Friday 30 June 2017

RCB Library makes Church of Ireland parish registers more easily discoverable with online hand-lists

The RCB Library has completed another project to help researchers more easily discover the availability of Church of Ireland records. The latest phase of its work on the hand-lists of parish records in RCBL custody has been released online, providing hand-lists for all 1,100 parish record collections held in the Library in Braemor Park, Dublin 14.

You can find out more about the project and the painstaking revision work it involved at the RCBL's Archive of the Month presentation for July.

Click image to view the RCB Library's presentation
for the new online hand-held lists.
While hardcopy finding aids or hand-lists itemising the contents of specific collections have been available to researchers visiting the Library for some time, it has been difficult for those unable to make a personal visit to gain a detailed insight into each collection’s rich and varied content.

This time last year, a collaborative project between the RCB Library and the Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) produced the colour-coded List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers, accounting for which parish registers survive, and where they are held. It also features live  links to online copies and transcripts.

The re-launch of this important resource has been widely acclaimed by the research community.

Now the parish hand-list for collections in the Library’s custody provides added value to the resource, enabling researchers to view and download the Library collection master lists as PDFs.

Reflecting the perspective of the worldwide research community on this latest phase of the Library’s work, IGRS Chairman Steven Smyrl commented: “It was a pleasure for the IGRS to celebrate its 80th anniversary last year by collaborating with the RCB Library to produce the colour-coded parish register list. Now with the addition of hyperlinks to the detailed hand-lists for each parish collection, Church of Ireland parish records have never been more accessible. Well done to all RCB staff involved.”

The Library continues to encourage local clergy to transfer non-current records from their local provenance to the Library’s permanent and secure centralised custody. To complement the re-launch of the List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers, this month’s online presentation (link above) includes links to the hand-lists of recently deposited registers and other parish materials, highlighting some of the more unusual items that have recently come into Library custody and the aspects of local and family history that they bring to light.

Thursday 29 June 2017

Free ebook explores the revolutionary sites of Rebel County Cork

A new and free book – Heritage Centenary Sites of Rebel County Cork – has been published by Cork County Council.

http://corkcc-cms.cms-migrate.firmstep.com/sites/cork-cms/files/2017-04/Heritage%20Centenary%20Sites%20.pdfResearched by Rubicon Heritage, and with contributions from numerous individuals and archivists across Cork, the principal editor is Damian Shiels; many historians and genealogists will recognise Damian as the author of The Forgotten Irish – Irish Emigrant Experiences in America and The Irish in the American Civil War, not to mention his award winning blog, IrishAmericanCivilWar.com.

As its name suggests, the new 242-page book covers the sites in County Cork connected to the revolutionary period. It is heavily illustrated and has ten chapters, and sets out the story of the county's history of conflict and rebellion prior to 1916, its involvement in the Rising, the county at war from 1918 to 1921, and the division of the county during the Civil War.

The book features thirty heritage sites across the county, each one telling its own story of involvement in the Revolutionary Era.

There is also guidance for readers wanting to explore their own family's experiences during the Revolutionary era.

The book was published in hard copy at the end of last year and is available to purchase in bookshops and heritage centres across County Cork (€10). It has now been made available as a free ebook (pdf) can be downloaded here.

Irish Newspaper Archive: New content and 25% off

The Dublin-based Irish Newspaper Archive has extended its content for three of its most popular titles, as follows:

Evening Herald: 1950-1999; colour pdf 2005-17
Belfast Newsletter: 1900-1938; colour pdf 2013-17
Donegal Democrat: 1919-1998; colour pdf 2016-17

To mark the upload of these extra editions, the archive is offering a 25% discount from its monthly and annual subscriptions.

To take advantage of the discount, sign up for a new subscription and use the promotion code New001.

The Irish Newspaper Archive has a handy map of the island where you can check the publications available, county by county.

Wednesday 28 June 2017

Latest updates to Registry of Deeds Index Project

The Registry of Deeds Index Project database has been updated and now boasts 243,717 index entries taken from 27,306 memorials of deeds. They are free to search.

In addition, there are now 39,476 townland index entries and 16,740 grantor index entries.

Founder and co-ordinator of the index project Nick Reddan FIGRS advises that he has updated his guide to townland films and it now includes a facillity to search by county.

The Registry of Deeds Index Project is free to search. It is a crowd-sourced project, managed by researchers for researchers, and is always looking for more volunteers to help make more of the Registry of Deeds archive accessible to Irish genealogists.

Tuesday 27 June 2017

How to preserve Belfast City Cemetery's heritage?

Belfast City Council is seeking views on how best to preserve the heritage of City Cemetery.

The burial ground is the final resting place for many of Belfast’s key historical figures including Sir Edward Harland, Thomas Gallaher, William Pirrie, Daniel Joseph Jaffe, Sam Thompson, Rinty Monaghan and Margaret Byers, and could soon be protected and made more accessible thanks to funding raised by the Heritage Lottery Fund's Parks for People grant programme.

The project, which is currently in the development phase, will enable the council to restore key heritage assets, develop a community and education centre, improve visitor amenities, increase understanding of the site’s heritage, uncover hidden assets such as the ‘underground wall’ and even enhance City Cemetery’s biodiversity.

A series of public consultation events are going to be held this week. The feedback gathered will help develop the second stage of the application process.

Tuesday 27 June : Cultúrlann, 11am-1pm
Tuesday 27 June: Whiterock Library, 2pm-4pm
Wednesday 28 June: Kennedy Centre, 10am-4pm
Wednesday 28 June: Belfast Met Whiterock Road, 12:30pm-2pm
Thursday 29 June: Whiterock Community Centre, 12noon-2pm
Thursday 29 June: Whiterock Leisure Centre, 2pm-5pm
Friday 30 June: City Cemetery, 2pm-4pm

One of the oldest public cemeteries in Belfast, and the city’s first municipal burial ground when it opened in 1869, the City Cemetery is also the site of the Jewish burial ground, the poor ground and the mortuary chapel wall.

