Thursday 30 June 2016

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: late June updates

Below are the latest additions to the Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives. Donated by volunteers, they've joined the free site in the last two weeks and include a good number of headstone photos and inscriptions, plus a transcription of 356 births recorded in the registers of the Presbyterian congregation of Maguiresbridge.

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/tyrone/photos/tombstones/clanabogan/target79.html
McNeill headstone, Clanabogan
Photo courtesty Bridgid Wilson and IGP
CARLOW Genealogy Archives
Headstones:
   Newtown, RC Church Cemetery (partial)

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives
Church Records:
    Maguiresbridge Presbyterian Births 1860-1930
Headstones:
   St. Mary's Ardess Church Cemetery (additional)

MAYO Genealogy Archives
Headstones:
   Leigue Cemetery, Ballina (partial)
   Old Kilmeena (CoI) Graveyard, Westport

SLIGO Genealogy Archives
Headstones:
   Sligo Cemetery - Old Part, Section 3

TYRONE Genealogy Archives
Headstones:
   Clanabogan Parish Cemetery (CoI), Omagh.

More on the Bishop's Bank of Philadelphia collection

My post last week about the Bishop's Bank of Philadelphia (you can read it here if you missed it) seems to have caused some excitement. It really is a fabulous resource and is sure to be knocking down brickwalls for many US-based family historians thanks to its inclusion of a county of origin in Ireland for many of the Bank's customers.

But some researchers may be even luckier and find the parish of origin included, too. See the example below, sent to me by Sharon Carberry, who came across an entry for a John Claby, aged 27 in 1852, and from King's County (now Co. Offaly). The entry additionally notes that he came from the parish of Castlejordan (spelt Castel Jordan by the clerk). You just have to hope that his descendents, if they are searching for their Irish roots, come across this collection.

Several readers have also pointed out that there is a 'soft' alphabetical surname index at the front of each of the tree volumes ie all the surnames beginning with C are gathered together, but are unsorted.  The index refers to the page number where you can view the full account details for each of these customers. This saves studying all 700-odd pages of each ledger. It should also be noted that the volumes are not in strict chronological order.

Here's Sharon's example of an entry showing parish of origin:

Digital Library@Villanova University

Wednesday 29 June 2016

Free access to 1billion US, Irish and UK records

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=5927&awinaffid=123532&clickref=&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.findmypast.com%2Ftracing-transatlantic-ancestorsFindMyPast.com is allowing free access from today until Wednesday 6 July to a collection of more than one billion records.

The free access includes 118m travel and migration records, 112m US marriages, all US, Canadian, Irish and UK censuses, convict transportation records, plus over four hundred years of ship passenger lists from all major US ports.

More than 7m new US Naturalisation Petitions and more than 1.7million US Passport Applications and Indexes (1795-1925) have also been released, marking the first phase of two brand new collections for uncovering early immigrant ancestors.

To take advantage of the free access period, you'll need to have a registered account with FindMyPast.com and sign into that account. Registration is straightforward and doesn't require you to provide any more detail than your name, email address and country of residence. No financial information is requested.

The free access will continue until 11:59pm EST on Wednesday 6 July (this'll be 04:59am on Thursday 7 July in Dublin/London).

This offer is available only via FindMyPast.com.

A separate offer of free access to all FindMyPast's Military records plus Irish and UK censuses is available at FindMyPast.co.uk, FindMyPast.ie, and FindMyPast.com.au (see blogpost).

Only four spaces left on Irish Genealogy workshop for intermediate/advanced researchers in London

As of this morning, there are just four spaces left on the full-day Tracing Irish Ancestors workshop for Intermediate to Advanced Researchers to be held at the Society of Genealogists in London on Saturday 23 July.

The programme will focus on records from the 17th to 19th centuries, plus 20th-century military records. You can see a fuller description and other details on the SOG's booking page. The workshop costs £35 and will be presented by Jill Williams and Roz McCutcheon, both Fellows of the Irish Genealogical Research Society.

Times: 10:30am to 5pm.
Venue: Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M (Barbican and Farringdon Tube Stations).

Update 1 July:
All places on this workshop now filled.

RCBLibrary will not be open this afternoon

The Representative Church Body Library (RCBL) will be closed this afternoon from 12:45pm to mark the retirement of Dr Raymond Refaussé who has been Librarian & Archivist of the RCBL for the past 35 years.

The Library, in Churchtown, Dublin 14, will re–open for normal hours tomorrow, Thursday 30 June.

Monday 27 June 2016

FindMyPast Military Records: free until Monday 4 July

As advised on Friday (see blogpost), FindMyPast is making it collection of 65million Military Records available free of charge for seven days.

In addition, British and Irish censuses are free to access.

To access the free records you'll need to have a registered account, but you don't need a subscription.



NOTE:
FindMyPast.com is running its own free access offer to mark Independence Day. Different collections of records are involved. See blogpost.

Irish genealogy and history events, 27 June to 10 July

Monday 27 June: Family Search - Website maintenance is scheduled from 6am UTC (7am Dublin/London, 12am MDT). Site may be down for as long as 24 hours.

Tuesday 28 June May: The fall of Dublin, with Liz Gillis. Host and venue: Castletown House, Celbridge, Co Kildare. €5, includes refreshments. 7:15pm. Booking required: T (0)1 628 8252 or E castletwon@opw.ie. 8pm. Lecture held in the Hunting Room.

Wednesday 29 June: The RCB Library in Churchtown, Dublin, will be closed from 12:45pm. Reopening normal hours Thursday 30th.

Wednesday 29 June: DNA Workshop, with Dr Maurice Gleeson. Host: Ancestral Connections Summer School. Venue: Western Gateway Building G05, University College Cork. 2–5pm. Suitable for all levels of dna researcher. €35.00. All welcome. To book, contact Summer School Co-Ordinator: Lorna Moloney, l.moloney@ucc.ie, T: 085-8721184 / 021-4904700.

Thursday 30 June: O’Neill, Tone, Casement & ‘gallant allies in Europe’, a History Ireland Hedge School. Host: Merriman Summer School, glór, Causeway Link, Ennis, Co. Clare. History Ireland editor Tommy Graham wil be joined for a lively round table discussion with Angus Mitchell, Sylvie Kleinman, Mike Cronin and Hiram Morgan. 10am. €15. Details. Booking advised but can pay on door if spaces remain.

Thursday 30 June: 1916 Commemorative Cultural Event, with Turtle Bunbury discussing his latest book – 'The 1916 Rising - The Photographic Record' – plus music and a cocktail reception. Host: The Irish Georgian Society. Venue: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 East Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602, USA. Booking essential: E info@irishgeorgiansociety.com or T Michael Kerrigan at 312-961-3860. pin

Friday 1 July: A regular hell: World War Ireland and the Battle of the Somme, a themed tour of the NLI's exhibition 'World War Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience', which explores the uniquely Irish experience of the First World War with a special focus on the centenary event of the Battle of the Somme. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland (NLI), Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All welcome. 1pm. Free. Booking not required.

