It's the brainchild of medieval historian and genealogist Lorna Moloney, who many people will know as the co-ordinator of the University College Cork's Irish Genealogy Summer School, Ancestral Connections: Names, Places & Spaces. Among the many strings balancing on her bow, Lorna is a trained radio presenter, so what more natural a development than her own show on her local radio station?
"We're now into our seventh week and we're getting into our stride," Lorna told Irish Genealogy News. "We have an exciting schedule of guests lined up for upcoming Autumn shows, with a wide range of genealogists and historians ready to explore different aspects of family history and relevant historical themes.
"Although Raidió Corca Baiscinn is a community network, it already has great coverage overseas. People don't turn the dial to listen to the radio anymore; they turn on their computer, so we have listeners tuning in live, via the website, from New Zealand, Australia, and the Americas."
The Genealogy Radio Show goes out on a Thursday, live at 4pm (Irish time), with Andy Nally at the technician's desk, Lorna at the mike and an interviewee with expert credentials at the other end of a phone. Last week's show featured Aidan Feerick, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland and director of the Ancestor Network consultancy; as well as talking about the need for maintaining and developing professional standards in the industry, he discussed Griffiths Valuation, one of the most important tools available to those researching ancestors in Ireland. Listen and learn! He passed on some very useful details and tips in the process.
Like all the shows, a recording of the broadcast was uploaded to Raidió Corca Baiscinn's website as a free podcast the following day so that those who couldn't tune in live can still listen to the programme in full. All the podcasts can be downloaded from the Raidio Corca Baiscinn website.
This week's guest – today's, in fact – will be David Ryan of the Triskel Christchurch Centre in Cork (check in at 4pm on 92.5 & 94.8FM or via the website), and he'll be followed seven days later by Nicholas Rynne, a descendent of Mike McTighe, the light heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 1921–23.
"We've a diverse range of topics lined up over the course of the season," says Lorna. "Subjects will include workhouse and asylum history, the genealogy of the rich and famous, and the genealogy of the dispossessed. We'll have Dr Paul McCotter talking about maps and territorial expansion, Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, telling us about the National Folklore Collection, Dr David Butler discussing Famine research, and many more."