As well as housing many fine examples of Victorian, Edwardian and Gothic revival architecture, the City Cemetery provides an important insight into the history of Belfast. Approximately 225,153 people have been buried in the graveyard, including politicians, businessmen, inventors, industrialists, paupers and prostitutes.

For those not able to attend the consultation sessions, an online survey can be completed. The deadline is Monday, 17 July.

Discounts on FindMyPast's World/Premium collection

Following on from the very popular long weekend of free access to FindMyPast's Irish and British collections, which has now ended, FindMyPast has two special offers on their subscriptions.

The first is a 10% discount on the annual World/Premium sub. This subscription obviously includes not only the huge Irish and British collections (including the England and Wales 1939 Register), but also the substantial and growing US & Canada and Australia & New Zealand collections. In total, the World/Premium collection holds 8 billion records.

To take advantage of the discount, check out the terms and conditions via one of the following links and sign-up for the World/Premium sub before 23.59 BST on Sunday 2 July.


FindMyPast.co.uk
10% off 12-month World subscription. Normal price £156. After discount £140.36.



FindMyPast.com
10% off 12-month Premium subscription. Normal price US$239.52. After discount US$215.55



FindMyPast.com.au
10% off 12-month World subscription. Normal price AUS$239.52. After discount AUS$215.55




The second offer is for a £1/$1 one-month World/Premium sub. This package gives you access to 8 billion records from Ireland, UK (but not the 1939 Register), USA & Canada, and Australia & New Zealand.

To take advantage of the discount, check out the terms and conditions via one of the following links and sign-up for the World/Premium sub before 23.59 BST on Sunday 2 July. Do note that at the end of the first month, your subscription will continue on a monthly basis at the regular rate; if you don't want the subscription to continue, you need to uncheck the auto-renew option on the 'Your Account' page.

FindMyPast.co.uk
£1 for the first month's World subscription (that's a 92% discount!).



FindMyPast.com
£1 for the first month's Premium subscription (that's a 95% discount!).



FindMyPast.com.au
£1 for the first month's World's subscription (that's a 95% discount!).


Please note, FindMyPast Ireland is not taking part in either of these promotions but this doesn't mean the Irish collection is excluded. Just to be clear: FindMyPast's entire Irish collection is automatically included in the World/Premium collection no matter which FindMyPast territory you purchase from.


Monday 26 June 2017

New FamilySearch civil reg collection holds enhanced detail

A limited rendition of Ireland's civil bmd index has joined Family Search over the weekend. It's the Ireland Civil Registration 1845-1913 collection and it holds births 1864-1913, marriages 1845-1870, and deaths 1864-1870.

Its record count is 389,073 indexed items – way short of the 7.4million civil events registered during the stated years. It also has 30,389 images available to browse for those viewing at LDS Family History Centers (FHCs).

On checking the collection on my desktop pc this morning, I wasn't sure it offered non-FHC researchers anything other than an always welcome additional (partial) index of the civil registration records. However, on closer examination, it does.

While we await the upload of GRO's pre-1882 marriage and pre-1891 death register images to IrishGenealogy.ie, this collection is worth checking out, especially for pre-1870 marriages. It holds 32,997 marriage records for this period (irishgenealogy.ie has 790,000+) and they provide more information than we're accustomed to from an index. Here's an example: the 1851 marriage of James Adair.

On IrishGenealogy.ie, a search for this marriage would give you this result:


A search on FamilySearch's Ireland Civil Registration Indexes 1845-1958 would provide the same information, while searches on Ancestry and FindMyPast would provide the probable or possible name(s) of the spouse.

On FamilySearch's new index, however, this is the result you'd receive:


Not only is the spouse's name confirmed, but the names of James' father and the bride's father are also given. Usually you won't get that level of detail without sight of the marriage certificate.

Since the wait for IrishGenealogy.ie to add the missing images seems to be going on and on (despite assurances at the turn of the year that they would be uploaded 'soon'), researchers should take a dip into this index if the dates match the events they seek. It will be a fruitful and lucky dip for some, if not most.

UPDATE, 27 June: Thanks to Steven Smyrl MAGI for getting to the source of this 'new' collection. It seems these civil records have been extracted from existing mixed-source collections already available on FamilySearch: Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881, Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898, and Ireland Deaths, 1864-1870. So they're not new or enhanced records. They're what the pr/marketing bods call 'repurposed' – similar or partial product, different packaging.

Irish genealogy and history events, 25 June to 9 July

From Monday 26 June: Lisburn 1918–1923, exhibition launch. Venue: Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum, Market Square, Lisburn, BT28 1AG. Monday to Saturdays, 9:30am to 5pm. Free. Details.

Monday 26 June: Remembering the 'Forgotten Irish' - Unveiling of plaque commemorating hundreds of thousands of Irish who came to London after WW2 and helped to rebuild a city and country devastated by war and conflict. Host: London Irish Centre. Venue: London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB. Official unveiling by Ambassador Dan Mulhall. 2pm to 3pm. Free. All welcome. No need to book.

Tuesday 27 June: My ancestors were sent to jail – Hurrah! with Tony Hennessey MAGI. Host: National Archives of Ireland's 2017 Lecture Programme. Venue: Reading Room, National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. All welcome. 6pm. No booking required.

Tuesday 27 June: The fisherfolk of Kilrush: A study of traditional fishing methods in Kilrush, with Caroline Wilson. Host: Kilrush & District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Kilrush, Co Clare. Lecture at 8pm, following AGM.