Friday 1 July: The Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, with the 36th Ulster Division, a cloth model re-enactment with Col. Declan O’Carroll. Host: Donegal County Museum. Venue: Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Admission free. All welcome. 7:30pm. For further information contact Donegal County Museum, 074 9124613; museum@donegalcoco.ie.

Sunday 3 July: Special screening of the 1916 film 'The Battle of the Somme'. Host: Donegal County Museum in partnership with Imperial War Museums and Century Cinema. Venue: Century Cinema, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Free but need to book tickets via Century Cinema in person or telephone 074 9121976. Four tickets max per person. Not suited to under 11s. 3pm.

Wednesday 6 July: Newgrange and the Bend in the Boyne, Dr Geraldine Stout. The Hill of Tara Lecture Series. Venue: Hill of Tara Visitor Centre, Tara, Co Meath. No booking but seating is limited so come early. Free. 8pm.

Sunday 10 July: Women of the Irish Revolution. Film - Guns and Chiffon, followed by a talk - Rebel Sisters, with Dr Sonja Tiernan, plus launch of Manchester's Irish Story. Also Irish book stall, bar, tea & coffee. Hosts: Manchester Irish Film and Chorlton Irish Club. Venue: Chorlton Irish Club, Irish Association Social Club, 17 High Lane, Manchester UK, M21 9DJ. Doors open at 2pm. Entry £4.

Friday 24 June 2016

FindMyPast to mark Somme centenary with free access

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, FindMyPast will be giving free access to its World collection of 65million military records. This free access will run from Monday 27 June at 9am to Monday 4 July. I'll be back with more details after the weekend (see subsequent blogpost).

The WW1 Battle was a major event in the history of the island. Among the dead were more than 3,500 Irish soldiers (the figures are not certain) and many additional thousands were physically injured or mentally scarred from their experiences.

On the first day alone, the 36th Ulster Division suffered 5,500 casualties, all of them Protestants, including 2,069 soldiers killed. Two months later, as the Battle continued with another British offensive, some 1,200 men from the mainly Irish Catholic 16th Division were killed and 3,100 injured, nearly all of them coming from the other three provinces of Ireland.

Before you start digging into FindMyPast's collection for your own family's military history, you might like to read a more detailed account of the Battle of the Somme and its legacy across the island. A good factual overview can be found on the Department of the Taoiseach's website, together with a useful list of the Irish Regiments and their recruiting areas.

Thursday 23 June 2016

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest update

McGarry / Conlon headstone, Sligo Town Cemetery.
Photo courtesy Kev Murray
Click image for larger view.
A little later than usual, here's your summary of the records and photos submitted by volunteers and uploaded to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives in the first half of the month.

MAYO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Balla Old Cemetery
Teampall Maol Cemetery, Foxford
Westport Road (CoI) Cemetery

SLIGO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Ahamlish Cemetery - Old, H-W (Transcribed)
Sligo Cem. Middle Pt, Section C (A-Lo)

TIPPERARY
Genealogy Archives -
Newspaper Records:
Vindicator, Evicted from Lattera 8 May 1844
Vindicator, Intent to Register to Vote 1846
Miscellaneous:
Vindicator, Licenced for sale of spirits 7 Oct 1846

WESTMEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Crowinstown (Parish of Delvin)

Last shout for Ancestral Connections Summer School

Ancestral Connections:  Roots to the Rising 2016.
UCC's Summer School is now in its fourth year.
Ancestral Connections, the genealogy summer school held at University College Cork (UCC), will be getting underway in just a couple of days time. There's a meet and greet reception on Sunday (26th) evening, with five days of lectures and field trips (not to mention some fun social events) starting on Monday morning.

There are still a few non-residential places available on the course, so if you live locally or can make your own accommodation arrangements, take a look through the timetable and see which day or days you might like to attend.

The full details and costs of the summer school, which is presented by some of Ireland's best-known genealogists, can be found on the UCC website.

Last minute bookings can be made by contacting course co-ordinator Lorna Moloney – E: l.moloney@ucc.ie T: 085-8721184.


Bishop's Bank of Philadelphia: C19th ledgers go online

Digital Library@Villanova University
Digital Library@Villanova University.
Click image for larger view of this entry.
An exceptionally useful collection of bank ledgers has gone online for the first time at the Digital Library at Villanova University.

It consists of three ledgers, each of about 700 pages, which note the money deposits made by working Catholics into what was popularly known as the Bishop's Bank in Philadelphia. The Bank was set up in May 1848 by Bishop Francis P. Kenrick to provide men and women with a safe place to save and receive interest on their money, and was managed by Mark Antony Frenaye, a businessman who served for many years as the financier and treasurer of the Diocese of Philadelphia.

Although set up for all Catholics, by far the majority of the Bishop's Bank's customers were Irish, and their approximate age and county of birth in Ireland is noted with details of their deposits. In some cases, additional information such as physical descriptions or family connections are recorded. You can find an interesting overview of the history of the Bishop's Bank at the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center, which holds the original ledgers and journals.

Now digitised and free to access online, the Bishop's Bank Collection can be viewed in high-quality scans at the Digital Library. They have not been indexed.

(Many thanks to Kyle Betit @CatholicGenealogy for letting me know of this development.)


Wednesday 22 June 2016

Ancestry DNA has tested 2million customers in 4 years

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-10819001-1408706803000?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdna.ancestry.co.uk%2F0
Ancestry DNA has announced the passing of another milestone: it now has 2million customers genotyped (DNA tested) and says it is the first and only consumer genetics company to achieve a customer base of such a size.

Growth has been impressively speedy. After launching in the United States in May 2012, the company's dna testing product arrived in Ireland and the UK in January 2015 (see blogpost), and in Canada and Australia last June. This was followed by an announcement that the company had tested its one-millionth customer.

In February this year, the global rollout continued with the test becoming available in 29 more countries.

Ancestry has created a special presentation to broadcast news of its DNA success, and takes the opportunity to throw a few more big figures our way. The company's main (non-DNA) database now holds 17billion genealogy records and 70million family trees.


Societies come together for posthumous presentation

The late Randal Gill,
former President of the North of Ireland Family History Society
On Saturday, at the North of Ireland Family History Society's Library and Research Centre in Newtownabbey, a posthumous presentation was made to the family of the late Randal Gill, a founder member and former President of the Society, to mark his election as a Fellow of the Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS).

Randal had been a member of the IGRS since 1982, and the Award of Fellowship was made to recognise his outstanding contribution and dedicated service to the genealogy community in Northern Ireland and further afield.

