Monday 30 April 2018

The Scots-Irish in North America: 12 histories join FindMyPast

FindMyPast has uploaded twelve histories of the Scots-Irish in North America.

They are scanned publications in pdf format, so be sure to check out the 'Search Tips' on the collection's home page, as searching them is not as straightforward as searching a regular dataset.

You can search by publication name, by country (either Canada or United States), and by keyword (name, place, etc).

The titles are:

The Scotch-Irish in America, 1915, by Henry Jones Ford

The Scotch-Irish in Canada, by Rev. Stuart Acheson

The Scotch-Irish in East Tennessee, by Judge Oliver P Temple.

The Scotch-Irish in South-Western Pennsylvania, by S T Wiley.

The Scotch-Irish of California, by Terence Masterson

The Scotch-Irish of Kentucky, by Judge William Lindsay

Officers and Members of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, 1891, published by the Society

Patriotism of the Scotch-Irish, by Professor George MacLoskie

The Scotch-Irish of the Bench and Bar, by A E Stevenson

The Scotch-Irish Race Among the Nations, by Rev. Thomas Murphy

The Scotch-Irish People, Their Influence in the Formation of the Government of the United States, by J H Bryson

The Scotch-Irish in the General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, by David Steele

4-volume Cambridge History of Ireland published

The Cambridge History of Ireland, a four-volume series documenting the story of Ireland from 600AD to the present, has been published today.

It is based on the most recent and innovative scholarship and research, and the many contributions from experts in their field offer detailed and fresh perspectives on key areas of Irish social, economic, religious, political, military, linguistic, demographic and cultural history.

More than 100 historians from across the world contributed to the series, including 39 academics who received funding for their work from the Irish Research Council. As well as those based in Ireland, contributors come from institutions in China, the USA, the UK, Australian, New Zealand and Israel.

The four volumes are as follows:

The Cambridge History of Ireland.
Volume 1: 600-1550. Edited by Brendan Smith

The Cambridge History of Ireland.
Volume 2: 1550–1730. Edited by Jane Ohlmeyer

The Cambridge History of Ireland. Volume 3: 1730–1880. Edited by James Kelly

The Cambridge History of Ireland. Volume 4: 1880 to the Present. Edited by Thomas Bartlett

With a total of 3,300 pages, the series has been published by Cambridge University Press. Each volume costs around £100, with a 4-set volume costing £350. Discounts are available.

This landmark survey of Ireland's history will be officially launched this evening by President Michael D Higgins at Dublin Castle. The London launch will be on 10 May, and the Belfast launch on 14 May.

Irish genealogy and history events, 30 April to 13 May

Monday 30 April: 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.

Wednesday 2 May: Disease and Hunger in Dublin in 1918, with Maeve Casserly and Ida Milne. Part of the Dublin in 1918 series. Venue: Coolock Library, Barryscourt Rd, Kilmore, Dublin 17.  6:30pm. Hosts: Near fm 90.3, Dublin Historians and Dublin City Public Libraries. Free.

Wednesday 2 May: Introduction to researching your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors, with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: UHF, Discover Ulster-Scots Centre, The Corn Exchange Buildin, 31 Gordon Street, Belfast BT1 2LG. 1:30pm to 3pm. Free. Register.

Thursday 3 May: Gen. Eoin O'Duffy - from heroics to bathos, with Maurice Manning. Host: Mount Merrion Historical Society. Venue: Community Centre, North Ave., Mount Merrion, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. 8pm. Members free. Non-members €4

Saturday 5 May: Irish records. Host: Aberdeen and NES Family History Society, Moray/Banff group. Venue: Activities Room, Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin, Scotland UK, IV30 1HS. 2–4. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 5 May: Irish Genealogical Research Society's Open Day and AGM. Includes two morning lectures, a light lunch followed by the AGM (all can attend but only IGRS members can vote). Two lectures – The Irish National Folklore Collection Online – an Untapped Resource for Genealogy, with Jill Williams, FIGRS, and The Registry of Deeds and the Progress in the Online Registry of Deeds Project, with Rosalind McCutcheon, Vice-President, FIGRS. Venue: Abbey Conference Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1, UK. Details.

Saturday 5 May: Irish records. Host: Aberdeen and NES Family History Society, Moray/Banff group. Venue: Activities Room, Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin, UK, IV30 1HS. 2–4. Free. All welcome.

Monday 7 May: Public Holiday in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 8 May: Five Dynasties of Montalto, with Horace Reid. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. Venue: The Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn, BT28 1XP. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 8 May: DNA and Irish genealogy: Where to now? with Maurice Gleeson. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: DFEi, Cumberland St, DĂșn Laoghaire, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. €3.

Tuesday 8 May: Sheela-na Gigs – Medieval Exhibitionist figures, with Gary Dempsey. Host: Co Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: Percy French Hotel, Strokestown, Co Roscommon. 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 8 May:  Famine in Cork City, with Pat Gunne. A National Famine Commemoration Event. Host: Cork Libraries. Venue: City  Library, 61 Grand Parade, Cork City. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 8 May: The history of Dungarvan, and the Grattan Square Heritage Plaques, with Willie Whelan. Host: SGC Cinema Dungarvan. Venue: SGC Dungarvan, High Street, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. 5pm–7pm. All welcome. Details.

Tuesday 8 May: Glendalough: the ancient church, with Frank Tracy. Host: Tallaght Historical Society. Venue: County Library, The Square, Tallaght, Dublin 24. 7pm. Free. 

Thursday 10 May: Women in WW1, with Sarah Jane Paterson and the Tonagh Ladies. Host: Western Front Association, Antrim and Down branch. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast BT3 9HQ. 6:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Thursday 10 May: 100 years of Irish women’s history, with Dr. Emma Bidwell. Host and venue: Skibbereen Library, 10 North St, Marsh, Skibbereen, Co. Cork. Free. All welcome. Booking essential: tel 028 22400 to reserve your place.

