Monday 18 May 2015

Irish family history and heritage events, 18–30 May

Monday 18 May: Family history and genealogy sessions. Find out how to trace your family tree, with Margaret Bonar and Betty Craven. Venue: Raheny Library, Howth Road, Dublin 5. Free advice sessions. From 10:15am to Noon. Book your slot by telephone: 085 1444883 or contact the library by email: rahenylibrary@dublincity.ie.

Tuesday 19 May: Gallipoli – 100 years, with Comdt Tony Roe. Host: Foxrock Local History Club. Venue: Foxrock Pastoral Centre, J Kill Lane and Bray Road, Foxrock, Dublin. Members free. Non-members €5. All welcome. 8pm.

Wednesday 20 May: The Border Reivers, with Kevin Johnston. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Armagh Branch. Venue: Portadown Town Hall, 15-17 Edward Street, Portadown BT62 3LX. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 20 May: Argyll to Antrim, with Cormac McSparron. First of the Ulster Scots Connections; People, Place and Practice series. Hosts: PRONI, MAG-Ulster Scots Academy, Ulster Scots Community Network and Ulster Scots Agency. Venue: Discover Ulster Scots Centre, The Corn Exchange, 31 Gordon Street, Belfast BT1 2LG. 1pm. Free.

Wednesday 20 May: The Ulster Plantation, with Dr William Roulston. First in the 'Milestones in Irish History: Aspects of our Shared Inheritance' programme. Venue: Doagh Primary School, 20 Main Street, Doagh, Co. Antrim, BT39 0QL. 7:30pm. Admission £2, includes refreshments.

Wednesday 20 May: Genealogy Workshop: ​Trace your family history using Ancestry.com and the library's online resources, with Natassia Reilly. Host and Venue: Dungiven Library, 107 Main Street, Dungiven, Co LondonDerry, BT47 4LE. 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Places are limited so booking is essential. Tel: 028 777 41475 or email Dungiven.library@librariesni.org.uk

Thursday 21 May: Lady Augusta Dillon and the Women's War Effort in Galway, Emma Lyons discusses the war effort of women at home. Third of the 'WWI Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience' lunchtime lecture series. Host and Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All welcome. 1:05pm. Booking not required.

Thursday 21 May: Ballintoy's hidden history project, with Robert Corbett. Third of the Antrim Coast in the Age of Industry, 1750 to 1890, lunchtime lecture series. Host and Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Starts at 1pm. Free but need to book at proni@dcalni.gov.uk or (+44) 028 90 534800.

Thursday 21 May: RMS Lusitania, the Arklow Lightship, and RMS Leinster – legitimate targets or World War One war crimes?, with Jim Scannell. Host: Bray Cualann Historical Society. Venue: Bray Chamber of Commerce House, 10 Prince of Wales Terrace, Quinsboro Rd, Bray, Co Wicklow. 8pm. Admission €4. All Welcome

Thursday 21 May: Doctoring in the Dark: William Wilde and Medicine in the 19th century, with Dr Brian Cleary. Host: Old Tuam Society. Venue: Tuam Library, High Street, Tuam, Co Galway. 8pm. Free.

Thursday 21 May: Tracing your Irish ancestors online, with John Grenham. Host: Clondalkin Library family history group. Venue: Clondalkin Library, Monastery Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. 6:30pm. All welcome. No booking.

Friday 22 May: The history of Midleton Workhouse, with Sean Horgan. Host: Carrigtwohill & District Historical Society. Venue: MyPlace Youth Centre (the old fire station), Midleton, Co Cork. 7:30pm. Visit to hospital and paupers' graveyard follows, subject to weather and time. €5 at the door.

Saturday 23 May: IGRS Open Day. Host: Irish Genealogical Research Society. Venue: Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Three lectures (free, no need to book, all welcome). The lectures will be followed by Research Help sessions – free one-to-one consultations, which need to be booked. See IrishAncestors.ie for details.

Saturday 23 May: Keeping our history alive, an afternoon of lectures. Hosts: Dublin Dock Workers Preservation Society and Irish Labour History Society. Lectures: The formation of the Irish Citizen Army, with Padraig Yeates; Dr. Kathleen Lynn 1912–1920, Philanthropist, politician and leader of women, with Ann Matthews; and The 1915 Steampacket Strike and its place in James Connolly’s overall strategy, with D R O’ Connor Lysaght. Venue: Chq Building, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1. 3pm–5pm. Free.

Monday 25 May: The Last Voyage of the RMS Lusitania, with James Scannell. Host: Clondalkin History Society. Venue: Arás Chronáin Irish Cultural Centre, Watery Lane, Clondalkin, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 26 May: William Bald and the making of the Antrim Coast Road, 1832 to 1840, with Desmond McCabe. Part of the Antrim Coast in the Age of Industry, 1750 to 1890, lunchtime lecture series. Host and Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Starts at 1pm. Free but need to book at proni@dcalni.gov.uk or (+44) 028 90 534800.

Tuesday 26 May: Women in the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection – A reassessment and new sources, with Cecile Gordon. First of the Military Archives MSPC Lunchtime Lecture Series. Host and Venue: Rathmines Library, 157 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6. 1pm–2pm. Admission free. Booking essential at the library or online.

Wednesday 27 May: Open Genealogy Consultation, with Lisa Dougherty. Host and Venue: Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany, New York 12207, USA. 11am to 2pm EDT.

Wednesday 27 May: Edward Bruce in Ulster, 1315, with William Roulston. Part of the Ulster Scots Connections; People, Place and Practice series. Hosts: PRONI, MAG-Ulster Scots Academy, Ulster Scots Community Network and Ulster Scots Agency. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free.

Wednesday 27 May: Researching Ancestors in the Army in India – Free Workshop, with Valmay Young. Host: Families of British India Venue: British Library (St Pancras), 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK. Booking required; email hrs-training@bl.uk. 2pm.

Thursday 28 May: Rolling heads: Medieval battle injuries in Ireland, with Kathryn Power. Host: Ballygarvan & District Local History Society. Venue: Park Hotel by Radisson, Cork Airport, Cork. 8pm. €5 for non-members.

Wednesday 28 May: Mary Martin: Legacy from Loss, with Isabelle Smyth. Last of the 'WWI Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience' lunchtime lecture series. Host and Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All welcome. 1:05pm. Booking not required

Thursday 28 May: Genealogy and its uses, with Lorna Moloney. Host: Ballygarvan and District Local History Society. Venue: Cork Airport Hotel, Cork. Free to members. Non-members €5 on the door. 8pm. Admission to lectures are free to members. €5 on the night for non-members.

Thursday 28 May:
Letters of 1916, Belfast launch. Bring in your family letters written 1 November 1915 to 31 October 1916 to digitize and add to the Letters 1916 archive. From 5:30pm to 6:30pm: Open Session: Demonstrations, Meet the Team, Transcribe and Digitise. From 6.30pm to 7:45pm - A year in the life: a series of talks exploring life in Ireland a century ago, highlighting letters from PRONI’S collection, with Professor Susan Schreibman, Stephen Scarth, Ian Montgomery and Jason Burke. 7:45pm to 8:30pm: Reception. Hosts and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. All welcome. Free, but booking required by email to proni@dcalni.gov.uk or telephone to 028 90534800.