My Heritage DNA opens European distribution centre

In response to demand from European researchers for its DNA testing kits, My Heritage has announced the opening of a new distribution centre in Tilburg, Netherlands. The company says it has seen a 450% increase in kit sales across Europe in the first five months of this year.

Up to now, DNA kits ordered by European customers were processed by the MyHeritage DNA fulfilment centre in the United States.

With the new distribution centre operational, sales of MyHeritage DNA kits will be shipped directly from Europe to European customers, shortening lead and transit times and reducing shipping costs. Delivery time across Europe via standard shipping now takes less than a week and in some cases only 2-4 days. Expedited shipping is also available, with next-day delivery for orders made before 1pm and 2-day delivery for all others.

Most countries in Europe will be serviced by the new distribution centre (exclusions are Poland, where MyHeritage DNA kits are not sold, and non-EU countries Norway and Switzerland, which will continue to be fulfilled by the US centre). In the future, the new distribution centre will also collect DNA samples sent back by European customers, and forward them to the MyHeritage DNA lab in the USA.

Flash Sale from FindMyPast UK: 50% discount on offer

Be quick to grab a 50% discount
on your first month subscription

You'll need to be quick for this offer!

FindMyPast UK is offering a 50% discount on first month's payments to its monthly subscription packages.  The discount is applied to the first payment and can be used only once per customer.

After the discounted 30-day period, your subscription automatically renews at full price unless you un-tick the 'Auto-renew my subscription' box in the My Subscription section of the site. This may sound more complex than it is; the process is actually very easy.

The savings are as follows:

Starter subscription: First month's payment reduced to £4.48 (regular price £8:95)

Plus subscription: First month's payment reduced to £6.48 (regular price £12.95)

Pro subscription: First month's payment reduced to £7.98 (regular price £13)

To take advantage of the savings on offer, click the logo image above and sign up by 11:59pm on Saturday 30 June. For full terms and conditions see the FindMyPast UK site

Ancestry: Free access & a DNA discount for Canada Day

It's Canada Day on Sunday, so Ancestry.ca is celebrating with free access to its Canada Census collection and a big discount on its DNA tests for researchers based in Canada.

Free Access: This offer allows you access to Canadian censuses for every decade from 1851 to 1911 (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta from 1906 and 1916). You'll find a full list of the record sets included in this offer here.

To take advantage of the free access offer (it runs to 11:59pm ET on Monday 2 July), you'll need a free registered account. If you don't already have one, just click the image, right, start searching and you'll be directed to the registration page.

DNA test: AncestryDNA's genetic genealogy database is the world's largest. Researchers resident in Canada can purchase a DNA test for just CAD$89 (regular price CAD$129) over this special weekend. The discounted price includes taxes but not shipping, which is extra.

The offer runs until Tuesday 3 July. Click the image below to find out more and claim the Canada Day discount.

UL's Certificate in Local History course enrolling soon

The University of Limerick's Certificate in Local History course, which is presented at the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, County Galway, will be enrolling shortly.

The aim of the course is to systematically and coherently develop a range of research skills to further the historical understanding of local and regional communities and societies. It is delivered through lectures and field trips one evening a week over 24 weeks. Classes will start for the next course in September and run to April 2019.

For more details about the Certificate, email info@irishworkhousecentre.ie or phone 086 4070851.

NIFHS Library & Research Centre closed in July

The NIFHS Library and Research Centre
in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim.

The North of Ireland Family History Society's Library and Research Centre in Newtownabbey will be taking its annual holiday in July.

If you want to cram in some last minute research, get yourself along to the Centre this afternoon/early evening (2pm-8pm), otherwise you'll have to hold fire until 7 August.

The Centre focusses mainly on the nine counties of Ulster (ie on both sides of the border) but also has books, maps and records for other locations on the island, plus access to FindMyPast. It is open most Tuesdays to members; non-members are welcome too, and a donation will be appreciated.

See the NIFHS website for more details.

RootsIreland adds more than 9,000 Westmeath records

Westmeath Genealogy Centre, based at Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park in Moate, has added nearly 10,000 records to its database on Roots are pleased to announce that it has added more than 9,000 to the Westmeath database at RootsIreland.

The new records include the following: www.westmeath.rootsireland.ie including the following:

Parish	Type of record	Years	No of records
Castlepollard (RC)	Baptisms	1796-1805 & 1812-1829	6,046
Castlepollard (RC)	Marriages	1825-1870 (with some gaps)	2,290
Castlepollard (RC)	Deaths	1793-1825	443
Collinstown (RC)	Baptisms	July 1842 - March 1844	169
Killua	Churchyard Headstones	1728-1981	84
Castletown	Geoghegan Headstones	1763-1993	24
Multyfarnham	Churchyard Headstones	1820-1999	73

You can view the full RootsIreland menu of sources for County Westmeath here.

