County Donegal Workhouse records make online debut

FindMyPast has uploaded 433,398 records to its new County Donegal Workhouses collection. The records include admission and discharge registers as well as Board of Guardians’ Minute Books.

The registers and books span from 1840 to 1922 and comprise records from eight poor law unions across the county: Ballyshannon, Donegal, Dunfanaghy, Glentis, Inishowen, Letterkenny, Milford, and Stranorlar.

While the bulk of the collection is made up of the admission and discharge registers and BoG Minute Books, there are many other types of material to be searched in the record set.

Among them are accounts, death registers, letters, indoor and outdoor relief registers, dispensary notices, supplier contracts and other administrative documentation that kept the workhouses running and a tight control over inmates.

Each search result will provide an image of the original records and a transcript. Details will vary according to the type of document being accessed. Most will include name, sex, occupation, marital status, age, birth year, event date, admission/discharge/death date, previous residence, union, county, whether the document is typed or handwritten and an archival reference.

The original records are held by the Donegal County Council and have been digitised by Findmypast.

National Library of Ireland unveils new book repository

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has today unveiled a new book repository at its main Dublin premises in Kildare Street. The state-of-the-art facility, which is not open to the general public, will provide modern and safe storage for the national published collections. It contains 4.5 kilometres of shelving filled with 200,000 books. The work was funded under the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 programme, and the opening marks the completion of phase one of the Library’s multi-million euro capital development project.

The National Library of Ireland

Funding of €1.6 million was made available for this phase of development by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (CHG) 2017. The work has been delivered collaboratively by the National Library, the Office of Public Works, and the Department of CHG.

Speaking at the official opening this morning, NLI Director Dr Sandra Collins said: “The completion of this phase of the Library’s capital development project is a huge milestone. The new book repository gives us the great relief of having safeguarded the national published collections, bringing them from poor conditions into modern, safe storage.

“This work represents the most significant development in collection care since the National Library of Ireland first opened its doors in 1890: when the Government presented us with a once in a lifetime opportunity of a major capital project, we acted swiftly and collaboratively to identify the most pressing works.

"At the time, given the exposure of our books to the risks of fire and water, we embarked on creating a new, fit-for-purpose book repository."

Phase one of the NLI’s capital development project encompassed moving 350,000 volumes from five floors of storage in the Victorian West Wing into both new onsite storage and high-quality offsite storage. During the course of the move, there was an audit of materials, with space and resource efficiencies identified after re-sizing of volumes, and after digitised, less-used and duplicate copies were moved to offsite storage.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD, said: “While the phase one work may not be visible to the public, it represents a vital piece of investment that will help to safeguard the national collection for generations.

"The completion of phase one positions the NLI to now begin implementing its more public-facing developments. I am excited about seeing new visitor experiences at Kildare Street, as well as further opening up the Library as a place of research, learning and cultural engagement for everyone.”

The €14.7m NLI capital development plan will continue to 2021. The coming phases will include investigative works in the Library’s West Wing, an application for planning permission, and the development of new public spaces and services, as well as ensuring universal access for all visitors.

The NLI will remain open throughout, minimising disruption to its services for readers and visitors. The collection care carried out through 2017 – 2019 was facilitated by a temporary closure of the reading rooms on Mondays. This service will be restored from Monday 30 September.

RootsIreland.ie adds more Co Wexford church records

RootsIreland has added some 1,400 Roman Catholic records to its County Wexford database. All are from the Camolin Parish registers, as follows:

Camolin Baptisms: 1853-1885 (790 records)
Camolin Marriages: 1853-1930 (283 records)
Camolin Burials: (1853-1929 (325 records)

They join Roman Catholic records from 16 other parishes in the county. All pre-1881 transcriptions include links to the National Library of Ireland's images of the register pages.

To search the new records, go to http://wexford.rootsireland.ie and select Camolin from the ‘Parish / District’ drop down list. Login and Subscribe if required.

You can view a full list of the County Wexford records on RootsIreland here.

Update on TCD study of wealth in 14th century Ireland

Click to enlarge. Map reflects reflects the
economic state of Connaught before the Invasion

Readers of Irish Genealogy News may remember a blogpost from last July which reported on a study at Trinity College Dublin that was exploring parish incomes across 14th century Ireland.

A detailed update on the project has been published today and provides more information about the study's major findings, as well as maps and images of the resource materials used.

You can read the report here.

The study is led by PhD Researcher in Geography at Trinity, Christopher Chevallier, and supervised by Dr Mark Hennessy.

Local and regional museums receive exhibition grants

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD, has announced a series of small grants for local and regional museums. Total funding of €138,100 is being made available under the Regional Museum Exhibitions Scheme 2019.

Nineteen projects out of twenty two are benefitting, including the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, Galway for an exhibition reflecting the diverse cultural and historical background of the Irish workhouse system; the Little Museum of Dublin’s project called Remember, recording stories from museum visitors of past memories that they are reminded of on their tour of the museum; and Kerry Cultural & Literary Centre, for an exhibition focussing on the history of Listowel and North Kerry through the ages.

"These cultural bodies are often run on relatively modest budgets and to be in a position to offer support is a very positive thing", said Minister Madigan. "These bodies are often central focus points within the community and it is vital that they are supported in their role as guardians and narrators of our cultural heritage.

"The funding provided under this scheme over the past few years has allowed these cultural entities to continue to enhance the presentation of their exhibitions which, in turn, improves the cultural offering of the communities they serve.”

You can download the full list of successful projects here

Irish genealogy, history & heritage events, 24 June-7 July

Monday 24 June: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, operate as normal.

Tuesday 25 June: Cold Iron – Folklore on fishing, with Bairbre Ni Fhloinn. Host: Howth Peninsula Heritage Society. Venue: Howth Angling Centre, West Pier, Howth, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. €5 on the door.

Wednesday 26 June: Irish Family History Assistance. Host: Genealogical Society of Victoria. Venue: GSV Library, Level 6, 85 Queen St., Melbourne 3000, Australia. Experienced helpers in the library to offer advice on your Irish research. 10am to 4pm. Free for members. $20 non-members. Bookable one-hour appointments with a research consultant. Details.

Wednesday 26 June: Our Place on the World Map, 1000-1600, with Dr Glynn Kelso. The inaugural D A Chart Seminar on Maps, named in memory of PRONI's first Deputy Keeper. Host and Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 12:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book. Details.

Wednesday 26 June: A Musical Tour of Richmond Barracks, with Bernie Tynan and Tony Casey. Host and venue: Mondays at the Mess series, Richmond Barracks, Off Bulfin Rd, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 11am. All welcome. Admission €3–€5. Tickets.

