Thursday 29 October 2015

Pathos of Distance: exhibition and lectures at National Gallery in December

The National Gallery of Ireland will be launching a new exhibition – Pathos of Distance – in December which examines through images the history of Irish migration and the Diaspora. A series of lectures covering themes and concepts relating to the exhibition and its subject matter will also be presented, as follows:

Tuesday 1 December:
Introducing Visualising the Irish Diaspora and the ‘Pathos of Distance’, with Donal Maguire (curator of the exhibition). 10:30am.

Friday 4 December: The history of Irish migration, with Professor Mary Daly. 11am.

Sunday 6 December: The Irish diaspora and memory of the Famine, with Dr Emily Mark Fitzgerald. 3pm.

Tuesday 8 December: Pathos of Distance – Dr Sarah Pierce (the artwork creator) discusses her work. 10:30am.

Friday 11 December Picturing 19th-century migration, with Dr Katy Milligan. 11am.

Sunday 13 December: Art and migration, with Professor Fintan Cullen. 3pm.

Tuesday 15 December: Ireland and migration in the 21st century, with Dr Mary Gilmartin. 10:30am.

Tuesday 29 December: The wider context of emigration in the 19th century, with Dr Fariha Shaikh. 10:30am.

All lectures are free to attend and no booking is required.
Venue: Lecture Theatre, National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West, Dublin 2.

The exhibition will open on Wednesday 2 December. Leading up to the opening, the National Gallery is publishing a weekly series of blogposts featuring some of the images included in the exhibition.


Ancestry adds Scottish probate records (confirmations)

http://www.dpbolvw.net/9q97tenkem1754B68A132A3B2231362A928A25222?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2Fsearch%2Fdb.aspx%3Fdbid%3D60558
Ancestry has added an important collection for those of you with Scottish connections: the All Scotland, National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936.

Previously available only via the Scotland's People website, this collection includes a searchable index and browsable images of the annual Calendars of Confirmations and Inventories published annually from 1876 to 1936. Scottish probate records are called 'confirmations' and include a testament and an inventory of the estate.

The annual calendars follow a traditional pattern being set out in alphabetical order of surname and typically including full name of the deceased, date and place of death, name of an executor and where and when the testament was recorded.

As is typical of probate records, most of the names relate to wealthier families, since they're the ones likely to have property and assets available to distribute. And, of course, most of the people recorded in the calendars lived in Scotland. But not all! Much to my surprise, even one of my Santrys shows up in the 1916 calendar (originally from Cork but settled in Kerry, Michael Santry was a merchant, and presumably built up some assets in Scotland). There seem to be a few thousand entries in the collection recording some connection to Ireland.

There are more details about these records on the Ancestry page and you can order copies of testaments and inventories via the ScotslandsPeople website.

Tuesday 27 October 2015

1939 National Register to be released 2 November

Following a two-year project, FindMyPast UK has announced that the 1939 National Register for England and Wales will be released on Monday 2 November.

The collection will be of enormous interest to those with ancestors from Ireland who emigrated to England or Wales, and I expect it to provide many family historians on both sides of the Irish Sea with a 'Eureka' moment (or two or ten) as they explore it for direct or extended family.

I'm hoping for one of those moments myself. All I know about my maternal great grandfather, Patrick Doyle, was that he was born in 1862 in Wexford, the son of Patrick Doyle. So, we're talking pre-civil registration; no known townland/parish; and an outrageously common name: thanks a bunch, Lady Luck. But in 1901 and 1911 he was working in County Carlow with his younger brother, John, born – take your pick – in 1864/5 or 1867/8. I should, in theory, be able to find John's birth in the civil registration records, but do you have any idea how many John Doyles were born in County Wexford in that four/five-year timeframe? I'd need a lottery win.

My grandmother told me John went to London after WW1 and was able to give me a partial address dating from the early 1930s. Maybe I'll be able to identify John or his wife in the Register. He'd have been 70+ by 1939, so my fingers are tightly crossed.

The details included in the 1939 National Register include date of birth. The actual date. If the register can provide me with this information for John Doyle, I'll be able to identify his birth registration record and find out not only the name of my great great grandmother but also where she and her husband brought up the family. Such a development would open up a whole new branch of research.

I'm sure there will be many Irish researchers with similar reasons for digging deep into this important new release.

Existing subscribers to FindMyPast will be disappointed to learn that this new collection will not be included in their subscription; they'll get a discount (annual subscribers will receive a 25% on the 5-household option). The standard price for purchase of these records will be €9.50/£6.95 per household or €33.50/£24.95 for a five-household bundle (€6.70/£4.99 per household). That'll certainly curb the extent of exploration!

Even so, roll on Monday.

(Find out about access to Northern Ireland's 1939 National Register on my Toolkit website.)

Monday 26 October 2015

Irish family history and heritage events, 26 Oct–7 Nov

Tuesday 27 October: The Corner Boys of Kilrush, with Morgan Roughan. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co. Clare. 8pm. Members free; Non-members €5. All welcome.

