Saturday 30 December 2017

New Year savings: Up to 50% off Ancestry subscriptions

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-11745137?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Fcs%2Fnewyear2018
Ancestry.com is offering savings of up to 50% on two of its six-month subscription packages.

The US Discovery saving is 50%, while the World Explorer package (probably the most useful for those with ancestors on both sides of the Atlantic) attracts a 30% discount.

Both offers are available only to new/lapsed subscribers.

US Discovery package
– 50% Off – This subscription allows you to explore all US content and collections ie bmds, census, occupational records, and much more. The discounted six-month price is $49, down from $99.

World Explorer package
– 30% Off – This subscription includes access to all the collections in the US Discovery package, plus international records including those for Ireland, Canada, Britain and Australia and many other countries. With the discount the regular price for a six-month subscription ($149) is reduced to $99.

There is no discount available for the All Access subscription, which includes the World Explorer access plus Fold3 and Newspapers.com.

The offer runs until 11:59pm ET on Sunday 7 January 2018.

Tuesday 26 December 2017

FindMyPast ie & com.au: 10% off annual World subs

FindMyPast Ireland and Australia/NewZealand are offering a Christmas/New Year discount of 10% on all annual World subscriptions. The offer expires on Saturday 6 January 2018.

To take advantage of the offer, use the following links:

FindMyPast.ie:
10% saving on annual World package


FindMyPast.com.au:
10% saving on annual World package


Friday 22 December 2017

Festive closures at major Irish genealogy repositories and research facilities

See below for details of the closures arrangements of the major repositories and research facilities over the festive season.

BELFAST

PRONI
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland will close at 4:45pm on Friday 22 December and re-open at 10am on Thursday 28 December. It will also be closed on Monday 1 January 2018, re-opening at 10am on Tuesday 2 January.  (Note: the usual Thursday late nights will not resume until 11 January.)

NIFHS
Usually open on Tuesday afternoons, the North of Ireland Family History Society's Research Centre in Newtownabbey will be closed on 26 December and 2 January. Next opening will be 2pm–8pm on Tuesday 9 January.


DUBLIN

RCB Library
The Representative Church Body Library in Churchtown will close at 1pm on Friday 22 December and re–open to the usual schedule at 9:30am on Tuesday 2 January 2018.

National Library of Ireland
All NLI reading rooms (and the free Genealogy Advisory Service) will be closed from Saturday 23 December to Monday 1 January 2018 inclusive. NLI exhibitions will be open 10am to 4:45pm daily from Wednesday 27 December to Friday 29 December inclusive, and closed from Saturday 30 December to Monday 1 January 2018  inclusive. Normal hours resume at all NLI sites on Tuesday 2 January.

National Archives of Ireland
The Reading Room (and the free Genealogy Advisory Service) will be closed to the public from 12:30pm on Friday 22 December and re-open at 9:15am on Tuesday 2 January 2018.

Military Archives
The Reading Room at the Military Archives closed for the festive season on Tuesday 19 December. It will reopen for appointments on Thursday 4 January 2018.

Dublin City Library & Archive

The DCL&A will be closed from Saturday 23 December to Monday 1 January 2018, inclusive. It will re-open on Tuesday 2 January.


LONDON

The National Archives UK
The UK National Archives will be closed from Saturday 23 December to Wednesday 27 December inclusive, and open for regular hours on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 December. It will also be closed from Saturday 30 December to Monday 1 January inclusive, reopening at 9am on Tuesday 2 January.

Society of Genealogists
For its Christmas break, the Society will be closed from 6pm on Thursday 21 December until 9am on Wednesday 27 December. It will be open for regular hours 27-30 December. As the New Year break will be immediately followed by the SOG's annual stocktaking, the library will be closed from 6pm on Saturday 30 December until 10am on Tuesday 9 January 2018.

IGRS Library
Based at the Society of Genealogists (see above), the library of the Irish Genealogical Research Society is closed until 1:30pm on Saturday 13 January.

British Newspaper Archive adds Evening Telegraph

After a lull of some months, during which it's been concentrating on English, Scottish and Welsh papers, the British Newspaper Archive has added another Irish title – The Evening Telegraph – to its online database.

This paper, published in Dublin, was launched in 1871 as a weekly and had a strong Irish nationalist outlook. While it retained its political stance, it soon changed to a daily paper. It was a successful title, but ceased publication in 1924, after Independence.

The BNA plans to bring all editions from 1871 to 1924 to its online database. So far, it has digitised and uploaded editions published in 1871, when it was still a weekly, and 1876-1880 when it was a daily.

This historical newspaper will also join FindMyPast's Irish Newspaper Collection, which is available as part of some subscription packages.