Thursday 27 June: Famine Irish Archiving and Digital Storytelling. Discover how Irish Famine emigrants are being traced in North America through cutting edge digital technology and online storytelling. Hosts: ADAPT Centre, National Heritage Trust and Strokestown Park House. Venue: Science Gallery, Trinity College, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. 6-8pm. Free but need to register.

Thursday 27 June: Anglo-Norman and Old English Cashel, with Dr Paul McCotter. Host: Cashel Heritage Forum's Within and Without the Walls lecture series. Venue: Parish Centre, Friar Street, Cashel, Co Tipperary. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Friday 28 June: PRONI Workshop: Getting Started, an introductory workshop on essential skills for researching family and local history. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am - 1pm. Free. Need to book.

Saturday 29 June: The Black and Tans to the Treaty, 1920-1921, with Mary Muldowney. The second of a two-part lecture explaining the tumultuous years of the Irish War of Independence. Host: Dublin City Public Libraries. Venue: Charleville Mall Library, North Strand, Dublin 1. 2:30pm. Book by phone 01 874 9619. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 29 June:  The Big House and Estate, conference. Host and venue: The Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna, Co Galway. 9:30am to 4:30pm. This free conference includes refreshments and a snack lunch. Advance booking is essential as spaces are limited. Details.

Sunday 30 June: Book launch: Remembering the Past, a history of Killoughey Church and Cemetery, by Breda Condron. Venue: Killoughey Graveyard. Launch follows 7pm mass at the graveyard. Refreshments afterwards in Ard Aoibhinn, Rathkeeragan, Mount Bolus, Co Offaly. All welcome.

Monday 1 July: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, operate as normal.

Monday 1 July: The Workhouse of the South Dublin Union, with Davis Coakley. Host: Richmond Barracks, Mondays at the Mess series. Venue: Richmond Barracks, Off Bulfin Rd, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 11am. All welcome. Admission €5, includes tea and scone. Tickets.

Tuesday 2 July: C4, the Research Centre of the NIFHS, is closed throughout July. Venue: Unit C4, Valley Business Centre, 67 Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 7LS. Reopens 4 August.

Wednesday 3 July: Liberating Ireland - Daniel O'Connell and the fight for Irish freedom, with Professor Patrick Geoghegan. Hosts: OPW - Tara Lecture Series. Venue: Hill of Tara Centre, Castleboy, Co Meath. Admission free but limited seating, so arrive early. All welcome.

Thursday 4 July: The Manchester Martyrs, and the West Cork Connections, with Robert J Bateman. Host: Duchas Clonakilty Heritage. Venue: The Parish Centre, Clonakilty, Co Cork. Free. 8:30pm. All welcome.

Sunday 7 July: Power and Politics in the Blackwater Valley, a one-day conference. Host and venue: Dromana House, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford. Four lectures, morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea. 10:30am to 4pm. Inclusive fee of €75pp or €130 for two persons. For more details and to book, email info@dromanahouse.com or phone 086 8186305.

Celebrate Canada Day with $40 off AncestryDNA

AncestryDNA is running a sale in Canada (only) to mark Canada Day 2019.

It offers a discount of $40 CAD for each test kit ordered, reducing the price to $89 CAD plus shipping.

AncestryDNA offers the largest consumer network – 15million and counting – giving you the best chance of matching with close and distant cousins and identifying extended family. Additionally, AncestryDNA's ability to identify ethnic heritage has grown in the last week, with markers for likely ancestral connections continuing to be pinpointed to specific locations. The company refers to these geographical DNA groupings as Genetic Communities.

Of particular interest to Canadian-based researchers is the recent addition of 120+ new Canadian Communities, with greater insights about British Canadian, French Canadian, and Acadian settlers.

In total, AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates now draw on the identification of some 500 Genetic Communities.

The Canada Day sale will end at 11:59 ET on Monday 1 July.

The content above contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Former Magdalene laundry to be a 'site of conscience'

The site of a former Magdalene laundry in Dublin's inner city is to be turned into a "site of conscience" within the next five years.

Magdalene Laundries were workhouses run by the Roman Catholic Church for so-called 'fallen women', unmarried mothers and orphans. They are rightly considered a cruel and dark stain on Ireland's history – one that must never be repeated, nor forgotten.

The former Gloucester Street laundry

So an attempt last year to sell and demolish the building on Sean McDermott (previously Gloucester) Street to make way for a new Japanese-owned hotel found itself blocked last year by Dublin City councillors. A campaign, led by survivors of the laundries, argued that the building, the last such laundry to close* in Ireland and still owned by the state, should be retained to recognise the social, cultural and personal history experienced by many Dublin residents.

The laundry's Site of Conscience status recognises that the building is a historic site where initiatives on-site aim to connect past struggles to today's movements for human rights, and was confirmed as part of the Dublin City Agreement between Fianna Fail, Labour, Green Party and Social Democrats, which was signed earlier this week. It reads: 'We will develop a multipurpose Site of Conscience at the location of the former Magdalene laundry on Sean McDermott Street that will seek to honour and commemorate the victims and survivors of Ireland's Institutional past.'

*in 1996

Power & Politics in the Blackwater Valley, Sunday 7 July

Dromana House and Gardens, Cappoquin

A one-day conference – Power and Politics in the Blackwater Valley – will be held in the elegant surroundings of Dromana House, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford on Sunday 7 July.

The event includes morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea and it runs from 10:30am to 4pm. There's an inclusive fee of €75pp or €130 for two persons.

For more details and to book, email info@dromanahouse.com or phone 086 8186305.

The day's programme includes the following four talks:

Liberation: Waterford and the Winning of Civil Rights in the Age of Daniel O'Connell, with Professor Patrick Geoghehan

Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork: Statesman and Warlord (1629-1643), with Dr Dave Edwards

Home truths about Walter Raleigh, Richard Boyle and Edmund Spenser, with Professor Tadgh O'Keeffe

Power struggles: marriages and money in an Anglo-Irish family in the 19th century, with Patrick Cockburn.

FindMyPast adds 5.7m United States Obituary Notices

FindMyPast has added a further 5.7million records to its United States Obituary Notices collection. The top-up brings the total of transcriptions in the record set to more than 38million, all indexed from the tributes.com and currentobituary.com websites.

The detailed transcriptions provide first name, surname, birth date, death date and place, and the obituary text, plus a link to the source website where additional information and photos may be found.

Inevitably, there are a lot of Irish surnames in the index, most of them relating to deaths in the 20th century and the early 21st, making this collection useful for locating Irish immigrants and their descendents.

