Friday 30 March 2018

Easter Weekend Special: Free access to Ancestry's Commonwealth collection

From Friday 30 March to Monday 2 April, Ancestry is opening up its collection of millions of records from Ireland, Britain and the Commonwealth for free access.

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-10819001?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2Fsearch%2Fgroup%2Fcommonwealth_records
Click the image, right, to view the long, long list of included record sets. As you'll see, it includes censuses from England and Wales, Scotland, the Channel Islands, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, plus electoral rolls; border crossing records; photographs and prints; land registers; books; Histories of families and places; birth/baptism, marriage and death/burial records; military records; and everything in between. And for those with a focus purely on Ireland, there are more than 65 record collections to dive into as you seach for your family.

Free access is offered to all researchers with a free registered account. If you don't already have one, simply sign up with your name and email address and you'll be sent a username and password. You're then ready to search.

The free access will end at 23:59 BST on Monday 2 April.

FindMyPast uploads Irish townland & parish indexes

Sample from Parishes of Ireland.
Arranged by townland name and showing parish,
county, Poor Law Union and size.
Click for larger image.
FindMyPast has added a collection of Indexes to Ireland's townlands and parishes. They date from 1851 to 1911, and are available to browse by dataset title and year.

These alphabetical indexes were published in census years and provide land division details for each townland.

As Irish records were organised by so many different divisions ie civil records by Poor Law Unions/ Superintendent Registration Districts, census by Electoral Divisions, it can be difficult for researchers to know the correct sets of records for their ancestor's place of origin or residence. These indexes make light work of the search.

Free online databases of the information contained in some of these indexes are available elsewhere, if you know where to look, but having all of them accessible – and free to view – via FindMyPast will be handy for researchers.


Thursday 29 March 2018

PRONI publishes its Digest of Statistics for 2016-17

Click to download the Digest
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has published its Digest of Statistics for 2016-17. It provides facts and figures relating to the demands placed on PRONI resources and the repository's performance in meeting those demands.

Visitor numbers to the modern offices in Belfast totalled 16,891 during the year. This is down just under 16% on 2011-12 and just over 17% on the record year of 2014-15. Of the first-time visitors (3,429 registered for a Visitor Pass), the main reasons for visits were family history (81%), local history (9%), academic research (5%) and legal/business research (2%). More than half (52%) were from Northern Ireland, 15% were from the USA and 13% were from England/Wales.

PRONI's website received 10.8million page views, the lowest number in the last four years, and down from last year's high of 14.1million page views. These were the most popular online destinations:

Will Calendars - 269579
Valuation Revision Books - 1,885,181
e-Catalogue - 1,760,425
Name Search - 486,349
Ulster Covenant - 294,881
Freeholders - 164,683
Street Directories - 413,581
Web Archive - 447,548
Flickr - 1,677,253

The 17-page Digest is full of interesting facts about PRONI, and you can download a PDF (2.8Mb) copy by clicking the image above.

Wednesday 28 March 2018

New gift voucher options from RootsIreland.ie

http://ifhf.rootsireland.ie/gift-voucher.phpRootsIreland.ie has introduced new Gift Voucher options.

The vouchers used to be available only in amounts of €25 and €50 but they can now be purchased for the value of each of the subscription options: €225, €125, €30 and €15.

For more information, click/tap the image, right.

While you're here, a timely reminder that RootsIreland's generous 25% discount on annual subscriptions is still on offer for both current and new subscribers. You'll have to act quickly to take advantage of the saving. The offer expires on Saturday 31 March.


Ancestry adds archive of images spanning 1704-1989

Ancestry has uploaded more than 23,000 photographs, pen and ink illustrations and sketches from the Fox and Hulton Collections (Getty Images).

The photo archive - UK, Historical Photographs and Prints, 1704-1989 - includes images that cover England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Irish element, while small at only 200-odd items, contain some wonderful old pics, including scenes from the 1951 Puck Fair held in Killorglin, Co Kerry (for some reason indexed as Customs; Wales); mass burials in Cork following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915; and post-Easter Rising scenes of smouldering ruins in Dublin.

There's a write-up on the collection in today's Irish Times, which mentions that it will be free to view over the Easter weekend.

Tuesday 27 March 2018

IGRS adds 11,000 entries to its Early Irish BMD Indexes

The Irish Genealogical Research Society has updated its Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes with the addition of 11,000 new entries. The update includes some 7,500 death entries from newspaper published between 1740 and 1810.

The combined number of entries in the three databases now tots up to an impressive 278,334.

The new death entry data is drawn from a wide number of Irish newspapers, but particularly from Walkers Hibernian & Gentleman's Magazine, Pue's Occurrences, the Leinster Journal, Faulkner’s Dublin Journal and the Hibernian Chronicle. Despite the too often generally held view that early newspapers do not note details about "ordinary" people, this update proves to the contrary. It is full of references to farmers, publicans, innkeepers, butchers, bakers, printers, brewers, apothecaries, tailors, seed merchants, drapers, painters, grocers, sailmakers, clerks, confectioners, cutlers, saddlers, haberdashers and tallow chandlers, to name but a few. And they come from all parts of the island of Ireland.

For instance, in Faulkner’s Dublin Journal in November 1761 we learn of the death of Mrs Esther Hodgson from George’s Quay in Dublin; she was the wife of a measurer. In the same newspaper in March 1764 the death of Mrs Lysaght is reported. The notice records that she was the widow of Charles Lysaght, of Craigmore, Co. Clare and her maiden surname was Hogan. In Pue’s Occurrences in March 1756 the demise of Mrs Hutchinson is noted; from Dublin's Fleet Street, she was reportedly aged 110 years.


One particularly tragic entry from Walker's in September 1807 relates the sad tale of the drowning of an English couple in Dublin. The news item reads: "Mr and Mrs Greaves, the unfortunate couple whose bodies were found drowned in the dock near Ringsend-bridge, on Friday morning, were natives of England; they had been brought to Ireland by Messrs. Lindsay, of Parliament-street, and by them employed in making artificial flowers, which they had brought to great perfection and elegance....they had been in Dublin, and were returning to their lodgings at Irishtown, but in the extreme darkness of the night they missed their way and fell into the water, where they were found next morning locked in each other's arms; they were persons of great worthiness and industry."