FindMyPast Friday brings a mixed Xmas package

This weeks's 'FindMyPast Friday' has delivered nearly one million church records from Manchester, a major destination for Irish migrants both before and after The Famine, and still a region with a sizeable Irish population.

Two collections have been added. The first is the Greater Manchester Burials, 1570–1990 collection, which holds records of more than 50,000 death and burials. They come in the form of transcripts and, where available, images of the original registers.

The larger collection is the Greater Manchester Marriages 1570-1936 collection, which holds transcripts of more than 913,000 banns and marriage records.

UPDATE, 19 Jan 2018: FindMyPast uploaded Greater Manchester Baptisms, 1571–1910. Nearly 1.8million records are included in this record set, and they include both transcription and image.

In addition, FindMyPast's Billion Graves Cemetery Index has grown by a further 1.1million records. The largest chunk of the upload (941,000 entries) relates to headstones in the USA, but there are also significant uploads for Australia (84,000 new entries); England (65,000); Canada (41,000); Scotland (37,000); and New Zealand (12,000). The indexes for Ireland and Wales grew by more than 3,000 and 2,000 entries respectively.

Other updates to FindMyPast's database this week include 13,000 memorial inscriptions from the English county of Northamtonshire, some 65 new British history and reference guides, and images for 35 volumes of Allen County Lines, which is published quarterly by the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana.


Thursday 21 December 2017

Four Co. Cavan graveyards surveyed and photographed

Gallon graveyard, County Cavan
Graveyard surveys have been carried out at four Cavan sites thanks to a community heritage project funded by Cavan County Council & the Heritage Council. More than 1,100 headstone photographs have resulted and the images are now available to view at free HistoricGraves.com.

The four burial grounds are located at: St Mogue's Island (57 stones); Gallon, Killinkere (97 stones); Drumgoon Hill (735 stones); and Castlerahan, near Ballyjamesduff (219 stones, plus graveyard map).

Work to transcribe the headstone inscriptions is continuing. Some have already been transcribed and uploaded to the site where they are fully searchable. The remainder will be added in due course. 

Community liaison for this survey was by Architectural Recording & Research (www.arr.ie).

Clare's Local Studies Centre adds online material

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/genealog.htm
Clare County Library's Local Studies Centre
has an outstanding collection of material
free to view online
Brian Doyle of Clare County Library's Local Studies Centre has been busy transcribing two useful 'list' type items published in local papers They have been added to the Library's online  'Clare Genealogy & Family History' collection and can be freely viewed.


1844, Signatories to Colonel Wyndham

Dated 25 April 1844, a letter was published in the Clare Journal from the Ennis tenantry. It expresses gratitude to absentee landlord Colonel Charles Wyndham, later Lord Egremont, for providing lands outside the town for the purpose of growing crops.

The 150 signatories are sorted alphabetically by surname. First names are given and widows are noted.



1918, Quin Subscribers to Major Redmond Memorial Fund

On 2 February 1918, The Saturday Record published a list of subscribers from Quin parish who had contributed to a memorial fund for Major William Hoey Kearney Redmond who was killed in action in Belgium in WW1 in June 1917. The fund was set up in appreciation of his 25 years of service as MP for the East Clare Constituency.

The list holds 136 names, together with the place of residence of each individual and the amount subscribed. Some entries include additional information such as indications of familial relationships with Snr/Jnr descriptions, while unmarried women are specifically noted as Miss. Members of the RIC (with rank) or clergy are also identified.



Monday 18 December 2017

Christmas gifts for the genealogist in your family

If you're stuck for last minute gifts for your favourite Irish family historian, see below for a brief selection of ideas that just might reach you in time if you order straight away.


History, culture and research books

The Ulster Historical Foundation has some tremendous offers in its December sale. Here's a brief flavour:

  • There are great value history and research bundles, such as 'Irish in Australia Book Bundle' and 'Scots Irish Migration Pack'
  • Newly-published books such as The Origins of the Dairy Industry in Ulster, An Unlikely Success Story: The Belfast Shipbuilding Industry 1880-1935, and The Town Book of Coleraine
  • Bestsellers such as Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718–1775; Irish Covenanters: Politics and Society in the 19th century; and The Belfast Blitz: The City in the War Years.

Browse through the selection at the UHF's online store at BooksIreland.


Ancestry DNA testing kits

Holiday Sale discounts are available until Christmas Eve for Ancestry DNA testing kits for researchers resident in Ireland; for USA residents; for UK residents; and Canada residents.

These are autosomal DNA tests. The test maps ethnicity going back multiple generations and can also help identify relationships with unknown relatives through a dynamic list of DNA matches.

Please note, I'm highlighting Ancestry DNA here because it has the largest DNA network in the world (6 million people are in the database).

There are other companies offering DNA tests (Family Tree DNA, My Heritage, and Living DNA, are among the most popular with family historians). For details of seasonal savings with other companies, see the Special Offers page of Irish Genealogy Toolkit.