Thursday 10 May: Famine sites in Skibbereen Town, a guided walk with Philip O'Regan. A National Famine Commemoration event. Host: Skibbereen Heritage Centre. Meet at the Courthouse in North Street, Skibbereen, Co Cork, at 6:30pm. Walk finishes at Skibbereen Heritage Centre c.8pm. Free. All welcome. Booking essential: tel 028 40900 to reserve your place.

Saturday 12 May: National Famine Commemoration 2018. Official ceremony at University College Cork. Organisers University College Cork in collaboration with Cork City Council.

Thursday 26 April 2018

IGRS Open Day & AGM, London, Saturday 5 May

The Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) will be holding its 2018 Open Day and AGM on Saturday 5 May at the Abbey Conference Centre, 34 Great Smith St, London SW1P 3BU (a stone's throw from Westminster City Archives).

The Open Day will follow its successful formula of presenting two talks in the morning followed by a light lunch and then the AGM. The programme is as follows:
10:15Registration, tea/coffee and biscuits
10:45The Irish National Folklore Collection Online – an Untapped Resource for Genealogy, with Jill Williams FIGRS
11:45The Registry of Deeds and the Progress of the Online Indexing Project, with Rosalind McCutcheon FIGRS, IGRS Vice-President
13:00Lunch - a finger buffet with wine and soft drinks
14:15IGRS AGM
15:30Close

There's a fee for attending the Open Day – £25 for members / £30 for non-members, which includes refreshments, lectures + lunch. The AGM is free, and while anyone can attend the AGM, only members can vote.

For further details, including travel directions and booking, see IrishAncestors.ie.

(The IGRS Ireland Branch Open Day will be held in Dublin on Saturday 19 May. Details to follow in later blogpost.)



Wednesday 25 April 2018

RootsIreland.ie adds 59,000 Limerick records

RootsIreland.ie has added more than 59,000 records to its Limerick Genealogy database. They come from a range of sources.

While some of the new collections are available on other websites (some of them free), all will have been transcribed independently of other databases and by local people who recognise names and placenames, and in so doing create a fresh and always welcome new index.

Church records - Roman Catholic


Croom RC Parish - Marriage and dispensation records, 1770-1779, 1783-1794 & 1807-1810 (1704 records)
Fedamore RC Parish - Baptismal and marriage records, 1806-1807 (94 records)
Shanagolden RC Parish - Death/burial records, 1832-1849 (4 records)
Knockainy RC Parish - Death/burial records, 1819-1821 (53 records)
Kilcolman and Coolcappa parish - Marriage records, 1891-1900 (65 records)
St Patrick's RC Parish - A heads of households’ census (civil parishes of Kilmurry, Derrygalvin and St. Patrick’s, 1830, and Kilmurry, 1835) (847 records)
Athea RC parish - A heads of households' census, 1857 (199 records)

Civil records


Registrar’s District of Limerick No. 2 - Death records for the Co Limerick Infirmary, 1912-1948 (799 records)
Non-Catholic civil marriage records for the Church of Ireland parishes of Cappamore, 1860-1910; Kildimo, 1850-1881; Kilmallock, 1846-1933; Mungret, 1845-1872 and St. John’s, 1845-1941 (586 records)

Miscellaneous records


Tithe Applotment Books for all of Limerick, 1824-1835 (27,347 records)
Census search forms, 1841 & 1851 for Old Age Pension applications made 1908-1922 (1433 records)
A database of Limerick people listed in various documents/published sources, 1799-1867 (8285 records)

Additional updates


Where available, Limerick Genealogy has extended civil birth and non-Catholic baptismal records up to 1916, non-Catholic church and civil marriages up to 1918 and death/burial records up to 1918. Updates and corrections to the database have also been made.

View the full menu of Limerick records on RootsIreland.ie here.

Tuesday 24 April 2018

New full member joins Accredited Genealogists Ireland

Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) has announced that Kit Smyrl has become a full member of the association.

He has been an Affiliate Member for three years, and a professional genealogist for more than two decades, specialising in probate research in Ireland and the UK.

Kit and his brother, Steven, who is also a Member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, run Massey and King, one of Ireland's best-known specialist probate research firms.

For more about Kit, see his profile on the AGI website.

Book launch: Women and the Country House in Ireland and Britain

http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2018/women-and-the-country-house-in-ireland-and-britain/
Newly published by Four Courts Press is Women and the Country House in Ireland and Britain, a collection of essays edited by Terence Dooley, Maeve O'Riordan and Christopher Ridgway

The essays examine the lives of women in country houses in Ireland and Britain from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Drawing from a wide range of archival sources and family papers, the authors present a spectrum of female house owners, residents and caretakers who were far more than bit players in the histories of families and big houses.

See the full list of essay titles and authors.

The 296-page paperback volume is now available from the publisher (€26.95) and other booksellers.

ISBN: 978-1-84682-647-4.

Monday 23 April 2018

The Irish Citizen joins British Newspaper Archive

Front page of The Irish Citizen newspaper, 1912
The British Newspaper Archive has added The Irish Citizen to its online database.

This feminist publication, with its motto 'For Men and Women equally - The Rights of Citizenship; From Men and Women equally - The Duties of Citizenship', was launched in Dublin in 1912 by Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and Margaret Cousins, as the newspaper of the Irish Women's Franchise League. It was originally a weekly, but switched to monthly publication in 1916.

Editions (231 of them) from May 1912 to December 1919 are now online at the BNA website.

The paper can also be searched and viewed with some subscriptions as one of the 156-titles in FindMyPast's Irish Newspaper Collection.

ClareCounty Library adds baptism and marriage transcriptions for RC Parish of Clonrush

Clare County Library's Local Studies department has added the following files to its free website:

RC Parish of Clonrush: Marriage Registers, 1846-1880
Some 337 marriages were recorded in the marriage register. They have been transcribed and donated to the library by researcher Sheila Duddy, and can be searched chronologically, alphabetically by the groom's surname or alphabetically by the bride's surname. Be sure to see the transcriber's notes.

RC Parish of Clonrush: Baptisms, 1846-1880
The 1,590 entries recorded in this baptism register have been transcribed and donated by researcher Sheila Duddy. The spreadsheet can be searched in chronological order, alphabetically by the father's surname and alphabetically by the mother's surname.