Tuesday 27 October: Laurence O'Neill, Lord Mayor of Dublin 1917-24; patriot and man of peace, with Dr Thomas J Morrissey. Host: Dublin City Council. Venue: Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. 6:30–7:15 plus Q&A. Admission free but booking essential by e-mail to lordmayor@dublincity.ie or telephone 01 222 6200.

Tuesday 27 October: Telling the same old story: memory and Irish history, with Dr Gillian O'Brien. Host: Modern Irish History Seminar Series, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh. Venue: Room G13, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, UK. 6pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 27 October: Adoption and NPE’s (Not the Parent Expected), with Sean T Traynor. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Coleraine branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co Londonderry. 8pm

Tuesday 27 October: The churches and their records, with Dr William Roulston. Host: Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, 1-9 Victoria Street, Belfast BT1 3GA. 1–2pm. Free but registration required by email to discover@ulster-scots.com or telephone 028 9043 6710.

Wednesday 28 October: Divergent paths: a family history approach to the study of Irish emigrants in Britain 1820–1920, with John Herson. Host: Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies, University of Edinburgh. Venue: Room G 13, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Way, Edinburgh. 5:30 to 7pm. Students and public welcome. Free.

Thursday 29 October: What can be found in the Newspaper Library Belfast? Discussion with Committee members. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena branch. Venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, BT43 5EJ. 7:15pm.

Thursday 29 October: Top 10 websites for Irish genealogy, with Lisa Dougherty. Host & venue: Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany, New York 12207, USA. 6:30pm to 8pm. Free. Register.

Friday 30 October: The admission of children to workhouses in County Antrim, 1850–1914, with Simon Gallaher. Host: School of History and Anthropology. Venue: Training Room 2, Graduate Centre, Queen's University Belfast. 4pm.

Saturday 31 October: Waterford's Revolutionary Decade Roadshow, with Waterford City & County Council in conjunction with School of History, University College Cork. Venue: Park Hotel, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. 11am to 4pm. Exhibition stands, lectures, musical performances, re-enactments and more. Free. No booking. Details.

Monday 2 November: DNA Genealogy, with Sean Quinn. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. Venue: Derry City Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Derry BT48 6AL. 7–9pm.

Monday 2 November: McClurgs of Kilmore and Killyleagh, with Peter Gibson. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Killyleagh Branch. Venue: Masonic Hall, 50 High Street, Killyleagh, Co. Down, BT30 9QF. 8pm to 9:30pm.

Tuesday 3 November: Revolutionary woman: Caitlin Bean Ui Chierigh, first woman Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1939–41, with Helen Litton. Host: Dublin City Council. Venue: Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. 6:30–7:15 plus Q&A. Admission free but booking essential by e-mail to lordmayor@dublincity.ie or telephone 01 222 6200.

Tuesday 3 November: Landed estates and records relating to their management, with Dr William Roulston. Host: Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, 1-9 Victoria Street, Belfast BT1 3GA. 1–2pm. Free but registration required by email to discover@ulster-scots.com or telephone 028 9043 6710.

Tuesday 3 November: Ireland transformed: The Cromwellian Conquest and the Down Survey, with Prof Micheál Ó Siochrú. Hosts: Trinity College Dublin and Carlow Collage. Venue: Cobden Hall, Carlow College, College Street, Carlow. 5pm to 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 4 November: The 1939 Register: the Home Front from your own home, with Myko Clelland. Host and venue: The National Archives (TNA), Kew, London, UK. 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Tickets free but need to be booked.

Thursday 5 November: Playing the game - Sport, Ireland and the Great War, a conference. Hosted jointly by Western Front Association, Antrim & Down branch and PRONI. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 10am to 4pm. Full details 0f speakers and talks to follow.Free but need to book by email to proni@dcalni.gov.uk or telephone (+44) 028 90 534800.

Thursday 5 November: Putting your Family in Place, with Dr Janice Holmes. Host: Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. Venue: Holywood Arches Library, Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NT. 7:30pm.

Thursday 5 November: War Memorials, with Professor Keith Jeffery. Host: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society. Venue: Auditorium, The McClay Library, Queen's University, College Park Ave, Belfast BT7 1LQ. Fee: £10/Students £5. All welcome. 7:30pm. No advance bookings – pay at venue.

Saturday 7 November: Wicklow and the sea, a one-day conference exploring the maritime history of Wicklow. Host: Wicklow Historical Society.  Venue: Grand Hotel, Wicklow. 9:30am to 3:30pm. Details.

Saturday 7 November: The Cahir Estate under Butler and Charteris Ownership, 1858–1962, with David J Butler. Part of the Power & Privilege – The Butlers of Ormond, County Museum Lecture Series. Venue: Clonmel Library, Mick Delahunty Square (opposite Museum), Clonmel, Co Tipperary. 10am to Noon €5. To book, call Julia on 076 106 5564 or email julia.walsh@tipperarycoco.ie.

Saturday 7 November: Local history Day, a one-day conference. Host and venue: Dublin City Libraries&Archives, Pearse Street, Dublin. 9:45am to 3:30pm. Free. No booking required. Details.