The content above contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

First phase of NAI's €22m redevelopment has completed

Speaking at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) this morning, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD announced that the first phase of enabling works to prepare for the National Archives’ major new Project Ireland 2040 Repository Redevelopment is completed. The project is costing €22 million. More than 70,000 boxes of records have been transferred to temporary storage to facilitate the preliminary redevelopment works at Bishop Street, Dublin 8 while the majority of records continue to be accessible to the public.

National Archives of Ireland, Dublin 8

The scheme will deliver new purpose-built storage facilities at the existing NAI premises and will build-in the potential to develop and construct additional storage in the future. Funded by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, it will have the capacity to store 250,000 boxes of records.

The Minister also complimented the NAI’s recently revamped website which provides easy online access to services provided by the repository to both government and the public. Video technology has been incorporated into the new site to facilitate a behind the scenes look at some of the projects currently being undertaken in the NAI, such as the conservation of archives salvaged from the Public Record Office fire in 1922.

Microsites highlighting the abundant genealogy collections and contributions by the NAI to the Decade of Centenaries can now be accessed from the new homepage, enabling easier online pathways and showcasing the variety and richness of its records which are available to the public.

University of Limerick's Certificate in Local History course starts September

The University of Limerick's Certificate in Local History will soon be enrolling for this September's course.

This highly recommended course is delivered through lectures presented at the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, Co Galway on Wednesday evenings, and field trips. It runs over 24 weeks and covers the full breadth of local history topics. It is designed for anyone with an interest in local history.

If you would like more information, email irishworkhousecentre@gmail.com or text / phone 086 4070851.

Podcasts of History Ireland Hedge Schools 2019 online

History Ireland is a bi-monthly full colour
magazine published by Wordwell Books, Dublin 18.

Audio recordings of all History Ireland Hedge Schools held between January and May are now available online.

Like the Hedge Schools themselves, the podcasts are free.

History Ireland Hedge Schools are hosted by Tommy Graham, editor of the magazine, who chairs lively round-table discussions with academics, historians and other specialists in front of an audience.

The titles, dates and venues of the 2019 Hedge Schools are noted below. You can find out more about the topic under discussion and details of the panelists and link through to the recording on the magazine's website, here.

Scotland and the global Irish Revolution / Edinburgh University / 15 May 2019

A century of women / Linen Hall Library, Belfast / 12 April 2019

The Irish Revolution – local or global? / Cobh Library, Co Cork / 13 April 2019

Censorship in Ireland – then and now / National Library of Ireland, Dublin / 9 April 2019

Soloheadbeg — impact & legacy / Limerick Junction / 19 January 2019

Ancestry identifies roots in 225 new DNA 'communities'

Ancestry DNA results will be providing even more detailed ethnicity and geographical details following the release of more than 225 additional AncestryDNA 'communities' identifying roots in France, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

By analysing its existing DNA network of more than 15 million people, its collection of public family trees and its Genetic Communities™ technology, the company claims to be able to identify groups of people with shared DNA and determine where their ancestors may have lived during the past 75-300 years.

Among the new communities are 35 French American, 120 Canadian, 73 UK, and 14 Australia/NZ.

You can see more details of this latest development on Ancestry's blog, and see the full updated list of 500 'communities' here.

Or, if you've already tested with AncestryDNA, take a look at your ethnicity results. They've probably been updated. Twitter comments would suggest the rollout has rolled well. It's even rolled into my own results, which has previously analysed my 94% Ireland heritage to be from Munster. It now identifies South West Munster, South West Coast of Cork, South Central Cork and West Cork. Since my paternal heritage is entirely located between Clonakilty and Skibbereen, that seems well enough done, if perhaps over done, but on my maternal side, south Tipperary should feature and my Wicklow/Wexford connections don't seem to be showing up at all. However, the tiddy weeny 6% of my more recent (last 150 years) ancestral heritage that is Welsh is correctly identified as from Flintshire, so that's pretty neat.

The content above contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

More Limerick Board of Guardians Minute Books online

Following the success of the digitisation and online upload of Board of Guardian Minute Books for Limerick Union (see April blogpost), the team at Limerick Archives has added the books for three more Poor Law Unions in the county: Croom, Glin and Kilmallock.

Croom Union Board of Guardians Minute Books date from 1852 to 1922 and  can be downloaded in a series of 25 pdf files. Most of the pdfs contain 600 or more pages, and their digital 'weight' is about 250Mb each. The books record the weekly meetings of the Board and concentrate mainly on the administration and finance of the Union. They also include population figures in the Union in each decade, returns of the number of paupers admitted to or discharged from the workhouse, and week by week figures of the numbers of sick, births and deaths there. From mid-1868 there are also demographic reports of the inmates and their distribution in accommodation across the Workhouse complex. Summary and download links.

Glin Union Board of Guardians Minute Books date from 1893 to 1921. This union straddles Limerick and Kerry county boundaries. In 1891 it was decided to adapt the Union's workhouse into an Industrial School for children up to age 15 who had been placed in the workhouses of five regional unions: Croom, Newcastle West, Kilmallock , Limerick City and Listowel. The first intake of children were admitted in 1895. The early books record preparation for the change to a school. Later miutes note the numbers of pupils and petty disbursements and reports from the Master, Matron and Doctor. There are six pdf files to download. Summary and download link

Kilmallock Union Board of Guardians Minute Books date from 1839 to 1922. This union was previously known as Bruff Union. The books record the monthly and (from February 26 1841) weekly meetings of the Board. They concentrate mainly on the administration and finance of the Union. They also include population figures in the Union in each decade, returns of the number of paupers admitted to or discharged from the workhouse, and week by week figures of the numbers of sick, births and deaths there. Summary and download links.

Minute Books from the Board of Guardians in Newcastle West Union will be uploaded during the summer.

Hoard of IRA papers, photos & maps discovered in attic

A 100-year-old archive of IRA material, including photos, maps and medals as well as documents recording the names and secret activities of republican volunteers in Co. Clare during the Revolutionary Period, has been found in a Kilrush attic.

The collection was discovered in suitcases during the clearance of a house once owned by Joe Barrett, a former IRA commander who died in 1971 and had run an auctioneering business in the town.

Among the papers, which number about 2,500 items and date from 1916-1924, are the names of men and women in each volunteer brigade under Barrett's command, orders and instructions from IRA HQ relating to code reading, and lists of individuals to be targetted in reprisal for any executions of IRA prisoners. There are also handwritten notes from the volunteers documenting their activities.

Kilrush & District Historical Society was involved in the removal of the collection, which is to be donated to a public library for future digitisation and online accessibility.

For more information about the collection and its historical value, see RTE's video, here.