Temporary restricted access to Registry of Deeds

Essential building maintenance at the Registry of Deeds in Dublin's Henrietta Street has closed the Transcribing Room until  Monday 16 July*.

The Transcribing Rooms holds transcripts dating from 1708-1832 and 1896-1910. There are no access restrictions to other parts of the archive, which are open to researchers as normal.

If you are planning to visit the Registry of Deeds over the next week or so, it may be as well to email registryofdeeds@prai.ie in advance to check on access restrictions, in case the building schedule should overrun. Latest updates will be uploaded to http://prai.ie.

(Many thanks to Paul Gorry, MAGI, on Twitter.)

*  The original expected date of reopening was 2 July. On 27 June, the PRAI extended the period of closure to Monday 16 July.

See 13 July blogpost with up to date info on partial re-opening.

Irish genealogy and heritage events: 25 June - 8 July

Monday 25 June: 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.

Tuesday 26 June: Blacksmiths and vernacular ironwork traditions of West Clare, with Eric O'Neill. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. AGM 7:30pm; lecture 8pm. Members free/non-members €5. All welcome.

Wednesday 27 June: Foyle & East Donegal Family History Festival. Hosts: Monreagh Ulster Scots Heritage Centre. Venue: An Grianan Hotel, Burt, Co Donegal. Lectures (including 1718 Migration conference), performance, workshops and demonstations, live music and dancing. Speakers include Dr William Roulston, John T Mann, Boyd Gray and Belinda Mahaffy. Noon to 9pm. Admission €5. All welcome.

Wednesday 27 June: Frederick Douglass and Ireland – a transatlantic view of poverty and oppression, with Christine Kinealy. Final lecture in the Famine Reflections Series. Host: Coming Home - Art and the Great Hunger exhibition. Venue: President's Room, Dublin Castle. 11am. Details. Sold Out.

Wednesday 27 June: Irish family history assistance in the Library. Host: Genealogical Society of Victoria. Venue: GSV Library, Level 6, 85 Queen Street, Melbourne, Australia. Free for members. $20 non-members. 10am to 4pm. Consultations: One-hour appointments with a research consultant also available. See details.

Thursday 28 June: Limerick in 1918, a centenary celebration with a focus on Spanish Flu in Limerick, Women’s Suffrage, and Shellshock. Host: Limerick Archives. Venue: St Mary's Cathedral, Bridge Street, Limerick. 7:30pm. All welcome. Free entry and refreshments.

Friday 29 June: Cork to Barbados: The story of the unfree Irish, with Jim Murphy telling the history of the enforced transportation of the Irish from Cork to the plantations in Barbados. Host and venue: Independence Museum Kilmurry, Kilmurry, Lissarda, Co. Cork. 8pm. All welcome. Details: email: Kilmurry.historical@gmail.com or telephone: 021 7336932.

Saturday 30 June: How to use the Registry of Deeds to further your Irish family history research, with Malcolm McDonald. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists. Venue: NZ Society of Genealogists Family Research Centre Level 1, 159 Queens Rd Panmure, Auckland, New Zealand. 10am to Noon. $15, includes tea & coffee. Booking.

Saturday 30 June: The place of the Big House and Estate in Irish history, a conference. Hosts: South East Galway Archaeological & Historical Society and the Irish Workhouse Centre. Venue: Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna, Co Galway. Free. Book early by email: info@irishworkhousecentre.ie.

Sunday 1 July: Irish Ancestry Summer School starts. Host and venue: NUI Galway. A week-long exploration of Ireland's history, society and culture, incorporating family history research and fieldtrips to west of Ireland. Full programme and details.

Monday 2 July: 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.

Friday 6 July: How to start your family tree, with Olive Coleman. Hosts: Cork Genealogical Society and Kilmurry Independence Museum. Venue: Independence Museum Lissardagh, Kilmurry, Co. Cork. 8pm. Admission: €5 (free to members). All welcome.

More Boston RC records join AmericanAncestors.org

AmericanAncestors.org, the online database of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, has seen significant recent uploads to its Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900 collection.

The new additions come from six parishes: St Joseph's, St Augustine's, St Stephen's, St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain), Immaculate Conception (Newburyport), and Holy Family (Rockland). As you'd expect from Roman Catholic records from Boston, they are crammed full of Irish-born men and women and their descendants. The genealogical details in the records varies, with more modern entries generally being more informative.