Friday 23 October 2015

New zoomable maps for Irish Times's IrishAncestors


http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Submit&searchID=S3979092846
Keirnan households in Co Longford in 1854
John Grenham's Irish Ancestors site at The Irish Times has just added a series of new visualisations that map the numbers of households by surname in Griffith's Valuation directly onto zoomable and clickable Google maps.

You can confine the search to a single county (click image right for sample of Keirnan households in Co. Longford) or get an all-Ireland overview (see sample for Keirnan households, with varient spellings).

Click-and-zoom Google maps have also been added to the 'double surname search' facility. The latter can be extremely useful to those family historians who don't know where in Ireland their ancestors came from; it can help pinpoint a geographical starting point for further research.

The sample map for Gibney and Gilshenan households demonstrates this perfectly.

The aim of the visualisations is to provide easy-to-grasp visual evidence of who lived where at the time of Griffith's Primary Valuation (1847-1864). For the moment, the maps are part of the site's pay-per-view reports.


Thursday 22 October 2015

Service hours changes at National Archives of Ireland

The National Archives of Ireland has advised some changes to its service/opening hours over the next three or four months.

Monday 16 November to Wednesday 25 November
: Genealogy Advisory Service will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for extended hours from 10am to 5pm (closed 1–2pm)

Thursday 26 November to Friday 4 December : Reading Room closed for preparation of departmental records being transferred from departments of state, and annual media preview

Late January/early February, exact dates to be advised: Reading Room closed for installation of air conditioning system and associated works

100 Irish titles: a milestone for British Newspaper Archive

The British Newspaper Archive (BNA) will today be deservedly celebrating the upload of its 12millioneth page, but for Irish genealogists there's an even more significant milestone to mark: the upload of the 100th historical Irish newspaper title to the online archive.

It happened yesterday, with three new titles joining the impressive line-up of newspapers. They are:
  • Illustrated Advertiser of the Royal Dublin Society. Only one edition is and will be added to the database. It was published in January 1850.
  • Flag of Ireland/United Ireland, 1884-85 and 1887 avaialble. In time, editions spanning 1868 to 1898 will be added.
  • Dundalk Democrat, and People's Journal 1865-1871 available. The holding for this weekly paper will eventually span 1849 to 1872.

This time last year, the BNA was gearing up to hit the overall total of 9million pages and had just 24 Irish titles. 'Been a busy twelve months!

You'll find below the full line-up of 100 historical Irish newspapers available on subscription through the database. Bear in mind that all these titles are accessible at no additional cost as part of an Ireland or World subscription to FindMyPast:

FindMyPast Ireland     FindMyPast UK     FindMyPast USA    FindMyPast Aust/NZ   

 
Advocate: or, Irish Industrial Journal, The
Allnut's Irish Land Schedule 
Armagh Guardian
Athlone Sentinel
Ballymena Observer
Banner of Ulster
Belfast Commercial Chronicle
Belfast Mercantile Register and Weekly Advertiser
Belfast Mercury
Belfast Morning News
Belfast NewsLetter
Belfast Protestant Journal
Carlow Post
Catholic Telegraph
Cavan Observer
Clare Journal, and Ennis Advertiser
Clonmel Herald
Coleraine Chronicle
Connaught Watchman
Cork Advertising Gazette
Cork Examiner
Current Prices of Grain at Dublin Corn Exchange
Derry Journal
Downpatrick Recorder
Downshire Protestant
Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal
Drogheda Conservative Journal
Drogheda Journal, or Meath & Louth Advertiser
Drogheda News Letter
Dublin Builder, The
Dublin Correspondent
Dublin Courier
Dublin Evening Mail
Dublin Evening Packet and Correspondent
Dublin Evening Post
Dublin Medical Press
Dublin Mercantile Advertiser, and Weekly Price Current
Dublin Monitor
Dublin Morning Register
Dublin Observer
Dublin Weekly Herald
Dublin Weekly Register
Dundalk Democrat, and People's Journal
Enniscorthy News, and County of Wexford Advertiser, The
Enniskillen Chronicle and Erne Packet
Evening Freeman, The
Farmer's Gazette and Journal of Practical Horticulture
Flag of Ireland
Freeman's Journal
Galway Mercury, and Connaught Weekly Advertiser 
Galway Patriot
Galway Vindicator, and Connaught Advertiser
General Advertiser for Dublin, and all Ireland
Hibernian Journal; or, Chronicle of Liberty
Illustrated Advertiser of the Royal Dublin Society
Irish Racing Book and Sheet Calendar, The
Irishman, The 
Journal of the Chemico-Agricultural Society of Ulster and Record of Agriculture and Industry
Kerry Examiner and Munster General Observer
Kilkenny Journal and Leinster Commercial and Literary Observer 
Kings County Chronicle
Limerick and Clare Examiner
Limerick Evening Post
Limerick Reporter 
Londonderry Standard 
Meath People, and Cavan and Westmeath Chronicle  
Missionary Herald of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Munster express, or, weekly commercial & agricultural gazette., The 
Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser
Newry Herald and Down, Armagh, and Louth Journal
Northern Standard 
Northern Whig
Pilot, The
Pue's Occurrences
Roscommon Journal, and Western Impartial Reporter
Roscommon Messenger
Saunders's News-Letter
Skibbereen & West Carbery Eagle; or, South Western Advertiser
Sligo Champion
Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier
Statesman and Dublin Christian Record 
Tipperary Free Press
Tipperary Vindicator
Tralee Chronicle
Tuam Herald 
Tyrone Constitution
Ulster Gazette
Ulster General Advertiser, Herald of Business and General Information
Ulsterman, The
Vindicator
Waterford Chronicle
Waterford Mail
Waterford News
Weekly Freeman's Journal 
Weekly Vindicator 
Westmeath Independent
Westmeath Journal
Wexford Conservative
Wexford Constitution
Wexford Independent 