Irish Genealogy Guide: How to trace your ancestors in Ireland

Published by the owners of Family Tree Magazine in the USA, my 240-page paperback guide to Irish family history is aimed at both beginner and intermediate researchers, even if some very well-known professionals have also admitted to finding it both informative and useful.

Its principal target readership is Irish American, and it explores the records and techniques used to uncover the immigrant ancestor's place of origin in Ireland. It also sets out the main types of records available in Ireland and where to find them and provides historical and cultural information to frame the lives of our ancestors, whether or not they emigrated.

There are also handy reference sections with online and offline contacts, details of US and Irish societies and groups, a latin glossary to facilitate study of Roman Catholic records, and much more. See John Grenham's review here.

The Irish Genealogy Guide is widely available in bookshops and from online sellers, as well as the publisher. Each of the online bookshops below has stock as of this morning and purchases should arrive before Christmas:

In North America: Family Tree Magazine (publisher),  Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com

In Ireland: Dubray Books

In the UK: Waterstones and Amazon.co.uk.


Irish Roots Magazine

How about a subscription (hard copy or digital copy) to Ireland's only independent genealogy magazine?

Irish Roots magazine is published every three months in Co Wicklow. It has a good mix of family history features for researchers of Irish heritage around the world, as well as news of record releases and other developments around the Irish family history societies and major repositories.

It also has articles about culture, local history, and traditions to explain how our ancestors lived, and regular explorations of dna research, surnames and Irish placenames.

Find out more at IrishRootsMedia.com, and download a free sample of the December edition.

Blip at NAI's pre-1901 census fragments database

There's been a problem accessing the pre-1901 census fragments at the National Archives of Ireland's Genealogy database at census.nationalarchives.ie this morning.

The National Archives has been notified and are working on putting it right.

In the meantime, if you need to gain access, try the FindMyPast.ie version (it's free but you need a registered account), which is working fine.

UPDATE, 16:40: Problem sorted! Full access restored.

West Cork Graveyards Database adds burial registers

Abbeystowry graveyard is one of the sites included
in the free database.
Managed by staff and volunteers at Skibbereen Heritage Centre, the West Cork Graveyards database has added newly digitised burial registers for the graveyards at Brade, Schull and Allihies. This is the first time these records have been made available online.

Another new addition is the Skibbereen Funeral Register, which has more than 2,000 transcribed entries.

This latest update of the database means there are now 17 burial registers online. They are for Abbeymahon, Abbeystrowry, Allihies, Ardagh, Ballymoney, Ballynacallagh (Dursey), Brade, Castlehaven, Durrus, Fanlobbus, Kilcaskan, Kilbarry, Kilmacabea, Milltown (Rathbarry), Schull, Tullagh and Whiddy Island.

The line-up of surveyed burial grounds is unchanged. The database holds the results for Abbeymahon, Aughadown Upper and Lower, Caheragh, Chapel Lane, Creagh '1810' and Old, Drimoleague, Drinagh, and three graveyards at Kilcoe: C19th RC, Old, and Church of Ireland.

The West Cork Graveyards database is free to access.

Sunday 17 December 2017

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: December update

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP-web) has added the files below to its free online database. This will probably be the final upload of 2017.

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/cavan/photos/tombstones/tullyhaw/target8.html
Phillips/Donohoe family headstone in
St. Patrick's Graveyard, Corran, Co Cavan.
Photo courtesy David Hall and IGPArchives.
CAVAN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Bellasis Presbyterian Church Graveyard, Drumgora
St. Bartholomew's (CoI) Graveyard, Billis Parish
St. Patrick's Church Graveyard, Corran
St. Brides Church Graveyard (CoI), Mount Nugent

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Mt Jerome, Dublin - Part 182-183

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives
Church Records
Galloon Register, Baptisms 1860-1873 (PDF)
Galoon Register, Baptism Index 1860-1873
Headstones
Lisbellaw Parish Church (CoI) Graveyard

LEITRIM Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Farnaught Cemetery (Corrected)

MAYO Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Toomore Cemetery

SLIGO Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Sligo Cemetery, New Pt, Section A3 (Surnames H-L)

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives – Newspapers
Workhouse Entries - Assorted

WATERFORD Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Johns Hill Cemetery, Waterford City (Completed)

Wednesday 13 December 2017

20% off Ancestry DNA tests in Ireland & UK for Xmas

The Christmas Sale has started at Ancestry with DNA testing kits attracting a 20% discount from Ancestry UK and Ancestry IE. Shipping is extra.

In both cases, the offer will end at 11.59pm GMT on Christmas Eve, Sunday 23 December.

To take advantage of the Christmas Sale discount, just follow the flags below, as appropriate for place of residency:


http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5737308-10819001?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.co.uk%2Fireland
Ancestry IE: DNA tests €76. Regular price €95.