Cork Evening Echo joins Irish Newspaper Archives

Cork's Evening Echo is the latest addition
to the Irish Newspaper Archive

The Dublin-based and family-owned Irish Newspaper Archive (INA) has announced the addition of the Cork Evening Echo to its database. Published in Cork City since 1892 and distributed throughout Munster, the paper was re-branded earlier this year as The Echo, and has shifted to morning publication.

So far, editions published 1896 to 1948 have been uploaded. The remaining period, right up to current editions, will be added in August.

To celebrate this important extension of the INA holding, the company is offering discounts on its subscription plans. There's a 20% discount on a monthly subscription (use code CEE20) and a cool 30% off the 12-month package (use code CEE30). Both discount codes will be valid until Monday 24 June.

Irish genealogy, history & heritage events, 17-30 June

Monday 17 June: NLI closures: All services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, will be closed until 11am to facilitate a staff meeting. Main Reading Room and Manuscript Room remain closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Tuesday 18 June: Scientist Erwin Schrödinger’s time in Clontarf during World War II, with Niall McDevitt. Host: IGRS Ireland Branch Summer Lecture. Venue: Helen Roe Theatre, The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 63 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. Free. 6:45pm to 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 18 June: Book launch: Marriage and the Irish, a Miscellany, edited by Salvador Ryan. Host: Wordwell Books, Venue: Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. 6pm.

Wednesday 19 June: The Glynns of Kilrush, Co. Clare, 1811 – 1940: Family Business & Politics, with Dr. Paul O'Brien. Host and venue: Kilrush Library, O Gorman Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 6.30pm. Free event and all welcome.

Thursday 20 June: National Archives of Ireland Reading Room will be closed until midday. Business as usual, including free genealogy advisory service, from noon onwards. Bishop Street, Dublin 8.

Thursday 20 June: Book launch – I Wouldn’t Start from Here: the Second Generation Irish in Britain, a book of essays, fiction and poetry by second generation Irish writers in Britain. Host: Five Leaves Bookshop, in association with Nottingham Irish Studies Group. Venue: Five Leaves Bookshop, 14a Long Row (off Market Square), Nottingham, UK. Tickets: £3 on the door, including refreshments. Advise your intention to attend by email to events@fiveleaves.co.uk. Details.

Saturday 22 June: Famine in Dublin, a live podcast recording with Fin Dwyer. Host: Stoneybatter Festival. Venue: The Elbow Room, 32 Brunswick St N, Arran Quay, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7. 4:30pm. Admission: €5

Monday 24 June: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, operate as normal.

Tuesday 25 June: Cold Iron – Folklore on fishing, with Bairbre Ni Fhloinn. Host: Howth Peninsula Heritage Society. Venue: Howth Angling Centre, West Pier, Howth, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. €5 on the door.

Wednesday 26 June: Irish Family History Assistance. Host: Genealogical Society of Victoria. Venue: GSV Library, Level 6, 85 Queen St., Melbourne 3000, Australia. Experienced helpers in the library to offer advice on your Irish research. 10am to 4pm. Free for members. $20 non-members. Bookable one-hour appointments with a research consultant. Details.

Wednesday 26 June: Our Place on the World Map, 1000-1600, with Dr Glynn Kelso. The inaugural D A Chart Seminar on Maps, named in memory of PRONI's first Deputy Keeper. Host and Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 12:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book. Details.

Thursday 27 June: Famine Irish Archiving and Digital Storytelling. Discover how Irish Famine emigrants are being traced in North America through cutting edge digital technology and online storytelling. Hosts: ADAPT Centre, National Heritage Trust and Strokestown Park House. Venue: Science Gallery, Trinity College, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. 6-8pm. Free but need to register.

Friday 28 June: PRONI Workshop: Getting Started, an introductory workshop on essential skills for researching family and local history. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am - 1pm. Free. Need to book.

Saturday 29 June: The Black and Tans to the Treaty, 1920-1921, with Mary Muldowney. The second of a two-part lecture explaining the tumultuous years of the Irish War of Independence. Host: Dublin City Public Libraries. Venue: Charleville Mall Library, North Strand, Dublin 1. 2:30pm. Book by phone 01 874 9619. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 29 June:  The Big House and Estate, conference. Host and venue: The Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna, Co Galway. 9:30am to 4:30pm. This free conference includes refreshments and a snack lunch. Advance booking is essential as spaces are limited. Details.

The 'Big House' and Landed Estate Conference, 29 June

On the last Saturday of this month, the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, Co Galway will host a Landed Estates Conference to explore the story of the 'Big House'.

In the early 1800s, more than 4,000 'Big House Landed Estates' symbolised the economic strength and social standing of landed families, but they also reflect the story of their tenants and the wider social and economic history of Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today as few as one hundred such estates survive.

Among the topics to be discussed at the conference are:

• The development of the Big House and Estates, with John Joe Conwell
• Architecture and Interiors of the Big House, with Dr Marion McGarry
• The Food of the Big House, with Margaret Hickey
• Musical culture and Big House society, with Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam
• From the Big House to the Glebe House, with Kevin McGuire
• Fluttering in the Dovecote - Pigeon Houses of Co Galway, with Dr Christy Cunniffe.

This free conference includes refreshments and a snack lunch. Advance booking is essential as spaces are limited. Email info@irishworkhousecentre.ie.

For more details, click the image above.

Fathers' Day discount on FindMyPast DNA test kits

FindMyPast DNA's Fathers' Day offer sees discounts available to researchers in Ireland, UK, Canada and the USA.

Purchasers receive not only a worthwhile saving on the dna test and ethnicity breakdown, they also receive a complimentary 14-day subscription to FindMyPast's database.

For more details, click on the link below that matches the tester's location.

Ireland: Regular price €89. Reduced to €69, plus shipping. EU Standard Delivery: €12.95.

UK: Regular price £79. Reduced to £59, plus shipping. UK Standard Delivery: £9.95.

USA: Regular price $89. Reduced to $65, plus shipping. USA Standard Delivery: $9.95.

Canada: Regular price C$99. Reduced to C$85, plus shipping. Standard Delivery: C$14.95.

The Fathers' Day savings will end on Monday 17 June.

There does not appear to be a current Fathers' Day promotion for researchers in Australia/NewZealand.

The content above contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Exhibition launch: Treasures of the Oireachtas Library

A new online-only exhibition has been launched today to showcase some of the historical treasures of the Oireachtas Library. The new exhibition is part of celebrations to mark the centenary of the First Dáil, which held its first public meeting on 21 January 1919.

1884 political cartoon: Erin demands that the
Lord Lieutenant Earl Spencer open a door
marked ‘Castle Secrets’.

