Monday, 30 November 2020

Winter edition of Irish Roots magazine published

The Winter edition of Irish Roots, the only independently-produced magazine for family historians of Irish heritage, is now available in print or digital format.

Click/tap image to download sample
As always, this issue brings you a wide range of helpful and interesting content, including the following:
  • Finding the locality of your ancestors prior to 1864
  • Tracing your County Down ancestors
  • Reasons to gift, or not to gift, a DNA test kit
  • Newtownforbes, Co. Longford - A Study Of Parochial Records
  • Boston Provident Savings Ledgers 1817–1882
  • What’s New? Review of recent Irish genealogy record releases
  • The culture and storytelling of Protestants explored
  • Discover Waterford County Museum's image archive

In addition, there's topical genealogical comment and observations, a selection of new books, Irish-Australian Connections, a readers' experience shared, news from Irish genealogical and historical societies, and Nicola Morris MAGI answers readers research queries.

Irish Roots magazine is published quarterly. Hard-copy print subscriptions cost, inclusive of postage: Ireland €30, UK £30, USA $42, Canada $45, Australia $47 and rest of world €32. Digital subscriptions are even cheaper. You can find out more, and purchase subscriptions, gift packages or single editions (or even view a sample of the Winter issue) at irishrootsmedia.com/roots/shop

Christmas is coming... it's time to drop a hint to your loved ones about Irish Roots!

RootsIreland adds 10,500 more Co. Kilkenny records

RootsIreland.ie has added an interesting mix of more than 10,500 records from County Kilkenny to its database. They have been transcribed by genealogists at Roche House Trust in Kilkenny City, one of the Irish Family History Foundation's all-island network of genealogy centres.

This upload includes the following records:

  • Callan RC Parish, deaths, 1900-1940 (1610 records)
  • Dunamaggin RC Parish, deaths, 1900-1972 (709 records)
  • Windgap RC Parish, deaths, 1908-1971 (1234 records)
  • Parochial census, Paulstown, c.1861 (2501 records)
  • Parochial census Gorebridge, c.1872 (1311 records)
  • Pigot’s Directory, City of Kilkenny, 1824 (450 records)
  • Slater’s Directory, City of Kilkenny, 1846 (746 records)
  • Killamery tombstone inscriptions (187 records)
  • Tullahought tombstone inscriptions (439 records)
  • Windgap tombstone inscriptions (1355 records)

To see an up to date list of sources for County Kilkenny and to search the database, visit www.kilkenny.rootsireland.ie.


Friday, 27 November 2020

An introduction to using Ireland's Registry of Deeds

As part of this week's #ExploreYourArchive campaign, the Property Registration Authority of Ireland (PRAI) yesterday held an online seminar on the Registry of Deeds.

Tickets were as rare as hens' teeth, and it was fully booked in no time at all, but I understand the event was recorded and will be available online in due course. I'll let you know when.

In the meantime, the PRAI has produced a short (2:22minutes) video guide to using its Land Index Books and published a blogpost providing an overview and essential tips for researchers. It's easy to be daunted by research into the vast and wonderful Registry of Deeds archive; this brief but clear as crystal introduction will help prepare the first-time visitor.

You'll find both the video and blogpost at prai.ie/blog-5-a-guide-to-using-the-land-index-book/

Thursday, 26 November 2020

3-week summary of new/updated US genealogy records

Below is a summary of US family history collections that have been released or updated by the major genealogy databases in the last three weeks. (The previous summary list was published on 3 November, see blogpost).

My regular summaries are designed to help family historians whose Irish ancestors emigrated, temporarily or permanently, to the United States.

By default, they should also be useful to anyone carrying out research in the US, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.

The figures in parenthesis in the New Collections section are the numbers of records/images in each new record set, if provided by the database.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis in the Updated Collections section reflect the number of records added to the collection in the recent update, if a number has been clearly noted by the supplier. I do not include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.


NEW COLLECTIONS


AmericanAncestors

Ancestry

FamilySearch

FindMyPast


UPDATED COLLECTIONS


AmericanAncestors
Ancestry

FamilySearch

Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Ireland's Registry of Deeds Index Project keeps growing

Nick Reddan FIGRS, the founder and manager of the online Registry of Deeds Index Project has completed another upload of transcribed entries.

It brings the number of entries in the main index to 386,083 transcribed from 41,185 memorials of deeds. All these records have been submitted by volunteers.

In addition, the Grantors index transcription now holds 40,000 entries, including all those from A-E for 1708–29, and the Townlands Index has 78,687 entries.

All the data on the site is free to access.

Tuesday, 24 November 2020

Irish genealogy/history events online, 24 Nov-mid Dec

Here's a round up of Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, all of them online in one guise or another, taking place in the next few weeks. I'll add to it if I come across any more.

Tuesday 24 November: A Beginners Guide to using DNA for Family History, with Martin McDowell (NIFHS). Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 2pm. Free. On Zoom. Booking required.

Tuesday 24 November: Lisburn – The Burnings, 1920, with Pearse Lawlor. Host: Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum. Free. Online via YouTube at 7pm. Book by telephone 02892663377 or email to ilc.reception@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk for link.