Randal is recognised in Irish genealogical circles as having made an immensely significant contribution to the development of Ulster genealogical knowledge and resources for over forty years. His pursuit of family history began in 1967 when a cousin from Australia visited Northern Ireland and together they began to research the family of Randal’s mother.

This proved to be the spark that inspired his lifelong interest in genealogy and family history.

In 1979, Randal was one of the founding members of the North of Ireland Family History Society (NIFHS), serving in various roles, including twice as president of the Society. His enthusiasm for Ulster family history drove him to be a most generous individual with his time and knowledge. He thought nothing of travelling the length and breadth of the North of Ireland, attending NIFHS branch meetings and giving informative talks, which were often highly entertaining. His biggest contribution to the NIFHS was the building up of its library to be one of the most important resources for Ulster genealogy and local history. It was fitting then, that after his untimely and sudden death in 2012, that the NIFHS named their library in Newtownabbey 'The Randal Gill Library'.

At the event, IGRS President, Fergus Gillespie, former Chief Herald of Ireland, said: “Our pleasure in recognising Randal Gill’s unique contribution to Irish genealogy in early 2012, with his election as a Fellow of the IGRS, was overtaken by sadness when we learned of his premature death so shortly afterwards. Randal’s work in promoting Ulster genealogy and the North of Ireland Family History Society was unrivalled. He was without doubt a most knowledgeable and generous individual and a man most deserving of this Fellowship.”

NIFHS President Ann Robinson said “Randal was for years a vital part of our Society and his sudden death in 2012 was a great loss to us, as both a committed member and as a friend to so many. We are very pleased that Randal's family are here with us today to accept the Fellowship on his behalf. It is wonderful that this presentation recognises his important contribution to family history across the North of Ireland for over four decades. His legacy lives on in a network of family history branches and in the library materials that are available to family and local history researchers worldwide.”

IGRS President Fergus Gillespie presented a posthumous Certificate of Fellowship of the IGRS to the family of the late Randal Gill, formerly President of the North of Ireland Family History Society. In the photo (L-R) are Fiona Gill (niece), Deirdre Hammond (sister), Adrian Gill (brother), Fergus Gillespie, and Ann Robinson (President, NIFHS).

(Photos courtesy of NIFHS)

More updates to Co. Clare Library's Local Studies site

County Clare Library's Local Studies Department has updated its excellent website with the following:

The 1916 Rising in Clare newspapers – This online archive presents a number of transcribed extracts from three of County Clare's historical newspapers: The Saturday Record, The Clare Champion and The Clare Journal & Ennis Advertiser. The chosen extracts report the events and aftermath of Easter Week and include editorials written from a local perspective.

The transcription and compilation team at the Library included Maureen Comber, Anthony Edwards, Jackie Dermody and Mona O'Connor.

RC Marriage Records for Kilmurry Ibrickan Parish, 1839-1857 – Marie Crowley of Derry is continuing her project to transcribe the marriage register of the Roman Catholic parish of Kilmurry Ibrickan. The latest tranche of transcription sees the available records span from 1839 to 1857 (with gap from August 1852 to September 1855).

The transcriptions are being made from the National Library of Ireland's online images and are presented in three formats: in chronological order, by the surname of the groom, and by the surname of the bride.

Ulster's Great Parchment Book awarded UNESCO Memory of the World status

At an awards ceremony in Cardiff, Wales, last night, the Great Parchment Book of the Honourable Irish Society was inscribed to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

The Great Parchment Book is recognised as a hugely significant record of the Ulster Plantation in the early 17th century, providing a unique insight into an important period of the history of Northern Ireland for which there are few other original archives surviving. It is central to the study of the Plantation of Ulster and the social, economic, cultural, religious and political history of Northern Ireland, the UK and Ireland.

Compliled in 1639 and often referred to as Ulster's Domesday Book, the Great Parchment Book provides a key record of the population of early 17th century Ulster, not just the Protestant settlers who came from both England and Scotland, but also the native Irish, and exceptionally many women, at all social levels. It contains unique information about the properties and individual buildings they inhabited, as well as the extent and layout of the towns of Coleraine and Londonderry.

It was badly damaged in a fire in 1786, which led to it being unavailable to researchers for over 200 years, but has been brought back to life using state of the art conservation techniques and cutting-edge digital imaging (see video below). The conservation and digitisation project was supported by the London Metropolitan Archives, Derry City Council and Heritage Services, the National Manuscripts Commission Trust, City of London Corporation and University College London.

UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme was established in 1992. It's vision is that the world’s documentary heritage belongs to all and should be fully preserved and protected for all and permanently accessible to all without hindrance. The UK Register (one of several country-level programmes from around the world) recognises documentary heritage deemed by a panel of experts to be of outstanding significance to the UK.

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Fermanagh Genealogy launches annual journal

The organisation that delivers genealogical services for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council – Fermanagh Genealogy – has launched a new annual journal aimed at helping researchers exploit new and existing family history resources for the area.

The first edition of Fermanagh Roots was launched at Enniskillen Library on Saturday and features articles about Fermanagh resources, local connections to the 1916 Easter Rising, tips for getting your research started, preparing for a research trip to Ireland, a summary of 17th and 18th century sources, and a detailed listing of where family historians will find the county's online church records.

In addition, contributors have written about the personal stories discovered through their research, how dna solved a genealogical mystery, the etymology of townland names, surname histories for Maguire and Johnston, the English Plantation in the north of the county, and much more.

Copies of the 112-page journal can be purchased via the Fermanagh Genealogy website for £16, a sum that includes postage & packing.

Monday 20 June 2016

Latest update from the Registry of Deeds Index Project

The Registry of Deeds Index Project database has been updated and now holds 212,387 index records from 24,359 memorials of deeds.

Researchers can access the Index free of charge.

The Index Project is run entirely on the efforts of volunteers. If you can help the indexing work on an on-going basis, or if you have abstracts or copies of memorials of deeds from which you could extract the indexing information, please see full details and a submission guide here.

Irish genealogy and history events, 20 June to 2 July

Monday 20 June: Genealogy information sessions, with Margaret Bonar and Elizabeth Craven. Morning and afternoon sessions. Morning venue: Raheny Library, Howth Rd, Dublin 5, 10:30–11:45am. Afternoon venue: Donaghmede Library, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Dublin 13, 2:30–4pm. Free. Bookings 085 1444883 or impossibleancestors@gmail.com.

Tuesday 21 June: Book launch: Titanic: culture and calamity, by Dr John Wilson Foster. Launch by Glenn Patterson. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Blvd, Belfast. 1pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 21 June: The Rebuilding of O’Connell Street, with Grainne Shaffrey. Part of the Capstones Shift Lecture Series. Hosts: Irish Architectural Archive, Architecture Ireland and RIAI. Venue: Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), 8 Merrion Square, Dublin. 6–7pm. Free. Fully booked.