Wednesday 21 October 2015

This weekend: Street Stories 1916 Festival in Dublin 7

This coming weekend, Stoneybatter & Smithfield People's History Project, a highly successful local community group in Dublin 7, is presenting a programme of events to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

Friday 23 October

Launch of 1916 Street Stories Festival and magazine 1916 in Stoneybatter, Smithfield and The Markets. Guest Speaker RTÉ’s Joe Duffy, author of ‘Children of the Rising’, will be the guest speaker. At 7pm, there will be live music with Landless, musicians who sing unaccompanied traditional songs in four-part harmony.
Venue: Sacred Heart Chapel, Church Street/Arbour Hill, Dublin 7.

Saturday 24 October – Six Talks on the 1916 Rising

Session One

12:00pm : The IRB and the planning of the 1916 Rising, with Shane Kenna. Venue: The Cobblestone pub, 77 North King Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

12:30pm : Guns and Hoses: The Dublin Fire Brigade and The Irish Revolution, with Las Fallon. Venue: The Elbow Room, 32 Brunswick St N, Dublin 7.

Session Two 


2:30pm  : The Battle of the Four Courts and the North King Street Massacre, with Helen Litton. Venue: The Cobblestone, 77 North King Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

2:30pm : Realists and Idealists: 77 Women of the Easter Rising, with Liz Gillis and Mary McAuliffe. Venue: The Elbow Room, 32 Brunswick St N, Dublin 7.

Session 3

4:30pm : A Local Who’s Who of the 1916 Rising, with Joe Connell Jnr. Venue: The Cobblestone, 77 North King Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

4:30pm : James Connolly - A Full Life, with Lorcan Collins. Venue: The Elbow Room, 32 Brunswick St N, Dublin 7.

Followed by

9.00pm:  Live Music in The Cobblestone with Dublin Ska and Reggae band The Bionic Rats and DJ Tommy Rash. This is a ticket only event. Tickets €5. Available at The Cobblestone, 77 North King Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

Sunday 25 October

2.00pm – Walking tour of Arbour Hill cemetery. Meet at cemetery gates, Arbour Hill, Dublin 7.

4.00pm – Film Screening – A Terrible Beauty - a film about events around North King Street and Mount Street Bridge. Venue: The Elbow Room, 32 Brunswick St N, Dublin 7.

More details can be found on the Project's facebook page



Tuesday 20 October 2015

The Irishman joins online British Newspaper Archive

 https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=551613&v=5895&q=268363&r=123532

The latest addition to the British Newspaper Archives is The Irishman, a publication that started life in Belfast in 1858 and moved to Dublin within its first year. Famous as a Catholic and nationalist publication, its masthead is awash with shamrocks entwined around the Gaelic typeface.

An initial upload sees all editions published in 1865, 1870 and 1871 made available to BNA subscribers*. In time, the BNA's online holding of this weekly title will stretch from 1858 to 1885.

* The BNA's Irish collection is also available to researchers with a FindMyPast Ireland or World collection subscription.




Recent updates to Ancestry's Irish collection

A few recent happenings in Ancestry's Irish collection:

The three Civil Registration Indexes – Births 1864–1958, Marriages 1845–1958, and Deaths 1864–1958 have been updated. Ancestry hasn't provided an explanation for what was involved in the updates.

This lack of information is somewhat improved for an update to the site's Belfast Newsletter (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1738-1925 collection. Previously, this database could be accessed only via a 'browse' facility. Thanks to one of Ancestry's World Archive Projects, the birth, marriage and death notices are being indexed and the first tranche of records from the project is now searchable (free). They date from 1828 to 1858.

Notices from additional years will be indexed and added to this collection at a later date.

Ancestry's World Archive Projects team also started keying Ireland's Police Gazette, 1863-1893, two weeks ago. The twice-weekly publication, which was also known as the Hue and Cry, includes details of individuals who were either accused of committing a crime, or victims of crimes committed in Ireland.

It's moving along at quite a pace, with 41% of the keying already carried out by volunteers. Following quality control stages, this database will create an interesting new collection. It'll be free, too.

Monday 19 October 2015

October Bank Holiday closures (RoI)

The Republic of Ireland enjoys its Autumn Bank Holiday next Monday (26 October) so you'll find most libraries and archives closed on that day.