Thursday 26 November: From Turmoil to Truce: Photographs of the War of Independence, a virtual exhibition tour. Host: National Library Photographic Archive. All welcome. 11am on Zoom. Free. Booking required.

Thursday 26 November: Researching Presbyterians in Ireland, with Dr William Roulston (UHF). Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. On Zoom. Free. 2-3pm. Fully booked. Join waitlist.

Thursday 26 November:Land Indexes at the Registry of Deeds, with Rob Goodbody, Una Palic and Dr Conchubhar O Crualaoich. Host: PRA of Ireland. Zoom. Free. 3pm–4:15pm. Need to book. Fully booked.

Thursday 26 November: The other great pandemic: Spanish flu in Ireland 1918-19, with Dr Ida Milne. Host: South Dublin Libraries Decade of Centenaries programme. All welcome. Free. 7pm on Zoom. Booking essential.

Thursday 26 November: Social life in Pre-Reformation Dublin, 1450–1540, a webinar with Dr Peadar Slattery. Host: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 7:30&8:30pm. All welcome. €5. Tickets.

Friday 27 November: The Dead of the Revolution. Dr Darragh Gannon interviews Professor Eunan O'Halpin, one of the authors of the newly published book, which itendifies a total of 2,850 deaths arising from 1916-1921. Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 2pm-3pm. Free. On Zoom. Register.

Friday 27 November: Electioneering and Propaganda in Ireland, 1917-1921 – Votes, Violence and Victory. Dr Ciaran Wallace interviews Dr Elaine Callinan about her new book (Four Courts Press). Host: Carlow College. 3pm-4pm. Zoom. All welcome. Free. Register.

Friday 27 November: Michael Collins and the War in the Shadows, with Dr Myles Dungan. Host: Muckross House Research Library. To receive Zoom link email library@muckross.ie before 5.30, Wednesday 25th November. Talk is free. 7:30pm.

Friday 27 – Monday 30 November: The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival. Lectures, music and more, all online, free on Cork Community TV. No registration required. See Schedule.

Saturday 28 November: Celebrating Carlow Scallions with History, Folklore, Music and Song. An online family-friendly event for everyone with Carlow connections. 1pm–2pm. Zoom. All welcome. Email folklore.ie@gmail.com to register. Details.

Monday 30 November: The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine, documentary narrated by Liam Neeson. First of a two part RTE documentary series based on the award-winning book 'Atlas of the Great Irish Famine'. 9:35pm on RTÉ One. Second part at same time, same place on 7 December.

Tuesday 1 December: Peace After The Final Battle: The Irish Revolution, 100 Years on, with John Dornay and Eamon Delaney. Host: National Library of Ireland. 7pm on Zoom. Free. Booking required.

Tuesday 1 December: Cartography and Settlement in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, with Annaleigh Margey. The 2020 D.A. Chart Seminar on Maps. Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 7pm to 8:15pm. Free. On Zoom. Tickets.

Thursday 3 December: Neutrals, Immigrants, Aliens, Evacuees: The Irish In Britain during WW2, with Dr. Jennifer Redmond. Host: Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 7pm. Free. On Zoom. Register.

Friday 4 December:The other great pandemic: Spanish flu in Ireland 1918-19, with Dr Ida Milne. Host: Muckross House Research Library. All welcome. To receive Zoom link email library@muckross.ie before 5.30, Wednesday 2nd December. Talk is free. 7:30pm.

Monday 7 December: The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine, documentary narrated by Liam Neeson. Second of a two part RTE documentary series based on the award-winning book 'Atlas of the Great Irish Famine'. 9:35pm on RTÉ One.

Monday 7 December: Rolling back the Road: A Journey in Irish Traveller Family History, with Tony Hennessy MAGI and Michael Collins. Host: National Library of Ireland. An online event via Zoom. 7pm. Free, but you need to register. Details.

Tuesday 8 December: Centenaries, 1920-23: commemorations, conflict and conciliation, with Prof Brian Walker. Host: Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum. Free. Online via YouTube at 7pm. Book by telephone 02892663377 or email to ilc.reception@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk for link.

Friday 11 December: 1920: A Year of Terror, with Liz Gillis. Host: Muckross House Research Library. All welcome. To receive Zoom link email library@muckross.ie before 5.30, Wednesday 9th December. Talk is free. 7:30pm.

Monday, 23 November 2020

Ancestry DNA: Lowest prices of the year for IE, UK, Oz

Ancestry has launched its Cyber Sale 2020 to Irish, Australian and UK researchers, offering its lowest prices of the year for Ancestry DNA testing kits.

In each case, the prices shown below exclude shipping costs.

The regular and discounted prices are shown below. The discounts will run until 11:59pm GMT/AEDT on Monday 30 November.