Irish genealogy and history events, 23 April-6 May

Until 4 May: Irish Traveller Family Trees, an exhibition developed by Tony Hennessy MAGI and the Waterford Traveller Community Development Project. Eight large family trees are on display. Venue: Dungarvan Civic Offices, Davitt's Quay, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Monday to Friday, 9:30am-4pm Free. All welcome.

Monday 23 April: 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.

Tuesday 24 April: The Bancroft Library’s Irish American holdings, with Theresa Salazar, curator, Bancroft Library, University of California. Host: NUI Galway. Venue: Room G010 Hardiman Research Building, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway. 4pm to 4:45, followed by an informal reception. Details.

Tuesday 24 April: The 1798 Rebellion, John Lyttle. And AGM. 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.

Tuesday 24 April: The Casement family, with Patrick Casement. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway Coast and Glens Branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co LondonDerry. 8pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 24 April: Seeking 'the security of greener pastures': Irish Republicans in America during the Interwar Years, with Dr Gavin Wilk. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8pm. All welcome. Members free, non-members €5.

Wednesday 25 April: RAF 100 – Early Operations in Ireland, a one-day conference to mark the centenary of the RAF in Northern Ireland. Host: Imperial War Museum. Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 10am to 3:30pm. Free, but you need to register. Details.

Wednesday 25 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service (9:30am-5pm) will operate on a self-service basis 2pm–5pm for staff training. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Thursday 26 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.

Thursday 26 April: 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.

Sunday 29 April 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.

Monday 30 April: 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.

Wednesday 2 May: Disease and Hunger in Dublin in 1918, with Maeve Casserly and Ida Milne. Part of the Dublin in 1918 series. Venue: Coolock Library, Barryscourt Rd, Kilmore, Dublin 17.  6:30pm. Hosts: Near fm 90.3, Dublin Historians and Dublin City Public Libraries. Free.

Thursday 3 May: Gen. Eoin O'Duffy - from heroics to bathos, with Maurice Manning. Host: Mount Merrion Historical Society. Venue: Community Centre, North Avenue, Mount Merrion, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €4

Saturday 5 May: Irish records. Host: Aberdeen and NES Family History Society, Moray/Banff group. Venue: Activities Room, Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin, Scotland UK, IV30 1HS. 2–4. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 5 May:
Irish Genealogical Research Society's Open Day and AGM. Includes two morning lectures, a light lunch followed by the AGM (all can attend but only IGRS members can vote). Two lectures – The Irish National Folklore Collection Online – an Untapped Resource for Genealogy, with Jill Williams, FIGRS, and The Registry of Deeds and the Progress in the Online Registry of Deeds Project, with Rosalind McCutcheon, Vice-President, FIGRS. Venue: Abbey Conference Centre, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1, UK. Details.

Saturday 21 April 2018

Ancestry's DNA DAY Sale offers at least 25% saving

Since launching in 2012, Ancestry DNA's database has grown to hold almost 10million DNA customers, easily the world's largest. As such, it statistically offers the greatest chance of matching with the descendants of your extended family.

The company's DNA DAY sale offers at least 25% off the regular price of its DNA test kit, which varies according to the area of residence of the person taking the test. (There may well be additional offers via Ancestry.ca and Australia.com.au, and other countries but I haven't been able to find them due to Ancestry's bloody-minded geo-locator.)

The prices below do not include shipping, which is extra.

Click the flag button to view your local sale offer.

http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-5737308-10819001?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ancestry.co.uk%2FirelandRegular price €99. Sale price €71, a saving of €18.
Offer ends at 23:59 GMT on Thursday 26 April.


http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-13305008Regular price £79. Sale price £59, a saving of £20.
Offer ends at 23:59 GMT on Thursday 26 April.


Sale price US$59, the lowest price of the year.
Offer ends Thursday 29 April.





Up to 50% off LivingDNA tests for DNA Day 2018

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-13006940Living DNA has special offers worth up to 50% off the regular price of its DNA test.

Exactly how much you can save depends on where you live, with the biggest savings being reserved for USA residents.

The expiry date of the DNA DAY Sale is not clear but some local LivingDNA pages say the offer will end at midday (GMT) on Thursday 26 April, so it's probably best to assume that is the final day across all territories.

The savings are as follows:

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-12899164
€55.80 off – a 35% saving.
Price reduced from €159 to €103.20.


http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-5737308-13296649  35% off
£40.80 off – a 35% saving.
Price reduced from £120 to £79.20.


http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-13006940
US$79.01 off – Half Price.
Price reduced from US$159 to US$79.99.


http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-5737308-12755175
C$63.80 off – a 30% saving.
Price reduced from C$199 to C$135.20.


http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-5737308-12755174
AUS$63.80 off – a 30% saving.
Price reduced from AUS$199 to AUS$135.20.




Up to 30% savings in My Heritage's DNA DAY Sale

My Heritage's DNA DAY sale sees savings on the regular price of the company's autosomal test fall by up to 30%. How much depends where you are resident.

I haven't been able to establish the savings in all territories due to a very irritating geo-locator. The offers in three currencies are below.

If you are resident in other areas, click the DNA DAY SALE image right. You should then be able to find your 'local' sale prices.

All the prices quoted exclude shipping costs and the special offers will expire on Wednesday 25 April.

https://www.myheritage.com/dna
Save 22%. Sale price €69 (regular price €89)


https://www.myheritage.com/dna
Save 21%. Sale price £59‎ (standard price £75‎)


https://www.myheritage.com/dna
Save 30%. Sale price US$69 (standard price $99)

DNA DAY 2018: Offers from Family Tree DNA

 https://www.familytreedna.com/sale/dna-day
Family Tree DNA is celebrating DNA DAY 2018 with up to 40% off its top-selling DNA tests. All the offers will expire on Saturday 28 April.

The headline sale offer is on its Family Finder test, an autosomal test that can be taken by both men and women and explores your lineage and maps your ethnic and geographic backgroud. This is on offer for only US$49, a saving of US$30, which is possibly the lowest price I've seen for this product.

