Heritage Week kicks off tomorrow with 1700 events taking place. The genealogy events list below is by no means exhaustive, merely a taster of talks and workshops advised to me directly or that I've picked up on along the way.
So if this list gets you tickled up, pop over to the Heritage Week website for more. Just use genealogy and family history as your keywords. Don't delay in making your bookings. I've found that many of the events are fully booked already.
Saturday 17 August: Dancing by the sea: the rise & and fall of the showband scene. A HistoryIreland Hedge School with Pascal Mooney, Marc Geagan, Gerry Gallagher and Charlie McGettigan. Venue: Heritage Festival, Kitchen Bake (old Methodist church, Bundoran, Co Donegal. 6:30pm.
Saturday 17 August: Genealogy Roadshow. Central Library, Oliver Plunkett Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Free.
Saturday 17 August: Genealogy Day at Skibbereen Heritage Centre. 2–5pm. Appointments with experienced genealogists. Booking essential, on +353 (0)28 40900.
Saturday 17 August: How to research your West Cork ancestry, with William Casey. Skibbereen Heritage Centre. 8:30pm. Free. Booking essential, on +353 (0)28 40900.
Saturday 17 August to Sunday 25 August: Family history open days at Genealogical Society of Ireland's Research Centre, Carlisle Pier, Dun Laoghaire. Tel: 087 248 6878.
Sunday 18 August: The Squad and the Intelligence Operations of Michael Collins, with Thomas Ryle Dwyer. The 3rd Collins Griffith Lecture. 2:30pm. Prospect Gallery, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, Co Dublin. Tickets cost €10. Booking recommended. Email or tel 353 (0)1 882 6550.
Sunday 18 August: Guided tour of Clare Heritage Centre, Church Street, Corofin, Co Clare. 2:00–3:00pm. Free. Booking essential. Tel: 353 (0)65 683 7955. Also on Wednesday 21 August and Friday 25 August.
Monday 19 August to Friday 23 August: Registry of Deeds guided tours. One hour long tours at 11am and 2:30pm each day. Henrietta Street, Dublin. Free. Booking essential. Email or tel@: 353 (0)1 871 6518.
Monday 19 August: Aspects of surnames in Irish placenames, with Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich, An Brainse Logainmneacha. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. No booking necessary.
Monday 19 August: Introduction to genealogy, with Susan Chadwick MAPGI. Venue: Clara Library Library, Ballycumber Road, Clara, Co Offaly. Free. 4:00–5:00pm. Details: 353 (0)57 933 1389.
Monday 19 August to Friday 23 August: One-to-one ancestry search. Cork County Library, Carrigrohane Road, Cork. 11:30–12:45 and 3:00–4:15. Tel: 353 (0)21 428 5640. Free. Booking essential.
Monday 19 August: Starting your family history search. Inchicore Library, 34 Emmet Road, Dublin 8. Time: 6:30–7:30pm. Free. Booking advised. Tel: 353 (0)1 453 3793.
Monday 19 August: Genealogy at the Guinness Archive, with Sarah Poutch. Free, includes pass to the Storehouse. St James Gate, Dublin 8. 1pm–2pm. Email.
Tuesday 20 August: Roman Catholic parish registers: a vital 19th century source, with Máire MacConghail, MAPGI. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. No booking necessary.
Tuesday 20 August: Famine emigration from Cork 1845-55, with Dr Marita Foster. Skibbereen Union Conference Room. 8:30pm. Free. Booking essential, on +353 (0)28 40900.
Tuesday 20 August: Ballyfin: The restoration of an Irish house and demesne. Part of the A Celebration of Architecture: the Big Houses of Laois series of lectures. Venue: Portlaoise Library. Time: 8pm. Cost: Free. Details: 00 353 (0)57 8622333.
Tuesday 20 August: Introduction to genealogy, with Susan Chadwick MAPGI. Venue: Tullamore Library, O'Connor Square, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Free. 18:30–19:30. Details: 353 (0)57 934 6832.
Tuesday 20 August: Social conditions in Dublin prior to the Lockout, with Catriona Crowe. 7:00pm. Free. The County Library, Tallaght, Co Dublin. All welcome.
Tuesday 20 August: Gunslingers, Tarantulas, Elvis & Walt – a global history of the Irish abroad, with Turtle Bunbury. Graiguenamanagh Library, Convent Road, Graiguenamanagh, Co Carlow. 7pm. Free.
Wednesday 21 August: Genealogy WDYTYA at Longford County Library, First floor. 2:00–5:00pm. Free. Tel: 353 (0)43 334 0731.