For genealogists, the importance of these news reports is that they are very likely the only record now existing of each person’s death. Civil registration of deaths didn't begin in Ireland until 1864 and before then the majority of parishes maintained no form of death or burial register.

Roz McCutcheon FIGRS, the Early Irish Indexes' project leader, says that she and her dedicated team of indexers intend to add much more such data drawn from Irish newspapers over the coming months and years.

The IGRS Early Irish BMD Indexes can be searched as follows:

Marriage Index – Free to all
Birth Index – Name search only for non-members
Death Index – Name search only for non-members

Monday 26 March 2018

Book launch: War and Revolution in the West of Ireland, Galway 1913-1922

http://irishacademicpress.ie/product/war-and-revolution-in-the-west-of-ireland-galway-1913-1922/
A new book – War and Revolution in the West of Ireland: Galway 1913-1922, by Conor McNamara – has been published this month by Irish Academic Press.

With a particular focus on the ferment and violence in County Galway, the 220-page book explores the history of the revolutionary period in Connaght.

It provides fascinating insights into the revolutionary activities of the ordinary men and women who participated in the struggle for independence and unravels the complex web of identity and allegiance that characterised the west of Ireland.

The book is available from the publisher and other outlets in hardback, paperback and e-book formats, costing 16.99–€44.99.

Contents

Introduction: ‘The gnarled and stony clods of townland’s tip’
  1. A Tradition of Violence: Agrarian Unrest, 1910–1916
  2. Outbreak of War, 1914–1916
  3. Liam Mellows and the 1916 Rising in Galway
  4. The rise of Sinn Féin and the Volunteers, 1916–1918
  5. War of Independence I: The Volunteers, 1920–1921
  6. War of Independence II: The Crown Forces, 1920–1921
  7. Settling Old Scores: Communal Conflict, 1918–1921
Epilogue: Conclusion: The Cheated Dead?

Next Irish Genealogy Essentials course starts 30 April

The Ulster Historical Foundation's next Irish Genealogy Essentials family history course will take place from 30 April to 4 May in Belfast.

The course is suitable for beginners, as well as for those with more experience who want to develop their skills, learn new techniques and discover lesser known resources.

It covers topics such as Irish land divisions; 19th and early 20th century census returns; Church records; Civil records; Griffith’s valuation; Tithe applotment books; wills and testamentary papers; and provides participants with the information and skills for further exploration of their family history.

Practical demonstrations of relevant websites are given, and a day and a half of guided research in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is included.

In addition, course members have a one-to-one consultation with one of the UHF's research team and receive a genealogy workbook with guidance on how to tackle the many sources available.

To view the programme and find out more details, see AncestryIreland.

The course will also run in June and November this year.


Irish genealogy and history events, 26 March to 8 April

Monday 26 March:NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal.

Monday 26 March: The 1798 Rebellion, with Dr David Hume. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne branch. Venue: Larne Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club, 112-120 Glenarm Road, Larne, BT40 1DZ. 7:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Tuesday 27 March: The pageantry of popular nationalism: Lady Day celebrations in Ulster, 1872-1914, with Kyle Hughes. Host: Modern Irish History Seminar Series 2018 - Religion and Identity, University of Edinburgh. Venue: The Old Medical School – Room G.13, William Robertson Wing, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, UK. All welcome. 6pm.

Tuesday 27 March: The sinking of the RMS Leinster: The County Clare connections, with Philip Lecane. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8–9pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5.

Tuesday 27 March: Landed Estate Papers, with Dr William Roulston. Host: Nort of Ireland Family History Society, Coleraine Branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co Londonderry. 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 27 March: Relief and the Public Work Schemes in Tullyvin/Drung, Co Cavan during the Great Famine, with Dr Ciaran Reilly. Host: Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne. Venue: Cootehill Library, Bridge Street, Drumaveil North, Cootehill, Co. Cavan. 7pm. Booking essential. Tel: 049 5559873.

Tuesday 27 March: LDS Family Search Online, with Martin McDowell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast branch. Venue: C S Lewis Room, Holywood Arches Library, 4-12 Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NT. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 28 March: Practical Workshop – Using family and local history resources online. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast. 11am to 1pm. Free but you need to register.

Wednesday 28 March: One-to-one consultations with experienced Irish researchers in the Library. Host and venue: Genealogical Society of Victoria, Level 6, 85 Queen Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia. 10am to 4pm. Free to members. AUS$20 non-members. Need to book.

Thursday 29 March: Easter 1943 in Bray, Co Wicklow, with Jim Scannell. Host: Bray Cualann Historical Society. Venue: Ballywaltrim Library, Boghall Road, Ballymorris, Bray, Co Wicklow. Free. 11:30am. All welcome.

Friday 30 March to Monday 2 April: Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday. In Republic of Ireland, National Library, National Archives, and all local archives and libraries are closed across the Easter weekend. Exception - NLI Exhibitions open on Monday 2nd April only. In Northern Ireland, PRONI in Belfast will be open on Good Friday, but closed Easter Monday.

Tuesday 3 April: Bank holiday in Northern Ireland. PRONI and other repositories and libararies will be closed.

Wednesday 4 April: Ballycorus Lead Mine, with Rob Goodbody. Host: Rathmichael Historical Society. Venue: Rathmichael School Hall, Stonebridge Road, Shankill, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5.

Thursday 5 April: The Role of Women in the Irish Revolution 1916-1923, with Liz Gillis. Host: Mount Merrion Historical Society. Venue: Mount Merrion Community Centre, North Avenue, Mt Merrion, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. Non-members €4.



Monday 19 March 2018

Irish genealogy and history events, 19 March - 2 April

Monday 19 March: Public Holiday for St Patrick's Day, across the island.

Tuesday 20 March: Horse racing in County Tipperary, with Dr Pat Bracken. Host: Tipperary People & Places Lecture Series. Venue: Tipperary Studies, The Source, Cathedral Street, Thurles, Co Tipperary. 7:30pm. Admission free. Tea served. All welcome. More details studies@tipperarycoco.ie.