The major exception is the National Library of Ireland in Kildare Street, Dublin, but while its exhibitions are open, its Reading Rooms and Genealogy Service won't be running.

Public lending and local studies libraries in Dublin and around the country will be closed on both the Saturday (24th) and the Bank Holiday Monday, returning to regular hours from Tuesday.

This bank holiday does not apply in Northern Ireland where repositories, libraries and commercial enterprises are open for business as normal.

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 20–31 Oct

Monday 19 October: Re-enactment of stories from the Sinking of the Lusitania, with Mary O'Leary. Host: Muskerry Local History Society in conjunction with Courtmacsherry Lifeboat Lusitania Commemoration History Exhibition. Venue: Ballincollig Rugby Club Hall, Ballincollig, Co Cork. 8pm. Members free; non-members €3. All welcome.

Monday 19 October: 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.

Monday 19 October: Researching your family history, with Brian Mitchell MAGI. Venue: Tower Museum, Union Hall Place, Derry BT48 6LU. 2pm. Free. No booking.

Monday 19 October: Edward Bruce and Ireland 1315-1318, with Dr William Roulston. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. Larne Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club, 112-120 Glenarm Road, Larne, Co Antrim BT40 1DZ. 7:30pm.

Tuesday 20 October: The Golden Age of Steam: a half-day conference on railways in Ireland. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Beflast. 1:30pm to 4:30pm. Details. Free admission but booking is recommended: proni@dcalni.gov.uk, or phone 028 90 534800.

Tuesday 20 October: A man of principle: Frank Cluskey, Lord Mayor of Dublin 1968–69, with Dr Kieran Jack MacGinley. Host: Dublin City Council. Venue: Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. 6:30–7:15 plus Q&A. Admission free but booking essential by e-mail to lordmayor@dublincity.ie or telephone 01 222 6200.

Tuesday 20 October: The Ulster Plantation and sources for its study, with Dr William Roulston. Host: Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, 1-9 Victoria Street, Belfast BT1 3GA. 1–2pm. Free but registration required by email to discover@ulster-scots.com or telephone 028 9043 6710.

Wednesday 21 October: Lurgan and the Great War, with Richard Edgar and Clive Higginson. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Armagh branch. Venue: Town Hall, 15-17 Edward Street, Portadown, Co Armagh BT62 3LX. 7:30pm. Will be followed by a light supper. All welcome.

Wednesday 21 October:The tune we played was the Protestant Boys’: songs and the battle of Dolly’s Brae, 1849, with John Moulden. Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free, but booking recommended: E proni@dcalni.gov.uk, T: (+44) 028 90 534800.

Wednesday 21 October: 1916 Rising – historical context, causes and events, with Dr. Robert K. O’Neill. Host: McClelland Irish Library, Irish Cultural Center, 1106 North Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona, USA. 7pm–9pm. Details.

Thursday 22 October: DeLoran: Back to the failure, with Graham Brownlow. Part of PRONI's Crime and Society lecture series. Host and Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free but need to book: E proni@dcalni.gov.uk, T: (+44) 028 90 534800.

Thursday 22 October: Irish Quaker Archives, with Christopher Moriarty. Venue: Quaker Meeting House, Southville Gardens, Ballinacurra, Limerick. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Friday 23 October: Irish family history research, with Terry Eakin FIGRS. Venue: Level 2 Meeting Room, Customs House Library, 31 Alfred Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia. 2–4pm. Reserving your seat recommended. Free.

Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October: GENGEN (GENealogy over GENerations) and (GENetics over GENerations) is the new name of the Genealogy Event in New York. Venue:Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, New York City, NY, USA. Saturday is the traditional genealogy day (plus evening social event). Sunday focuses on DNA. Admission: $20–$70. Tickets.

Friday 23 October to Sunday 25 October: Street Stories 1916, a weekend of events to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. Events include the launch of a commemorative magazine – The 1916 Rising in Stoneybatter, Smithfield and The Markets, on Friday at 7pm in the Sacred Heart Chapel, Church Street, by RTÉ's Joe Duffy); and a talk, Realists and Idealists: The 77 Women of the Easter Rising, with Liz Gillis and Mary McAuliffe, on Saturday at 2.30pm in the Elbow Room, North Brunswick Street. check out the public talks; walking tours; film screening and live music. All events to be held in local venues in Smithfield, Dublin 7. Host: Stoneybatter & Smithfield People's History Project. Details to follow: https://www.facebook.com/events/429946607191224/

Tuesday 27 October: The Corner Boys of Kilrush, with Morgan Roughan. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co. Clare. 8pm. Members free; Non-members €5. All welcome.

Tuesday 27 October: Laurence O'Neill, Lord Mayor of Dublin 1917&24; patriot and man of peace, with Dr Thomas J Morrissey. Host: Dublin City Council. Venue: Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. 6:30–7:15 plus Q&A. Admission free but booking essential by e-mail to lordmayor@dublincity.ie or telephone 01 222 6200.

