Monday 12 January 2015

Irish genealogy and history events: 12–25 January

Monday 12 January: Emigration from Ulster, with John Bradley. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. Venue: Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, LondonDerry. 7pm. Details: foyle@nifhs.org.

Monday 12 January: St Catherine's Priory at Aughrim, with Patrick Larkin. Host: Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. Venue: Harbour Hotel, Dock Road, Galway. 8pm.

Tuesday 13 January: Matchmaking and marriage customs in 19th-century Ireland, with Seán Ó Duill. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dún Laoghaire FE Institute, Cumberland Street, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. 8pm. Admission: €3.

Tuesday 13 January: The Huguenots, with Elizabeth Bicker. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. Venue: Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn. 7:30pm – 9:30pm. Details.

Tuesday 13 January: The Road to Blessington, with John Hussey. Host: Tallaght Historical Society. Venue: County Library, Tallaght, Co Dublin. 7pm.

Wednesday 14 January: The Irish Language and the Foundation of the Northern Ireland State, by Liam Andrews. Host and Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Belfast, BT3 9HQ (Lecture Theatre). Free. 1pm. Need to reserve your place; email or telephone 028 90 534800.

Wednesday 14 January:
  Joining up for what? Irish recruitment in WW1, with Professor Keith Jeffery. Host and Venue: Newry & Mourne Museum, Bagenal's Castle , Castle Street, 1A Bank Parade, Newry BT34 2BY. 7:30pm. Light refreshments served. Free but need to book by phone to 028 3031 3173 or email.

Friday 15 January: Bearing all kinds of witness to war: finding violence in revolutionary Ireland, with Dr Anne Dolan. Host: Department of History, TCD. Venue: Neill Hoey Seminar Room, Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute, Trinity College Dublin. 4pm–4:45pm. Free and open to all.

Friday 16 January: Irish policing, 1814–2014, a HistoryIreland Hedge School. The panel will include Jim Herlihy, Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley, John Cunningham and Dr Conor McNamara. Venue: National Museum of Ireland, Country Life, Turlough, Castlebar, Co Mayo. 7–9pm. Free. Those attending will also be able to visit the Museum's Irish policing exhibition, Preserving the Peace. Need to book.

Friday 16 January: Giant's Causeway: Frederick Douglass's Irish Odyssey and the Making of an American Visionary, with Professor Tom Chaffin. Host: Glasnevin Trust. Venue: Milestone Gallery, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11. 7:15pm, following refreshments from 6:45pm. Free but places restricted to 30 general public tickets. First come, first served allocation via booking@glasnevintrust.ie.

Saturday 17 January: Pinpointing Your Irish Origins Using Commercial Ancestral DNA Testing, with Dr Tyrone Bowes. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Fermanagh Branch. Venue: Enniskillen Library in the Seminar Room upstairs. 2:15pm–4:15pm. Details.

Saturday 17 January: Irish Genealogy help session, with Kathleen McGee, at 10am; Researching at the Registry of Deeds, with Nora Galvin, at 11am. Host: Irish Family History Forum. Venue: Bethpage Public Library, 47 Powell Avenue, Bethpage, NY, 11714, USA. Details.

Saturday 17 January: The Emigrant’s Song: the impact of Irish music on American culture, a History Ireland Hedge School. Plus music. Venue: Cineplex, Bundoran, Co. Donegal. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham and a panel of experts at 3pm. Free. No booking required.

Monday 19 January: WW1, with David McNeill. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. Venue: Larne Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club, 112 Glenarm Road, Larne BT40 1DZ. 7:30pm. More details: larne@nifhs.org.

Wednesday 21 January: Explore Archives Online. Practical workshops and behind the scenes tours. Host and Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 2—4:30pm. Free. You need to book by email at proni@dcalni.gov.uk or telephone to 028 90 534800.

Wednesday 21 January: 1914 – Sleepwalking into war, with Julian Walton. Host: Waterford County Museum. Venue: Town Hall Theatre, Friary St, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. 8pm. €5 at the door.

Wednesday 21 January: The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania – Grief for a Galway Family, with Michael Martin. Also AGM. Host: Western Family History Association. Venue: Lackagh Parish Centre, Lackagh, Co Galway. 8:15pm. Details.

Wednesday 21 January: Dublin and the Crimean War, with Paul Huddie. Host: Ballsbridge, Donnybrook and Sandymount Historical Society. Venue: Pembroke Library, Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. 1pm. Book via Library on (01)668 9575 or pembrokelibrary@dublincity.ie.

Wednesday 21 January: Irish soldiers in the battles of the First World War, with Philip Orr. Host and Venue: Newry & Mourne Museum, Bagenal's Castle , Castle Street/1A Bank Parade, Newry BT34 2BY. 7:30pm. Light refreshments served. Free but need to book by phone to 028 3031 3173 or email

Wednesday 21 January: War and enlistment in Carlow, 1914, with Paul McGuire. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow. 8pm. Free. All welcome.

Thursday 22 January: Living Legacies 1914-18: WW1 and You. Venue: Belfast Central Library. 12.30-4.30 pm. Free. Workshops and scanning/recording of WW1 memorabilia (bring your own family treasures).

Thursday 22 January: Peter Galligan 1793-1860: Schoolmaster, Collector and Scribe, with Declan Cooney. Hosts: Cavan County Museum and Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne. Vanue: Cavan County Museum, Virginia Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan. 8pm. Phone: 049 854 4070.

Friday 23 January: Irish Family History Day, via FindMyPast. Details to follow.

Saturday 24 January:  Getting Started with Irish Genealogy Research, with Miles Davenport, 10am–Noon, followed by 19th Century Irish Genealogy Research: What’s Available and How to Use It, also with Miles Davenport, from 1–3 pm. Host and Venue: Irish Cultural Center/McClelland Irish Library, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Fee $15 for Irish Library/ICC members and $20 for non-members. Details. To register, call 602-864-2351.

Sunday 25 January: Dublin City Book Fair. Venue: Tara Towers Hotel, Merrion Road, Dublin 4. 11am-5.00pm.