Tuesday 20 March: Researching your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Saint Andrew Society of Hawaii, the Friends’ of St Patrick and the Hawaii State Public Library System. Venue: Von Holt Room, St Andrew’s Cathedral, 229 Queen Emma Square, Honolulu, HI, USA. 9am to 4pm. Details (click on Celtic Calendar).

Wednesday 21 March: The Acheson family, with Rev John Faris. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Armagh branch. Venue: Bleary Community Centre, 1 Deans Road, Bleary, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT66 7AS. 7:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Wednesday 21 March: Researching a Killaloe Family's History, a case study, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS. Host: Killaloe-Ballina Local History Society. Venue: Wood and Bell Cafe, Main St, Shantraud, Killaloe, Co. Clare. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 21 March: Old Lanes & Streets of Carlow, with Dan Carbery/Paul Lyons and Pat O'Neill. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: Seven Oaks Hotel, Athy Rd, Graigue, Carlow Town. 8pm.

Wednesday 21 March: Ulstermen at St Quentin, with Nigel Henderson. Last of the Memories and memorialisation series of talks. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. Free. 1-2pm. All welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 22 March:  The 1718 Emigration from East Londonderry to New England, with Alison McCaughan. The talk is at 8pm, following the AGM, which starts at 7:15. Host: Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland. Venue: 267 Antrim Rd, Glengormley, Newtownabbey BT36 7QN.
The talk is at 8pm, following the AGM, which starts at 7:15. All welcome.

Thursday 22 March: Researching around adoption and using DNA resources, with Seán T Traynor. 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. All welcome.

Thursday 22 March: Local and Family History seminar. Four illustrated talks: The rise and fall of the Timy family; The life and times of Thomas Walsh, 1916'er & trade unionist; Cork Surnames; Terence MacSwiney. Part of the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival. Host and venue: Cork City & County Archives, 32 Great William O'Brien Street, Cork. 11am to 4pm. Free. Booking essential; email archivist@corkcity.ie. Cancelled.

Friday 23 March: The Reading Room of the National Archives of Ireland will be closed until 2pm.

Friday 23 March: Surveying Heritage: A landscape archaeology of the Ordnance Survey in Ireland, with Keith Lilley. Part of the National Monuments and Buildings Record NI lecture series. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm–2pm. Free. No booking required.

Friday 23 March: The Great Famine in Edenderry through the eyes of Dr Richard Grattan of Drummin House, Carbury, with Ciaran Reilly. Host: Edenderry Historical Society. Venue: The Parish Centre, Edenderry, Co Offaly. 8pm. All welcome.

Saturday 24 March: Bridging the Past & Future – Family History Conference. Host: Cork Genealogical Society. Venue: Silverspring's Clayton Hotel, Cork. Cost for conference and light lunch: €25pp. All welcome. Details. Registration 9am.

Saturday 24 March: Enniskillen Workhouse, with Dr Desmond McCabe. Host: Fermanagh Genealogy Centre. Venue: Enniskillen Library, Halls Lane, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. 1:30pm refreshments, followed by short members' meeting. Talk starts 2:15pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members £4/£3.

Saturday 24 March: Finding Ship Records for Irish Ancestors, with Mary Wickersham. Host: Irish Genealogical Society International. Venue: Celtic Junction, 836 Prior Ave N, St Paul, WN, USA. 10:30am. IGSI members $15. Non-members $20. Details and registration.

Saturday 24 March: Genealogy workshop, with Lynn Brady. Host and venue: Glasnevin Cemetery, Finglas Road, Dublin 11. 2pm. €10. Booking essential. Details.

Sunday 25 March: Free genealogy help session. Host and venue: Library of the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Avenue, Chicago, IL 60630, USA. From 1pm to 4pm. Free. All welcome. Last Sunday of the month.

Monday 26 March:NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal.

Tuesday 27 March: The pageantry of popular nationalism: Lady Day celebrations in Ulster, 1872-1914, with Kyle Hughes. Host: Modern Irish History Seminar Series 2018 - Religion and Identity, University of Edinburgh. Venue: The Old Medical School – Room G.13, William Robertson Wing, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, UK. All welcome. 6pm.

Tuesday 27 March: The sinking of the RMS Leinster: The County Clare connections, with Philip Lecane. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8–9pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5.

Tuesday 27 March: Landed Estate Papers, with Dr William Roulston. Host: Nort of Ireland Family History Society, Coleraine Branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co Londonderry. 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 27 March: Relief and the Public Work Schemes in Tullyvin/Drung, Co Cavan during the Great Famine, with Dr Ciaran Reilly. Host: Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne. Venue: Cootehill Library, Bridge Street, Drumaveil North, Cootehill, Co. Cavan. 7pm. Booking essential. Tel: 049 5559873.

Wednesday 28 March: Practical Workshop – Using family and local history resources online. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast. 11am to 1pm. Free but you need to register.

Friday 30 March to Monday 2 April: Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday. In Republic of Ireland, National Library, National Archives, and all local archives and libraries are closed across the Easter weekend. Exception - NLI Exhibitions open on Monday 2nd April only. In Northern Ireland, PRONI in Belfast will be open on Good Friday, but closed Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd April.

Saturday 17 March 2018

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: Latest additions

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/dublin/photos/tombstones/mt-jerome-190/target137.html
Beautiful lettering on this modern stone
in Mount Jerome Cemetery.
Photo courtesy Yvonne Russell & IGP Archives.
The following files have been uploaded to the online database of Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP-web) in the first half of March.

All have been donated by volunteers, and are free to search and view.