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-13174986

Ancestry UK: DNA tests £63. Regular price £71.

Monday 11 December 2017

Free access to FMP's British & Irish Roots collection

https://search.findmypast.ie/search-world-Records/british-and-irish-roots-collection
FindMyPast has created a new British and Irish Roots collection which allows researchers to search a wide variety of records spanning more than 400 years of migration between the British Isles and North America, all in one place.

It holds some 98 million records.

Please note that this is not a brand-new resource. Instead, it is a specifically packaged collection that draws from a wide range of FindMyPast's existing records and gathers together those that list origin or place of birth in Ireland or Britain.

Millions of passenger lists, census records, naturalization applications and draft registrations, as well as birth, marriage, and death records spanning more than 400 years (1573 to 1990) of migration between the geographical British Isles and North America can now be explored in one unified search, enabling North American family historians to trace the migration of ancestors from the Old World to the New through one simple search.

Assuming the record survives, reasearchers should be able to find records of
  • Anyone leaving the UK or Ireland and emigrating to the US, Canada or the Caribbean
  • Anyone emigrating from Canada or the Caribbean to the US (this covers the large number of British and Irish immigrants who stopped temporarily in Canada and/or the Caribbean)
  • Anyone listed on any US or Canadian record with British or Irish origins, birthplace or parents
For example, if a US Military record mentions that a soldier was born in Wales, or if a US census return states that a household member was born in Athlone, Ireland, those records will be searchable through British and Irish Roots.

To launch the new resource, FindMyPast is opening up the British & Irish Roots collection with free access. This period of free access has not been defined, so free access may be removed at any time.


Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2018 Belfast programme

With the publication of the Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2018 Belfast programme, it seems the countdown to Back To Our Past Belfast (Friday and Saturday 16–17 February 2018) has begun.

The Titanic Centre is to be the venue for the first Back To Our Past and the first Genetic Genealogy Ireland (GGI) conference outside Dublin. While we may have to wait to discover details of any traditional genealogy and local history lectures being held as part of the Back To Our Past exhibition and fair, GGI2018 Belfast is already organised. As always, the presentations will be delivered by well-known and highly-respected genetic genealogists, and the topics cover the full gambit from absolute beginner level to the academic and expert level.

You'll find the full lecture programme and speaker bios on the GGI website.

Irish News Archives: New editions and a 25% discount

https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/subscribe
The Dublin-based Irish Newspaper Archives has added some new, mostly relatively recent, content to its online holding for three of its newspaper titles (see below).

To mark this upload there's a 25% discount on offer for researchers taking out either a monthly or annual subscription to the full database.

With the discount, the cost of the Monthly sub (regular price £$€29.00)  is reduced to £$€21.75.
With the discount, the cost of the Yearly sub (regular price £$€149) is reduced to £$€111.75.

To take advantage of the discount, see the website's subscription page and use the coupon code New002. The saving will be applied at the checkout. This discount will expire on 17 December.

Now, about the new uploads... Editions from the dates shown have been added to the database for each of the following newspapers:

Belfast Newsletter : 1939–1949
The Drogheda Independent : 1884–1891 and 1905
The Dundalk Democrat : 2000–2001

Unique study delivers first genetic map of the people of Ireland

A unique research project, led by the Genealogical Society of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), has created the first genetic map of the people of Ireland. The findings have been published in a paper – The Irish DNA Atlas; Revealing Fine-Scale Population Structure and History within Ireland – in the journal Scientific Reports.

Click to visit RSCI for larger image and more details
The landmark study provides the first fine-scale genetic map of the island of Ireland, revealing patterns of genetic similarity, so far in ten distinct clusters, roughly aligned with the ancient Provinces as well as with major historical events including the invasions of the Norse Vikings and the Ulster Plantations.

Population geneticists and genealogists collected DNA samples from 196 Irish people, each of whom had four generations of ancestry originating from a common geographical area of the island ie all four grandparents were born within around 30km of one another.

Analyses of the DNA, and comparison with thousands of further samples from Britain and Europe, have revealed geographic clusters within Ireland: so far seven of ‘Gaelic’ Irish ancestry, and three of shared British-Irish ancestry.

These findings add to the knowledge base required to improve the diagnosis of diseases where genes play a strong role, particularly for populations of Irish ancestry.

For more information, see the RCSI's press release, or go straight to the paper published in Scientific Report.

Irish genealogy and history events, 11-31 December

Monday 11 to Friday 15 December: Preservation Week at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Belfast. Document ordering and production is suspended throughout the week to facilitate essential preservation work. Researchers will still have access to church records and search services via the Search Room.

Monday 11 December: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, incl. Genealogy Advisory Service, operating as normal. Details.