Wednesday 22 June to Friday 24 June: XXI Ulster-American Heritage Symposium – Forty Years On: Current Directions in Ulster-American Heritage Studies. Host and venue: Mellon Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American Folk Park, Mellon Road, Omagh, Co Tyrone. Full programme and details (pdf)

Thursday 23 June: Delayed opening of National Library of Ireland until 11am. Includes Genealogy Service at Kildare Street, Dublin 2.  

Thursday 23 June to Sunday 26 June: McGrath Clan Gathering, with talks, book and dna project launches, visits and tours, trad music sessions, BBQ, clan dinner and much more. Genealogist Ann Marie Coughlan will be available on the Friday and Saturday for free consultations (need to book). Venue: The Park Hotel and Leisure Centre, Shandon, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Programme and booking details. Drop by for the day, or stay for the full four days.

Thursday 23 June:Drink and Temperance in C19th Ireland – a half-day conference. Speakers include Annemarie McAllister, Conor Reidy, Orfhlaith Campbell, Gillian McIntosh, Leanne McCormick and Maura Cronin. Hosts: PRONI and Open University. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1:30pm. Free but need to book.

Thursday 23 June: Remembering and reinventing the Rising, with Donal Fallon. Part of the Dublin City Council 1916/2016 Centenary Programme. Host and venue: Dublin City Library and Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 1. Free. No booking required, but space limited. 6:30pm.

Friday 24 June: The forgotten fisherman of Belfast Lough, 1680–1900, with Dr Desmond McCabe. Concludes the Sailortown Maritime Exhibition at PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free. No need to book.

Friday 24 June: Merchant Marine ancestors? Specialist genealogy advice, with David Snook. Concludes the Sailortown Maritime Exhibition at PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Free. Afternoon session.

Monday 27 June: Family Search - Website maintenance is scheduled from 6am UTC (7am Dublin/London, 12am MDT). Site may be down for as long as 24 hours.

Tuesday 28 June May: The fall of Dublin, with Liz Gillis. Host and venue: Castletown House, Celbridge, Co Kildare. €5, includes refreshments. 7:15pm. Booking required: T (0)1 628 8252 or E castletwon@opw.ie. 8pm. Lecture held in the Hunting Room.

Wednesday 29 June:
DNA Workshop, with Dr Maurice Gleeson. Host: Ancestral Connections Summer School. Venue: Western Gateway Building G05, University College Cork. 2–5pm. Suitable for all levels of dna researcher. €35.00. All welcome. To book, contact Summer School Co-Ordinator: Lorna Moloney, l.moloney@ucc.ie, T: 085-8721184 / 021-4904700.

Thursday 30 June: O’Neill, Tone, Casement & ‘gallant allies in Europe’, a History Ireland Hedge School. Host: Merriman Summer School, glór, Causeway Link, Ennis, Co. Clare. History Ireland editor Tommy Graham wil be joined for a lively round table discussion with Angus Mitchell, Sylvie Kleinman, Mike Cronin and Hiram Morgan. 10am. €15. Details. Booking advised but can pay on door if spaces remain.

Thursday 30 June: 1916 Commemorative Cultural Event, with Turtle Bunbury discussing his latest book – 'The 1916 Rising - The Photographic Record' – plus music and a cocktail reception. Host: The Irish Georgian Society. Venue: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 East Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602, USA. Booking essential: E info@irishgeorgiansociety.com or T Michael Kerrigan at 312-961-3860. pin

Friday 1 July: A ‘regular hell’: World War Ireland and the Battle of the Somme, a themed tour of the NLI's exhibition 'World War Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience', which explores the uniquely Irish experience of the First World War with a special focus on the centenary event of the Battle of the Somme. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland (NLI), Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All welcome. 1pm. Free. Booking not required.

Friday 1 July: The Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, with the 36th Ulster Division, a cloth model re-enactment with Col. Declan O’Carroll. Host: Donegal County Museum. Venue: Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Admission free. All welcome. 7:30pm. For further information contact Donegal County Museum, 074 9124613; museum@donegalcoco.ie.

Friday 17 June 2016

Irish News Archive adds Evening Herald, 1891-1949

https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/wp/evening-herald-1891-1949/
Click image for more information
The Dublin-based Irish Newspaper Archive (INA) has added The Evening Herald to its online database. The years available are 1891 to 1949.

This launch is a major addition to INA's database, as reflected by a 20% discount on all subscriptions to its entire archive and gifts range, and a free download offer on the first-ever edition of the paper. 

To find out more about The Evening Herald and how to take advantage of the current special offers, click the image, right.

Sizeable top-ups to FindMyPast's Irish collections

FindMyPast has topped up two of its largest Irish collections with nearly 900,000 new records.

Irish Petty Sessions Court Registers: The originals of this collection are held by the National Archives of Ireland and hold the records of Ireland's lowest court, the equivalent of today's District and Magistrate courts. With no jury, it dealt with less serious criminal and civil cases such as public nuisance, drunkeness, neighbour disputes and the like. For more details about the collection, see the Petty Sessions page on my Irish Genealogy Toolkit website.

The top-up delivers a final 547,000 new records to the fully-indexed collection available as part of the FindMyPast Ireland and World subscription packages. You can find a list of the courts and their respective years of coverage, here.

Irish Dog Licences: More than 343,000 records dating from 1865 have been added to this collection. Holding more than 6 million records, the collection makes a useful census substitute as the indexed entries note the name and address of the dog's owner as each licence was issued by the Petty Sessions Court. (The registers form part of the Petty Sessions Court Registers; they have been split from the main collection for the purposes of online searching.)

In addition, details of the dog – breed, age and colour – are included, which may not move your genealogical research forward but adds some colour to your family history.

Irish Poor Law Reports: This collection consists of six titles reporting on the administration of the Irish Poor Law. An additional 1,000 'records' have been added; there's been no detail provided of what they are.

Thursday 16 June 2016

County Meath material joins online Schools Collection

Schools Collection material from County Meath has been uploaded to the online database of the National Folklore Collection: Dúchas.ie.

Nearly 120 schools in County Meath took part in the original project which saw schoolchildren across all 26 counties of Ireland collect and record all manner of folklore, local history, and other stories from the older members of their families and communitites back in 1937-39. Meath's contribution to the scheme resulted in the compilation of 37 volumes of stories.

These are now online and are free to access, along with material from Counties Dublin, Cavan, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Clare, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford.

Material from the remaining seven counties is scheduled to be uploaded before the end of the year. When the entire Schools Collection is online, more than half a million pages of folklore stories and observations from c50,000 schoolchildren will be available to the public. Each story carries the name, address and age of the 'informant', providing useful records for genealogists.