ARMAGH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Killylea, St. Marks (CoI) Graveyard
Knappagh Presbyterian Graveyard

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Laragh Old Cemetery

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Golden Bridge Cemetery, Pt. 5 (P-Y)
Mt. Jerome Cemetery, Parts 189 & 190

LOUTH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Peter's Drogheda. Part 1 & 2 (text files added)

MAYO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Burrishoole Abbey, Part 4

MONAGHAN & Fermanagh Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Assorted Baptisms in the Parish of Clones

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives - Newspapers
Assorted Work House entries & deaths

Friday 16 March 2018

Free access to Ancestry's Irish Heritage Collection

 http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5737308-11714212?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Fcs%2FstpatricksdayTo celebrate St Patrick's Day, Ancestry.com has opened up its Irish Heritage Collection for free access until Monday night.

The collection holds some 80million records, including the newly updated Boston Archdiocese Catholic Sacramental Records collection which dates from 1789 to 1900. 

You can see a full listing of the record sets included in the Irish Heritage Collection here.

Access to the records in the featured collection will be free until 11:59pm ET on Monday 19 March.

To start your search, click the image. If you don't already have an account, you'll need to register for one. It's a quick and easy process, and you don't have to provide more detail than your name and email address.

Ancestry updates Index to Boston Archdiocese RC Sacramental Records

The records are being digitised by the NEHGS
Ancestry has updated its relatively new Boston, Massachusetts, Catholic Sacramental Records, 1789-1900 Index.

The Index, which joined Ancestry in November, links to images of RC records from the Boston Archdiocese (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) held on AmericanAncestors.org, the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).

When first uploaded, the Index had more than 415,000 records. This month's update sees the database grow by 85% to 771,876 records. Definitely worth another search to see if your Irish ancestors have showed up!

AncestryDNA sale for US-based researchers: $30 off

http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5737308-11714212?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.com%2Fcs%2Fstpatricksday

Researchers in the USA can take advantage of a St Patrick's Day discount from AncestryDNA.

If you order a DNA testing kit before close of Monday 19 March, you'll make a saving of US$30 on the standard price of US$99. The offer price of US$69 excludes taxes and shipping.

To place your order, click the image.

AncestryDNA: 20% off for St Patrick's Day - Ireland only

http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-5737308-10819001?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.co.uk%2Fcs%2Fireland-dna

AncestryDNA is offering a 20% discount (Ireland only) on its DNA testing kit.

The offer reduces the cost from the standard price of €95 to €76, excluding postage and packaging costs.

The discount will expire on Monday 19 March.

To take advantage of the offer, click the image.




FindMyPast unveils new records for St Patrick's Day

Marking St Patrick's Day, FindMyPast has added new record sets to its Irish collection and topped up existing ones. They are:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W0Ycg3oJRFI7cuW028I_vxqhuRKdk5Pt/view?usp=sharing
Click to view enlarged image of sample
Irish Tontines Annuitants 1766-1789
This new collection holds more than 153,000 annuity statements, accounts of deaths, death certificates, and marriage certificates relating to the subscribers and nominees of the Irish Tontine (an investment plan in which subscribers paid a sum into the fund and subsequently receive an annuity from it... the shares increased as subscribers died, and the last survivor enjoyed the whole income). See the landing page for more information about these records.

Ireland, American Fenian Brotherhood 1864-1897
Holding more than 125,000 records taken from correspondence between members of the British Foreign Office, this collection notes the activities of the American Fenian Brotherhood as it increased its efforts to liberate Ireland from British rule during the second half of the C19th. The records include newspaper cuttings, letters, telegrams, lists of prisoners, and a number of photographs. This collection is also available to browse.

Church Of Ireland Histories & Reference Guides
Two publications, both presented as PDFs, have been added to create this collection. They are:
  • The National Churches: The Church of Ireland by Thomas Olden, MA, a member of the Royal Irish Academy and Vicar of Ballyclough. Published in 1892, this history of the Church of Ireland begins in Pre-Christian Ireland and continues through to the Act of Disestablishment in 1869. It includes a map of Church of Ireland dioceses.
  • Some Worthies of the Irish Church was published in 1900 and is a collection of lectures delivered in the Divinity School of the University of Dublin by the late George Thomas Stokes, DD, an Irish ecclesiastical historian.
Armagh Records & Registers
This newly created collection comprises just one publication so far. Published in 1819, it is an authoritative text on the history of Armagh and goes by the not-so-snappy title of Historical Memoirs of the City of Armagh for a Period of 1,373 Years Comprising a Considerable Portion of the General History of Ireland; A Refutation of the Opinions of Dr. Ledwich, Respecting the Non-Existence of St. Patrick; And an Appendix, on the Learning, Antiquities and Religion of the Irish Nation. It includes biographical accounts of both Protestant and Roman Catholic archbishops, a narrative of important events, an account of the establishment of Presbyterian congregations, and the history of various customs and manners.

Antrim Histories & Reference Guides
Another debut collection. This one holds A History of the Town of Belfast from the Earlier Times to the Close of the Eighteenth Century, by George Benn, and holds historical maps and illustration of the city and a chapter on noted inhabitants mentioned in C17th records.

Dublin Registers & Records
This existing collection has been topped up with more than 2,000 new records. The collection holds 22 Irish titles (all presented as PDF images), including parish records (baptisms, marriages, and burials) from the Church of Ireland, census indexes, school registers, monumental inscriptions and printed histories. They date from the 1600s to 1800.

Ireland, Royal Irish Constabulary History & Directories
New records have been added to this existing collection which contains an assortment of pay records, lists, directories, commendation records, treasury books, Constabulary Code books and training manuals.

AncestryDNA sale for Canadian researchers: $30 off

http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-5737308-13260472
Canadian residents can take advantage of a St Patrick's Day sale from Ancestry DNA by purchasing a test kit for $99 CAD (plus p&p). That's a saving of $30 on the regular price of $129CAD.

The offer will end at 11:59pm ET on Sunday 18 March.



Thursday 15 March 2018

FamilyTreeDNA: savings on Family Finder and bundles

https://www.familytreedna.com/
Family Tree DNA has a St Patrick's Day offer on its autosomal 'Family Finder' test.

The US$20 discount brings the price down from US$79 to US$59 (excluding p&p).

There are even bigger savings of between $48 and $73 to be had on Y-DNA & mtDNA Bundles.

Discounts will expire at 11:59 pm PST on Sunday 18 March.