Tuesday 27 June: Genealogical evening, with Dr Paul MacCotter. Host and venue: Franciscan Well Brewery pub, North Mall, Cork City. Introduction to Irish genealogy for beginners; family history and surname origins advice for the more advanced. 8:30pm. Free. No booking. Just turn up.

Tuesday 27 June: The Conscription Crisis, 1917-1918: anatomy of a psychological partition, with Dr Emmanuel Destenay. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Wednesday 28 June: Galway Centenary Conversations: War and Revolution Roadshow. Host: Galway County Council, NUI Galway, The Moore Institute and others. Venue: Station House, Clifden, Co Galway. 8pm. Free. Details. All welcome.

Wednesday 28 June: The opening battle of the Civil War, with Liz Gillis. Host and venue: Witness Gallery, GPO Witness History Visitor Centre, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. Lecture at 5.30pm. Tickets €10, and include optional self-guided of the GPO Witness History Visitor Centre at 4.45pm. Limited spaces need to be booked.

Monday 3 July
: Research Workshop: Using the National Library. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. The workshop is suitable for anyone looking to embark on a research project or to enhance research skills in navigating the catalogue, accessing the various collections and interpreting the sources. 2pm. Places are limited; booking required. To reserve a place email learning@nli.ie or telephone 01 6030 259.

Tuesday 4 July: Irish emigration records – an illustrated discussion of sources for researching an ancestor's migration from Ireland, with Brian Mitchell MAGI. Host: National Archives of Ireland's 2017 Lecture Programme. Venue: Reading Room, National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. All welcome. 6pm. No booking required.

Tuesday 4 July: Genealogical evening, with Dr Paul MacCotter. Host and venue: Franciscan Well Brewery pub, North Mall, Cork City. Introduction to Irish genealogy for beginners; family history and surname origins advice for the more advanced. 8:30pm. Free. No booking. Just turn up.

Wednesday 5 July: Galway Centenary Conversations: War and Revolution Roadshow. Host: Galway County Council, NUI Galway, The Moore Institute and others. Venue: Portumna Workhouse, St Brigids Rd, Portumna, Co Galway. 8pm. Free. Details. All welcome.

Saturday 8 July: Getting the most out of FamilySearch.org, with Tom Rice. Host: Irish Genealogical Society Intl (IGSI). Venue: Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS) Library, 1185 N. Concord, South St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Starts at 10:30am. Cost is $15 for IGSI members and $20 for non-members. Register.

Saturday 8 July: Landed Estates Conference: The place of the Big House in Irish history. Host and venue: Irish Workhouse Centre, St. Bridget's Road, Portumna, Co. Galway. 9:30am to 3.30pm. Details. Fully booked.

Sunday 9 July:Guided Tour of Clonoghill Cemetery, with Brian Kennedy and Jimmy Shortt. Host: Birr Historical Society. Venue: Meet at main gate to the Old Clonoghill Cemetery, Birr, Co Offaly. Free. All welcome. 3pm–4:30pm.

Thursday 22 June 2017

PRONI workshops for local and family historians

PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has announced four two-hour workshops aimed at people who are interested in local and family history and need to improve their IT skills. Each session will start with an orientation tour of PRONI, followed by a hands-on introduction to searching resources online.

The workshops run from 11am to 1pm and will be held on the following dates:

Thursday 29 June
Thursday 20 July
Thursday 17 August
Thursday 31 August

Admission is free, but advance booking is advised. You can register via eventbrite.

Free access to FindMyPast's Irish and British records

FindMyPast is offering a long weekend of free access to its Irish and British collections. While the free access provides access to very nearly all the records in these vast databases, there are a few exceptions; the following collections are not included in the free access:
  • Irish and British newspapers and periodicals
  • UK Electoral Registers (2002-2013)
  • UK Companies House Directors (2002-2013)
  • 1939 Register.
You'll need a free registered account with FindMyPast.co.uk, FindMyPast.com or FindMyPast.com.au. (There is no free access via FindMyPast.ie.)

If you don't already have an account, you'll find it's quick and easy to set one up. Only your name and an email address are required and no financial details are requested. Just follow one of the links below, and click on the LOG IN button on the top right.

Enjoy yourselves!


FindMyPast.co.uk
Free access 9am BST, Thurs 22 June to 11:59pm BST Mon 26 June.



FindMyPast.com
Free access from 4am EDT Friday 23 June to 6:59pm EDT Monday 26 June.



FindMyPast.com.au
Free access from 6pm AEST Thursday 22 June to 8:59am AEST Tuesday 27 June.


Wednesday 21 June 2017

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest additions

A bit later than usual (my fault), here's the list of the records and photos added to the free Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives database in the first two weeks of this month:

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/longford/photos/tombstones/st-emer-rc-left/images/77_maceoin_sean_alice.jpg
From St Emer's Graveyard, Ballinalee,
Co Longford. Photo courtesy of Dave Hall
and IGPArchives. Click to enlarge.
DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mount Jerome, Dublin - Part 159-166 (1200 images)

LONGFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Emer's Graveyard, Ballinalee, Left Side

MEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Mary's (Right Side) Navan (M & Mc)

MONAGHAN & FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Clones Parish Marriages 1812-1818 (Updated)
Clones Parish Baptisms, 1759-1763
Clones Parish, Marriages 1811-1816 (Updated)

WATERFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Ferrybank Graveyard (R.C), Part 1 & Part 2
Waterford City, St. Otteran's - Pt 3 & Pt 4

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives -
Headstones – Ballyhack Cemetery - near River Barrow
Newspapers – Wexford Independent, Poorhouse Entries, 16 Nov 1859

Views of genealogists sought by postgrad researcher

Lyndsey Riddall is a postgraduate student at Dublin Business School who's looking for family historians to take part in a brief survey.

https://surveyplanet.com/59490fd782c0a368380f0eafHer dissertation aims to explore how the genealogy industry has become commercialised in recent years and to examine the ethical implications of charging money for access to such resources.