Wednesday 21 August: Genealogy Clinic, with Susan Chadwick MAPGI. 15-minute sessions to help you start your research. Booking essential. Tullamore Library, O'Connor Square, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Free. 10:00–1:00. Booking essential: 353 (0)57 934 6832.
Wednesday 21 August: The Transportation of Women from Kildare to Van Dieman’s Land in 1849, with Catherine Fleming. Venue: Leixlip Library, Leixlip, Co. Kildare. Booking required: Email or telephone +353 (0)1 606 0050. Free. 7pm.
Wednesday 21 August: Homes for Heroes - Irish Sailors and Soldiers Land Trust, with Margaret Bonar & Elizabeth Craven. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. No booking necessary.
Wednesday 21 August: Family history resources, with Bríd Higgins and Gráinne Melia. Host: Galway Familly History Society West. Venue: St Joseph's Community Centre, Ashe Road, Shantalla, Galway. Email.
Wednesday 21 August: Start your family history, with Clare Roots Society. Venue: De Valera Library, Harmony Row, Ennis, Co Clare. Free. 2:30–4:00pm. Free. Tel: 353 (0)65 684 6353.
Wednesday 21 August: Irish land and estate records, with Cynthia O'Connor. Venue: Anglers' Rest Hotel, Headford, Galway. 7:30–8:30. Free. Tel: 353 (0)91 842013.
Wednesday 21 August: Irish family history beginners' day, at Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Free advice from Eneclann and demonstrations of FindMyPast database. 11am–4pm. Lectures: 12noon: Finding the Irish Diaspora: Searching findmypast's World Collection, with Aoife O Connor; 1pm and 3pm: The A B C of researching Irish family history, with Fiona Fitzsimons; 2pm: Landlords & Tenants: Land and Estate records for Irish family history research, with Brian Donovan.
Wednesday 21 August: Sources for family history research, with Mary Jackson. Lucan Library, Superquinn shopping centre, Co Dublin. 7:00–8:00pm. Free. Booking.
Thursday 22 August: New genealogical resources from the National Archives, with Catriona Crowe, National Archives of Ireland. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. No booking necessary.
Thursday 22 August: Genealogy Workshop for beginners, with Sinead Holland. Portlaoise Library, Lyster Square. Free. 8pm–9pm. Tel@ 353 (0)57 862333.
Thursday 22 August: Starting your family history search, with Dr Máire Kennedy. Ballyfermot Library, Dublin 10. Booking advised by telephone 353 (0)1 626 9324.
Thursday 22 August: How to research your military history: Genealogy during the Jacobite and Williamite wars. Talk by staff from the Battle of the Boyne Centre. Venue: Tallaght Library, Dublin 24. Free. 7:00–8pm. Booking by tel 353 (0)1 462 0073.
Thursday 22 August: A presentation on genealogy, with Nora O'Meara. North Tipperary Genealogy Centre, The Governor's House, Kickham Street, Nenagh. 6:45–7:30. Free. Email.
Thursday 22 August: Diploma in Genealogy: Open Evening, with Dr David Butler of the Irish Ancestry Research Centre. Venue: Masonic Hall, Tuckey Street, Cork City. 8pm. All welcome.
Thursday 22 August: The fourteen merchant 'Tribes', with Peadar O’Dowd. National Monuments Service Lecture Series for The Gathering Druid Lane Theatre, Druid Lane, Galway. 7.30pm.
Friday 23 August: Dating Irish family photographs, with Orla Fitzpatrick, Historian & Blogger. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. No booking necessary.
Friday 23 August: Irish land and estate records, with Cynthia O'Connor. Venue: Loughrea Hotel & Spa, Loughrea, Galway. 7:00–8:30. Free. Tel: 353 (0)91 842013.
Friday 23 August: The American Humanitarian Response to the Great Famine in Ireland, with Dr Larry Geary. Skibbereen Union Conference Room. 8:30pm. Free. Booking essential, on +353 (0)28 40900.
Saturday 24 August: Looking at the Lockout, a HistoryIreland Hedge School, with Padraig Yeates, Eamon McCann, Brian Hanley and Ann Matthews. 1913 Centenary Weekend, Assembly Room, Rathdown County Hall, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. 2pm.
Saturday 24 August: Using newspapers to trace your family history. Central Library, Lady Lane, Waterford City. 3:00–4:00pm. Free. Tel: 353 (0)51 849975.
Saturday 24 August: To hell or to Kimmage: planning outcomes of the 1913 Church Street disaster, a HistoryIreland Hedge School. With John Gibney (chair) Ellen Rowley, Donal Fallon and Gary Granville. National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin. 2:30pm.