St Joseph's Parish
This parish is in the West End. It has been serving Roman Catholics for more than 250 years but surviving records date only from 1862. Previously, only baptism records were available in the AmericanAncestors database. While the baptism records can be found in both the searchable collection and the 'image-only' (browse) database, the new additions from marriage and confirmation registers are presently available only in the browsable database. The newly-added registers are:

St. Joseph (Boston) Confirmations, 1895-1900
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1862-1884
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1884-1893
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1893-1899
St. Joseph (Boston) Marriages, 1899-1900

St Augustine's Parish
Located in South Boston, this parish dates to 1819, although its earliest registers date only from 1868. Eight volumes have joined both the searchable and the browse-only database, as follows:

St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1868-1883
St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1883-1894
St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1894-1899
St. Augustine (South Boston) Baptisms, 1899-1900
St. Augustine (South Boston) Confirmations, 1896-1900
St. Augustine (South Boston) First Communions, 1895
St. Augustine (South Boston) Marriages, 1868-1899
St. Augustine (South Boston) Marriages, 1900-1900

St. Stephen's Parish
Twelve volumes of registers from St Stephen's Parish in Boston's North End are now searchable and browsable on Americanancestors. The new volumes include:

St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms and Marriages, 1842-1845
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1846-1853
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1854-1862
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1862-1870
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1870-1877
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1877-1882
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1883-1889
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1889-1900
St. Stephen (Boston) Baptisms, 1900
St. Stephen (Boston) Confirmations and First Communions, 1875-1930
St. Stephen (Boston) Marriages, 1846-1872
St. Stephen (Boston) Marriages, 1872-1900

Holy Family (Rockland), Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) and St Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Parishes
These three parishes have delivered 17 volumes and over 3,000 new pages to the browse database. They have not yet joined the searchable database. The images uploaded are of the following registers:

Holy Family (Rockland) Baptisms, 1883-1900
Holy Family (Rockland) Marriages, 1883-1900

Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1854-1871
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1872-1882
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1883-1890
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Baptisms, 1891-1900
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Confirmations, 1882-1900
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) First Communions, 1871-1900
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Marriages, 1852-1871
Immaculate Conception (Newburyport) Marriages, 1872-1900

St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Index to Baptisms, 1869-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms and Confirmations, 1869-1884 (Vol. 1)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms, 1885-1893 (Vol. 2)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Baptisms, 1893-1900 (Vol. 3)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Confirmations, 1869-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) First Communions, 1899-1900
St. Thomas Aquinas (Jamaica Plain) Marriages, 1869-1900

Indexed and searchable databases in the Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900 collection (see link above) are available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only.

Non-members can create a free guest account to browse the image-only version of the database. See the how-to video below.

Video removed 3 November 2023.

Registry of Deeds Index Project: mid-June update

The latest update from the Registry of Deeds Index Project results in a new total of 274,091 indexed entries available to researchers. These entries have been indexed from 30,371 memorials of deeds.

It's worth noting that the project also now has more than 55,000 townland index entries, all submitted by volunteers.

The project website is free to search.

Irish family history & heritage events, 18 June - 1 July

Monday 18 June: 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.

Thursday 21 June: The sinking of the RMS Leinster in 1918, with Philip Lecane. Host: Leixlip History Group. Venue: Leixlip Community Library, Captain's Hill, Newtown, Leixlip, Co. Kildare. 7:15pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 20 June to Saturday 24 June: Irish Journeys: Famine Legacies and Reconnecting Communities, the 2018 Irish Famine Summer School at Strokestown Park. Speakers include Professor Christine Kinealy (Quinnipiac University), Prof Mike Cronin (Boston University), Prof Maura Murphy (Hofstra University), Prof Mark McGowan (University of Toronto) and Prof Ian Kuijt (University of Notre Dame). Venue: Strokestown Park House, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon. Programme and details.

Thursday 21 June: Rebel women of the 20th century - Mother Jones, with Rosemary Feurer: GPO Witness Visitor Centre, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. 5:30pm. All welcome. Free, but need to book ticket.

Thursday 21 June: Hunger, History and Memory: The Great Famines of Ireland and Finland Compared. A symposium and exhibition (the latter runs to late-August). Host and venue: GO11 Moore Institute, University Road, NUI Galway. 1:30pm–4:30pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Thursday 21 June: They have rights who dare maintain them – the formation of the Irish Volunteers, with Gerry White. Host: Cork University Press (Atlas of the Irish Revolution). Venue: Waterstones, 69 Patrick Street, Cork City. Free. 7pm. Limited seating.

Saturday 23 June: Three 'Lightning' talks on Old Lucan. Host: Old Lucan Society. Venue:Seminar Room, Lucan Library, Unit 33, Lucan Shopping Centre, Newcastle Rd, Lucan, County Dublin 2pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Saturday 23 June: Irish genealogy advice and help, with the Irish Genealogical Research Society at the York Family History Fair. Venue: The Knavesmire Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, York, UK. £5 admission. 10am to 4:30pm. Details.