There are also offers on my other types of test, including an mtFull Sequence test, which examines all regions of mtDNA, identifying your maternal haplogroup and migration path. The standard price for this test is US$199; it is on offer for only US$149.

Another offer is available on the Y-37 test, which can be taken only by men. It explores your paternal lineage and follows the ancient migration path of your male ancestors. The standard price of this test is US$169; it is on offer for only US$139.

See the full range of offers.



Wednesday 18 April 2018

Ancestry adds New Zealand WW1 Personnel Records

Ancestry has added a collection of more than 380,000 Service Records (1914-1920) for men who served in the New Zealand Defence Forces during World War 1. It holds 3,900 records of men born in Ireland.

Some of the Personnel Files are extensive and contain superb family history information with parents names and birthplaces, occupation, level of education, current address, physical descriptions, marital status (plus name/address of wife) and dependents and brief details of any prior military service. The military service papers are also highly informative with details of transfers, promotions, punishments, medals and honours received, and health status and medical history. Some also hold details of conduct investigations, post-discharge information, or other correspondence.

The indexing of birth-placenames is pretty poor ('Millshut, Cork', 'Wooden Bridge, County Auckland', 'Farmragh, Ireland') and the standard recording of the soldier's mother with married name only is rather frustrating, but there are certainly some great gems to be found in this collection, sourced from Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga.

Search the New Zealand, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.

Tuesday 17 April 2018

800 graveyard surveys free to search on HistoricGraves

http://historicgraves.comThe Historic Graves project tweeted yesterday that its community-based surveying groups have now surveyed a quarter of all graveyards in the Republic of Ireland.

This means the survey results of some 800 of ROI's 3,600 historic burial grounds are now held on the project's interactive website – HistoricGraves.com. All counties except Donegal and Louth are represented. I don't know the exact total number of graves surveyed, but (based on some stats produced by the project team back in 2012), I'd estimate it's in the region of 68,000. (See below.) They are searchable by graveyard name and name of the deceased.

Survey results include maps and plans with GPS positioning; inscriptions and photos of individual headstones; views of the graveyards; and audio and video stories of the residents of the burial ground or the local community.

Historic Graves was set up seven years ago as a community-focused grassroots heritage project. Since then, more than 500 local community groups have been trained in low-cost high-tech field survey techniques and in building a multi-media online record of their historic burial places and associated stories. Most surveys are funded by local development partnerships through LEADER funds and are supported by Local Heritage Officers, County Archaeologists and Local Authorities.

However, some groups are still waiting to begin their surveys due to a lack of funding, so the Historic Graves team has started to crowdfund. If you've benefitted from the information produced by one of the community-led surveys, or if you simply want to support this worthwhile project, please consider making a donation.

UPDATE 19 April:
John Tierney of Historic Graves kindly sent me some more recent statistics, even more impressive!




Monday 16 April 2018

Latest additions to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/leitrim/photos/tombstones/leitrim-annaduff-st-mary/target24.html
Stone to the Farrell Family of Aughintass in
St Mary's, Drumsna, Co Leitrim. Photo courtesy
Cheryl Dieter & Kev Murray, and IGPA.
Below are the files and images uploaded to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives since the middle of March. All the images and transcripts have been donated by volunteers.

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Ballintemple Graveyard (CoI)
Killaduff Cemetery (Partial) near Drumod

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Deansgrange Cemetery, St. Brigid's Parts 12&13
Mount Jerome Cemetery, 191-193

LEITRIM Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Creevelea Presby. Graveyard, Drumduffy.
Drumsna, St. Ann's (CoI), Annaduff Parish (text file added)

LOUTH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Drogheda Part 3 (text file added)

MONAGHAN & FERMANAGH Church Records
Clones Parish Registers, (Additional)

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives - Newspapers
Assorted Workhouse entries & deaths (completed)

Registry of Deeds Index Project: another milestone

Nick Reddan FIGRS, founder and manager of the Registry of Deeds Index Project, has completed another update of the Project's main database.

There are now 270,001 index entries from 29,972 memorials of deeds, every one of them submitted by researchers and volunteer contributors, and free to search.




Irish genealogy, history & heritage events, 16-29 April

Monday 16 April: 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.

Tuesday 17 April: Family Finder 3, with Martin McDowell, a course over 3 consecutive Tuesday evenings (being repeated due to demand). Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. Venue: Honneyman Room, NIFHS Research Centre, Unit C4, Valley Business Centre, 67 Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 7LS. Fee: £15. 7–9pm. To enrol, email Education@NIFHS.org.

Wednesday 18 April: Charles Reynolds of Mohill and the Irish Clerical Revolt Against Henry VIII, with Noel McLoughlin. Host: Carrick-on-Shannon & District Historical Society. Venue: Bush Hotel, Main St, Townparks, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. 8.30pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5.

Wednesday 18 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service will operate on a self-service basis from 2pm to 5pm due to staff training. Service is free. All welcome. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Wednesday 18 April: The Lost Colony – Carlow's Huguenot Heritage, with John Kelly. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: St. Mary’s Church of Ireland, Church St, Graigue, Carlow Town. 8pm. All welcome. Free.

Thursday 19 April: Beyond the Boundary Commission: Partitioned Identities in Modern Ireland, with Professor Timothy G. McMahon. Host: Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 7-8pm. Free but need to register.

Thursday 19 April: Killann and the parishes of East Cavan, 1400–1800, with Fr Liam Kelly. Host: Bailieborough Heritage Society. Venue: Bailieborough Library, Market Square, Bailieborough, Co Cavan. Refreshments served. All welcome. Free. 7:30pm.

Saturday 21 April: The Irish Famine Eviction Project, with CiarĂĄn Reilly. Host: Irish Genealogical Research Society, Ireland branch. Venue: DCL&A, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Follows AGM (2pm – c2:30pm). All welcome. Free.

Saturday 21 April: Irish Genealogy Virtual Conference. Five lectures. Host: Genealogy Tours of Scotland. Venue: Online. Starts 9am Canadian Eastern Time (2pm IE and UK). Cost: CAN$79 | €51 £44 | US$ 63. Details.