More files added to Miltary Service Pension Collection

Military Archives has released the Military Service Pension Collection files of a further nine Easter Rising Veterans: Joseph Cummins, Patrick Garvey, Thomas Kelly, Joseph Kenny, Daniel Joseph McArt, Denis McDonnell, Thomas McInerney, Thomas O'Rourke and John Sullivan. The files can be viewed on MilitaryArchives.ie.

The total number of Easter Week 1916 veterans with files in the online MSPC now totals 2,594. You can download the list here (326kb pdf).

Family Tree DNA offers Father's Day savings

Family Tree DNA has a special Father's Day sale on some of its Bundle packages. There are some good savings on offer. For those who have already tested with FTDNA, a number of discounted upgrades are also available. Take a look here: FTDNA Father's Day 2016.

The sale starts at midnight 16 June and continues in the USA until 11:59pm CDT on Monday 20 June (05:59am on Tuesday 21 June in Dublin/London).

https://www.familytreedna.com/sale.aspx

Wednesday 15 June 2016

Final tranche of National Archives of Ireland's 'crown jewels' collection is ready for online debut

The last tranche of the National Archives of Ireland's 'crown jewels' will be uploaded to the     NAI's Genealogy website very soon. I have no certain date, but anything from a couple of days to a couple of months looks likely.

The project to digitise and release online – free of charge – many of the most important records used by Irish genealogists started in 2007 with the online launch of the 1911 census for Dublin and has continued with regular additions for the last nine years. The NAI's website has revolutionised Irish family history research and finally turned the tables on that old myth about how All The Records Were Burnt.

During those nine years, the following collections have been made available free of charge on the NAI's Genealogy Website:
  • Census 1901*
  • Census 1911*
  • Census fragments from 1821–1851
  • Census Search Forms relating to 1841 and 1851
  • Calendars of Wills and Administrations from 1858 to 1922
  • Tithe Applotment Books from 1823 to 1837
  • Irish Soldiers' Wills
In addition to the free availability of all of the above collections on the NAI website, they are also free to access on FamilySearch and FindMyPast. (Those marked * are additionally available, free, on Ancestry.)

Here, then, are brief summaries of the collections waiting in the wings, ready to make their online debut on the NAI site, free:

Valuation Office House and Field Books, 1848 – 60
I hesitate to mention this collection again! It's had a difficult and protracted journey into cyber space, but the moment of its arrival is now almost upon us. The House, Field, Tenure and Quarto Books are coming.

This new collection is not complete – there is another sizeable tranche of these books (about one-eighth of the total) still undergoing conservation and cataloguing – so some researchers will find gaps in coverage in the new collection. There is no particular rhyme or reason to the gaps; you may be lucky, you may not.

These books are not likely to be bothering too many beginner researchers, but they can often reveal the 'missing vital link' to the history of a family. Previously scattered across several repositories, this collection is likely to be full of surprises now that it is fully indexed and readily accessible in one place.

Will Books, post-1858
This collection consists of the surviving Will Books prepared by the district registries. (The only Will Books lost in the PRO in 1922 were those for the Principal Registry based in Dublin and the Dublin District Registry.) Note: books for district registries that mainly fall in Northern Ireland (Armagh, Beflast and Derry) are held by PRONI.

The books contain transcripts of each will, the wording of the grant, the date of transcription and the date of death of the testator. See the example below, which shows the index summary of the will of Bernard Maguire who died in 1858. Click the image to see the Cavan District Registry's transcribed copy of the will with the wording of the probate grant recorded directly below it.

Click to view Will Book entry
Click to view Will Book entry

Diocesan and Prerogative Wills Indexes, pre-1858
These indexes are arranged by diocese and some of the books are in a very poor and damaged state (some even have bullet holes through them!). Although the majority of records in this collection are indexes, a small percentage (let's say 5%) are Will Books compiled at the time the will was proved.

Shipping records

This fourth collection is a bit of a mystery. I haven't been able to get clarification on exactly what it holds, over and beyond a working title of 'shipping records'. Whatever it holds, I'm sure it'll be another valuable addition to the online line-up.



Tuesday 14 June 2016

IrishGenealogy.ie has a problem again - FIXED

The IrishGenealogy.ie website, which is managed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DAHG), has a problem again. Monitor sites have been reporting this as a server error since yesterday evening but I'm not entirely convinced that's what wrong.

While the regular entry point is returning only a blank page, there are other legitimate routes into the site and they are working fine this morning.

Use these:
To access the civil registration indexes: http://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie
To access church records (Carlow, Dublin, Kerry, Cork): http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie

I'll rattle on the DAHG's door via twitter in case they're not aware of the problem.

Update, 11:20am : DAHG has someone working to rectify the problem.

Update: 4:15pm : All seems to be working again now.


Monday 13 June 2016

Skibbereen Heritage Centre uploads School records

Thanks to its committed volunteer team, Skibbereen Heritage Centre in County Cork has added transcriptions to National School registers to its free database. The information recorded in the registers varies but generally includes the pupil's name, approximate age and year of attendance.

The first two sets of registers to join the Skibbereen database are from Drinagh Boys School and Lisheen Girls School. The former holds c180 records, all relating to pupils born 1910 to 1930, and record schoolchildren attending up to the 1940s. The latter, a bigger school, holds records of c420 pupils; with birth years spanning 1881–1920, the entries date up to 1933.

More school register transcriptions will join the database in the future.

Search the school registers databaase.

NLI Genealogy Service: delayed opening, Friday 17 June

The free Genealogy Service at the National Library
of Ireland operates year-round, Monday to Friday.
Appointments not needed.
The National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Service will not operate on Friday morning this week (that is, 17 June).

The Service, which normally starts at 9:30am and operates all year round from the Genealogy Room on the Mezzanine Floor of the NLI's main premises in Kildare Street, will start at 1pm.

Appointments are not necessary. On a first-come, first-served basis, visitors can have a free one-to-one genealogy consultation and/or take advantage of other family history resources including access to the online databases of Ancestry, FindMyPast, Irish News Archive and Irish Times Newspaper Archive, and a selection of specialised books.

Irish genealogy, history & heritage events, 13–26 June

Tuesday 14 June: 19th-century beggars in Ireland, with Sean Bagnall. Host: Tallaght Historical Society. Venue: Tallaght Library, Library Square, Dublin 24. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 14 June: The Great Monumental Avenue of the City: O'Connell Street and Town Planning, 1911–1916, with Brian Ward. Part of the Capstones Shift Lecture Series. Hosts: Irish Architectural Archive, Architecture Ireland and RIAI. Venue: Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), 8 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. 6–7pm. Free but booking essential. Fully booked.

Wednesday 15 June: Book launch – Soldiers of the Short Grass – A History of the Curragh Camp, by Dan Harvey. Venue: Ceannt Officers’ Mess, Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare. 6pm.