Sunday 24 June: 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 25 June: 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.

Tuesday 26 June: Blacksmiths and vernacular ironwork traditions of West Clare, with Eric O'Neill. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. AGM at 7:30pm; lecture at 8pm. Free to members; €5 for non-members. All welcome.

Wednesday 27 June: Foyle & East Donegal Family History Festival. Hosts: Monreagh Ulster Scots Heritage Centre. Venue: An Grianan Hotel, Burt, Co Donegal. Lectures (including 1718 Migration conference), performance, workshops and demonstations, live music and dancing. Speakers include Dr William Roulston, John T Mann, Boyd Gray and Belinda Mahaffy. Noon to 9pm. Admission €5. All welcome.

Wednesday 27 June: Frederick Douglass and Ireland – a transatlantic view of poverty and oppression, with Christine Kinealy. Final lecture in the Famine Reflections Series. Host: Coming Home - Art and the Great Hunger exhibition. Venue: President's Room, Dublin Castle. 11am. Details. Sold Out.

Wednesday 27 June: Irish family history assistance in the Library. Host: Genealogical Society of Victoria. Venue: GSV Library, Level 6, 85 Queen Street, Melbourne, Australia. Free for members. $20 non-members. 10am to 4pm. Consultations: One-hour appointments with a research consultant also available. See details.

Thursday 29 June: Cork to Barbados: The story of the unfree Irish, with Jim Murphy telling the history of the enforced transportation of the Irish from Cork to the plantations in Barbados. Host and venue: Independence Museum Kilmurry, Kilmurry, Lissarda, Co. Cork. 8pm. All welcome. Details: email: Kilmurry.historical@gmail.com or telephone: 021 7336932.

Saturday 30 June: How to use the Registry of Deeds to further your Irish family history research, with Malcolm McDonald. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists. Venue: NZ Society of Genealogists Family Research Centre Level 1, 159 Queens Rd Panmure, Auckland, New Zealand. 10am to Noon. $15, includes tea & coffee. Booking.

Saturday 30 June: The place of the Big House and Estate in Irish history, a conference. Hosts: South East Galway Archaeological & Historical Society and the Irish Workhouse Centre. Venue: Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna, Co Galway. Free. Book early by email: info@irishworkhousecentre.ie.

Sunday 1 July: Irish Ancestry Summer School starts. Host and venue: NUI Galway. A week-long exploration of Ireland's history, society and culture, incorporating family history research and fieldtrips to west of Ireland. Full programme and details.

Yet more free Church of Ireland Gazette editions online

For the second time this month, the RCB Library has announced the digitisation and free online availability of a further tranche of the Church of Ireland Gazette.

The first June release (see blogpost) saw the free Gazette database extend to cover editions published from 1856 to 1933. The latest instalment adds editions published from 1934 to 1936, so that the free database now spans more than 80 years.

You can search the Church of Ireland Gazette here.

FindMyPast adds to British WW1 Soldiers Medical records collection

FindMyPast has added more than 691,000 to its British Armed Forces collection of First World War Soldiers' Medical Records

This collection may allow you to discover when and where your ancestor was wounded, where they were treated how long they were held at the medical facility for treatment. Images may provide a variety of additional details such as their service history and a description of wound.

In total, there are now 934,000 records in FindMyPast's collection, which is restricted to records dating back at least 100 years.

The records are from the UK National Archives series MH106 - War Office: WW1 Representative Medical Records of Servicemen, which comprises a representative selection of the full collection of medical records gathered during the war; the sample records were used for statistical purposes. They include admissions and discharge records from hospitals, field ambulances, and casualty stations.

Suffrage exhibition launch & conference: PRONI, 2 July

To mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, PRONI will be launching a new exhibition – Voices and Votes: Suffrage and Representation of the People, 1832–1928 – on Monday 2 July at 10am. It explores the journey from reform of the 40-shilling franchise to universal suffrage and recognises some of the people who championed change.

The launch will be followed (10:10am to 1pm) by a half-day conference which will examine the history and context of suffrage and the Representation of the People Act, and its legacy and impact. (10.10am – 1pm).

Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 2 Titanic Blvd, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ.

The event is free, and everyone is welcome to attend, but booking is required. For details, see Eventbrite.

Dublin tenement wins RIAI best conservation project

The conservation of a former tenement house at 14 Henrietta Street in Dublin's north inner city has been named Best Conservation/Restoration Project, and has won the Special RIAI* Jury Award at the prestigious annual RIAI Irish Architecture Awards.