Tuesday 13 March 2018

Petition to release 1926 Census receives 5,350 signatures

A Petition calling on the Irish Government to release the 1926 Census has received more than 5,350 signatures as of this morning. Launched in December by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO) in December (see blogpost), it broke through the 5,000 milestone at the weekend.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16dUup8vmREcRa5bLWn_UpLS9fNqcidEf/view?usp=sharing
Sample of 1926 Census: click to view larger image
The 1926 census returns are currently stored in the National Archives in Dublin, but will require cataloguing and conservation work before they can be digitised in preparation for making them available online. Given that this work will take time, CIGO is calling on the Government to commit to releasing the 1926 census in 2022 as part of the celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the State. This could be done by supporting the recently published Seanad ‘1926 Census’ private members bill, with any lingering questions about confidentiality being easily addressed by redaction.

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

It seems they have been doing exactly that, but if YOU haven't yet done your bit, you know what to do! You can sign the Petition here.

UPDATE, Noon 16 March: And today, it's the 6,000 signatures milestone that's been passed. Keep going everyone. Sign and share!

Monday 12 March 2018

Big St Patrick's Day discounts from FindMyPast

To celebrate St Patrick's Day, all of FindMyPast's territories are offering discounts on selected subscription packages this week. The offers, see below, will expire on Sunday 18 March. Make sure to check out the Terms and Conditions on the landing pages.

FindMyPast Ireland

Get started for only €1 with a one-month Ireland subscription

10% off a 12-Month Ireland subscription

FindMyPast UK

10% off a 12-month Pro subscription

50% off a 1-Month Plus subscription

FindMyPast USA

10% off a 12-Month Ultimate British & Irish subscription

50% off a 1-Month Ultimate British & Irish subscription

FindMyPast Australia & New Zealand

10% off a 12-Month World subscription

50% off a 1-Month World subscription

Irish genealogy and history events, 12 to 25 March

Monday 12 March: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, incl. Genealogy Advisory Service, operating as normal. Details.

Monday 12 March: A Belfast story, with Sharon Dickson. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Newtownabbey Branch. Venue: Drama Theatre, Glengormley High School, 134 Ballyclare Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 5HP. Free. 7pm. All welcome.

Monday 12 March: Research Workshop: Using the National Library. Host & Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 3pm. Free. To reserve a place, contact: learning@nli.ie or 01 6030 259/346. Details.

Monday 12 March: A Church of Ireland family story 1920-1923, with John Hobbs. Host: Kilmacthomas Historical Society. Venue: Lenihans Lounge Bar, Newtown, Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford. 8pm. Admission is €5 and all are welcome to attend.

Monday 12 March: Exploring Your Scots-Irish Genealogy, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. Venue: The Hermitage, 4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, TN 37076 USA. 4:30pm to 9pm. Light refreshments included. Details and tickets.

Monday 12 March: The 'Royal Site' of Rathcroghan – an enduring paradigm of enclosed sacred space, with Joe Fenwick. Host: NUI Galway's Natural and Human Heritages Spring Lunchtime Lectures Series. Venue: The Stuido, Town Hall Theatre, Woodquay, Galway. 1:10pm to 1:50pm. Free. No booking required.

Tuesday 13 March: The Mayor's Tale, with Howard Clarke. Host: More Tales of Medieval Dublin lecture series. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. 1:05–1:55pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 13 March Scots-Irish Genealogy consultations, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. Venue: The Hermitage, 4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, TN 37076 USA. 9am to 5pm. Need to book. Details and tickets.

Tuesday 13 March: Pennies to heaven? The meaning of money in the Irish Catholic Church, 1850-1921, with Sarah Roddy. Host: Modern Irish History Seminar Series 2018 - Religion and Identity, University of Edinburgh. Venue: The Old Medical School – Room G.13, William Robertson Wing, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, UK. All welcome. 6pm.

Tuesday 13 March: Researching Your Irish ancestors, with Ed McGuire. Host: 2018 Burlington Irish Heritage Festival and Vermont Genealogy Library. Venue: Vermont Genealogy Library, Hegeman Avenue, Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester, Vermont USA. 7pm. Free and open to the public. Coffee, tea and pastries will be provided. Details.

Wednesday 14 March: Discovering your Irish and Scots-Irish Roots, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: St Louis County Library History & Genealogy Department. Venue: St Louis County Library, Grant’s View Branch, 9700 Musick Ave, St Louis, MO 63123 USA. Session 1: 1pm–5pm. Session 2: 6:30pm–8:45pm. Register.

Wednesday 14 March: Click and create - photographing commemoration in Ireland, with Patrick Hugh Lynch. Part of the Memories and memorialisation series of talks. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. Free. 1-2pm. All welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 15 March: Irish Resources for Genealogists, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: The Greater Omaha Genealogical Society. Venue: Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Center, 67th & Dodge Streets, Omaha, NE, USA. 12:30pm to 9:30pm. Details.

Saturday 17 March: St Patrick's Day. Everywhere.

Saturday 17 March: Ireland, Irish immigration and research in Canadian records, with Dr Bruce Elliott. Host: Ontario Genealogical Society, Kingston Branch. Venue: Frontenac Room, Seniors Centre, 56 Francis Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Starts 10am. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 17 March: Anti-Irish sentiment in 19th-century America, with Peter Drummey and Eileen Pironti. Hosts: The Irish Ancestral Research Association and New England Historic Genealogical Society. Venue: NEHGS, 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, USA. 9:30am to Noon, with optional research time until 5pm. Morning refreshments included. $25. Tickets and details.

Saturday 17 March: The Irish Are Coming, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society. Venue: Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, 11427 Fair Oaks Blvd, Fair Oaks, CA 95628, USA. 9am to 4:45pm. SOLD OUT.

Sunday 18 March: Irish genealogy research seminar, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Irish Heritage Club, Seattle. Venue: Seattle Center, Upper Level Armory, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109 USA. 10am to 6pm. Tickets and programme.