Saturday 21 April: Tracing your Irish Ancestry - for Beginners & Refreshers, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS and Jill Williams FIGRS. Host and venue: Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1. 10:30am-1pm. Fee: £20.Details. FULLY BOOKED.

Saturday 21 April: Tracing your Irish Ancestry Further, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS and Jill Williams FIGRS. Host and venue: Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1. 2pm–5pm. Fee: £20. Details. FULLY BOOKED.

Sunday 22 April: Master Class: Introduction to Irish Genealogy (for beginners), with Bridget Bray, Host & venue: Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019, USA. 2pm–5pm. $40 for IAC members/students/seniors and $50 for all others, includes tea/coffee. Need to book.

Monday 23 April: 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.

Tuesday 24 April: The Bancroft Library’s Irish American holdings, with Theresa Salazar, curator, Bancroft Library, University of California. Host: NUI Galway. Venue: Room G010 Hardiman Research Building, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway. 4pm to 4:45, followed by an informal reception. Details.

Tuesday 24 April: The 1798 Rebellion, John Lyttle. And AGM. 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.

Tuesday 24 April: The Casement family, with Patrick Casement. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway Coast and Glens Branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co LondonDerry. 8pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 24 April: Seeking 'the security of greener pastures': Irish Republicans in America during the Interwar Years, with Dr Gavin Wilk. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8pm. All welcome. Members free, non-members €5.

Wednesday 25 April: RAF 100 – Early Operations in Ireland, a one-day conference to mark the centenary of the RAF in Northern Ireland. Host: Imperial War Museum. Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 10am to 3:30pm. Free, but you need to register. Details.

Wednesday 25 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service will operate on a self-service basis 2pm–5pm for staff training. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Thursday 26 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.

Thursday 26 April: 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.

Sunday 29 April 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.

Friday 13 April 2018

FindMyPast adds collection of Waterford records

FindMyPast has added a collection of transcribed records from County Waterford. They've called it Waterford Registers and Records.

The collections have been sourced from Waterford County & City Archives (WCCA) and include the following record sets:

  • Civil death registers* dating from 1864 to the early 1900s (56,000 records)
  • Burgess Lists, 1879–1893 (6,300 records)
  • Burials, from the Grave Inscription Database*, dating from 1620-1954 (5,400 records)
  • City Council Members, 1889–1895 (100 records)
  • Trade Directories* spanning 1824-1910, including Piggott 1824, Slater 1846, 1856, 1881; Harvey 1877; Egan 1894; Thoms 1909, 1910 (45,250 records)
  • Lismore Castle Emigration Database*, 1815–1905 (1,500 records)
  • Freemen, from the mid-C17th to 1900 (4,900 records), plus 320 since 1900
  • Freedom Petitions, 1824–1842 (2,350 records)
  • Langable Rentals for 1832 (370 records)
  • Rate Books for 1906, 1912 and 1913 (9,500 records)
  • Register of Electors for Waterford City in 1900, and Centre and Custom Wards in 1903 (5,200 records)
  • WW1 Dead, (700 records)

(The collections marked with an asterisk can be accessed free of charge on the WCCA website.)

Thursday 12 April 2018

List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers updated

Since its relaunch nearly two years ago, the List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers has been regularly maintained by staff at the Representative Church Body Library, and the most recently updated version is now available to download.

Parish by parish, the 97-page document pdf (2.1Mb) lists the registers that have been lost, and the registers (and the dates they cover) that have survived, and sets out details of where the latter, in copy/transcript or microfilm format, may be held or accessed.

There are also links to online sources, as well as to parish handlists which provide more specific information about each parish.

It's an essential reference for Irish genealogists. And it's free.

You can download the April 2018 version of the List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers here.

Wednesday 11 April 2018

ROI's 10-year cultural plan includes digitisation of church records

https://www.chg.gov.ie/app/uploads/2018/04/capital_plan_april3.pdf
A plan to invest €1.2 billion in Irish culture, heritage and language infrastructure has been unveiled by the Government of the Republic of Ireland. As part of Project Ireland 2040, the ten-year programme will see €460million allocated to National Cultural Institutions; €265million towards cultural and creativity investment; €285million for natural and built heritage; and €178million for the Gaeltacht, the Irish language and the Islands.

Among the priority projects within the programme are renovations at the National Library of Ireland (€23m) and National Archives of Ireland (€22m).

For Irish family historians, perhaps the most intriguing mention is a €10m allocation within the cultural and creativity package for 'digitisation of national collections'. The plan states 'Some projects which should be available online in the short-term include ... Church Records, which consist of parish registers for baptism, marriage and burial'.

With images and indexes of the National Library's collection of Roman Catholic registers already online, dare we assume the records alluded to will be Church of Ireland registers?

For more details, click the image above to download the 36-page Investing in Our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018 – 2027 (pdf 18.1Mb).

Tuesday 10 April 2018

New RCBL guidelines for copying/transcribing Church of Ireland parish records and headstone inscriptions

In response to a number of instances where Church of Ireland parish records have been copied and published without the permission and copyright approval of the appropriate authorities, the Representative Church Body Library has issued new guidelines for the safe custody and copyright of Church of Ireland parish registers and memorials in burial grounds.

The four-page document, published by the RCBL's Library and Archives Committee, can be downloaded below. While the guidelines are designed primarily for the direction of clergy and parish personnel, the RCBL also wants to raise awareness more generally about copyright restrictions on parish registers and inscriptions on memorials in Church of Ireland burial grounds.

It is an important document for all family historians to read, as many may not be aware of the extent of restrictions in place, but should also be required reading for transcribers, headstone inscription hunters, historians and data gatherers (commercial or otherwise).

Family historians and transcribers will be able to continue to transcribe or copy out records by hand but those transcriptions must not be published without permission from the copyright holder; as the guidelines make clear, official copyright permission must come from the legal holder (and cannot be given by local clergy).