She says: "I am coming at this from a neutral perspective and not attempting to make an argument in regards to which approach is better, free or commerical. I have created a short survey and my objective is to simply question people who have researched their family history, or would like to do so in the future, in order to get an understanding of their thoughts on the whole debate."

The questions are not onerous to answer, and responses are collected anonymously.

The survey can be found here: Genealogy Survey .



FindMyPast partners with Ontario Genealogical Society

Findmypast has announced a partnership with the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) to publish millions of the Society's records.

The first instalment of releases will be delivered later this year with the online publication of some 6million Ontario records, including;
  • The Ontario Name Index (TONI): an index created with the aim of including every name found in any publication relating to Ontario, ranging from registers of birth, marriage & death to obituaries, memorial inscriptions, newspaper articles and more. It holds more than 3.7million names.
  • The Ontario Genealogical Society Provincial Index (OGSPI): a collection of more than 2.6million records gathered from censuses, birth, marriage and death registers, references in books, land records, passenger lists, military records etc.
  • Oddfellows Life Insurance Applications (1875-1929): a collection of more than 59,000 life insurance applications to the Odd-Fellows’ Relief Association of Canada. The applications contain answers to up to thirty-one questions about sex, age, occupation, height, weight, ethnic origins, marital status, family structure, and past and present health conditions.
  • Ontario Genealogical Society Bulletin/Families and NewsLeaf: a collection of images from official society publications and journals will join the Periodical Source Index (PERSI).

Tuesday 20 June 2017

NAI to validate/correct 1901 & 1911 Irish Census data

Some excellent news today: the National Archives of Ireland is to start making wholesale corrections to its online 1901 and 1911 Irish census database.

A Request For Tenders has been published today on eTenders. It describes the contract as requiring 'validation and correction services' on these two specific collections.

Both Censuses were published on the National Archives' Genealogy website in instalments from December 2008 to August 2010. This marked a turning point for Irish genealogy, and the start of a gradual online release of many of the most important collections used by family historians. However, it was soon noted that there were some problems with missing data for several geographical areas, and especially with mis-transcriptions of names and other information, and the National Archives has not been able to deal with these issues in the interim due to a lack of resources.

The tender documents suggest the project will involve working through c20,000 user-submitted corrections over a period of about one year.

The project now out for tender is one of a number of specific short-term projects that have been identified for completion in line with the National Archives Strategic Plan 2015-2017.

New book: The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry

A new book – The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry, by Bryan MacMahon – has been published by Mercier Press.

The 384-page book focuses on human stories, rather than statistics, as MacMahon depicts the unprecedented events, upheavals and challenges of the famine years through the eyes of those who were there, and reveals information which has lain hidden and untapped for 170 years.

Through eyewitness accounts, this work brings to light the shocking realities of life in Tralee and North Kerry from 1845 to 1852, as the unprecedented catastrophe of the potato blight gripped the county.

These powerful testimonies, along with the author's analysis, provide a vivid sense of the crisis and the stark dilemmas faced by those who tried to alleviate the suffering, as well as the compassion and courage of those who spoke out on behalf of the destitute.

The book provides the names and inquest details of some of the dead, and poignant descriptions of life in the workhouses of Tralee and Listowel. Included are stories of scandals and possible sexual abuse in the workhouse, but also many examples of selfless humanitarian work. This work also offers insights into related issues of the time, such as emigration, “souperism” and civil unrest.

Mercier Press (€31.50), or Amazon (Hardback and Kindle formats). ISBN: 9781781174678



Monday 19 June 2017

Catholic Standard debuts on British Newspaper Archive

The British Newspaper Archive has added The (Catholic) Standard to its online database. The initial upload sees all 53 weekly editions published in 1937 uploaded to the site.

Published in Dublin, The Standard launched in mid-1928 and ceased publication in the 1970s. It changed its name to the Catholic Standard in 1963.

The online collection won't span the full years, however. The BNA plans its online holding for this paper to span 1928 to 1959.

The addition of this paper means that 144 of the 770 titles in the British Newspaper Archive are from the island of Ireland (107 ROI / 37 NI). The entire BNA collection is also available on FindMyPast as part of a subscription package.

(A 20% discount is currently on offer from British Newspaper Archive. Be quick, it ends tomorrow.)

Irish genealogy & heritage events, 19 June to 2 July

Monday 19 June to Wednesday 21 June: The Country House Revived? The 15th Annual Historic Houses Conference. Hosts: The Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University, and the Office of Public Works. Venue: Dublin Castle, Dame Street, Dublin 2. Programme and details (pdf).

Tuesday 20 June: Tracing your Irish Roots, with Lorna Moloney. Host: Clans and Surnames. Venue: Hotel Mayrick, Eyre Square, Galway City. Superbly located, overlooking Eyre Square, 9:30am to 4:30pm. Book by email to irishroots@clansandsurnames.com or telephone 085-8721184.

Tuesday 20 June: Galway Centenary Conversations: War and Revolution Roadshow. Host: Galway County Council, NUI Galway, The Moore Institute and others. Venue: Craughwell Hall, Craughwell, Co Galway. 8pm. Free. Details. All welcome.

Wednesday 21 June: Post-post conflict? The Contemporary Murals of Northern Ireland, with Tony Crowley. Host and venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, 1 Irish Town Way, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, UK, M8 0AE. Free, but need to register. All welcome. 7:30 to 9pm.