The archive holds some 10,000+ items, many of them of national significance, including historical maps, political cartoons, prints, pamphlets and periodicals. They provide a unique perspective on Anglo-Irish relations and administration during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The items selected for this gallery include a 17th century pamphlet on the need for Ireland’s autonomy in law-making, an 18th century treatise on the same topic and a 19th century appeal to America to support Irish independence.

To create the new exhibition, guest curators were invited to explore the treasures in the Library and choose their favourites.

The Irish Times political cartoonist Martyn Turner selected from a 19th-century cartoon collection while Dr Aoife Whelan, lecturer at the School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore at University College Dublin, explored Oireachtas items on the Irish language. John Lonergan, the former Governor of Mountjoy Prison, detailed the history of prisons and penal reform in Ireland, and Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Ceann Comhairle of the 32nd Dáil, chose items relating to Ireland’s journey toward self-governance.

The Treasures of the Oireachtas Library exhibition can be found on www.dail100.ie, itself a deep and rather addictive website well worth exploring by any Irish family historian looking to better understand the political, social and cultural references of their ancestors.

FTDNA's Family Finder & Y-DNA deals for Fathers' Day

Family Tree DNA has discounts of up to 25% on offer for both its Family Finder and Y-DNA test kits for Fathers' Day.

Family Finder, the company's autosomal DNA test, which can be taken by both males and females, has been reduced from US$79 to US$59 plus shipping.

Y-dna tests  explore the paternal line only. Women do not have Y-dna. Current offers are a discount of $40 on the Y-37 test - $129 plus shipping; a discount of $49 on the Y-67 test - $219 plus shipping; a discount of $60 on the Y-111 test - $299 plus shipping.

All Family Tree DNA products are priced in US currency only.

To learn more about these tests, click the links above.

These savings will expire on Monday 17 June.

RootsIreland.ie adds Cork (North & East) transcriptions

Some 1,300 transcriptions have been added to RootsIreland.ie's North and East Cork records database, which is run by the Mallow Heritage Centre.

The top-up records join existing holdings for each of the following Roman Catholic parishes:

Doneraile – An extra 23 years of marriage records extend the holding from 1815 to 1922.
Killavullen – 28 years of marriage records extend the marriage records holding from 1806 to 1922
Cloyne – 28 years of marriage records extend the marriage records holding from 1791 to 1922.

The civil BMD records database has also been topped up with records for 1895–1906 for the Kilshannig Registrar's District.

The main menu of records held in the Cork North and East database doesn't appear to have been updated yet, but will no doubt be uploaded shortly.

See also this overview of the Mallow Heritage Centre's work.

Kilmoe register joins West Cork Graveyards Database

Following up rather swiftly on the addition of Dunbeacon graveyard's burial register (see blogpost) to its free West Cork Graveyards database, Skibbereen Heritage Centre has added the register for Kilmoe. This civil parish covers the tip of the Mizen Peninsula and includes Goleen and Crookhaven.

It joins registers, made available by Cork County Council, for burial grounds in Abbeymahon, Abbeystrowry, Allihies, Ardagh, Ballymoney, Brade, Castlehaven, Coronea, Drimoleague, Dunbeacon, Durrus, Fanlobbus, Kilheangul (near Schull), Kilcaskan, Kilmacabea, Rathbarry, Schull, Sherkin Island, Tullagh and Whiddy Island. The earliest burial recorded in these registers in 1900. Kilmoe's register record burials from c1935 to 2000s.

In addition to these burial registers, the West Cork Graveyards database holds the Skibbereen Funeral Register, which records more than 2,000 funerals in various locations around the town, and the results of graveyard surveys carried out by teams of local volunteers at Caheragh, Drimoleague Drinagh Creagh, Kilcoe, Aughadown, Abbeymahon and Chapel Lane, the two latter being in Skibbereen

Bones found on Canadian beach confirmed as 1847 Famine victims

The Canadian government has confirmed that the bones of three children washed up on a Quebec beach eight years ago were from the Carricks ship that departed County Sligo in 1847 at the height of the Great Irish Famine.

Cap des Rosiers lighthouse.

The ship was on its way to the Port of Quebec with 180 passengers and crew on board when it sank off the coast of Cap-des-Rosiers in Gaspé. Only 48 people survived. Historical accounts tell of 87 bodies recovered from the shipwreck being buried on the beach.

The initial discoveries in 2011 initiated an archaeologists' dig on the Cap-des-Rosiers beach and this has since uncovered the remains of a further 18 victims, most of them women and children.

Scientific analysis by the bio-archaeology lab at Montreal University revealed that the 21 individuals whose remains have been found had had a rural diet based chiefly on potatoes and suffered from diseases and complaints typical of the malnourished.

The remains will be buried near the existing Irish Memorial on Cap-des-Rosiers beach at a ceremony this summer.

Ireland's Josepha Madigan, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has confirmed that her department will liaise with the Canadian authorities to consider what appropriate memorial can be organised.

There's more here: CBC.ca

Irish genealogy, history & heritage events, 10-23 June

Monday 10 June : NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, operate as normal.

Monday 10 June to Friday 14 June: Offices closed during Ulster Historical Foundation's Irish Family History Experience programme. Reopens on Monday 17 June.

Monday 10 June: International Archives Day: Behind the scenes, a guided tour and meet the staff session. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Blvd, Belfast. 11am & 2pm. Free. FULLY BOOKED.

Tuesday 11 June: Estate records as a source for genealogical research, with Nicola Morris MAGI. Host and venue: National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. 6pm. No booking required. All welcome.

Tuesday 11 June: State Papers Ireland – a workshop on early records (1509-1782). Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am. Free, but need to book. FULLY BOOKED. To join waiting list see Eventbrite.

Tuesday 11 June: Hidden History: Secrets and Stories from the War of Independence, with Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc. Seán Lemass Public Library, Shannon Town Centre, Tullyvarraga, Shannon, Co. Clare. 6:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 12 June: Ulster Scottish Connections: Marking 800 years of PRONI's Oldest Document, an exploration of the background to PRONI's oldest document dated 12 June 1219. Venue and host: PRONI, Titanic Bouleard, Belfast. 2–4:30pm. Free, but need to book. Details and booking.

Thursday 13 June: Beyond the Somme: Brigadier Frank Crozier and the Welsh Bantam Brigade, with Mike Taylor. Host: Western Front Association. Venue: PRONI, Titantic Boulevard, Belfast. All welcome. 6:30pm. £4 donation. Details.

Thursday 13 and Friday 14 June: Prisons, Asylums, Workhouses: Institutions in Ireland, a conference exploring three centuries of institutional life in Ireland and the voices and spaces of the marginalised in Irish society. Venue: PRONI and Queen's University, Belfast. Details.