The collection of inscriptions and images of headstones is also subject to rules, and I would hazard a guess that most family historians are unaware of their restrictive nature, particularly with regard to uploading photos and transcribed inscriptions online.

You can download the Guidelines here.

Monday 9 April 2018

Irish genealogy & history events, 9-22 April

Monday 9 April: 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.

Monday 9 April: Research Workshop: Using the National Library. Host & Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 5:30pm. Free. To reserve a place, contact: learning@nli.ie or 01 6030 259/346. Details.

Monday 9 April: “Gwyn’s Institute”. The origins of the Gwyn & Young orphanage in Brooke Park, with Jim Condren. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle branch. Venue: Lecture Room, Derry City’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Londonderry, BT48 6AL. Talk follows AGM. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Monday 9 April: Ulster Folklore, with Laura Spence. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Killyleagh branch. Venue: Killyleagh Masonic Hall, 50 High Street, Killyleagh, Co Down. 8pm. Free. Talk follows AGM. All welcome.

Tuesday 10 April: Family History Resources at the Linenhall Library, with Samantha McComb, and AGM. North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. Venue: The Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn, BT28 1XP. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 11 April: Tracing your Malahide ancestors, with Claire Bradley. Host: Malahide Historical Society. Venue: Presbyterian Church Hall, Dublin Rd, Malahide, Co. Dublin. 8pm. Admission: €4. All welcome.

Wednesday 11 April: Irish genealogy records – They all went up in smoke, didn't they? with Jill Williams FIGRS. Host: Caithness Family History Society. Venue: Pulteneytown Peoples Project, Huddart Street, Wick, Scotland, UK. 7pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 11 April: One-to-one Irish genealogy consultations, with Lisa Dougherty. Host and venue: Guilderland Public Library 2228 Western Ave., Guilderland, NY 12084, USA. 6pm-8pm. Free.

Wednesday 11 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service will operate on a self-service basis from 2pm to 5pm due to staff training. Service is free. All welcome. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Thursday 12 April: National Library of Ireland (all Dublin venues) will be closed for a staff development meeting until 11am.

Thursday 12 April: Women, the Vote and Citizenship: The General Election of 1918, with Mary McAuliffe. Host: Kilmacud Stillorgan Local History Society. Venue: Glenalbyn Sports Club, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Admission €3 for non-members. All welcome.

Thursday 12 April: The history of Palace Barracks up to 1969, and Holywood as a garrison town, with Robin Masefield. Host: Western Front Association, Antrim and Down branch. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast BT3 9HQ. 6:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Friday 13 April: Titanic Together - behind the scenes tours of PRONI. Host and venue: The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Tours include visits to the Search and Reading Rooms, displays of original material relating to Harland & Wolff and the Belfast Harbour, the secure document storage facilities, and reprographics area. Tours at 2pm and 3pm. Free, but booking required.

Saturday 14 April: Updates in DNA for Family History, with George Gordon. North of Ireland Family History Society, Tyrone Branch. Venue: Seminar Room, First Floor, Omagh Library, Dublin Road, Omagh, BT78 1HL. 10am. Talk follows AGM.

Saturday 14 April: Griffith’s Valuation and Other Irish Land and Property Records, a workshop aimed at intermediate researchers, with Miles Davenport. Host: McClelland Library, Irish Cultural Centre. Venue: McClelland Library's Norton Room, 1106 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ, USA. 10:30am to 1pm. Members $15/Non-members $20. Need to register.

Saturday 14 April: High Kings of Baltimore: a Celebration of Working Men. Host & Venue: Irish Railroad Workers Museum, 918-920 Lemmon St, Baltimore, Maryland 21223, USA. 11am to 1pm. Register.

Monday 16 April: 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.

Wednesday 18 April: Charles Reynolds of Mohill and the Irish Clerical Revolt Against Henry VIII, with Noel McLoughlin. Host: Carrick-on-Shannon & District Historical Society. Venue: Bush Hotel, Main St, Townparks, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. 8.30pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5.

Wednesday 18 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service will operate on a self-service basis from 2pm to 5pm due to staff training. Service is free. All welcome. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Wednesday 18 April: The Lost Colony – Carlow's Huguenot Heritage, with John Kelly. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: St. Mary’s Church of Ireland, Church St, Graigue, Carlow Town. 8pm. All welcome. Free.

Thursday 19 April: Beyond the Boundary Commission: Partitioned Identities in Modern Ireland, with Professor Timothy G. McMahon. Host: Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 7-8pm. Free but need to register.


Thursday 19 April: Killann and the parishes of East Cavan, 1400–1800, with Fr Liam Kelly. Host: Bailieborough Heritage Society. Venue: Bailieborough Library, Market Square, Bailieborough, Co Cavan. Refreshments served. All welcome. Free. 7:30pm.

Saturday 21 April: The Irish Famine Eviction Project, with CiarĂĄn Reilly. Host: Irish Genealogical Research Society, Ireland branch. Venue: DCL&A, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Follows AGM (2pm – c2:30pm). All welcome. Free.

Saturday 21 April: Tracing your Irish Ancestry - for Beginners & Refreshers, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS and Jill Williams FIGRS. Host and venue: Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1. 10:30am-1pm. Fee: £20.Details. FULLY BOOKED.

Saturday 21 April: Tracing your Irish Ancestry Further, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS and Jill Williams FIGRS. Host and venue: Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1. 2pm–5pm. Fee: £20. Details. FULLY BOOKED.

Sunday 22 April: Master Class: Introduction to Irish Genealogy (for beginners), with Bridget Bray, Host & venue: Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019, USA. 2pm–5pm. $40 for IAC members/students/seniors and $50 for all others, includes tea/coffee. Need to book.

Friday 6 April 2018

Ancestry adds 300,000 London Parish records

 http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-5737308-10819001?url=%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2Fsearch%2Fgroup%2Flondon_parish_registersAncestry has updated its London Parish Registers collection with an additional 300,000 records.

The records, all from the Church of England, include the following record sets:
  • Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
  • Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917
  • Confirmation Records, 1838-1923
  • Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
  • Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932

Genetic Genealogy Ireland: lecture videos now online

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHnW2NAfPIA2KUipZ_PlUlw/videosVideos of ten of the DNA lectures presented at February's Genetic Genealogy Ireland conference are now available to view on GGI's YouTube channel.