Wednesday 21 June: Politics of 16th-Centure South Leitrim – the Muintir Eolais Declaration, 1552, with Noel McLougholin. Host: Carrick on Shannon & District Historical Society. Venue: Bush Hotel, Main St, Townparks, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim. All welcome. Members Free. Non-members €5. 8:30pm.

Thursday 22 June: Book Launch: The Great Famine in Tralee and North Kerry, by Bryan MacMahon. Official launch by Jimmy Deenihan. Venue: O’Mahony’s Booksellers, Castle Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry. 5:30pm. All welcome.

Thursday 22 June: The coastguard in Tramore, an evening fieldtrip/guided walk, with James Doherty. Host: Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society. Venue: Coastguard Cultural Centre, Tramore, Co Waterford. 7pm. All welcome. Members free; non-members €5.

Friday 23 and Saturday 24 June: Oral Histories of Work and Leisure – conference, workshops, presentations and dinner. Host: Oral History Network Ireland. Venue: Connacht Hotel, Dublin Road, Galway City. Full programme. Registration closes on 16 July.

Saturday 24 June: Irish Genealogical Research Society at the Yorkshire Family History Show. Venue: York Racecourse, York, UK. The show includes more than 50 exhibitors (record offices, family history societies, retailers, online services, books etc) from across the geographical British Isles, plus expert talks. Admission £4.80. 10am to 4:30pm. All welcome.

Saturday 24 June: 7th Galway Heritage Conference. Host: Galway City Council and the Heritage Council. Venue: Harbour Hotel, New Dock Road, Galway City. 9:15am–5:30pm. Refreshments and light lunch included. Free but booking essential. Details.

Sunday 25 June: Liverpool Easter Rising Memorial, public unveiling. Host: Liverpool Easter 1916 Commemoration Committee. Venue: St Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, Scotland Road, Liverpool, UK. 1pm. Followed by reception. All welcome.

From Monday 26 June: Lisburn 1918–1923, exhibition launch. Venue: Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum, Market Square, Lisburn, BT28 1AG. Monday to Saturdays, 9:30am to 5pm. Free. Details.

Monday 26 June: Remembering the 'Forgotten Irish' - Unveiling of plaque commemorating hundreds of thousands of Irish who came to London after WW2 and helped to rebuild a city and country devastated by war and conflict. Host: London Irish Centre. Venue: London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB. Official unveiling by Ambassador Dan Mulhall. 2pm to 3pm. Free. All welcome. No need to book.

Tuesday 27 June: My ancestors were sent to jail – Hurrah! with Tony Hennessey MAGI. Host: National Archives of Ireland's 2017 Lecture Programme. Venue: Reading Room, National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. All welcome. 6pm. No booking required.

Tuesday 27 June: The fisherfolk of Kilrush: A study of traditional fishing methods in Kilrush, with Caroline Wilson. Host: Kilrush & District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Kilrush, Co Clare. Lecture at 8pm, following AGM.

Tuesday 27 June: The Conscription Crisis, 1917-1918: anatomy of a psychological partition, with Dr Emmanuel Destenay. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Wednesday 28 June: Galway Centenary Conversations: War and Revolution Roadshow. Host: Galway County Council, NUI Galway, The Moore Institute and others. Venue: Station House, Clifden, Co Galway. 8pm. Free. Details. All welcome.

Wednesday 28 June: The opening battle of the Civil War, with Liz Gillis. Host and venue: Witness Gallery, GPO Witness History Visitor Centre, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. Lecture at 5.30pm. Tickets €10, and include optional self-guided of the GPO Witness History Visitor Centre at 4.45pm. Limited spaces need to be booked.

Friday 16 June 2017

Historians in Residence – a new Dublin City project

Dublin City Council has put history and communities at the heart of an innovative new project which builds on last year’s commemoration of the 1916 Rising.

L-R: Back Row: Brian Hanley, Cormac Moore,
Donal Fallon; Front row: Maeve Casserly, 
Cathy Scuffil, Darragh Gannon (click to enlarge)
The centenary of the Rising saw unprecedented engagement with history in the city as hundreds of thousands of citizens, visitors and community groups remembered this pivotal moment in Ireland's history. Now Dublin City Council has recruited six Historians-in-Residence to build on this enormous public interest in history.

They are:
  • Darragh Gannon - Central Area
  • Donal Fallon - North West Area
  • Cormac Moore - North Central Area
  • Maeve Casserly - South East Area
  • Cathy Scuffil - South Central Area
  • Brian Hanley - Dublin City Library & Archive

They will give talks and tours, will lead walks and workshops, write blog posts and books and help communities to research their local area and showcase the findings. Decoding street names, photographing local monuments and memorials, meeting history groups, quizzes, debates and oral history projects are just some of the topics that have engaged them so far.

Getting the ball rolling, the historians are delivering a three-part lecture series on the Irish Revolution, 1917-1923 in 14 libraries across the city. (See yesterday's blogpost.)

The Historians-in-Residence project will be managed by Dublin City Public Libraries. Dublin City Librarian, Margaret Hayes said: “I am delighted to welcome these historians to Dublin City Council to continue the work under the Decade of Commemorations and to champion history in Dublin and its neighbourhoods where they will work with communities, schools and families on local history and stories. The City’s Library & Archives Service is custodian of amazing collections of documents, manuscripts and artefacts, all of which add to the memory of Dublin for its citizens, and the historians will be promoting these collections in the course of their work.”

One historian is based in each of the administrative areas of the city. Further details on the project and on the lecture series in June: http://www.dublincity.ie/decadeofcommemorations

Historians can be followed on Twitter @DubHistorians | #HistoriansinResidence. 