Thursday 16 June: Derry to New York Immigration Patterns, lecture with Brian Mitchell MAGI, and launch of Derry-Londonderry Goes Global exhibition (Foyle Civic Trust & Derry City Council). Host: New York Irish Center, 10-40 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA. 8pm. Free (donations welcome) but need to book tickets.

Thursday 16 June: Rising exhibition, Walk & Talk Tour. The Rising is a major photographic exhibition that showcases the NLI's rich imagery of the events and locations of 1916. Host and Venue: National Photographic Archive, National Library of Ireland, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin. 2pm. Free. All welcome. No need to book.

Friday 17 June: Delayed opening of free Genealogy Service at National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Service will start at 1pm rather than 9:30am.

Friday 17 June: Irish Passenger Lists, with Brian Mitchell MAGI. Host: New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Venue: NYG&B Conference Room, 36 West 44th St, Suite 711, New York, NY 10036, USA. Reserve your seat by email. 1–2pm. Free. Details.

Monday 20 June: Genealogy information sessions, with Margaret Bonar and Elizabeth Craven. Morning and afternoon sessions. Morning venue: Raheny Library, Howth Rd, Dublin 5 from 10:30am to 11:45am. Afternoon venue: Donaghmede library, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Dublin 13 from 2:30pm to 4pm. Free. Bookings to 085 1444883 or impossibleancestors@gmail.com.

Tuesday 21 June: Book launch: Titanic: culture and calamity, by Dr John Wilson Foster. Launch by Glenn Patterson. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 21 June: The Rebuilding of O’Connell Street, with Grainne Shaffrey. Part of the Capstones Shift Lecture Series. Hosts: Irish Architectural Archive, Architecture Ireland and RIAI. Venue: Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), 8 Merrion Square, Dublin. 6–7pm. Free but booking essential. Fully booked.

Thursday 23 June to Sunday 26 June: McGrath Clan Gathering, with talks, book and dna project launches, visits and tours, trad music sessions, BBQ, clan dinner and much more. Genealogist Ann Marie Coughlan will be available on the Friday and Saturday for free consultations (need to book). Venue: The Park Hotel and Leisure Centre, Shandon, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Programme and booking details. Drop by for the day, or stay for the full four days.

Thursday 23 June: Drink and Temperance in C19th Ireland – a half-day conference. Speakers include Annemarie McAllister, Conor Reidy, Orfhlaith Campbell, Gillian McIntosh, Leanne McCormick and Maura Cronin. Hosts: PRONI and Open University. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1:30pm. Free but need to book.

Thursday 23 June: Remembering and reinventing the Rising, with Donal Fallon. Part of the Dublin City Council 1916/2016 Centenary Programme. Host and venue: Dublin City Library and Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 1. Free. No booking required, but space limited. 6:30pm.

Friday 24 June: The forgotten fisherman of Belfast Lough, 1680–1900, with Dr Desmond McCabe. Concludes the Sailortown Maritime Exhibition at PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free. No need to book.

Friday 24 June: Merchant Marine ancestors? Specialist genealogy advice, with David Snook. Concludes the Sailortown Maritime Exhibition at PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Free. Afternoon session.

Friday 24 June: Book launch – Irish politics in postcards, by Declan Martin. Host: Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, 1-9 Victoria St, Belfast, BT1 3GA. Guest speaker: Dr Eamon Phoenix. Light refreshments provided. 6:30pm for 7pm. Free. Need to book by tel to +44(0)28 9066 1988 or e-mail to enquiry@uhf.org.uk.


Friday 10 June 2016

Ancestry.com.au's Black Sheep collection: free access

Ancestry Australia is opening up its Criminal and Convict Collections for free this weekend.

http://www.tkqlhce.com/4g108kjspjr6CEAEA7F687F8G77868B7FE7DF7A777?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com.au%2Fcs%2FblacksheepAmong the record sets within this collection are convict transportation records, gaol registers (some in England, some in Australia), Scottish maritime records, Irish poor law records, jury lists, police gazettes, cemetery records, and much more.

You can see the full list of records in the Black Sheep Collection here.

To access the collection you'll need to register (if you haven't done so previously) with Ancestry Australia. Only your name and email address are needed to register. You will then be sent a username and password to access the records. The free access period will end at 11:59pm AEST on Monday 13 June. Full terms and conditions are on the site.

New monument celebrates Ireland and its Diaspora

The central structure within the 'Ring-Fort' represents
the Diaspora. The entire monument was built
in the dry stone walling tradition with no mortar.
The day job took me to the Lough Boora Wetlands Park in Co. Offaly a couple of weeks ago to see the newly completed Gathering of the Stones monument. While the structure isn't connected to genealogy, there is a strong Diaspora theme to this interesting three-year project, undertaken entirely by volunteers.

The Gathering of the Stones monument is modelled on a ring-fort – the most common archaeological site to be seen in the Irish landscape – and its curved outer walls have been constructed in four parts to represent the four provinces. Each wall has been built using natural stone from that province and in one of Ireland's strikingly distinct vernacular dry stone
walling styles.

The flags of the four provinces have been expertly carved
into stone on the 'interior' wall of the central tower. Here,
the Leinster flag has been cut from Irish Blue limestone.
At its centre is a low circular tower which represents the 5th province of Ireland, described by the designers as 'the individual, creativity, imagination and the Diaspora'.

The 'floor' of the open-topped tower has been laid in stone slabs, set out in cruciform shape, from the oldest immigration docks in the world. Named the 'Emigrant Stones', these have travelled to Ireland from Battery Park in New York, where they had lined the quayside used by hundreds of thousands of newly-arrived Irish emigrants since 1700. Other stones came from Holyhead Breakwater Quarry and the Ffestiniog Railway, both in North Wales.

Four impressive stone carvings, each representing the flag of one of the provinces, are set into the 'interior' side of the tower.

If you're in the area, take a detour and a short walk to visit the monument. It's worth it, not just for the excellent traditional skills on view, but also because it is proof of what can be achieved by determined volunteers with a little help
and generosity from others.
The centrepiece of the tower's paved floor is a carved
map of Ireland with the location of the monument
indicated at the very centre of the island.

In this particular case, the generosity came from quarry owners and stone suppliers, who donated more than 380 tons of natural stone from all corners of Ireland, as well as ship freight companies, and many others, all moved to contribute to the building of a permanent monument to Ireland and all its people and to celebrate Ireland's rich dry stone wall heritage.

It's quite easy to find, being just 200 yards from the hide (and car park) beside Lake Boora at the centre of the park.

It was the first time I'd visited Boora and I recommend it to anyone who loves big skies, water, birds and wide open spaces. Beautiful.