The conference was held as part of the Back To Our Past show at the Belfast Titanic centre in Northern Ireland. 

You'll also find dozens of videos from earlier GGI conferences held in Dublin over the last five years. If you've any queries about DNA testing or want to build on your existing knowledge, this library of lectures is the place to go.

Lurgan Mail joins British Newspaper Archive

The Lurgan Mail, a weekly paper founded in 1889 and still in circulation in County Armagh as a tabloid, has joined the British Newspaper Archive (BNA).

Editions published in 1915 and 1926 are now available for search. The BNA's plans for this paper will see its holding eventually span 1897–1959.

This addition brings the number of Northern Ireland titles in the BNA archive to 43. In total, 155 Irish newspapers are available via the BNA; they are also accessible as part of some FindMyPast subscription packages .



Thursday 5 April 2018

Ancestry adds Index to Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810

Ancestry has added Sir Arthur Vicars' Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810.

The Index, originally published in 1897, can be browsed or searched by name and holds more than 38,000 entries, each providing the name of the testator, their address and rank or occupation, and the year in which probate was granted. See the sample extract below.
http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-5737308-10819001?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2Fsearch%2Fdb.aspx%3Fdbid%3D61640

Up to 1858, all wills and administrations were handled by the Church of Ireland, and most were proved in their diocese or even parish. But if the value of the  deceased's assets exceeded £5 in more than one single diocese, the will had to be sent to the Prerogative Court in Dublin. It is these wills that were indexed by Vicars, a genealogist and heraldic expert. The original wills were, unfortunately, almost all lost in the 1922 fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin.

To search the Index, click the link or image above.

(Vicars' Index can also be downloaded free from The Internet Archive.)

Irish Family History Society upgrades its website

https://ifhs.ie
Congratulations are due to the Irish Family History Society (IFHS) on the launch of their newly designed website. With a pleasingly fresh and modern design, it looks terrific.

Some fresh content has been added, the online shop seems highly responsive and efficient, and it's easy to navigate around the pages to find the information you're seeking.

The url is still the same, but it's been upgraded to a secure site. You'll still find the website at https://ifhs.ie.

Ancestry ProGenealogists launch Heritage Tours to Ireland, Italy, Germany and Sicily

With the first Heritage Tour successfully completed last October, and the second starting in just a few days, Ancestry's ProGenealogists have launched a new Heritage Tourism website channel. So far, the tours available include Germany, Sicily, Italy and Ireland. A genealogist is on hand throughout each tour.

https://www.progenealogists.com/heritage-tourism
Click/tap for Ancestry ProGenealogists Heritage Travel site
Two distinct Heritage Tours of Ireland have been designed. One starts in Dublin and takes in Cork, Kerry, Clare and Galway over 10 days (this is the tour starting this coming weekend), while the other heads from Belfast to Derry before picking up the Wild Atlantic Way through Donegal, Galway and Clare for 11 days.

Nine more tours of Ireland are planned, and taking bookings, for 2018 (starting in August, September, October) and 2019 (June, August, September). While the National Library of Ireland features as a group visit in Dublin, the travellers have free time to visit other archives wherever they are in Ireland.

Professional genealogist Kyle Betit, a founder of ProGenealogists and now managing the new travel programme, told Irish Genealogy News that the Heritage Tours aim to provide people with the 'walking in your ancestors' footsteps' experience. The journey starts long before the trip, with an Ancestry DNA test that analyzes the traveller's ethnic background, and a pre-trip family history review with a ProGenealogist expert.

"There are many options open to the client," says Kyle. "Their choices depends on their goals and existing knowledge. We want to help people know a more specific place of origin before they get to Ireland, to personalize the experience. We can do some research or make a list of next steps for them to carry out, or do in-depth analysis of their DNA results.

"If they already know the town or townland of origin, we can plan specifics places for them to visit in that place. Some travellers go the extra step of having us do an Ancestral Home Visit where a genealogist accompanies them to the home places and gives a personal guided tour."

To find out more about Ancestry's ProGenealogist Heritage Tours, click the image above.

Wednesday 4 April 2018

Registry of Deeds Index Project: latest update

A database update to the Registry of Deeds Index Project over the Easter weekend brings the total number of entries in the free index to 268,752. They come from 29,859 memorials of deeds, and have all been contributed by volunteers.

You can help this important volunteer project continue to grow by submitting details transcribed from memorials. Contributors index using microfilms of the memorial volumes and the grantors/townland indexes obtained through the LDS Family History Library or FamilySearch.org, and the actual memorial volumes at the Registry of Deeds. For details of how to contribute, see the Project's home page.

Tuesday 3 April 2018

Free access to Fold 3's Civil War records until 15 April

https://www.fold3.com/s.php#cat=249
Fold3, Ancestry's miiitary specialist database, has opened up its Civil War collection for free access until Sunday 15 April.

About 200,000 Irish-born men are thought to have fought in this conflict, so this collection is as relevant to family historians in Ireland looking for extended family who may have emigrated as for Irish-Americans seeking their immigrant ancestors and their descendants.

It holds a cool 93,581,876 records. They include service records for both Confederate and Union soldiers, photographs, personal accounts, maps and historic writings. Click/tap the promo image to view the long list of record sets included in the collection.

To take advantage of the free access, just start searching. When you want to view a record, you'll be prompted to either sign-in or, if you don't already have one, register for a free account. Registration requires only your email address and your choice of password. Be sure to read the T&Cs.

RCBL's Archive of the Month: Divided Loyalties in a West Cork Parish

Once again, this month's Archive of the Month from the Representative Church Body Library brings a reminder of the value of the Ecclesiastical Church Gazette (remed Church of Ireland Gazette in 1900) as a source of stories that reveal the community issues affecting our ancestors – whatever their religion.