Sunday 18 March: Irish genealogy help and advice, with Jill Williams FIGRS of the Irish Genealogical Reseaarch Society. Host: Edinburgh’s Festival of Ireland. Venue: Dalriada, 77 the Promenade, Portobello, Edinburgh EH15 2EL. Follows the Irish Pageant. 3pm. Free. All welcome.

Monday 19 March: Public Holiday for St Patrick's Day, across the island.

Tuesday 20 March: Horse racing in County Tipperary, with Dr Pat Bracken. Host: Tipperary People & Places Lecture Series. Venue: Tipperary Studies, The Source, Cathedral Street, Thurles, Co Tipperary. 7:30pm. Admission free. Tea served. All welcome. More details studies@tipperarycoco.ie.

Tuesday 20 March:
Researching your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Saint Andrew Society of Hawaii, the Friends’ of St Patrick and the Hawaii State Public Library System. Venue: Von Holt Room, St Andrew’s Cathedral, 229 Queen Emma Square, Honolulu, HI, USA. 9am to 4pm. Details (click on Celtic Calendar).

Wednesday 21 March: The Acheson family, with Rev John Faris. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Armagh branch. Venue: Bleary Community Centre, 1 Deans Road, Bleary, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT66 7AS. 7:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Wednesday 21 March: Old Lanes & Streets of Carlow, with Dan Carbery/Paul Lyons and Pat O'Neill. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: Seven Oaks Hotel, Athy Rd, Graigue, Carlow Town. 8pm.

Wednesday 21 March: Ulstermen at St Quentin, with Nigel Henderson. Last of the Memories and memorialisation series of talks. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. Free. 1-2pm. All welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 22 March:  The 1718 Emigration from East Londonderry to New England, with Alison McCaughan. The talk is at 8pm, following the AGM, which starts at 7:15. Host: Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland. Venue: 267 Antrim Rd, Glengormley, Newtownabbey BT36 7QN.
The talk is at 8pm, following the AGM, which starts at 7:15. All welcome.

Thursday 22 March: Researching around adoption and using DNA resources, with Seán T Traynor. 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. All welcome.

Friday 23 March: The Reading Room of the National Archives of Ireland will be closed until 2pm.

Friday 23 March: Surveying Heritage: A landscape archaeology of the Ordnance Survey in Ireland, with Keith Lilley. Part of the National Monuments and Buildings Record NI lecture series. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm–2pm. Free. No booking required.

Saturday 24 March: Bridging the Past & Future – Family History Conference. Host: Cork Genealogical Society. Venue: Silverspring's Clayton Hotel, Cork. Cost for conference and light lunch: €25pp. All welcome. Details. Registration 9am.

Saturday 24 March: Finding Ship Records for Irish Ancestors, with Mary Wickersham. Host: Irish Genealogical Society International. Venue: Celtic Junction, 836 Prior Ave N, St Paul, WN, USA. 10:30am. IGSI members $15. Non-members $20. Details and registration.

Sunday 25 March: Free genealogy help session. Host and venue: Library of the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Avenue, Chicago, IL 60630, USA. From 1pm to 4pm. Free. All welcome. Last Sunday of the month.


Saturday 10 March 2018

British Newspaper Archive: 30% off 12-month sub

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=5895&awinaffid=123532&clickref=&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk%2Faccount%2Fsubscribe%3FPromotionCode%3DPAT18A
The British Newspaper Archive is offering a 30% discount on its 12-month subscription.

The offer reduces the cost of the annual package from £80 to just under £56.

In addition to all the British papers in the online archive, the database holds 154 historical papers from across Ireland.

To take advantage of the offer, which expires on Saturday 17 March, click the image and sign up for 12-month's access.

Friday 9 March 2018

FindMyPast creates new indexes to Irish civil register images

FindMyPast has uploaded new indexes to the Civil Births and Marriages register images held on state-managed IrishGenealogy.ie. Search results provide transcriptions of all the details from each register entry (excepting annotations) and a link to the pdf held on IrishGenealogy.ie of the register page. Like IrishGenealogy.ie, all the data is provided free, although a registered account – not a subscription – is needed to view results.

The announcement of the upload says there are more than 2.7million transcripts in the Births Index and more than 2.6million transcripts in the Marriage Index. Unfortunately, there is no indication of the span of years or the geographical areas covered.

I've run a couple of comparison tests. Because the numbers are small and manageable, I've used Santry as the test surname for the Births Indexes. On IrishGenealogy.ie there are 170 births with the name Santry or Sauntry from 1864 to 1916. On FindMyPast there are 101 results, suggesting that coverage is not identical. I tried to find some pattern, but couldn't. I haven't checked for every year, but for each of 1895 and 1904, IrishGenealogy.ie has one more birth entry than FindMyPast's Index.

Moving to FindMyPast's Marriage Indexes, I started with a general no-surname search for marriages in 1845 +/- 2 years and was surprised to find 63 marriages appear, all with links to images. I was surprised because IrishGenealogy doesn't have pre-1870 register images.  I linked through to half a dozen of these and found that the year of marriage had been mistranscribed: Samuel Chick married Charlotte Hutcheson in Kilkeel on 22 May 1884, not 1844; James Fagan married Mary Barry in Monkstown on 6 Jan 1895, not 1845; James Curren married Mary Curren in Ballinrobe on 1 November 1893, not 1843... etc. I found each of these marriages correctly noted in the IrishGenealogy.ie index.

As far as I can tell, FindMyPast's Marriages Index runs from about 1870 to 1940. The company's vague blog announcement says more entries will be added later in the year, so presumably these will include the 1941 marriages which are already available on IrishGenealogy. FindMyPast's Births Index seems to run from 1864 to 1915, with an additional helping of nearly 4,500 birth registrations for 1916.

While I can't say I was wildly impressed with my first dabble in FindMyPast's new Indexes, I accept that all indexes have errors and these can be amended by feedback from customers. However, I can't help questioning quality control procedures when an index of images that start from 1870 throws up entries for the 1860s and was not corrected before publication. What irritates me more is the lack of information about the FindMyPast Indexes. Is it too much to ask for researchers to be provided with basic information about the dates covered in a collection, or advised that the collection is incomplete? No one wants to waste their time searching a collection or index for records that it doesn't hold.