Tuesday 12 December: The Skull's Tale, with René Gapert. Host: More Tales of Medieval Dublin lecture series. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. 1:05–1:55pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 12 December: Research Centre of the North of Ireland Family History Society closed. Normal Tuesday afternoon openings (2–8pm) will resume on 9 January 2018. Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. Details.

Thursday 14 December: Public tour of WWIreland Exhibition, Exploring the Irish Experience at home and abroad. Host and Venue: National Library of Ireland, 2/3 Kildare Street (next door to main building), Dublin 2. Free. 2pm. No booking required.

Thursday 14 December: Follow your family through their chain migration, with Kevin Cassidy. Host: Greater Omaha Genealogical Society – Irish Interest Group. Venue: LDS Omaha Stake Center, 14680 California Street, Omaha, Nebraska, USA, in the classrooms located on the west end of the building. 7pm. Free, but advance registration required by email to Rita Henry (rhenry416@cox.net).

Thursday 14 December: The Goodbodys and Perrys of Obelisk Park, Stillorgan, with Rob Goodbody. Host: Kilmacud Stillorgan Local History Society. Venue: Glenalbyn Sports Club, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Admission €3 for non-members. All welcome.

Monday 18 December: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal. Details.

Monday 18 December: Genealogy and family history advice service, with Margaret Bonar and Betty Craven. Host: Donaghmede Library, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Grange Road, Dublin 13 or Raheny Library, if preferred. All welcome but you need to book by phone: 087 6491605. Free.

Tuesday 19 December: Michael Doheny of Fethard, Tipperary's first Fenian, with Dr Willie Nolan. Host: Tipperary People & Places Lecture Series. Venue: Tipperary Studies, The Source, Cathedral Street, Thurles, Co Tipperary. 7:30pm. Admission free. Tea served. All welcome. More details studies@tipperarycoco.ie.

Tuesday 19 December: Research Centre of the North of Ireland Family History Society closed. Normal Tuesday afternoon openings (2–8pm) will resume on 9 January 2018. Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. Details.

Tuesday 19 December: It’s the way we say it! with Kathleen Morrison, and Christmas Party. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. Venue: C S Lewis Room, Holywood Arches Library, 4-12 Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NT. From 7:30pm. For details, email belfast@nifhs.org.

This page will be updated with any additional events I hear of, and with a link to a blogpost (yet to be published) summarising Christmas closures at the major repositories.

Thursday 7 December 2017

RCB Library: Half-days and closures in December

The Representative Church Body Library has advised that it will close at 1pm on the next two Fridays: 8 December and 15 December.

It will also close at 1pm the following Friday, 22 December, marking the start of the Library's festive break, and will remain closed until Tuesday 2 January 2018, when the doors will open at the normal time of 9:30am.

Winter issue of Irish Roots magazine published

The Winter edition of Irish Roots magazine has been published. In addition to its strong news coverage, which includes the latest happenings from Ireland's family history societies and a What's New? Review from yours truly setting out all recent record releases, this edition has a strikingly strong mix of features. Whether you're a beginner, or a more experienced researcher, I'm sure you'd find plenty to learn and enjoy.

For details of all the feature stories and other sections of the magazine, including those aimed at US and Australian researchers, you should visit the Irish Roots website  (there's a free sample ready to download!), but below is a brief taster of a few of the articles.

http://www.irishrootsmedia.com/shop-product//Issue-104--Winter-2017/174From Laois to Kerry tells the story of the seven septs of Laois – the Moores, Kellys, Dowlings, Lawlors, Dorans, Deevys or Dees and McEvoys – who were forced to leave their lands in Laois and to relocate en masse to County Kerry in the 16th century. Substantial numbers of their descendants still reside in or around the North Kerry parishes to which their distant ancesters were transplanted.

This issue's county research feature looks at tracing your ancestors in Cavan, and explains the different groups of records most family historians with Cavan connections will encounter in their search.

In a real-life case study combining traditional genealogy research methods with DNA testing, a family mystery is finally unravelled to explain the disappearance of the researcher's great grandfather's brother.

An indepth explanation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sets out the genealogical value of this test, which, though limited, can be a useful tool in certain circumstances. This type of DNA is passed from a mother to her children. Their daughters pass it on to their offspring, but their sons do not, so mtDNA tests follow the maternal line only.

A perfectly seasonal feature, Christmas in the Irish Cottage focuses on the mid-19th century to mid-20th century and looks at decorations and preparations for the festive holidays, and then explores the traditions associated with the principal days: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, St Stephens, New Year and Little Christmas.

Irish Roots is available in both print and digital format, and copies can purchased on subscription or as on-off buys. With Christmas in mind, be sure to check out the publisher's Gift Pack and Gift Subscription options.