14 Henrietta Street, Dublin

Dublin City Council undertook to save and renovate 14 Henrietta Street more than a decade ago, when it was in a seriously derelict state. After painstaking restoration, the building will be officially opened in September as a social history museum telling the story of the Georgian townhouse's shifting fortunes, from aristocratic family home and powerbase to courthouse; from barracks to its final incarnation as a tenement house. In the 1911 census, more than 100 people from 17 families lived in the building and it was not until 1979 that the last occupants left.

The stories of the house and street – the latter now the most intact collection of early- to mid-18th century town houses in Ireland – mirror the story of Dublin and her citizens and how social change impacted on them.

Awarding the RIAI Special Jury Award, the Jury said: “This is a gift to the city of Dublin, made possible by an inspiring client and a highly skilled team of architects and contractor. Architecture and exhibition design merge here in a very unique way, explaining the history of the building by restoring different parts of the building to different periods of its occupancy. Most impressive is the way the architect manages to bring the building up to contemporary technical and regulatory standards in an almost invisible way, making the experience of the building completely immersive. Outstanding.”

While 14 Henrietta Street will officially open in September 2018, advance tours are available on Fridays and Saturdays in July and August, with an opportunity for the visitors to feed back their memories, stories and reflections. Tickets (€9 adult / €6 concession) for the 90-minute tour should be booked in advance at www.14henriettastreet.ie.

*Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland

Celtic Connections Conference, Boston MA, 10-11 Aug

This year's Celtic Connections Conference, 'Pathways to Our Past', will be held at Boston Marriott Hotel in Massachussetts, USA, on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 August.

Co-sponsored by The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) and the International Genealogical Society of Ireland (IGSI), the conference presents two days of lectures on Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Scots-Irish family history, DNA and culture. All presentations are by international and US-based experts.

Luncheon, with entertainment, is included on both days of the conference. There's also a full-day coach tour the day before the official start of the conference, a Friday evening banquet and a pub quiz.

You can find full details of the conference, the programme, accommodation options, costs and registration by clicking/tapping the image, above right.

The Chief Butlers of Ireland, a genealogical guide

Click for more information

Written by historian, author and genealogist John Kirwan, The Chief Butlers of Ireland and the House of Ormond – An illustrated genealogical guide is a lavish and fascinating account of one of the most powerful families in Irish history: the Butlers.

The lives of the Butlers were defined by incredible wealth, power and splendour. The family held the title of Chief Butler of Ireland and was later awarded the Earldom of Ormond(e) and a number of subsidiary titles.

They were based at Kilkenny Castle for more than five centuries (from 1391 to 1935), and at other seats including Nenagh, Cahir, Roscrea, Kilcash and Thurles.

Published by Irish Academic Press, the 424-page hardback can be ordered from the publisher (€50) and good bookstores. ISBN 9781911024040'

NAI's census database corrections: progress update

Most readers of Irish Genealogy News will be aware that well-known genealogist John Grenham MAGI has been wading through the backlog of census correction emails submitted by researchers to the National Archives of Ireland (NAI).

John started the task in late summer last year, and, with the half-way point in sight, took a well deserved break yesterday to bring us up to date on how the project is going.

He tells us on his blog that about 60,000 corrections have been made to the NAI's free census database so far (updates go live monthly) and reminds researchers that these corrections are exclusive to that database.

You can read more about the work John has been performing and his personal observations of the task at johngrenham.com.

Keep taking the tablets, John!

NUI Galway's Irish Ancestry Summer School, 1-6 July

NUI Galway will be hosting an Irish Ancestry Summer School in the first week of July.

The Summer School programme will explore the origins of people and society in Ireland from earliest times to the present. It includes lectures by some of Ireland's leading scholars on ancient DNA studies, prehistoric demographics, early tribal groupings, later medieval clan history, post-medieval lifeways, history and genealogy.

Delegates will also be taught how to research their own Irish family history and will be offered the opportunity of giving a DNA sample to learn more about their origins. The five-day course includes fieldtrips to various sites of archaeological, historical and genealogical importance in the West of Ireland.

Participants will also have access to the James Hardiman Library's collections, including historical newspapers, Irish local studies books and periodicals, maps and 19th century government publications. In addition the library holds over 350 unique archival collections, including landed estate papers, photographic collections and theatre and literary archives.

See the full programme and further details.

FamilySearch digitises New York Naturalisation records

Click for larger view

Family Search is digitising the New York (Southern District) U.S District Court Naturalization Records, 1824-1946 collection. The full collection of 2.2million images is now available for browsing, while more than 772,000 images have been indexed for free searching here.

When searching the index, be aware that files for some individuals may extend over a few pages, so be sure to scroll through the images either side of the indexed page to find all associated images.

Naturalisation records for Irish immigrants, especially those who arrived in the 20th-century, often provide a place of origin in Ireland.

The New York Southern district includes Manhattan, Bronx, Westchester and other counties north of Westchester.