Tuesday 27 October: Telling the same old story: memory and Irish history, with Dr Gillian O'Brien. Host: Modern Irish History Seminar Series, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh. Venue: Room G13, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, UK. 6pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 27 October: Adoption and NPE’s (Not the Parent Expected), with Sean T Traynor. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Coleraine branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co Londonderry. 8pm

Tuesday 27 October: The churches and their records, with Dr William Roulston. Host: Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, 1-9 Victoria Street, Belfast BT1 3GA. 1–2pm. Free but registration required by email to discover@ulster-scots.com or telephone 028 9043 6710.

Wednesday 28 October: Divergent paths: a family history approach to the study of Irish emigrants in Britain 1820–1920, with John Herson. Host: Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies, University of Edinburgh. Venue: Room G 13, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Way, Edinburgh. 5:30 to 7pm. Students and public welcome. Free.

Thursday 29 October: What can be found in the Newspaper Library Belfast? Discussion with Committee members. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena branch. Venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, BT43 5EJ. 7:15pm.

Friday 30 October: The admission of children to workhouses in County Antrim, 1850–1914, with Simon Gallaher. Host: School of History and Anthropology. Venue: Training Room 2, Graduate Centre, Queen's University Belfast. 4pm.

Saturday 31 October: Waterford's Revolutionary Decade Roadshow, with Waterford City & County Council in conjunction with School of History, University College Cork. Venue: Park Hotel, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. 11am to 4pm. Exhibition stands, lectures, musical performances, re-enactments and more. Free. No booking. Details.

Sunday 18 October 2015

Latest updates: Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives

Headstone erected by James Keenan to his
mother, Ann, who died 1868. Brookeborough,
Co Fermanagh. Photo courtesy of Anne McGirr.
Click for larger image.
Here are the records added to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP-web) in the first half of October:

CAVAN Genealogy Archives
Headstones – St. Patrick's Church (R.C.) Glangevlin

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives -
Headstones – Updated: Grangegorman Military (WWII & Vets) and Donnybrook Cemeteries

FERMANAGH
Genealogy Archives
Church Records – Aghalurcher Church of Ireland Baptisms, 1842-1867 and Burials, 1843-1870
Headstones – Brookeborough (R.C.) Graveyard

LAOIS
Genealogy Archives
Headstones – Mountmellick; Graigue Cemetery

SLIGO Genealogy Archives
Headstones – St. Patrick's Burial Ground, Bellarush, Castlebaldwin

TYRONE Genealogy Archives
Headstones – Lower Langfield Cemetery

Friday 16 October 2015

Meet Ancestry's Dublin team of ProGenealogists!

Regular readers of Irish Genealogy News will remember that Ancestry surprised the Dublin genealogy community back in the spring with an announcement that it was seeking to recruit four full-time genealogists to work at its office on Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

After an in-depth and rather lengthy selection process, the new Ancestry ProGenealogists team was formed during the summer. It is the first ProGenealogists 'satellite' team outside the USA, where more than 70 staff are based, but won't be the last – recruitment is currently underway for a second intake of genealogists who will be based in Dublin and London.

L-R: Joe Buggy, Eimer Shea, Kyle Betit, Sheila O'Donnell, Joanna Fennell

Senior Genealogist Research Manager Kyle Betit, who was one of the founders of ProGenealogists some 15 years ago and stayed with the company when, in 2010, it was purchased by Ancestry.com, is based at the Salt Lake City (SLC) HQ and heads up the new team. I asked him to describe the work of the Dublin team. "The genealogists in Dublin are primarily working with our Research Managers in SLC in conducting research, gathering records and compiling results," he explained, adding that the research might relate to Irish, British or other European family history, depending on the direction of each client's project.

"But their skills and experience can also be garnered to provide imput into other parts of Ancestry such as software, content and dna product development. This widens out their roles beyond straight research, which is beneficial to their careers and good for the company.

"They are also very quickly becoming the public face of Ancestry in Dublin."

And that's certainly the case. If you don't bump into them in the GRO, as I did, purely by chance, back in July, you might find them presenting family history lectures and workshops around the capital, or conducting free one-to-one consultations at events such as Back To Our Past last weekend.

I've put names to the faces in the photo above, and here's some brief bio on the four Dublin team members:

A graduate of University of Limerick, Kilkenny-born Joe Buggy worked for five years as a professional genealogist in New York City and Washington, DC. His comprehensive guidebook Finding your Irish ancestors in New York City was published in 2014, and I happily recommended it to anyone whose family history passes through the Big Apple. Joe also publishes the Townland of Origin blog in which he highlights records and resources in US/Canadian collections where North American researchers may discover this crucial detail about their Irish ancestors.

I worked with Joanna Cicely Fennell on the Council of the Irish Genealogical Research Society for a couple of years, so I was thrilled to hear news of her appointment as Associate Genealogist in Dublin, her home town. She holds a Post Grad Cert in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde and is a member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland (MAGI). Jo has a diverse family history that includes Anglo-Irish families in the East India Company, Irish Quakers and Unitarian families of Manchester, England. She's the former Irish Representative of the Families in British India Society (FIBIS).