Thursday 15 June 2017

Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2017: speakers announced

Genealogist Maurice Gleeson, who organises the annual Genetic Genealogy Ireland conference, has announced the speakers for this year's event, which will, once again, be held as part of the Back To Our Pasr exhibition at the RDS in Dublin (20-22 October 2017).

As you'd expect from this increasingly high profile international event, the speakers are top-class and they'll be presenting a wide-ranging programme of lectures, with something for everyone from dna novices right the way through to experts.

Take a look at the selection of YouTube videos from previous GGI conferences to learn more about how dna testing may help your research and to explore recent developments in the field. The videos will also give you a good feel for what's in store at this autumn's event.

You can find the full details about the 2017 speakers on the GGI blog here.

The Irish Revolution 1917-1923 lecture series, Dublin

Until mid-July, a three-part lecture series is being presented across the Dublin City Libraries' network to explore the aftermath of the 1916 Rising. The key questions to be discussed and answered in these lectures concern the changes to the political, economic and social landscape that ushered in independence in 1922.

The three lectures (Ireland in 1917 | What was the War of Independence? | What was the Civil War?) will be held at Central Library and Dublin City Library & Archive (the only locations where the series is presented at lunchtime – 1pm), and twelve branch library locations. The first talk was presented in seven of these libraries earlier this week.

Although free to attend, advance booking is required at some venues. You'll find further information about the speakers and other details on the Dublin City Libraries website.

Wednesday 14 June 2017

Tempting Father's Day discounts from Living DNA

Discounts will expire on Tuesday 20 June
Living DNA, the UK-based company which arrived on the genetic genealogy scene last year and has quickly won many admirers, is holding a Father's Day Sale.

The Living DNA test is a 3-in-1 test that not only covers your family ancestry and your motherline, it also, if the tester is male, explores the fatherline.  The test also sets out your dna mix across 80 world regions, including 21 in Britain and Ireland.

Genealogist and DNA expert Debbie Kennett, whose judgement I fully respect, recently wrote that the Living DNA test had given her the most accurate results of all the biogeographical ancestry tests she'd taken. That's quite a recommendation!

If you feel inclined to treat your father (or anyone else... no one's checking) to a test, take advantage of the following discounts:

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-12872918
Ireland and Eurozone– Regular price €159. Discounted price €129. Save €30.
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-5737308-12758007

UK – Regular price £120. Discounted price £99. Save £21.

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-12755175
Canada – Regular price C$199. Discounted price C$159. Save C$40.

http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-5737308-12970814

USA – Regular price US$159. Discounted price US$119. Save US$40.


http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5329468-12755174
Australia & New Zealand – Regular price A$199. Discounted price A$169. Save A$30.


Shipping/delivery charges are additional.

The discount will expire on Tuesday 20 June.

New premises for GSI's Archives & Research Centre

It's good to hear that the Genealogical Society of Ireland (GSI) has found a new permanent home for its Archives and Research Centre.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qr1oRmOtTNAF8GqOTYdd_g-GrEo&usp=sharing
The GSI Archives and Research Centre will be
re-opening in Loughlinstown
The GSI was forced to leave its previous home in Carlisle Road, Dún Laoghaire back in February after nearly seven years as a tenant of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company. As a result, the Centre's resources have been in storage for the last three months.

New premises have now been confirmed about 5km away in a modular building with plenty of space, good transport links and free parking in the grounds of Loughlinstown Leisure Centre.

The news was announced in the Society's June edition of its Genealogical Gazette and I don't imagine there will be a lot of delay in setting up and opening the new Centre once members have been mobilised. See the GSI facebook page for updates.

AGI welcomes new member, Sandy O'Byrne MAGI

Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) has announced its newest member: Sandy O’Byrne.

Sandy O'Byrne MAGI
Based in Bray, Co Dublin, Sandy obtained the Diploma in Family History from Independent Colleges, Dublin, in 2012 in a programme run in conjunction with AGI. She is the fourth person to come through that course and gain membership of AGI. In 2014 she became an AGI Affiliate, entering into a period of close association with the organisation, with continuing professional development and one-to-one mentoring. Sandy was passed by AGI's independent Board of Assessors and becomes the 6th Affiliate to progress to full membership.

Before developing a career in genealogy, Sandy graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in History of Art and English, specialising in the Eighteenth Century Irish Country House. She has worked as a journalist, a features writer and a part-time lecturer and has authored three books.

Sandy O'Byrne MAGI runs Ancestry Wise and researches family from all parts of Ireland. You can find out more about her on AccreditedGenealogists.ie.

20% off one-month sub to British Newspaper Archive

The British Newspaper Archive is offering a 20% discount on a one-month subscription to its online database of 757 publications.

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=5895&awinaffid=123532&clickref=&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk%2Faccount%2Fsubscribe%3FPromotionCode%3DBNAJUN20This could be a well-timed prompt for you to explore the full archive of British and Irish historical newspapers. Only last week, the BNA celebrated reaching the milestone of 20million archived pages.

More than 140 titles in the collection are from Ireland (106 from the Republic; 37 from Northern Ireland).

To take advantage of the discount and access millions of historical newspaper pages, click the image (or link above). You'll find the discount is automatically applied.

The discount will be available until Tuesday 20 June.


Tuesday 13 June 2017

FindMyPast adds 1881 and 1891 Canadian Censuses

FindMyPast has added the 1881 and 1891 Canadian censuses to its USA & Canada collection.

The Canada Census of 1881 holds the details of more than 4.2 million Canadians, while the Canada Census 1891 contains more than 4.5 million records.

In both record sets, the areas covered are British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. Each result includes a transcript and an image, hosted by Library and Archives Canada, of the original census form, which will reveal where your ancestor was living, who they were living with, their birth year, place of birth and religion, their occupation and marital status, and any infirmities.