Shane Wilson adds more useful tools and content

Telephone Subscribers of Ireland 1900-1901
Genealogist Shane Wilson, whose website swilson.info contains a cornacopia of research tools and widgets, maps and location aids, and many searchable databases (including the widely used Townlands and Directories databases, has added some more useful tools and data in the last few weeks.

He's updated his Census Image Browse tool, which allows you to move through the 1901 and 1911 census returns as if using microfilm, and in the process find the returns of incorrectly identified townlands. He's also created a new BMD Browse Tool to allow you to move easily through GRO register books when searching for civil registrations via IrishGenealogy.ie. (The links I've given you here link to Shane's respective blogposts and a clear explanation of how to use each tool properly.)

Another recent addition is a scanned booklet of Telephone Subscribers of Ireland 1900-1901. It covers Dublin City and several towns in Leinster (Drogheda, Dundalk, Naas, Mullingar, Wicklow, New Ross, Wexford, Enniscorthy, Kilkenny); plus Belfast, Newry, Strabane and Londonderry in Ulster; and Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Galway, Clonmel, Waterford, Sligo and Clonmel in the south and west of the island.

Everything on Shane's site is free to use, access and view. If it isn't there already, be sure to include it in your Bookmarks or Favourites folder.



Wednesday 6 December 2017

Chris Paton reports from PRONI Stakeholder meeting

PRONI, Belfast
Genealogist Chris Paton attended the quarterly stakeholder meeting at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast last Friday.

You can read his report on his GENES blog. It includes details of current Cataloguing, an update on PRONI's recent digitisation of church records project, plans to commemorate the People's Representation Act 1918 and to update PRONI's Acquisitions Policy, and the development of a new strategic vision document.

Irish Historic Towns Atlas: new Dublin suburbs series

The Royal Irish Academy, publisher of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas (IHTA), has announced that it is producing a Dublin suburbs series of atlases in collaboration with Dublin City Council. The first five suburbs to be completed in this scheme will be Clontarf by Colm Lennon, Rathmines by Seamus Ó Maitiú, Drumcondra by Ruth McManus, Inchicore/Kilmainham by Frank Cullen and Ringsend/Sandymount by Jacinta Prunty.

https://www.ria.ie/news/publications-membership-irish-historic-towns-atlas/new-atlas-publication-clontarf-colm-lennon
The first of the new series, Clontarf, by Colm
Lennon, will be published this month.
This series will be published in a new format but will complement the atlas series, enabling them to be compared to other towns atlases already published.

In the 152-page Clontarf atlas, which will be launched this evening, there are numerous historic and modern maps, illustrations and photographs as well as an accompanying essay and individual histories of topographic sites in Clontarf from earliest times up to c1970.

Clontarf has, of course, long been associated with the famous battle between the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru and the King of Leinster, Máel Móra mac Murchada in 1014. It had a considerable history before that battle due to its proximity to Dublin City, and in more recent centuries, developed into a prosperous suburb with grand villas and wide streets.

You can find out more about the Clontarf atlas, view a video from the author, and order a copy of the book (€30 / £28 / $40) at www.ria.ie. The publication will also be on sale in local bookshops.

ISBN: 978-1-908997-72-2

Ancestry delivers package of 16 Canadian collections

Christmas has arrived early for family historians in Canada as Ancestry uploads a bumper package of 16 Canadian collections holding more than two million records.

They join more than 25 record sets added to the CA database in January.

Here's the list of new collections. Click the links to visit the landing page and find out the details of each collection:

Alberta
Alberta, Canada, Births Index, 1870-1896    (6,667 records)
Alberta, Canada, Marriages Index,1898-1942  (384,033 records)
Alberta, Canada, Deaths Index, 1870-1966   (567,480 records)

New Brunswick
New Brunswick, Canada, Births and Late Registrations, 1810-1906   (475,211 records)
New Brunswick, Canada, Marriages, 1789-1950  (1,335,265 records)
New Brunswick, Canada, Deaths, 1888-1938 (377,372 records}

Newfoundland
Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1757-1901    (539,158 records)
Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1850-1949   (667,480 records)
Newfoundland, Church Records, 1793-1899 (232,261 records)
Newfoundland, Canada, Census, 1921    (218,865 records)
Newfoundland, Canada, Census, 1935 (296,231 records)
Newfoundland, Canada, Census, 1945   (328,362 records)

Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia, Canada, Antigonish Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1823-1905  (273,570 records)

Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island, Canada, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1780-1983 ( 320,239 records)
Prince Edward Island, Canada, Marriage Registers, 1832-1888   (40,524 records)
Prince Edward Island, Canada, Death Card Index, 1810-1913 (16,686 records)

Online petition calls for early release of 1926 Census

The Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO), has launched an online petition calling on the Government of Ireland to honour the commitment given in the 2011 Programme for Government to release the 1926 Census of Ireland.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16dUup8vmREcRa5bLWn_UpLS9fNqcidEf/view?usp=sharing
Sample of 1926 Census: click to view larger image
The date has two historical associations for Ireland. It was on 6 December 1921 that the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed and exactly one year later the Irish Free State was established.