The two databases can be found here:

FindMyPast's Ireland Civil Birth Registers Index

FindMyPast's Ireland Civil Marriage Registers Index


UPDATE, 15 May 2018: Genealogist John Grenham has worked out what is missing, and it's not insignificant! See his blogpost – FindMyPast's unmarked elephant traps – for full details.

UPDATE, 13 July 2018
: The two databases have been removed from FindMyPast's website. No notification or explanation provided.

Thursday 8 March 2018

RootsIreland offers 25% discount on its 12-month sub

http://www.rootsireland.ie/2018/03/special-offer-from-rootsireland-get-one-quarter-off-a-12-month-subscription/
RootsIreland.ie is offering a 25% discount on its annual subscription. Unusually, this offer is not only available to new subscribers. Researchers with a current subscription can also take advantage of the price reduction; the special deal subscription will begin when the current sub runs out.

The discount reduces the cost of the 12-month subscription from €225 to €169 | £198 to £148 | US$278 to US$208.

The saving will remain on offer until 11:59pm on Sunday 25 March Saturday 31 March.

RootsIreland.ie is the online database of the Irish Family History Foundation, which manages a network of genealogy and heritage centres across the island. The database holds more than 20million records, many of them church records (several denominations) unavailable elsewhere, as well as civil records of birth, marriage and death, and more. You can check a detailed breakdown of the genealogical sources for each county here.

UPDATE, 20 March:
The period of the discount offer has been extended to 31 March.

Tuesday 6 March 2018

PRONI's latest digital resource: a register of WW1 casualties treated in Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast

https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/28514663_209975879554838_2382867927369355859_o.jpg?oh=6849aa652b39c32e8da7e0f1095722d8&oe=5B40FDD3
Click for enlarged view of sample pages
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has launched another digital resource from its archive collection. It is the First World War Register of the Royal Victoria Hospital (PRONI ref: HOS/2/1/4/1), and it holds details of war casualties treated at the Belfast hospital between September 1914 and November 1916.

The register contains the names of more than 700 soldiers from various regiments. It also details, where available, each soldier’s rank, service number, regiment, battalion number, date of admission and date of discharge.

Launched today as part of PRONI’s Women and Medicine during the First World War conference (marking International Women’s Day on 8 March) the register can be accessed either as an excel spreadsheet, arranged alphabetically by surname, or by viewing scanned images of the register pages in a downloadable pdf (23.4Mb). Both are free of charge.

Links to the two options, along with additional information about the resource, can be found in an article about the register on PRONI's website.

Irish News Archives extends free access in Australian libraries

https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/
The State Library of Tasmania is the latest Australian library to be connected to the Irish Newspaper Archives.

This means the online database is now available to Australians with Irish roots – free of charge – in the following libraries (online/on-site access according to institution):


Monday 5 March 2018

Irish genealogy and history events, 5-18 March

Monday 5 March: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operate as normal. Details.

Monday 5 March Getting started with genealogy research. Hosts: Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) for Aontas Adult Learners’ Festival. Three short introductory lectures (civil registration, land records, and census records) from 11:30am to 1:30pm, with five-minute gaps between, followed by small group workshops from 2:15pm. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2. Further details. See also Friday 9 March.

Monday 5 March: The Irish in Chicago, the most segregated city in America, with Dr Christina Marrocco. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: Cobden Hall, Carlow College, College Street, Carlow. 1:45pm. All welcome. Free.

Monday 5 March: The history of the 'Down Recorder', with Marcus Crichton. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Killyleagh Branch. Venue: Killyleagh Masonic Hall, 50 High Street, Killyleagh, BT30 9QF. 8pm. All welcome.

Monday 5 March: Researching your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors, a full-day conference with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Hosts and venue: The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), 99-101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 USA. 9:30am to 4pm. Details. Sold out.

Tuesday 6 March: International Women’s Day: Women and Medicine during the First World War, a half-day conference. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 10–1:30pm. Free, but need to register.

Tuesday 6 March: Irish and Scots-Irish family history research workshop, with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Hosts: The Filson Society. Venue: The Filson Society, 1310 S. 3rd St, Louisville, KY 40208 USA. Details. 1pm to 4:30pm.

Wednesday 7 March: Irish genealogy workshop, with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Hosts and venue: The Newberry Library, 60 W Walton Street, Chicago IL 60610 USA. 9:15am–3pm. Details. Fully booked.

Wednesday 7 March: The Clogherney Boys in World War 1, with Robert Corbett. First of the Memories and memorialisation series of talks. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. Free. 1-2pm. All welcome. Need to register.

Wednesday 7 March: Penal Times: Irish Catholics in the 18th century, with Prof Ian McBride. Host: Irish Association of Professional Historians. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 7pm. Free. All welcome. No booking required.

Thursday 8 March: Irish genealogy, a full-day conference with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Wisconsin Historical Society. Venue: Memorial Library Room 126816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706 USA. 9am–5pm. Details. SOLD OUT.

Friday 9 March Getting started with genealogy research. Hosts: Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) for Aontas Adult Learners’ Festival. Three short introductory lectures (civil registration, land records, and census records) from 11:30am to 1:30pm, with five-minute gaps between, followed by small group workshops from 2:15pm. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Further details.

Saturday 10 March: Using Griffith’s Valuation to identify your ancestors' origins: A Case Study, and Online sources for Irish research, with Donna Moughty. Host: Lee County Public Library. Venue: Fort Myers Regional Library, South Building, 1651 Lee Street, Meeting Rooms A & B, Ft. Myers, FL 9:30am to 12:30pm. Need to register.

Saturday 10 March: Southern Protestants and the Irish Revolution, 1916-1923, with Dan Purcell, and DNA, with Paddy Waldron. Host: Irish Family History Society. Venue: Dublin City Library Archive, 138/144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Registration at 2pm. All welcome. Free.

Saturday 10 March: Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland: There’s more than just names to be found, with Fern Wilcox. Host: Irish Genealogical Society International. Venue: Minnesota Genealogical Society Center, 1385 Mendota Heights Rd, Mendota Heights, MN, USA. 10:30am to Noon. Fee: $15 for IGSI members and $20 for non-members. Details.