FindMyPast's collection of Canadian censuses now comprises the 1881 to 1911 censuses, plus the 1825 and 1842 Lower Canada Censuses and some other regional census indexes. 1881

John D Reid of Anglo Celtic Connections published a handy blogpost yesterday setting out the online availability of Canada's census collections across the free and pay-to-view database suppliers.

Surveying Kilrush Churchyard: volunteers needed

There's a call out for volunteers to help with the photographing of headstones and recording of memorial inscriptions in the pre-Reformation Kilrush Churchyard in County Clare.

The volunteer team, organised by Kilrush & District Historical Society, will be working in the churchyard today, Wednesday and Thursday from noon until 4pm, conducting the second stage of a project to survey and map the burial ground. The work involves the use of digital cameras, hi-tech GPS systems, and low-tech carbon rubbing techniques. No experience is necessary as training will be provided. The information collected will enable KDHS to document all of the graves in the cemetery thereby safeguarding the rich history and heritage of the site for the future.

Documenting Kilrush Churchyard started back in 2014 with the help of the Historic Graves team, when nearly half of the graveyard was mapped and photographed. Images of more than 300 of the gravestones can be viewed on Historic Graves.com.

The inscriptions from many of these have been transcribed to paper on the ground. Many have subsequently been transcribed to historicgraves.com, either from the photographs or from the paper record sheets. Some inscriptions are clear enough that they can be easily read from the photographs; others require physical inspection.

Even if you can't come along to the graveyward this week to help with the ground work, you can help the team complete the project by signing up as a transcriber and working from the online photographs.

You'll find updates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1228580340602114/

Monday 12 June 2017

Irish genealogy and history events, 12–25 June

Monday 12 June: Hermann Görtz, a German spy in Ireland during WW2, with James Scannell. Host: Clontarf Historical Society. Venue: Resource Centre, St John the Baptist Church. Clontarf Road, Dublin 3. Admission €5. All welcome. 8:15pm.

Tuesday 13 June: Irish Family History Group, monthly meeting. Host and venue: The Core Library, Theatre Square, Homer Road, Solihull, UK, B91 3RG. 10am to Noon. All welcome to attend for free genealogy help and support.

Tuesday 13 June: How online sources helped put flesh on the bones of the Beglan family tree, with Mary Beglan. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dún Laoghaire FE Institute, 17 Cumberland St, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. €3 donation requested.

Tuesday 13 June: Dublin housing in the 1800s, with Seán Bagnall. Host: Tallaght Historical Society. Venue: South Dublin County Library, The Square. Tallaght, Co Dublin. 7pm. Free. All welcome. No booking required.

Wednesday 14 June: Ireland's swinging sixties? – reimagining 1960s youth, with Carole Holohan. Host and Venue: Little Museum of Dublin, St Stephen's Green North, Dublin 2. Limited number of tickets on door, €15. 5:30pm. All welcome

Wednesday 14 June: Have you no homes to go to? – The evolution of the Irish pub, with Kevin Martin. Host and Venue: Little Museum of Dublin, St Stephen's Green North, Dublin 2. Limited number of tickets on door, €15. 7pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 14 June: The Way We Were, a special event celebrating Sligo's history. Venue: Hawsk Well Theatre, Temple Street, Sligo. Speakers include John McTernon, Simone Hickey and John Carton. County Sligo Heritage and Genealogy Society will be on hand to discuss family history research. Tickets €10, includes light refreshments. Details and booking.

Thursday 15 June: The Easter Rising through the eyes of Protestants in Dublin, with Ian d’Alton. Host: Leixlip History Club. Venue: Leixlip Library, Captain's Hill, Newtown, Leixlip, Co. Kildare. 7:15pm. All welcome.

Thursday 16 June to Monday 19 June: Great Canadian Genealogy Summit and Ontario Genealogical Society Conference. Host: Ontario Genealogical Society. Venue: Algonquin College, Ontario, Canada. Three days of inspiring lectures, workshops, displays, and other learning opportunities, plus excursions on Thursday 15 June and Ancestry Day Monday 19th. See full programme and details.

Monday 19 June to Wednesday 21 June: The Country House Revived? The 15th Annual Historic Houses Conference. Hosts: The Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University, and the Office of Public Works. Venue: Dublin Castle, Dame Street, Dublin 2. Programme and details (pdf).

Tuesday 20 June: Tracing your Irish Roots, with Lorna Moloney. Host: Clans and Surnames. Venue: Hotel Mayrick, Eyre Square, Galway City. Superbly located, overlooking Eyre Square, 9:30am to 4:30pm. Book by email to irishroots@clansandsurnames.com or telephone 085-8721184.

Wednesday 21 June: Post-post conflict? The Contemporary Murals of Northern Ireland, with Tony Crowley. Host and venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, 1 Irish Town Way, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, UK, M8 0AE. Free, but need to register. All welcome. 7:30 to 9pm.

Friday 23 and Saturday 24 June: Oral Histories of Work and Leisure – conference, workshops, presentations and dinner. Host: Oral History Network Ireland. Venue: Connacht Hotel, Dublin Road, Galway City. Full programme. Registration closes on 16 July.

Saturday 24 June: Irish Genealogical Research Society at the Yorkshire Family History Show. Venue: York Racecourse, York, UK. The show includes more than 50 exhibitors (record offices, family history societies, retailers, online services, books etc) from across the geographical British Isles, plus expert talks. Admission £4.80. All welcome.

Thursday 8 June 2017

RootsIreland adds more East Galway parish records

Just three weeks after uploading a 32,000-strong mix of non-Catholic marriages, land and gravestone records (see blogpost), RootsIreland's East Galway database has uploaded an additional 30,000 Roman Catholic baptismal transcriptions.