Sheila O'Donnell is from Westmeath and she's been conducting genealogical research for more than five years. Seriously bitten by the family history bug, she joined Ancestry's Member Services team two years ago – about a year after the office opened – before moving to ProGenealogists as an Assistant Genealogist in May.

Prior to taking up her post as Assistant Genealogist with Ancestry this summer, Donegal's Eimer Shea gained a post-grad qualification from University of Ulster in Library and Information Management, worked as a teacher in Korea, as a freelance genealogist and as an Ancestry Officer with the Donegal Diaspora Project. She also volunteers with the Monreagh Ulster Scots Heritage Centre.

The current round of recruitment will see more genealogists join the Dublin team and the creation of another satellite office in AncestryUK's Hammersmith HQ. AncestryProGenealogists is clearly aiming to make its presence felt on this side of the Atlantic.

Ireland 2016 regional programmes of events published

A programme of more than 1,800 local community events and initiatives has been launched by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD as part of next year's Ireland 2016 centenary celebration. Ireland 2016 is a year-long programme of activity to commemorate the events of the 1916 Rising, to reflect on Ireland's achievements over the last 100 years and to look towards the nation's future.


Having looked through the programmes for Counties Cork, Carlow and Wicklow, I have to say I'm mightily impressed with the originality and versatility of some of the planned events. There are, as you'd expect, lots of parades and formal ceremonies; exhibitions; plaque, memorial and public art unveilings to honour regional heroes and remember local events from the Revolutionary period, and we are in for a lot of music, song and dance in our streets, squares, parks, community halls and theatres. But there are also some really unusual, even slightly eccentric, events planned.

In addition, genealogical and historical societies and other local heritage groups will be running theme-focussed conferences, publishing commemorative booklets, cleaning up local graveyards, creating apps and designing walking trails and local history brochures.

My weekly events listings are going to be even longer than usual, too, because hundreds of lectures will be presented to explore some of the wider themes and tell the stories of local individuals and groups.

The countdown to 1916 has been a long time a-coming, but it will have arrived in less than 10 weeks. So I'd recommend you take a look at the programme for where you live or where your ancestors lived 100 years ago, and start saving some dates.

The City/County Programmes (aka Local Authority Programmes) are available at www.ireland.ie .
The Global programme can be downloaded here.

Latest update for Kilmurry Ibrickan takes collection to 5,800 baptism records

County Clare Library has added more transcriptions of Roman Catholic baptism registers to its free website.

The new transcriptions are for the coastal parish of Kilmurry Ibrickan and date from 1866 to 1871. They have been donated by Marie Crowley of Derry City in Northern Ireland who is working from a microfilm copy of the register via the LDS Church. Her transcriptions for this parish now span 1839 to 1871 with only one major gap: the complete year of 1851. I estimate a total of 5,800 records transcribed.

Each of the entries includes the child's name and date of baptism, the father's name and surname, the mother's name, and the name of sponsors. The mother's maiden surname and the parent's townland is also presented in all but a handful of cases.

I estimate a total of 5,800 transcriptions now available for this parish.You can search them here.

Wednesday 14 October 2015

Local History Day, Dublin: 7 November

Dublin City Libraries will hold its annual Local History Day on Saturday 7 November at Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

The event is free and there's no booking required. Here's the programme:

  9:45 – 10:00: Registration and Welcome
10:00 – 10:45: The Last Voyage of the RMS Lusitania, 7 May 1915, with James Scannell
10:45 – 11:30: Irish Historic Towns Atlas, Dublin part III, 1756-1847, with Rob Goodbody
11:30 – 12:00: Tea / Coffee
12:00 – 12:45: The historic role of the Dublin Pub in Irish life, with Eamonn Casey
12:45 –   2:00: Lunch (not provided)
  2:00 –   2:45: Palmerstown: its history and its mills in the Liffey Valley, with Raymond McGovern
  2:45 –   3:30: Daniel Byrne, ‘Artisans’ dwellings in The Coombe, with Daniel Byrne

All welcome. Arrive early to ensure your place.

Enquiries dublinstudies@dublincity.ie

New publication from the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland

http://www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com/publications/catalogue/the-scots-in-ulster/
The Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland (PHSI) has published The Scots in Ulster, their Denization and Naturalisation 1605-1634, a re-print of six pamphlets published by the historian Rev Dr David Stewart in the 1950s.
  • Part 1 is about the coming of the Scots to Ulster and the background to the grants of denization and naturalisation given to these Scots settlers to enable them to have the same rights and privileges in Ulster as Englishmen.
  • Parts 2 Names of those who received such grants: Counties Antrim, Armagh, Cavan and Donegal
  • Part 3 Names of those who received such grants:  Counties Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone.
  • Part 4 is an account of how Presbyterians fared in the years between 1636 and 1642.
  • Part 5 is a reprint of a pamphlet in the King’s Collection in the British Library describing the quelling of the 1641 Rising in the North of Ireland.
  • Part 6, also from manuscripts in the British Library, gives an account of the impact of the Rising on Londonderry city and of the taking of Mountjoy in 1642 by Colonel Clotworthy.
More details about the publication and its author, and an online purchase facility, can be found on the PHSI website.

