books so that the living could remember the dead and pray for their souls. Sadly, many of these cards are destroyed in house clearances because people don't understand their value.'

If you would like to contribute memorial cards from your family, you should scan the front and back of the originals and send them by email. You can also, if you wish, provide a contact email address to which potential family members could be directed..

Details from the submitted memorial cards will be held on a database that may, in time, be made available for searching online. In the meantime, enquiries can be sent to the email address above.

Martine: 'Creating the database will be a slow task but we are very excited by the possibility that it will help people with Kerry roots all over the world to find their family of origin.'

Further details.