Find out more about this collection in FamilySearch's wiki here.

Thanks to ProGenealogist Joe Buggy (author of Finding your Irish Ancestors in New York City) for alerting me to this development.

Save $30 with Fold3's June subscription offer

Fold3 – Ancestry's dedicated military records database – has a special offer running this month.

If you sign up for an annual subscription before 11:59pm MDT on 30 June, you'll find the price is reduced from the regular US$79.95 to just $49.95 (approximately €42 / £37 / CAD65 / AUD65).

Fold3 offers access to more than 530million records and holds many exclusive collections. Among them are both the Civil War Service Records and Widows Pensions collections; British Army WW1 Service records, Royal Hospital Pensioner records and WW1 War Diaries; US WW2 Draft Cards, Photos and Records; Austalia WW1 & WW2 Service records, and many more military record sets. Non-military records feature, too, with newspapers, US census and other record sets included.

To find out more, click the image above.

Irish family history and heritage events, 11 - 24 June

Monday 11 June: 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 11 June: Researching surnames & the Guild of One Name Studies (GOONS), with Michelle Patient (10am), and Marrying DNA and Irish family tree research (noon), with Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Papamoa DNA Special Interest Group. Venue: Tohora Room, Papamoa Community Centre, 15 Gravatt Road, Papamoa, New Zealand. No booking required. Contact.

Tuesday 12 June: History and Genealogy – you can’t have one without the other, with Declan F Brady. Host: GSI. Venue: Dun Laoghaire Further Education Institute, Cumberland St, Dun Laoghaire. All welcome. 8pm. €3.

Wednesday 13 June: Family history – Searching for your Cork ancestors, one-to-one beginner sessions. Host and venue: Youghal Library, The River Gate Mall, N Main St, Youghal-Lands, Youghal, Co. Cork. Free but booking essential on 021-4546499.

Thursday 14 June: National Library - late opening. All NLI venues in Dublin will be closed until 11am to facilitate staff development meeting.

Saturday 16 June: What's a shrink like me doing in a place like this? (a review of the software and tools that I use in my day to day work), with Irish genealogist Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Auckland branch Genealogical Computing Group. Venue: St Andrew's Church Hall, corner of Ridge Road and Vincent Street, Howick, New Zealand.

Thursday 14 June: Spanish Flu conference. Event marks the centenary of the onset of the 1918 flu pandemic. Host and venue: The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 2pm to 4pm. Admission is free but booking is essential. Details. Admission is FREE, however, booking is essential.

Thursday 14 June: Tonagh Ladies, Women in World War One, with Sarah Jane Paterson. Host: Western Front Association, Antrim and Down branch. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast BT3 9HQ. 6:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Thursday 21 June: Rebel women of the 20th century - Mother Jones, with Rosemary Feurer: GPO Witness Visitor Centre, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. 5:30pm. All welcome. Free, but need to book ticket.

Thursday 21 June: Hunger, History and Memory: The Great Famines of Ireland and Finland Compared. A symposium and exhibition (the latter runs to late-August). Host and venue: GO11 Moore Institute, University Road, NUI Galway. 1:30pm–4:30pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Sunday 24 June: 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.

20% off Ancestry DNA kits for researchers in IE, UK, CA

A new rash of discounting is on the cards this month with both Father's Day and the World Cup seeming like a good time to find out more about our ethnical heritage and genealogy. Ancestry is the first out of the gates with special offers announced on DNA test kits for family historians in Ireland, the UK and Canada.

Courtesy of my my old foe, the tiresome geo-locator, I can't find any current offers for other territories, although there may well be some.

Just click your preferred flag/currency below before the stated expiry date. Please note that shipping costs are extra to the prices shown below, and you'll find full terms and conditions on the website when you follow the link.

Offer closed. Links removed.

RootsIreland.ie adds 36,000 records for County Clare

Clare Heritage and Genealogy Centre has uploaded more than 36,000 records to its database at www.clare.rootsireland.ie.

This update includes:

Roman Catholic Marriages in the parishes of Cratloe, Ennis, Feakle, Mountshannon-Whitegate, Parteen and Scariff.

Civil Registrations of Death in the SRD of Ennis from 1864 to 1959

Church of Ireland Baptisms, Marriages and Burials in the parishes of Drumcliff (Ennis), Feakle, Killaloe, Kilrush-Kilkee, Ogonneloe, Tulla, Iniscaltra, Kilnaboy-Kilkeedy, Sixmilebridge, Miltown-Malbay, Kilfenora and Tuamgraney.

For details of the years of coverage for these records, see the full menu of Clare Sources at RootsIreland.