The publication itself costs £5 and you can purchase a copy at the PHSI's offices at 26 College Green, Belfast BT7 1LN. If you can't collect in person, delivery of the publication to UK addresses costs £6 inclusive; to other EU addresses £8.50 inclusive; and £10 to addresses in the rest of the world.


Tuesday 13 October 2015

Wicklow and the Sea, one-day conference, 7 November

Wicklow Historical Society will be hosting a one-day conference, Wicklow and the Sea – The Maritime History of Wicklow, on Saturday 7 November.

Programme:

  9:30    Registration

  9:45    Brigs, Schooners, Poetry and Old Maritime Memories, with Stan O'Reilly
10:15    Stories from a Coastline, with Vincent O'Reilly
10:45    The History of the Wicklow Lifeboat, with Ciarán Doyle
11:15    Tea/coffee
11:30    The Remarkable Robert Halpin, with Jim Rees
12:00    The Sinking of the Lusitania, with Cormac Lowth
12:30    The Development of Wicklow Harbour, with John Finlay
13:00    Buffet lunch in hotel restaurant
14:00    Wicklow Coastline, with Brian White
14:30    Plenary session: Questions and Answers, Contributions from the Floor
15:15    Closing address

Venue: Grand Hotel, Wicklow.
Times: 9:30am to 3:30pm.
Fee:  €20 (includes lunch)
Booking is recommended as places are limited

For more details, see the booking form.

Valuation Office cuts fees for Griffiths research

Cancelled/Revision Books at the Valuation Office
Researchers visiting the Valuation Office are in for a very pleasant surprise when they next trip along to Lower Abbey Street to study the Griffith's Valuation Cancelled/Revision Books or maps.

It's now free to search the Books. Seriously.

There's no day or hourly rate to pay and the old charge of €3.80 to view the books of a District Electoral Division has been abandoned. The only charge for which you might have to stump up is the fee for self-service colour photocopies of the Books; if you need them, you'll be charged €1 per copy (previously €1.27).

Copies of maps have also been reduced. The scanned black and white maps (dating 1850s–1870s and 1970s–1990s) can now be printed off for just €1, down from €6.35, while copies of the original colour archive maps (1880s–1960s) will be charged at €3, down from €12.70.

The only increase in fees comes with 'distance research' ie an email or postal query that involves Valuation Office staff carrying out research at the request of someone who cannot make a personal visit. This fee has gone up from €25.39 to €30.

You can see the new fee structure here.

This is great news for Irish family historians visiting the VO. The old day rate and DED book charges could soon mount up. More than a few times I've handed over €30+ after doing a few hour's research in the VO office and I'm sure professionals have coughed up a good deal more on occasion.

More O'Callaghan's Mills baptism registers transcribed

Another decade of Roman Catholic baptism records for O'Callaghan's Mills parish has been transcribed and added to County Clare Library's website.

The new records, dating from 1846 to 1855, have joined those uploaded only a few weeks ago to make a full run from 1835 to 1855. They are searchable, free of charge, by date and by surname.

Details provided are child's name, father's full name, mother's name and maiden surname, townland of residence, sponsors' names, and date of baptism.

The transcription work has been carried out by Sharon Carberry, direct from the NLI parish regisers' website.


Monday 12 October 2015

Improved delivery frequency at National Library

The National Library of Ireland has introduced new, improved delivery arrangements in both its Main Reading Room (main building, Kildare Street) and its Manuscript Reading Room (no. 2 Kildare Street). These arrangements take immediate effect.

From today, hourly deliveries will be introduced as follows:

Monday-Wednesday: 9.30am, 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 7pm.

Thursday-Friday: 9:30am, 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm.

Saturday: 9:30am, 10:30am and 11:30am.

Note: Deliveries for 9:30am orders need to be booked by the last order time of the previous working day.

A maximum of three printed items (ie books, journal issues, or microfilm reels) and three manuscript items or three rare books can be ordered for each order cut-off time. If more than three printed items or three manuscript items are requested, the additional material will be reserved for subsequent order times.

Cut-off time for orders is 15 minutes before the delivery time.

Orders can be placed online using the Online Order Form.

Ballymena Observer joins online BNA database

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=5895&awinaffid=123532&clickref=&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk%2F
The Ballymena Observer has joined the online British Newspaper Archive (BNA) database.

Launched in 1855 as a weekly broadsheet, it was Ballymena's first newspaper. It merged with the Ballymena Times in 1980s and the paper continues to be published – still a weekly but now a tabloid – in the town.

A full run of editions published from 1880 to 1892 is already available in the online database, and this will eventually be extended to cover 1857 to 1950.

Subscriptions to the BNA, which now has more historical Irish newspaper titles than any other online database, are available at £12.95 monthly or £79.95 annually.

The entire Irish holding can also be accessed on FindMyPast with an Ireland or World subscription. If you are currently actively engaged in Irish family history research, you may find this route more cost-effective. Use the links below.

Ireland €1         UK £1         USA $1         Aust/NZ Aus$1