Thursday 13 June: History Shorts, part of Irish Military Seminar 2019. Host: Kildare Decade of Commemorations. Venue: Newbridge Library, Athgarvan Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. 18:45-21:30. Talks: Downed Luftwaffe Aircraft in Ireland, with Mick Rowley; Advent of firepower on the battlefield 1899 (Boer War), with Liam Kenny; Republican activity in Co. Kildare during War of Independence, with Mick Murphy. Free, but you need to book. Phone 045 448353.

Saturday 15 June: Irish Military Seminar 2019, with Drs. Myles Dungan, Ruan O'Donnell, Leeann Lane, T. Ryle Dwyer and Mary McAuliffe and Des Ekin. Host: Kildare Decade of Commemorations and Riverbank Arts Centre. Venue: Riverbank Arts Centre, Main Street, Newbridge, Co Kildare. 9am to 5pm. All welcome. Cost: €5 including tea/coffee. Book at boxoffice@irverbank.ie or phone 045 448327.

Saturday 15 June: Migration into Fermanagh from Southern Ireland, 1919-1925, with Howard Thornton and Melvyn Hall. Host: Fermanagh Genealogy. Venue: Enniskillen Library, 1st Floor, Halls Lane, Enniskillen BT74 7DR. 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Non-members welcome. £5.

Monday 17 June: NLI closures: All services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, will be closed until 11am to facilitate a staff meeting. Main Reading Room and Manuscript Room remain closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Tuesday 18 June: Scientist Erwin Schrödinger’s time in Clontarf during World War II, with Niall McDevitt. Host: IGRS Ireland Branch Summer Lecture. Venue: Helen Roe Theatre, The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 63 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. Free. 6:45pm to 8pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 19 June: The Glynns of Kilrush, Co. Clare, 1811 – 1940: Family Business & Politics, with Dr. Paul O'Brien. Host and venue: Kilrush Library, O Gorman Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 6.30pm. Free event and all welcome.

Irish Military Seminar: Great episodes of Irish history

If military history is of significant interest in your ancestral research, you'll be spoiled for choice at next week's Irish Military Seminar, which runs over three days in Newbridge, Co Kildare.

This is the third consecutive year this dedicated military seminar is being held in the town, and its programme features some of Ireland's top historians. Events are held in either the Riverbank Arts Centre or Newbridge Library. The programme summary is below:

Thursday 13 June: Venue: Newbridge Library. Doors open 18:45pm. Free.
19:15pm Downed Luftwaffe Aircraft, with Mick Rowley
19:55pm Technological Advances in the Boer War, with Liam Kenny
20:45pm Kildare and the Irish War of Independence, with Mick Murphy
Book via newbridgelib@kildarecoco.ie or 045 448353.

Friday 14 June: Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge. Free.
18:00pm Reception
19:00pm Heroes of Jadotville, with Leo Quinlan
20:00pm The Battle of At Tiri, a panel discussion with Irish veterans, facilitated by Sgt. Wayne FitzGerald, Editor of An Cosantóir
Booking essential: boxoffice @riverbank.ie or 045-448327.

Saturday 15 June: Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge. €5.
9:00am - 16:00pm: A full day of presentations from Dr Myles Dungan, Dr Ruan O'Donnell, Dr Leeann Lane, Des Ekin, Dr T Ryle Dwyer and Dr Mary McAuliffe.
Their topics include: The Battle of Kinsale; Dorothy McArdle, Irish Neutrality in WWII; IRA Border Campaign 1956; Margaret Skinnider; The Irish at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Booking essential: boxoffice @riverbank.ie or 045-448327.

D-Day75: Up to 40% off Irish Newspaper Archives subs

To mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, the Dublin-based Irish Newspaper Archives is offering some big savings on subscriptions to its database.

There's a generous 40% discount on the annual subscription when you use the promo/coupon code DDay40. And there's also a very handy 25% off the monthly subscription, using the code DDay25.

In both cases, the offers will expire at 11:59pm (Irish Summer Time) on Sunday 16 June.

To take advantage of these savings and discover learn more about how Irish papers reported the world's largest maritime invasion (and nearly more than 300 years of national, regional and local news of the times your Irish ancestors lived through), click the image below.

3,000 Irish in the Pennsylvania Mine Accidents Register

FindMyPast has added a quirky collection called Pennsylvania, Register Of Mine Accidents. These registers are from the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries and they document accidents in the anthracite and bituminous coalfields of the state between 1899 and 1972.

It holds more than 163,000 records, many of them related to immigrants, and while they make up less than 3% of the total number of casualties recorded, there are 2,924 Irishmen included. About half of them were born between 1850 and 1890.

Quite shocking is the age of some of the men. The oldest I found was a miner called Michael Quinn who was working at Bernice Drift mine in 1899 when he was injured in a mine roof fall. He was 73 years old (b1826). Searching just the date of accident and location, the records showed that a 43-year-old fellow miner was killed in the same accident.

As in this case at Bernice Drift, the records explain where each accident occurred, the cause and whether the accident was or was not fatal. The 'fault' of the accident is attributed in many cases to either the victim or noted as 'unavoidable'. Among the accidents recorded are roof fall, caught in conveyor belt, runaway trip, crushed, falling coal, fall of slate, hit by car, electrocuted, explosion of blast, and even, in two instances, 'by mule falling on him'.

The transcribed record links to the typed up database, which is organised in a series of alphabetical pdfs.

25% discount on Ancestry DNA test kits - UK only

AncestryUK is running a Father’s Day Sale on its AncestryDNA test kits.

The discount seems to be available only via AncestryUK; usually I'd expect a euro promotion to run in parallel via the Ireland pages, but there doesn't seem to be one this time. (I've queried this and will report below if I'm notified of a euro offer.)

The 25% discount will reduce the kit price from £79 to £59, plus shipping.

As you may have heard recently, more than 15 million individuals have submitted dna sample to Ancestry's DNA network making it the world's largest consumer dna network and providing you with the greatest potential to find matches around the world.

The sale will expire at Noon (GMT) Wednesday 12 June.

The content above contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

 

A Visual Window to an Ecclesiastical World - exhibition

The RCB Library’s exhibition showcasing a selection of the Church of Ireland’s historical architectural drawings – A Visual Window to an Ecclesiastical World – is now open to the public at the Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin. Open days are Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm, until Friday 20 August, and admission is free. A series of lectures is planned for Heritage Week (17-25 August).

Earl's Gift Map before conservation. Click for enlarged view.