Ireland has a sad history with regard to the preservation of census returns. After a series of administrative blunders and the subsequent fire in the Public Records Office during the Civil War in 1922, only fragments of the 19th-century census returns now survive.

The period between 1911 and 1926 was one of great change in Ireland: the Great War, Easter Rising, War of Independence, Partition and then the Civil War. All this upheaval led to significant internal migration and overseas emigration.

There is clear precedent for early release of Irish census returns; both the 1901 and 1911 census returns were released in 1961 – only 50 years after the 1911 returns had been compiled. In addition, in 2015 the UK National Archives successfully released the 1939 National Register for England and Wales after only 77 years had elapsed, but safeguarding the personal data of those still living by redaction.

The 1926 census returns are currently stored in the National Archives in Dublin, but will require cataloguing and conservation work before they can be digitised in preparation for making them available online. Given that this work will take time, CIGO is calling on the Government to commit to releasing the 1926 census in 2022, as part of the celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the State. This could be done by supporting the recently published Seanad ‘1926 Census’ private members bill, with any lingering questions about confidentiality being easily addressed by redaction.

Speaking at the launch of the petition, CIGO Chairman Colm Cochrane said: “We hope with the launch of an online petition calling for the release of the 1926 Census that genealogists and historians will rally to the call; that they will not only support it, but share it, too, on social media, and lobby politicians.”

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD, is the Minister with responsibility for the Central Statistics Office, which oversees the census. He can be contacted on leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie

Josepha Madigan, TD, is the newly-appointed Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, with responsibility for the National Archives. She can be contacted on josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie

Monday 4 December 2017

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest update

No matter the cold snap in Ireland, Thanksgiving, Black Friday or any of the other usual and seasonal distractions, the volunteers of Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives just keep slogging away transcribing records and photographing headstones and uploading them for the benefit of other family historians. Below are the files added in the last two weeks of November:

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/roscommon/photos/tombstones/bumlin/target14.html
Healy family history stone in Bumlin Cemetery,
Strokestown, Co Roscommon.
Photo courtesy Dave Hall and IGPArchives.
CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Ballyjamesduff CoI Graveyard

DONEGAL Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Raymoghy CoI Graveyard, Manorcunningham;
Stranorlar CoI Graveyard, Pt 1 (Updated)

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Deansgrange Cemetery, St Anne's, Pt 8;
Golden Bridge Cemetery, Part 3 (H-L)

MONAGHAN/FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives Church Records
Clones Registers, Marriages 1826-1829

ROSCOMMON GenealogyArchives- Headstones
Bumlin Cemetery, Strokestown

SLIGO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Sligo Cemetery - New Part, Section A (Surnames D-G)

WATERFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Johns Hill, Waterford City (Pts 2 & 3)

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives - Newspapers
Workhouse Entries for 17 Apr 1861, 31 Dec 1862 & 9 Apr 1862

Irish genealogy and history events, 4-17 December

Monday 4 December to Friday 8 December: National Archives of Ireland's Reading Room closed to the public during the annual Media Preview week which allows journalists and broadcasters to preview government archives due for release in early 2018. Details. Reading Room will reopen on Monday 11 December.

Monday 4 December: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are facilitating extensive redevelopment of the premises. Other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal. Details.

Monday 4 December: The Meltin' Pot Dive – a personal story of the discovery of the B17 Flying Fortress in the Foyle, with Danny Keenan. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle branch. Venue: Lecture Room of Derry City’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Londonderry, BT48 6AL. All welcome. Free. 7pm.

Monday 4 December: Christmas Night – Historical superstitions, with Hugh Burns. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. Venue: Larne Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club, 112-120 Glenarm Road, Larne, Co Antrim BT40 1DZ. All welcome. 7:30pm. Free.

Monday 4 December: Wrecks on the Northern Coast – a history and personal story of diving on these wrecks, with Danny Keenan. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. Venue: Lecture Room of Derry City’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Londonderry, BT48 6AL. 7pm. All welcome. Free.

Tuesday 5 December: A bridge across time? The historian and oral history in Ireland, with Dr Maura Cronin. Host: Oral History Network Ireland. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 7pm. Free, but booking required. Details.

Wednesday 6 December: How to draw a family tree without using up four rolls of wallpaper, with Tony Hennessy MAGI. Host and venue: Medieval Museum in Waterford's Viking Triangle, The Mall, Waterford City. All welcome. 1:15pm to 2pm. €5 admission on the door. No booking required.