FindMyPast adds more Catholic records from Chicago

State Street Chicago, c1907
(Photo NYPL Digital Catalogue. Public Domain)

Nearly 2.4million parish register records from the Archdiocese of Chicago have been added to FindMyPast's Catholic Heritage Archive. They date from the mid-1800s to 1925 and cover the Roman Catholic population of Cook and Lake Counties in north eastern. Illinois.

Details are as follows:

Chicago RC baptisms: 1.2million records revealing the date and location of the baptism, the names of parents and residence. Each search result provides a transcript and image of the original baptism register.

Chicago RC marriages: More than 597,000 records are in this collection. Each search result provides a transcript and image of the original marriage register. Additional details you may find are witnesses’ names, the name of the priest performing the ceremony, and the dates and locations of the couples’ baptisms.

Chicago RC Burials: More than 229,000 burial records are included in this collection. In addition to information about the burial, the burial register may reveal additional details such as cause of death, residence, place of birth, father's name, mother's name and the name of the priest who conducted the service.

Chicago Congregational Records: This collection holds more than 430,000 assorted congregational records. Such records may hold vital biographical details as well as where and when your ancestors worshipped.

Foyle & East Donegal Family History Festival: 27 June

The Foyle & East Donegal Family History Festival will be held on Wednesday 27 June at An Grianan Hotel in Burt, Inishowen, County Donegal.

Expert speakers from Northern Ireland, Donegal and the USA will be presenting a series of talks, workshops and demonstrations throughout the day. There will also be Living History and drama performances, and the evening rounds off with live Bluegrass music and dancing.

Admission is just €5 on the door.

For more information about the programme, speakers and talk topics, click/tap the poster image.

The event is being hosted by Monreagh Ulster-Scots Heritage Centre in conjunction with Foyle Family History Centre, and with the support of the Ulster-Scots Agency.

Church of Ireland Gazette: more free editions go online

Another decade’s worth of editions of the weekly newspaper The Church of Ireland Gazette, from 1924 to 1933, has just been digitized and uploaded online by the Representative Church Body (RCB) Library, where they may be consulted as a freely-searchable resource.

This means that all editions for the 77-year period between March 1856 (when the paper first appeared) and the end of December 1933 are shared for all. You can search them at https://esearch.informa.ie/rcb

The RCB Library holds the only complete hard-copy run of this newspaper, which has been published weekly since 1856 and available as an e-newspaper since 2005. The latest update means the Library is now half-way to complete its digitisation project to make the Gazette a completely searchable resource.

St Mark’s, Ettagh, Co Offaly, in 1912

For its June Archive of the Month slot, the Library has again teamed up with the historian Dr Miriam Moffitt who demonstrates the incredible detail to be uncovered in the pages of the Gazette, and its value for historical research, in a story about the miraculous escape of the congregation in St Mark’s church, Ettagh, County Offaly, when their church was struck by lightning during the Morning Service on Sunday, 21 June 1912. Click the link above to find out more.

The current Church of Ireland Gazette and all editions from 2005 may be viewed via an online subscription on the Gazette website, see: https://gazette.ireland.anglican.org

More digitised church records at PRONI from Autumn

Newly digitised church registers will be searchable
by personal visitors to PRONI later this year

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) will be releasing a second batch of newly digitised church registers this Autumn. As with the first instalment, which was released last year, the records will be a resource for personal visitors to PRONI in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. They will not be available online.

The registers are from the Church of Ireland, Methodist and Congregational Church.

Genealogist Chris Paton has posted details of the individual parishes and their coverage on The Genes blog.

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest additions

Greaney gravestone in Kilcoona graveyard,
Headford, Co Galway.
Photo courtesy Tina Fox and IGPArchives

The following files, photos and transcripts have been donated by researchers and uploaded to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP-web) in the second half of May. All contributions are received from volunteers and made available free of charge for all Irish family historians.

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Kiloughter (CoI) Graveyard, Redhills

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Deansgrange Cemetery, St. Nessan's Part 13

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Tower Cemetery, Irvinestown (Updated)

GALWAY Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Kilcoona Graveyard, Kilcoona, Headford

MONAGHAN & FERMANAGH - Church Records
Clones Parish Reg., W. Div., Baptisms 1808-1811

MAYO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Kilvine Graveyard

TYRONE Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Togherdoo Methodist Graveyard, Dromore

WATERFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Clonegam Church Graveyard
Abbey Graveyard (CoI), Ferrybank, Part 2

Irish genealogy and history events, 4-17 June

Monday 4 June: Public Holiday in Republic of Ireland. All library, archives and repositories closed (but note that National Library of Ireland's exhibitions are open 12-5). Holiday does not apply in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 5 June: Using your DNA results in practice - focus on autosomal DNA, a 3-hour workshop with Maurice Gleeson. Hosts: New Zealand Society of Genealogists, (Post-) Annual Conference. Venue: Christchurch Boys High School, 71 Straven Rd, Christchurch, New Zealand. 9am to noon. NZ$40. Booking essential.