The former St Peter’s Church, Castletownbere.
Image courtesy of the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne & Ross
This April's Archive examines the hidden story behind the dismissal of the Revd George F Stoney, the curate in the West Cork parish of Berehaven in 1868. He ministered at the chapel-of-ease at Allihies, where the population was largely comprised of the mining families from the nearby copper mines. The former parish church, dedicated to St Peter, was sited in the town of Berehaven (now Castletownbere); Berehaven Miners church (also known as Kilnamanagh church) was located 12 miles further west.

The backdrop to his sudden dismissal was a socio-economic one linked with the copper-mines at Allihies, owned by Berehaven’s leading landowner: Henry Lavallan Puxley of Dunboy Castle. In operation since 1812, Allihies mines had attracted an influx of Cornish miners. Changes introduced by a new manager appointed in the aftermath of a miners’ strike in 1864, combined with a sharp fall in the price of copper, led to a drastic reduction of the workforce.

Although there was an attempt to replace some Irish workers with Englishmen, most of the miners were natives of Beara and Roman Catholics. Allegations were frequently made that the better positions were awarded to English workers and that the Irish miners were exploited and forced to live in squalid conditions.

These charges were validated by Mr Stoney in a letter published in the Cork Examiner on 4 March 1868 which detailed the ‘real agonising poverty of the people’. A subsequent letter of Stoney’s was published in The Nation on 16th May 1868, and even more direct in its criticism of the mine-owner and more stark in its description of the lives of the miners.

Needless to say, the Revd John Halahan, rector of Berehaven, was not impressed to learn that his curate was speaking out, and examination of the full presentation will reveal that the Revd George Stoney came off second in the ensuing conflict.

The uncovering of this episode again confirms the usefulness of the Church of Ireland Gazette as a primary resource for locating, exploring and understanding the experiences of the wider Church community. The pages of the Gazette can be freely explored from 1856 to 1923 at https://esearch.informa.ie/rcb

Monday 2 April 2018

Irish genealogy and history events, 2 - 15 April

Monday 2 April: Bank holiday in Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. All repositories and libraries will be closed. (Exception: National Library of Ireland's exhibitions open 1pm to 4:45pm. Free. All welcome.)

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.

Wednesday 4 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service will operate on a self-service basis from 2pm to 5pm due to staff training. Service is free. All welcome. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Wednesday 4 April: Potato Famine immigrants to Victorian Walmgate, with Phil Batman. Host: York Family History Society. Venue: New Earswick Bowls Club, Huntington Road, YO32 9PX York, UK. All welcome. 7pm. Members £1; non-members £2.

Monday 9 April: Research Workshop: Using the National Library. Host & Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 5:30pm. Free. To reserve a place, contact: learning@nli.ie or 01 6030 259/346. Details.

Monday 9 April: “Gwyn’s Institute”. The origins of the Gwyn & Young orphanage in Brooke Park, with Jim Condren. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle branch. Venue: Lecture Room, Derry City’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Londonderry, BT48 6AL. Talk follows AGM. 7pm. Free. All welcome.

Monday 9 April: Ulster Folklore, with Laura Spence. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Killyleagh branch. Venue: Killyleagh Masonic Hall, 50 High Street, Killyleagh, Co Down. 8pm. Free. Talk follows AGM. All welcome.

Tuesday 10 April: Family History Resources at the Linenhall Library, with Samantha McComb, and AGM. North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. Venue: The Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn, BT28 1XP. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 11 April: Tracing your Malahide ancestors, with Claire Bradley. Host: Malahide Historical Society. Venue: Presbyterian Church Hall, Dublin Rd, Malahide, Co. Dublin. 8pm. Admission: €4. All welcome.

Wednesday 11 April: Irish genealogy records – They all went up in smoke, didn't they? with Jill Williams FIGRS. Host: Caithness Family History Society. Venue: Pulteneytown Peoples Project, Huddart Street, Wick, Scotland, UK. 7pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 11 April: One-to-one Irish genealogy consultations, with Lisa Dougherty. Host and venue: Guilderland Public Library 2228 Western Ave.
Guilderland, NY 12084, USA. 6pm-8pm. Free.

Wednesday 11 April: National Library of Ireland's Genealogy Advisory Service will operate on a self-service basis from 2pm to 5pm due to staff training. Service is free. All welcome. Mezzanine Floor, NLI, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Thursday 12 April: The History of Palace Barracks (up to 1969) and Holywood as a Garrison Town, with Robin Masefield. Host: Western Front Association, Antrim & Down branch. Venue: PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. All welcome. 6:30m to 8:45pm. £4 donation requested.

Thursday 12 April: Women, the Vote and Citizenship: The General Election of 1918, with Mary McAuliffe. Host: Kilmacud Stillorgan Local History Society. Venue: Glenalbyn Sports Club, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Admission €3 for non-members. All welcome.

Thursday 12 April: The history of Palace Barracks up to 1969, and Holywood as a garrison town, with Robin Masefield. Host: Western Front Association, Antrim and Down branch. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast BT3 9HQ. 6:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Friday 13 April: Titanic Together - behind the scenes tours of PRONI. Host and venue: The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Tours include visits to the Search and Reading Rooms, displays of original material relating to Harland & Wolff and the Belfast Harbour, the secure document storage facilities, and reprographics area. Tours at 2pm and 3pm. Free, but booking required.

Saturday 14 April: Updates in DNA for Family History, with George Gordon. North of Ireland Family History Society, Tyrone Branch. Venue: Seminar Room, First Floor, Omagh Library, Dublin Road, Omagh, BT78 1HL. 10am. Talk follows AGM.

Saturday 14 April: Griffith’s Valuation and Other Irish Land and Property Records, a workshop aimed at intermediate researchers, with Miles Davenport. Host: McClelland Library, Irish Cultural Centre. Venue: McClelland Library's Norton Room, 1106 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix AZ, USA. 10:30am to 1pm. Members $15/Non-members $20. Need to register.

Saturday 14 April: High Kings of Baltimore: a Celebration of Working Men. Host & Venue: Irish Railroad Workers Museum, 918-920 Lemmon St, Baltimore, Maryland 21223, USA. 11am to 1pm. Register.