Wednesday 6 December: Using Early-Modern records - a workshop. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 10:30am to 1pm.  Free. Need to register.

Wednesday 6 December: Fr Michael Crotty and the Birr Schism, with Brian Kennedy. Host: Birr Historical Society. Venue: County Arms Hotel, Birr, Co Offaly. 8pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 6 December: Unlocking PRONI's prison records, with Graham Jackson. Host: PRONI. Venue: Linen Hall Library, 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast BT1 5GB. Free. 1pm. All welcome. Booking recommended. Details.

Thursday 7 December: Flights of Fancy, Offaly follies and their demesnes, with Rachel McKenna. Lecture and book launch. Host and venue: Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Details. 8pm–10pm. All welcome. Members €2 non members €5.

Saturday 9 December: The Life and times of the Archdales, with Peter Archdale. Host: NIFHS Tyrone Branch. Venue: Seminar Room, First Floor, Omagh Library, Dublin Road, Omagh, BT78 1HL. 10am to noon. All welcome.

Sunday 10 December: How to get ready to search Irish records, with Kevin Cassidy. Host: Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society. Venue: Walt Branch Library, 6701 S 14th St, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, 2pm–4pm. All welcome.

Monday 11 to Friday 15 December: Preservation Week at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast. Document ordering and production will be suspended throughout this week to facilitate essential preservation work. Researchers will still have access to church records and search services via the Search Room.

Monday 11 December: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal. Details.

Tuesday 12 December: The Skull's Tale, with René Gapert. Host: More Tales of Medieval Dublin lecture series. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. 1:05–1:55pm. Free. All welcome.

Thursday 14 December: Public tour of WWIreland Exhibition, Exploring the Irish Experience at home and abroad. Host and Venue: National Library of Ireland, 2/3 Kildare Street (next door to main building), Dublin 2. Free. 2pm. No booking required.

Thursday 14 December: Follow your family through their chain migration, with Kevin Cassidy. Host: Greater Omaha Genealogical Society – Irish Interest Group. Venue: LDS Omaha Stake Center, 14680 California Street, Omaha, Nebraska, USA, in the classrooms located on the west end of the building. 7pm. Free, but advance registration required by email to Rita Henry (rhenry416@cox.net).

Thursday 14 December: The Goodbodys and Perrys of Obelisk Park, Stillorgan, with Rob Goodbody. Host: Kilmacud Stillorgan Local History Society. Venue: Glenalbyn Sports Club, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Admission €3 for non-members. All welcome.


Friday 1 December 2017

December discounts and deals from Ancestry DNA

No sooner are the Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers done and dusted than along come the December deals, with all eyes firmly set on Christmas gifts and 'essentials'.

Ancestry DNA has laid out its December deals with discounts available for residents of North America, the UK and Ireland. (I have no idea if there is an offer for family historians in Australia and New Zealand because I can't circumvent Ancestry's irritating geo-locator to reach the antipodean site.)

The discounts on offer vary according to location, as below. Click the relevant flag:

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ireland http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-5737308-10819001?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.co.uk%2Fireland
Ancestry DNA testing kits are discounted from €95 to €85 for residents of Ireland. Price excludes shipping costs. Offer ends 11:59pm GMT on 16 December.


http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-13164178Ancestry DNA testing kits are discounted for UK residents from £79 to £71. Price excludes shipping costs. Offer ends 11:59 GMT on 16 December.


http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-5737308-13162513Canadian residents can order Ancestry DNA kits for the discount price of CAD$99, excluding shipping costs. Offer will expire on 24 December at 9pm ET.


http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5737308-13158684
For USA residents, Ancestry DNA kits are reduced from $99 to $69, excluding taxes & shipping. The offer will expire on 14 December.

Smithfield's Street Stories Festival, 1-3 December

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pw_K8Y0tNC7y3qpb3fGHCPcyFWpDxPwY/view?usp=sharing
Click for larger image
The Street Stories Festival 2017, organised by the Stoneybatter & Smithfield People's History Project, gets underway this evening at 7:30pm at the Capuchin Day Centre, Bow Street, Dublin 7. Liz Gillis will give a talk on Kathleen Clarke: Guardian of the Flame. She will also launch the Project's latest publication: The The Women of 1916: They Didn't Go Away, and a map of revolutionary Stoneybatter and Smithfield. Details.

Four talks will be presented tomorrow afternoon (Noon–5pm) at The Cobblestone bar on Smithfield Square (click image for topic titles, speakers and times), and the evening fundraising event – Dublin in the Rare Auld Rhymes – features a great line-up of musicians, singers and story-tellers. Details.

On Sunday, at the civilised hour of 2pm, there's a walking tour of Revolutionary Smithfield and Stoneybatter with Alan MacSimon and Terry Crosbie; meet at 2pm outside the Cobblestone bar.