Wednesday 6 June: The End of Outrage, with Breandán Mac Suibhne, author of 'The End of Outrage: Post-Famine Adjustment in Rural Ireland', a newly published book exploring a small rural community in Donegal and what the local poor did to and for each other. Introduction and Q&A with Dr Sarah Roddy, University of Manchester. Host and venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, Irish Town Way,  Cheetham Hill, Manchester, UK. 7:15pm. Free. Register and details.

Thursday 7 June: Using DNA to solve unknown parentage cases, and Marrying DNA and Irish family tree research, both with Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists. Venue: ASB Sports Centre, Matairangi Room, 72 Kemp Street, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand. 1pm to 3:30pm. No booking required. All welcome. $20 on the door. Details.

Friday 8 June and Saturday 9 June: Irish Military Seminar. Host and Venue: Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare. Friday evening: reception, book launch, talks, 5pm to 9pm, free; Saturday: complementary tea/coffee, six talks, lunch at own expense, 8:45-4:30pm, €5. Booking essential via Riverbank Arts Centre Box Office - boxoffice@riverbank.ie or telephone 00353 (0)45 448327.

Friday 8 June and Saturday 9 June: Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society, annual conference 2018. Hosts: Dr Ivar McGrath (UCD) and Dr Jeffrey Cox in partnership with Waterford Treasures and Christ Church Cathedral Waterford. Venues: Waterford City Hall and Christ Church Cathedral and others. Full details. 

Saturday 9 June: Using DNA to solve unknown parentage cases, and Marrying DNA and Irish family tree research, both with Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists. Venue: St Andrew's Church Hall, corner of Ridge Road and Vincent Street, Howick, Auckland, New Zealand. 1pm to 3:30pm. No booking required. All welcome. $20 on the door. Details.

Saturday 9 June: Irish family history resources online, with Chris Paton. Host: Family History Discovery Day. Venue: LDS Church 35 Julian Avenue, Kelvindale, Glasgow G12 0RB. 10.20am. Free.

Saturday 9 June: Family history, science and Irishness. Host: Irish Diaspora Foundation, Double Helix History (University of Manchester) and the Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society. Venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, 1 Irish Town Way, Manchester M8, UK. 10:30am to 12:30pm. Free but prior registration advised. Details.

Sunday 10 June: Using DNA to solve unknown parentage cases, and Marrying DNA and Irish family tree research, both with Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Te Awamutu DNA support group. Venue: St John Ambulance Hall, Palmer St, Te Awamutu, New Zealand.

Monday 11 June: 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 11 June: Researching surnames & the Guild of One Name Studies (GOONS), with Michelle Patient (10am), and Marrying DNA and Irish family tree research (noon), with Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Papamoa DNA Special Interest Group. Venue: Tohora Room, Papamoa Community Centre, 15 Gravatt Road, Papamoa, New Zealand. No booking required. Contact.

Tuesday 12 June: History and Genealogy – you can’t have one without the other, with Declan F Brady. Host: GSI. Venue: Dun Laoghaire Further Education Institute, Cumberland St, Dun Laoghaire. All welcome. 8pm. €3.

Wednesday 13 June: Family history – Searching for your Cork ancestors, one-to-one beginner sessions. Host and venue: Youghal Library, The River Gate Mall, N Main St, Youghal-Lands, Youghal, Co. Cork. Free but booking essential on 021-4546499.

Thursday 14 June: National Library - late opening. All NLI venues in Dublin will be closed until 11am to facilitate staff development meeting.

Saturday 16 June: What's a shrink like me doing in a place like this? (a review of the software and tools that I use in my day to day work), with Maurice Gleeson. Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Auckland branch Genealogical Computing Group. Venue: St Andrew's Church Hall, corner of Ridge Road and Vincent Street, Howick, New Zealand. 2pm. Contacts.

FindMyPast adds Co. Mayo National School Records

FindMyPast.ie has uploaded more than 43,000 addition records from County Mayo to its collection of Ireland National School Registers.

The entire collection now contains more than 186,000 records from 24 counties in the Republic of Ireland (counties Carlow and Tipperary are not represented). They span 1860-1922.

For further details of which schools are included in the collection and for the years of coverage, see this list. I suspect it was prepared some time ago but in the absence of any other details of the coverage of the latest upload, it seems to be the best we're going to get for now.

PHSI Library & Archive, Belfast, closed for relocation

The Library and Archive of the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland has closed this week until further notice.

It will re-open in due course following the PHSI's relocation to Assembly Buildings in central Belfast, just a stone's throw from City Hall.

Contact emails and telephone numbers are unchanged at present.