A Visual Window to an Ecclesiastical World showcases a selection of the original drawings. They are arranged chronologically and thematically, guiding viewers through a representative selection of the overall collection and literally open a window to the past, telling the story of who designed these buildings – why and when they were built (or rebuilt).

There is an excellent representation of virtually every diocese of the Church and of churches and glebe houses throughout Ireland, north and south.

One of the items on display is the recently repaired and conserved early 19th-century map of the ‘Earl’s Gift’ Demesne showing lands near the town of Donemana, Co. Tyrone, in the parish of Donagheady and diocese of Derry. These lands were colourfully surveyed for the Revd Charles Douglas by Robert Craig in 1830.

The Hon Revd Charles Douglas (1791-1867) was the second son of the 14th Earl of Morton. Ordained in the Church of England, he came to Ireland as rector of Donagheady in 1825 and continued to serve there until retirement in 1857. Clearly of significant independent means, Douglas was able to commission this survey map of the lands where he had laid out a house and planned demesne on the former ‘Earls Gift Castle’ estate, which had been associated in the 17th century with Sir John Drummond who laid out the original ‘Earls Gift Castle’ and town of Donemana. But for this survey map which provides visual evidence of the castle, associated farmyard parish church, church lands and outlying areas, the association of over 95 acres of these lands with one Church of Ireland cleric might have remained unknown.

Earl's Gift Map after conservation. Click for enlarged view

The map was recently transferred to the Library’s custody from the diocesan registry in Derry and Raphoe in the context of a large consignment of diocesan papers. It had suffered the ravages of time, and was in need of urgent repair.

Thanks to the expert intervention of Liz D’Arcy, at the Paperworks Studio for Paper Conservation, and availability of the Library’s Conservation Fund which allows for urgent repair of specific items, this beautiful work of art by surveyor Robert Craig has been brought back to life.

All of the original drawings are safely housed in the Library, but to reduce their wear and tear and showcase them to a wider audience, the entire collection of nearly 9,000 individual items was systematically digitized and catalogued in the Library, and is freely available to view online here.

Ancestry's new D-Day collection: free to IE & UK users

As the nation prepares to commemorate and reflect upon the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Ancestry UK has released a new D-Day collection free to family historians based in Ireland and the UK.

British Troops landing on Jig Green beach, 6.6.1944

The move is designed to help researchers uncover the role their family played in this extraordinary maritime invasion, and responds to a survey of 2,000 adults which found that a quarter of the nearly 62,000 British and Irish solders who participated in the landings never spoke to family about their experiences. Indeed, only one-in-ten veterans discussed the events in any detail with their family.

As a result of veterans bottling up what they went through and witnessed, 74% of family members today say they do not have a good understanding of what their ancestor experienced in one of the most historic events of World War II.

The new D-Day collection (officially called the UK, D-Day War Diaries and Photographs, 1944 collection) aims to fill in some of the blanks. It includes more than 100 records, including war diaries and photographs from the day, sourced from 42 regiments around the UK.

The collection provides a fascinating and sometimes harrowing insight into the operation and aims to help tell the story where traditional records are not yet available, as well as offering researchers the chance to discover the part played by their ancestor in D-Day.

Highlights include:

• War diary from HMS Belfast, including images of the ships log on D-Day
• Multiple war diaries of soldiers operating at a number of levels and across different regiments during D-Day (including anti-aircraft regiments, infantry brigade, parachute regiment and anti-tank regiment)
• Photographs which cover the entirety of Operation Overlord, including close-ups of British soldiers, the storming of Normandy beaches, German POWs, and images taken from allied aircraft and allied naval vessels
• Written letters from allied soldiers to loved ones back home
• Diaries from those left back in the UK, including Doris Bealing (aged 11) who lived in Portsmouth as the D-Day landings were undertaken.
• Typed copies of news reports from the BBC

Russell James, Ancestry, commented, 'D-Day veterans were of a different generation, where not showing emotion, not wanting to be seen as a hero or feeling the need to keep a stiff upper-lip prevented people from talking through events that must have been profoundly difficult and tragic. Equally, in the decades after the war, people wanted to simply move on. However, it’s a shame that so many personal stories were not told, and records were lost or simply thrown away. Our newly launched D-Day collection is available for free and allows those with family links to the landings the chance to uncover more details about the role their family members played.”

The Brigade documentary to broadcast 13 & 20 June

You may remember a blogpost here on Irish Genealogy News back in January with a call for recruits to take part in a living history project for a new RTE1 documentary, The Brigade.

Some 60 hopefuls attended a recruitment day in Clonakilty in February, and a dozen were selected and put through an intense week-long Boot Camp. There, they they had to learn and understand what life was like for the real-life flying column members 100 years ago, who lived on the run, marching, drilling, staging ambushes and launching attacks.

Shot entirely in West Cork, the two-part series explores the lives of the ordinary people who fought for Irish freedom and tells the story of the Cork 3rd Brigade IRA during the War of Independence.

The Brigade, which runs over two one-hour episodes, will air on RTÉ1 on Thursday 13 June at 10:15pm (and on +1) and Thursday 20 June (probably same time but not yet confirmed). It has been produced by Abu Media.

IrishGenealogy.ie updates its online civil bmd records

IrishGenealogy.ie, the state-managed free online database of civil birth, marriage and death records, has been updated with most of the collection's outstanding indexes and register images.

As of today, the site provides free access to the following civil records (the new additions are shown in parenthesis):

Births: 1864 to 1918 indexes and register images (1917 & 1918)
Marriages: 1864 to 1943 indexes and register images (register images 1864-1869; indexes and register images 1942 & 1943)
Deaths: 1864 to 1878 indexes only; 1879-1968 indexes and register images (indexes and register images 1967 & 1968)

Still outstanding are:

Marriages (non-Roman Catholic only): 1845 to 1863 register images
Deaths: 1864 to 1878 register images

No news on when the outstanding records will be available.

Enjoy.

West Cork Graveyards database: latest addition

Skibbereen Heritage Centre has added the burial register (March 1934-January 1980) of Dunbeacon graveyard to its free West Cork Graveyards database.

It joins registers, made available by Cork County Council, for burial grounds in Abbeymahon, Abbeystrowry, Allihies, Ardagh, Ballymoney, Brade, Castlehaven, Coronea, Drimoleague, Durrus, Fanlobbus, Kilheangul (near Schull), Kilcaskan, Kilmacabea, Rathbarry, Schull, Sherkin Island, Tullagh and Whiddy Island. The earliest burial recorded in these registers in 1900.

In addition to these burial registers, the West Cork Graveyards database holds the Skibbereen Funeral Register, which records more than 2,000 funerals in various locations around the town, and the results of graveyard surveys carried out by teams of local volunteers at Caheragh, Drimoleague Drinagh Creagh, Kilcoe, Aughadown, Abbeymahon and Chapel Lane, the two latter being in Skibbereen

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 3-16 June

Monday 3 June: June bank holiday in Republic of Ireland. All archives and libraries closed, except exhibitions at the National Library of Ireland which are open 12-noon to 5pm. Note: Northern Ireland does not share this holiday and its institutions are open as per regular timetable.

Tuesday 4 June: Researching Irish Records, with Jennifer Bryan. Venue: Jackson County Genealogy Library, Jackson County Genealogy Library, 3405 S. Pacific Hwy, Medford, Oregon 97501 USA. $20/non-Members; $10/RVGS Members. 10:30am-12:30pm. To register, T 541-512-2340, E reception.JCGL@gmail.com

Wednesday 5 June: International Council on Archives Workshop, a practical workshop on essential skills, online resources and a tour of the public spaces. Venue: Public Record Office Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am-4pm (incl one-hour break for lunch). Free. FULLY BOOKED.

Wednesday 5 June: The French landings in Cork that never were, 1900-1905, with Dr Jérôme aan de Wiel. Cork Harbour Festival Lunchtime Lectures series. Hosts: History Department UCC and St Peter's Cork. Venue: St Peter's Church, North Main Street, Cork City. Free. 1:10pm to 2pm. Chaired by Dr John Borgonovo. Free.

Wednesday 5 June: Harry Boland's Manchester roots, with Donnacha DeLong. (Harry Boland and Michael Collins sprang Eamonn De Valera from Lincoln Prison.) Host and venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, Irish Town, Cheetham Hill, Manchester 8, UK. Free but need to book or email IWHC at office@iwhc.com. 7:15pm. All welcome.

Thursday 6 June: Book launch: A Bloody Dawn: The Irish at D-Day, by Dan Harvey. Official opening of the Irish Military Seminar 2019. Hosts: Kildare Decade of Commemorations and Newbridge Library. Venue: Newbridge Library, Athgarvan Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. 7pm to 8:30pm. All welcome. Free but need to book. See details.

Thursday 6 June: Like diamonds, gambling and picture-fancying, a luxury of the rich?: Ireland’s divorcing minority, 1701-1922, with Dr Diane Urquahart. J.C. Beckett Annual Memorial Lecture. Hosts: The Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies. Venue: PRONI Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 7pm. Details and booking.

Thursday 6 June: Amphibious warfare: The Desmond Rebellion and the Munster coastline, 1579-1583, with David Edwards. Cork Harbour Festival Lunchtime Lectures series. Hosts: History Department UCC and St Peter's Cork. Venue: St Peter's Church, North Main Street, Cork City. Free. 1:10pm to 2pm. Chaired by Dr John Borgonovo.

Friday 7 and Saturday 8 June: The Genealogy Show. Venue: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK. 10am to 5pm both days. £15 admission per day. £4 per talk (both with booking fee add-ons via website). Details.

Saturday 8 June: Cristiana la Sadelhackere: The story of a sex worker in Medieval Kildare, with Fin Dwyer. Host: June Fest. Venue: Market Kitchen, within Michael Murphy's, Edward Street, Newbridge, Co Kildare. 5pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Saturday 8 June: First Dail and First Shots, 1919-1920, with Mary Muldowney. The first of a two-part lecture explaining the tumultuous years of the Irish War of Independence. Host: Dublin City Public Libraries. Venue: Charleville Mall Library, North Strand, Dublin 1. 2:30pm. Book by phone 01 874 9619. Free. All welcome. 2nd lecture on 29th.

Monday 10 June : NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, operate as normal.

Monday 10 June to Friday 14 June: Offices closed during Ulster Historical Foundation's Irish Family History Experience programme. Reopens on Monday 17 June.

Monday 10 June: International Archives Day: Behind the scenes, a guided tour and meet the staff session. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Blvd, Belfast. 11am & 2pm. Free. FULLY BOOKED.

Tuesday 11 June: Estate records as a source for genealogical research, with Nicola Morris MAGI. Host and venue: National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. 6pm. No booking required. All welcome.

Tuesday 11 June: State Papers Ireland – a workshop on early records (1509-1782). Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 11am. Free, but need to book. FULLY BOOKED. To join waiting list see Eventbrite.

Tuesday 11 June: Hidden History: Secrets and Stories from the War of Independence, with Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc. Seán Lemass Public Library, Shannon Town Centre, Tullyvarraga, Shannon, Co. Clare. 6:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 12 June: Ulster Scottish Connections: Marking 800 years of PRONI's Oldest Document, an exploration of the background to PRONI's oldest document dated 12 June 1219. Venue and host: PRONI, Titanic Bouleard, Belfast. 2–4:30pm. Free, but need to book. Details and booking.

Thursday 13 June: Beyond the Somme: Brigadier Frank Crozier and the Welsh Bantam Brigade, with Mike Taylor. Host: Western Front Association. Venue: PRONI, Titantic Boulevard, Belfast. All welcome. 6:30pm. £4 donation. Details.

Thursday 13 and Friday 14 June: Prisons, Asylums, Workhouses: Institutions in Ireland, a conference exploring three centuries of institutional life in Ireland and the voices and spaces of the marginalised in Irish society. Venue: PRONI and Queen's University, Belfast. Details.

Thursday 13 June: History Shorts, part of Irish Military Seminar 2019. Host: Kildare Decade of Commemorations. Venue: Newbridge Library, Athgarvan Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. 18:45-21:30. Talks: Downed Luftwaffe Aircraft in Ireland, with Mick Rowley; Advent of firepower on the battlefield 1899 (Boer War), with Liam Kenny; Republican activity in Co. Kildare during War of Independence, with Mick Murphy. Free, but you need to book. Phone 045 448353.

Saturday 15 June: Irish Military Seminar 2019, with Drs. Myles Dungan, Ruan O'Donnell, Leeann Lane, T. Ryle Dwyer and Mary McAuliffe and Des Ekin. Host: Kildare Decade of Commemorations and Riverbank Arts Centre. Venue: Riverbank Arts Centre, Main Street, Newbridge, Co Kildare. 9am to 5pm. All welcome. Cost: €5 including tea/coffee. Book at boxoffice@irverbank.ie or phone 045 448327.

Saturday 15 June: Migration into Fermanagh from Southern Ireland, 1919-1925, with Howard Thornton and Melvyn Hall. Host: Fermanagh Genealogy. Venue: Enniskillen Library, 1st Floor, Halls Lane, Enniskillen BT74 7DR. 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Non-members welcome. £5.