Lough Boora Park -– wide open spaces at the centre of Ireland

Thursday 9 June 2016

Co Clare Library adds Clondagad/Kilchreest baptisms

A second update from County Clare Library's Local Studies website this week:

Transcriptions from the baptism register of Clondagad/Kilchreest Roman Catholic parish have been donated by Kevin Murphy. The 1,776 records date from 1846 to 1860 and were transcribed from the National Library of Ireland's online images collection. They can be searched chronologically, as in the register, but do read the Transcribers Notes about gaps in records and possible priestly errors.

Access the baptism register transcriptions.

The marriage registers for this parish have already been transcribed by Kevin. They date from 1846–1880. See here.

FamilySearch explains removal of online access

Following my blogpost entitled 'FamilySearch restricts access to image-only collections', which was published at the tail-end of May and related to Valuation Office Surveyors' Books, FamilySearch has sent Irish Genealogy News the following statement:

'Whenever possible, FamilySearch International seeks to offer the broadest possible access to its vast collections of records and images. However, ultimate rights to view record collections online are granted by the record custodian or FamilySearch partner.

'If online access restrictions are required under contract by a partner or record custodian, the restricted collections are, in most cases, still accessible to anyone through the Family History Library, a local FamilySearch Family History Center worldwide, or channels of the partnering organization. If collection restrictions exist, they are typically noted in the FamilySearch Catalog online or in FamilySearch search results.

'In the event a restricted collection was incorrectly given broader access than permitted under contract, upon notification of the error, FamilySearch will take immediate action to ensure the proper level of access is provided. We apologize for any inconveniences this has caused you as a FamilySearch patron.'

North Dublin records added to RootsIreland database

The Fingal/Dublin North Genealogy Centre has added more than 30,000 new records to the RootsIreland.ie database. Within the package are baptism and marriage records for St Margaret's Roman Catholic parish (see below), some 5,360 county council interment records dating from 1935 to 1989 (see below), and new marriage records for Skerries, Balbrigan, Rush and Lusk (no details provided).

The new baptism records for St Margaret's date from 1854 to 1901, while the marriage records date from 1857 to 1903.

The County Council interment records are for Ardla, Ballyboughal, Balscadden, Chapelmidway, Donabate, Garristown, Grallagh, Holmpatrick (Skerries), Kenure (Rush), Malahide, Milverton (Skerries), Naul, Palmerstown (Oldtown), Rowlestown, St Margaret's, The Ward, Westphalstown, Whitestown (Rush) and Mulhuddart. The latter has different dates, from 1891 to 1989.

More details of the records held in the Roots Ireland Dublin North database.

Tuesday 7 June 2016

Ancestry World Archive Projects: Irish records update

http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-5737308-10819001-1408706803000?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2Fsearch%2Fdb.aspx%3Fdbid%3D2193
This seems a good time to provide an update on two of Ancestry's ongoing World Archives Projects (WAPs) involving Irish genealogy records.

WAPs are carried out by volunteers who transcribe important record sets which are then uploaded to the main Ancestry database and made available free of charge to researchers.

Belfast Newsletter
The second phase of Ancestry's Belfast Newsletter WAP to index all the birth, marriage and death announcements published 1738 to 1834 has reached the end of the transcription stage. I'm not sure, but the indexed entries may still need to go through Quality Control. For an advanced project, this has completed very quickly – the indexing started only in January.

The first phase of the project was completed last year and saw all bmd notices from 1828 to 1858, as well as engagements, obituaries and memoriams, join Ancestry's database in October. You can search it here.

Importantly for genealogists, the paper's news, adverts and bmd announcements were not limited to the Belfast area; the Newsletter was distributed island-wide prior to Partition, and covered national and international news. It claims to be the oldest English language daily title, and was originally produced twice a week before switching to daily publication in 1855. The entire paper collection is already available on Ancestry in browseable format.

Ireland, Famine Relief Commission Papers, 1844–47
This WAP is now just over one-third through the initial stages of transcription of handwritten letters and lists relating to crop failures and soil conditions in local areas, the storage and distribution of Indian corn and meal, and the provision of temporary relief to the poor, written/created by local relief committees, lieutenants and deputy lieutenants of counties, local clergy, and concerned citizens.

This project launched in late 2014. You can find out more about it in my original blogpost and maybe consider volunteering to help and move the project along a little quicker.

Find out more about Ancestry's World Archives Project

Monday 6 June 2016

Irish genealogy & history events, 6–19 June

To Saturday 25 June: Citizens in Conflict: Dublin 1916 – a multi-media exhibition. Host and venue: Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 1. Free. Regular library opening hours. All welcome. Guided tours also available. Details.

Monday 6 June: Public holiday in Republic of Ireland. Most libraries and archives closed. Reopening Tuesday.

Monday 6 June: The merchant seamen of Sailortown, Belfast, 1918, exhibition launch and talk with David Snook (irishmariners.ie). Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Free. 1pm. (Exhibition runs to 24 June – details.)

Wednesday 8 June:  Mapping the Rising, with Dr John Borgonovo and Mr Charlie Roche using new maps to explore various aspects of the 1916 Easter Rising. Part of the ‘Atlas of the Irish Revolution’ lecture series. Hosts: University College Cork and National Library of Ireland. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Free. All welcome. Starts 7pm. No booking required. Details.

Thursday 9 June: The Presbyterian Story: history, theology and community in Ulster, 1640-1714, with Professor Robert Armstrong. The Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies Beckett lecture. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Wine reception and book launch at 6pm. Lecture at 6:30pm. All welcome. No booking required.

Thursday 9 June: The Battle of Jutland, with Richard Doherty. Part of the Decade of Centenaries programme. Host and Venue: Derry Central Library, 35 Foyle St, Londonderry BT48 6AL. Refreshments provided. Free. Everyone welcome. 7pm.

Friday 10 June: Researching the Rising Workshop, with Dr Emma Edwards. Advice on researching the collections of theh NLI. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Suitable for anyone looking to embark on a research project or to enhance research skills in navigating the catalogue, accessing the various collections and interpreting the sources. 11am. Free. Need to book. Details.

Friday 10 June to Saturday 11 June: Farming and Country Life 1916. Host: Teagasc. Venue: Teagasc, Mellows Campus, Athenry, Co Galway. This event, which forms part of the official 1916 Rising Commemorations, celebrates the rural Ireland of 100 years ago and reflects on the important part of life in Ireland at the beginning of the last century. Exhibitions, dramatic re-enactments, lectures, debates, and reconstructions and presentations. 10am to 5pm each day. Free. Details.

Saturday 11 June: Genealogy for advanced researchers, with Audrey Leonard, John Schade and Lois Mackin. Host: Irish Genealogical Society International. Venue: Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS) Library, 1185 Concord St N, South St Paul, MN, USA. 10:30am. $15 IGSI members/$20 non-members. Details.