The new baptism records are from the following parishes:

Abbey Duniry 1870-1909
Ballinakill 1838-1915
Ballymacward 1841-1900
Carrabane 1831-1902
Craughwell 1847-1895
Fohenagh 1827-1917
Kiltullagh 1884-1901
Kilchreest 1855-1917
Caltra 1840-1917

The date span of available baptism transcriptions for two parishes have also been extended, as follows:

Aughrim 1828-1917 (1908-1917 are new)
Clontuskert 1827-1917 (1908-1917 are new)

You can view the full menu of records in the East Galway database here.

National Archives of Ireland 2017 lecture programme

The National Archives of Ireland has announced its 2017 Lecture Programme. It contains an interesting mix of genealogical and historical topics, and five of the lectures will be presented by members of Accredited Genealogists Ireland (MAGIs).

All lectures will be held at the Reading Room of the NAI in Bishop Street, Dublin 8, on Tuesday evenings starting at 6pm. All are welcome and no booking is required.

Here's the line-up:

27 June Tony Hennessey MAGI My ancestors were sent to jail – Hurrah!
.
4 July Brian Mitchell MAGI Irish emigration records: sources for researching an ancestor's migration from Ireland
.
11 July Georgina Scally MAGI Newspapers as a source for genealogical research
.
18 July Nicola Morris MAGI Tracing an Irish military ancestor: records for C19th and C20th British Army and Republican forces 1913-22
.
25 July Sandra Doble MAGI Researching your Church of Ireland ancestors
.
20 Sept. Dr Michael Kennedy Charles Doyle, an 1870s Irish Victorian cad, bounder, conman and convict
.
4 Oct. Dr Kate O'Malley Ireland, Egypt and India: 1919 an anti-imperialist turning point
.
18 Oct. Dr Emmanuel Destenay The frustrated return of WW1 Irish ex-servicemen

British Newspaper Archive clocks up 20million pages

Overnight, the British Newspaper Archive's count of pages available to reseachers clicked over the 20 million milestone (to 20,005,334 pages, to be precise), thereby marking the half way point of the British Library's project to digitise and present online its 40-million-page historical newspaper library. The latter collection, as well as including a vast holding of British newspapers, is home to the single largest collection of Irish newspapers and other periodicals.

The online, pay-to-view archive – a partnership between the British Library and FindMyPast – launched on 29 November 2011 with an impressive 3million pages ready for on-screen exploration. Just three Irish titles were included: the Cork Examiner (1841-1846), Freeman's Journal (1820-1900), and Belfast Newsletter (1828-1900).

Six years later, the online archive holds 143 titles published on the island of Ireland; 106 were published in counties that now make up the Republic of Ireland and 37 titles were produced in counties now within Northern Ireland. They make up 19% of the BNA's entire online holding of 757 titles, and they are available to search on both the BNA's dedicated website (link above) and via FindMyPast as part of a Britain, Ireland or World subscription.

Since the 2011 launch of the BNA, the British Library's Newspaper Library at Colindale in north London was closed (2013) and the entire physical collection was relocated to a hi-tech purpose built storage facility in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.

Congratulations to the British Newspaper Archive team!

Wednesday 7 June 2017

Father's Day savings on Ancestry DNA tests


Ancestry DNA is offering a Father's Day discount on its testing kit in Ireland, the UK, USA and Canada.

The discount is now available in all territories and runs until Sunday 18 June in all cases.

To place your order and pay in the local currency, click one of the following flags:


http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5737308-10819001?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.co.uk%2Fireland
Ancestry Ireland: €80 (Regular price €95), excluding postage and packaging.


http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-5737308-12965777
Ancestry UK: £69 (Regular price £79), excluding postage and packaging.


http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-12959770
Ancestry Canada: $79 Cdn (Regular price $99), excludes taxes and shipping.

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-12966665

Ancestry USA: $79 (Regular price $99), excluding taxes and shipping.


€400k funding approved for Marsh's Library

The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD, has announced capital funding of €400,000 to Marsh’s Library to ensure the protection of its unique and irreplaceable collection of 25,000 books.

Marsh's Library, Dublin.
Photo courtesy Tourism Ireland.
The grant aid will go towards measures including damp proofing and the provision of a misting fire-prevention system.

While this isn't a genealogy library, it is one of my favourite places in Dublin to visit, so I'm delighted to hear of this funding. The Library is a magnificent example of a late Renaissance and early Enlightenmnet Library, filled with books bound in old leather.

Marsh’s Library was founded in the early C18th by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713) and when it opened in 1707, it was Ireland's first public library. It is one of Dublin's very few C18th buildings still being used for its original purpose. Many of the collections in the Library are still kept on the shelves allocated to them by Marsh and by Elias Bouhéreau, the first librarian, when the Library was opened 300 years ago.

More about Marsh's Library.

Free online genealogy course starts 3 July

The University of Strathclyde's well-regarded Genealogy - Researching your Family Tree online course is to be held again from 3 July. Hosted by The Open University's Future Learn, the course is free, and requires a commitment from participants of four hours study a week over a six-week period.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/genealogy/1It is considered suitable for beginners but will also be of help to more experienced genealogists who want to learn new searching, analytical and communication techniques. It covers basic genealogy techniques, finding and analysing sources, adding historical context and exploring the potential of DNA testing.

This is not an Irish genealogy course. In fact, it does not concentrate on any specific country’s records. Instead the course looks to help participants define what it is they want to research, to consider the best ways of finding and storing relevant information and to overcome the key challenges of finding the right person among a number of possible candidates.

The tutor is Tahitia McCabe, who is also the Course Leader for the University's MSc in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies.