Budget 2020: an Irish family historian's perspective

With the risk of a no-deal Brexit still dominating Ireland's political and economic life, it was no surprise to see Budget 2020 transferring €1.5bn to Ireland's 'Rainy Day' Fund.

Disappointing, but just as unsurprising, was the absence of any funding announcement for the early release of the 1926 census*.

Speeding up the snail-like release of the outstanding gaps in the General Register Office's civil records of Marriage and Death on IrishGenealogy.ie doesn't seem to have made the grade, either.

So, sadly, no significant national record collections appear to be in the gift pipe... at least not those in public hands.

But let's be positive, especially at a time of such uncertainty. It's good to see that an allocation of €900,000 will go to the Decade of Centenaries Programme to deliver commemorative events – including the execution of Kevin Barry on 1 November 2020 and Bloody Sunday on 21 November 2020 – and funding continues within the €460million Project Ireland 2040 programme for the renovation of National Cultural Institutions including the National Archives and National Library of Ireland.

*See the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations's petition, now with nearly 12,000 signatures, here.