Saturday 11 June: FindMyPast's Irish family history records, with Brian Donovan. Host: Manchester Histories Festival's Celebration Day. Venue: Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester UK. Free, but need to book tickets. 12pm to 12:45pm.

Tuesday 14 June: 19th-century beggars in Ireland, with Sean Bagnall. Host: Tallaght Historical Society. Venue: Tallaght Library, Library Square, Dublin 24. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 14 June: The Great Monumental Avenue of the City: O'Connell Street and Town Planning, 1911–1916, with Brian Ward. Part of the Capstones Shift Lecture Series. Hosts: Irish Architectural Archive, Architecture Ireland and RIAI. Venue: Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), 8 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. 6–7pm. Free but booking essential. Fully booked.

Wednesday 15 June: Book launch – Soldiers of the Short Grass – A History of the Curragh Camp, by Dan Harvey. Venue: Ceannt Officers’ Mess, Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare. 6pm.

Thursday 16 June: Derry to New York Immigration Patterns, lecture with Brian Mitchell MAGI, and launch of Derry-Londonderry Goes Global exhibition (Foyle Civic Trust & Derry City Council). Host: New York Irish Center, 10-40 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA. 8pm. Free (donations welcome) but need to book tickets.

Thursday 16 June: Rising exhibition, Walk & Talk Tour. The Rising is a major photographic exhibition that showcases the NLI's rich imagery of the events and locations of 1916. Host and Venue: National Photographic Archive, National Library of Ireland, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin. 2pm. Free. All welcome. No need to book.

Friday 17 June: Irish Passenger Lists, with Brian Mitchell MAGI. Host: New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Venue: NYG&B Conference Room, 36 West 44th St, Suite 711, New York, NY 10036, USA. Reserve your seat by email. 1–2pm. Free. Details.

Friday 3 June 2016

RCSI uploads videos of 'Surgeons & Insurgents' talks

http://rcsiheritage.blogspot.ie/2016/05/surgeons-insurgents-lecture-series.html
You may remember that during March and April, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) presented a commemorative exhibition and hosted a lively, informative and free public lecture series called Surgeons & Insurgents: RCSI and the Easter Rising.

All nine lectures were booked out, leaving many people disappointed at missing the events.

Good news is that the RCSI video'd the lectures and they have now been uploaded to the College's YouTube Channel.

The topics were:
  • Surgeons & Insurgents: RCSI and the Easter Rising, with Dr Mary McAuliffe
  • The Easter Rising: Fighting for the Crown or Half Crown? with Padraig Yeates
  • Blood and Bandages: Medicine of the Easter Rising, with Anthony Kinsella
  • Stuff Matters: The material cul;ture of 1916, with Lisa Godson and Dr Joanna Bruck
  • The Rising: A statement of intent, successes and failures, with Comdt. Victor Laing
  • Michael Mallin, with Dr Brian Hughes
  • St John Ambulance and the Easter Rising, with Padraig Allen
  • To Surgeons and Beyond! RCSI, Rebels and the Republic, with Meadhbh Murphy
Click the image above to find a list of direct links to these lectures.

Ancestry adds standard textbook The Scotch Irish

All 1,280 pages now available to browse on Ancestry
Ancestry has added Charles Augustus Hanna's massive two-volume book The Scotch-Irish, or, the Scot in North Britain, North Ireland and North America. Published in 1902, it includes more than 1,280 pages telling the history of the Scots who settled in the north of Ireland, and their descendants who migrated and settled in America.

This standard reference work presented on the database as a browse-only compilation of detailed records. It mentions many prominent Scots-Irish individuals in the revolutionary war and other parts of American history, as well as lengthy descriptions and analysis of the conditions in both Scotland and Ireland at the time of the Plantation of Ulster.

Volume I comprises 39 chapters over 652 pages, while Volume II is arranged over 632 pages divided into five chapters, 26 Appendices, a bibliography and an index.

Irish surnames: FindMyPast adds nine books

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=5947&awinaffid=123532&clickref=&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.findmypast.ie
FindMyPast Ireland has added a new collection called Ireland Surnames and Family Histories. It consists of nine books and holds more than 7,000 page images in pdf format, and can be searched by surname and other keywords.

The titles are:
  • Special Report on Surnames in Ireland – the first official work on surnames in Ireland. (1894)
  • Irish Names and Surnames, by Rev. Patrick Woulfe (1921)
  • County Kerry Past and Present - A Handbook to the Local and Family History of the County, by Jeremiah King. (1931)
  • Crofton Memoirs, by John Crofton. (1911)
  • O'Hart's Irish & Anglo-Irish Landed Gentry, by John O'Hart. contains more than 230 family pedigrees. (1884)
  • The Aylmers of Ireland, by Fenton Aylmer. One of the most comprehensive Irish family histories. (1931)
  • Selections from Old Kerry Records (1872) and Selections from Old Kerry Records, Second Series (1874), both by Mary Agnes Hickson.
  • A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, by Sir Bernard Burke (1863)
  • The Peerage of Ireland, or a Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom, by John Lodge and Mervyn Archdall. (1789)

Thursday 2 June 2016

RCB Library's archive of the month features register transcriptions for parishes of Killinane and Kilconicky

In-depth research by Gerry Kearney has been compiled
into an impressive archive of information about the two
parish unions and the families that lived in them.
Indexed transcriptions of the surviving registers and other church records for Galway's Church of Ireland parishes of Killinane and Kilconicky have been released as the Representative Church Body Library's Archive of the Month.

The transcriptions, together with colour images and information of local history interest about the parishes and the families that lived in them, have been brought together in a newly published work by local historian Gerry Kearney in The Church of Ireland Unions of Killinane and Kilconickny, Loughrea, County Galway – A History (2015). Biographical notes of the families of these small communities were compiled from the transcribed church records, gravestone inscriptions from Killinane and Bookeen graveyards, and other related research material.

The Archive presentation provides a lot of contextual information and is well worth a read before diving into the transcriptions.

Wednesday 1 June 2016

End of May updates from IGP-Archives

Sullivans of Castlelyons
Click for larger image

Below are the latest additions to the Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives:

CORK Genealogy Archives – Photos
Sullivan Family, Castlelyons

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Deansgrange, St. Mary's Section, Pt 11
Mt. Jerome Pt 129

LONGFORD Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Farnaught Cemetery
Old Clonbroney Graveyard (partial)

MAYO Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Killeen Cemetery
Old Bohola Cemetery

SLIGO Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Sligo Cemetery - Middle Pt, Section B (L-W)

TIPPERARY Genealogy Archives – Miscellaneous
Licence to sell Spirits - 1865

TYRONE Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Aghalurcher Cemetery

WESTMEATH Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Delvin Cemetery, Pt 3

WICKLOW Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St Peter's Old Cemetery, Bray