Saturday 10 March: Tracing your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors, a full day-conference with Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Hosts: British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa. Venue: Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 8:30am to 4:30pm. Need to register by 7 March. No walk-in registration. Details.

Saturday 10 March: Images of Irish migration, with Dr Paddy Fitzgerald. Host: NIFHS Tyrone Branch. Venue: Seminar Room, First Floor, Omagh Library, Dublin Road, Omagh, BT78 1HL. 10am to noon. All welcome.

Saturday 10 March: Scots-Irish immigration to America, a live webinar presented by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen AG. Host: Southern California Genealogical Society. 10am PDT. Free. Register.

Sunday 11 March: Researching your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Hosts: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Venue: Brookside Manor at Somerton Springs, 50 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville-Trevose, PA 19053, USA. 9am to 4:30pm. Irish themed buffet lunch. Details.

Monday 12 March: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal. Details.

Monday 12 March: A Belfast story, with Sharon Dickson. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Newtownabbey Branch. Venue: Drama Theatre, Glengormley High School, 134 Ballyclare Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 5HP. Free. 7pm. All welcome.

Monday 12 March: Research Workshop: Using the National Library. Host & Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 3pm. Free. To reserve a place, contact: learning@nli.ie or 01 6030 259/346. Details.

Monday 12 March: A Church of Ireland family story 1920-1923, with John Hobbs. Host: Kilmacthomas Historical Society. Venue: Lenihans Lounge Bar, Newtown, Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford. 8pm. Admission is €5 and all are welcome to attend.

Monday 12 March: Exploring Your Scots-Irish Genealogy, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. Venue: The Hermitage, 4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, TN 37076 USA. 4:30pm to 9pm. Light refreshments included. Details and tickets.

Monday 12 March: The 'Royal Site' of Rathcroghan – an enduring paradigm of enclosed sacred space, with Joe Fenwick. Host: NUI Galway's Natural and Human Heritages Spring Lunchtime Lectures Series. Venue: The Stuido, Town Hall Theatre, Woodquay, Galway. 1:10pm to 1:50pm. Free. No booking required.

Tuesday 13 March: The Mayor's Tale, with Howard Clarke. Host: More Tales of Medieval Dublin lecture series. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. 1:05–1:55pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 13 March Scots-Irish Genealogy consultations, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. Venue: The Hermitage, 4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, TN 37076 USA. 9am to 5pm. Need to book. Details and tickets.

Tuesday 13 March: Pennies to heaven? The meaning of money in the Irish Catholic Church, 1850-1921, with Sarah Roddy. Host: Modern Irish History Seminar Series 2018 - Religion and Identity, University of Edinburgh. Venue: The Old Medical School – Room G.13, William Robertson Wing, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, UK. All welcome. 6pm.

Tuesday 13 March: Researching Your Irish ancestors, with Ed McGuire. Host: 2018 Burlington Irish Heritage Festival and Vermont Genealogy Library. Venue: Vermont Genealogy Library, Hegeman Avenue, Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester, Vermont USA. 7pm. Free and open to the public. Coffee, tea and pastries will be provided. Details.

Wednesday 14 March: Discovering your Irish and Scots-Irish Roots, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: St Louis County Library History & Genealogy Department. Venue: St Louis County Library, Grant’s View Branch, 9700 Musick Ave, St Louis, MO 63123 USA. Session 1: 1pm–5pm. Session 2: 6:30pm–8:45pm. Register.

Wednesday 14 March: Click and create - photographing commemoration in Ireland, with Patrick Hugh Lynch. Part of the Memories and memorialisation series of talks. Host and venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. Free. 1-2pm. All welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 15 March: Irish Resources for Genealogists, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: The Greater Omaha Genealogical Society. Venue: Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Center, 67th & Dodge Streets, Omaha, NE, USA. 12:30pm to 9:30pm. Details.

Saturday 17 March: St Patrick's Day. Everywhere.

Saturday 17 March: Ireland, Irish immigration and research in Canadian records, with Dr Bruce Elliott. Host: Ontario Genealogical Society, Kingston Branch. Venue: Frontenac Room, Seniors Centre, 56 Francis Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Starts 10am. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 17 March: Anti-Irish sentiment in 19th-century America, with Peter Drummey and Eileen Pironti. Hosts: The Irish Ancestral Research Association and New England Historic Genealogical Society. Venue: NEHGS, 101 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116, USA. 9:30am to Noon, with optional research time until 5pm. Morning refreshments included. $25. Tickets and details.

Saturday 17 March: The Irish Are Coming, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society. Venue: Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, 11427 Fair Oaks Blvd, Fair Oaks, CA 95628, USA. 9am to 4:45pm. SOLD OUT.

Sunday 18 March: Irish genealogy research seminar, with Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: Irish Heritage Club, Seattle. Venue: Seattle Center, Upper Level Armory, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109 USA. 10am to 6pm. Tickets and programme.

Friday 2 March 2018

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: end of Feb update

The Edward Dycer vault at Mt Jerome Cemetery.
Interred with Edward Dycer are six others, four
of them Dycers, two Hayes, buried 1854–1899.
Photo courtesy of volunteer Yvonne Russell.
Thanks also to Mt Jerome Cemetery Office
who provided the names of people buried in
vaults she had photographed some time ago.
See the text file for details.
The volunteer team at Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives has uploaded the files noted below to the free online database in the second half of February.

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Kill Old Graveyard

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Deansgrange, St. Mogue's Section, Pt. 3 (additional)

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mt. Jerome, Dublin - parts 184 - 188

MEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Navan, St. Mary's (C) -text file added

MONAGHAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Aughnamullen (CoI) Graveyard

MONAGHAN & FERMANAH - Church Records
Clones Parish Registers - Baptisms (additional)

ROSCOMMON Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Strokestown (CoI) Cemetery

SLIGO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Tubbercurry, Rhue Cemetery (partial)

TIPPERARY Genealogy Archives - Wills
Wills created in England

WESTMEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mount Temple, Holy Trinity Cemetery