To take advantage of these low prices, click the flag that's most appropriate to where you live:


https://prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4pku/creativeref:1011l28284
Ireland – Ancestry DNA test kit price reduced from €95 to €55. Save €40 (42%)

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100l4pTC/creativeref:1011l28276
UK – Ancestry DNA test kit reduced from £79 to £49. Save £30 (38%)

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100l4pTB/creativeref:1100l27965
Australia – Ancestry DNA test kit reduced from $129 to $85. Save $44 (34%)



Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

25% discount on 12-month sub to RootsIreland.ie

It's always a big deal when RootsIreland.ie offers a discount, and this one is no exception, with a 25% discount available now on 12-month subscriptions.

As most Irish family historians will already be aware, RootsIreland has the most complete and accurate set of online Roman Catholic church records. Those dated to c1880 link to the National Library of Ireland's online register images, where available.

Unlike most other online databases, however, RootsIreland's collection of transcriptions continues past these dates, in some counties and parishes continuing to 1920 or even later. 

The database, which is managed by the Irish Family History Foundation (IFHF), currently holds more than 23million records.

It is continually updated with records transcribed by genealogists working in the IFHF's network of 34 genealogy centres across the island. In 2020 so far, more than 500,000 records have been added from counties Limerick, Sligo, Kerry, Wicklow, Kilkenny and Westmeath, and South Dublin. 

Additional records from counties Kilkenny and Clare are expected to join the database shortly.l

To take advantage of the special offer, place your order by 11:59pm Irish Time on Thursday 10 December.

To check what is available on RootsIreland for each county, check out the online sources menu.

Advance notice (24 November): The website will be offline between 8 pm and 9 pm (Irish Time / GMT) on Thursday 26 November.

Ireland’s prehistoric rock art: free booklet published

A free online booklet has been published by the Heritage Council on Ireland's prehistoric rock art, which can be found in many parts of the island.

While the passage grave cemeteries of Newgrange and Knowth are already world famous, there are many other examples, and this new book – Rock Art, by archaeologist Clare Busher O’Sullivan – explores the art form; where it can be found; what it means; and how it can be protected.

Rock art is carved, drawn, painted, engraved, or incised imagery on natural rock surfaces. Ireland's examples are known as ‘open-air’ Atlantic rock art, a carving practice that was widespread across Atlantic Europe, including in Scotland, England, France, Spain and Portugal. Unlike megalithic art, which is associated with monuments, open-air Atlantic rock art is typically found on boulders and outcrops. The Atlantic tradition dates to the Later Neolithic / Early Bronze Age period (c3000-1500 BC). In Ireland, examples of this ancient art can be found in clusters in Carlow / Wicklow; Louth / Monaghan, Fermanagh and Donegal. However, the densest concentration can be found in the Cork / Kerry region.

“In Ireland, the most common motif in Atlantic rock art is the ‘cup-mark’, which is a circular human-made depression in the rock surface," says Clare Busher O’Sullivan. "The cup-mark is often surrounded by one or more concentric rings. The art is referred to in Ireland and Britain as ‘cup and ring art’. The rock art is located in rural landscapes, often in open valleys or the foothills of mountains and almost always in close proximity to water sources.”

There is no definitive explanation for the art, although there many theories. Some researchers believe that the placement of rock art marks boundaries and routeways within prehistoric landscapes, while others think rock art marks places of worship and pilgrimage in prehistoric society.

Launching the new richly-illustrated 28-page booklet, the Heritage Council's Head of Conservation, Ian Doyle, said: "While this form of open-air art is widely known to archaeologists, it is not well known to the general public. We hope that this publication on Atlantic rock art will bring this internationally important but enigmatic form of prehistoric art to a wider consciousness and that walkers and landowners will be able to identify more of it and be aware of the need to care for it.

"The new publication also includes the ‘Rock Art Code’, which provides guidance for members of the public visiting rock art sites and interacting with decorated panels, and the landowners.”

The Rock Art booklet can be downloaded in pdf format from the Heritage Council website. Information on visiting rock art locally can be found on the Historic Environment Viewer on www.archaeology.ie

Some examples of where open-air rock art can be found include:

  • Wicklow: Concentrations to the west / south-west of Roundwood in Co Wicklow, in close proximity to Lough Dan. There is another high concentration in Ballykean, between Kilbride and Redcross, and some scattered examples between Aughrim and Avoca.
  • Carlow: Rock art panels concentrated in multiple townlands around Borris.
  • Louth: In Louth, clusters occur to the north of the county between Kilcurly and Inishkeen, to the west of Dundalk.
  • Donegal: In the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal, the townlands of Carrowreagh/ Craignacally and Magheranaul have very high concentrations.
  • Cork/Kerry: They are scattered on Cork's Mizen Peninsula. On the northern part of the Iveragh peninsula of Co Kerry, the townlands of Letter West, Kealduff Upper and Coomasaharn have some impressive rock art panels on privately owned land. On the Dingle Peninsula, the townland of Kilmore has a high concentration of rock art.
·

Friday, 20 November 2020

Irish Newspapers Archive: Half price Black Friday deal

Coo-ee! What about this for a super-duper discount from Irish Newspaper Archives. The Dublin-based supplier is offering a whopping 50% saving on monthly and annual subscriptions to its silver and gold historical newspaper packages.

It's this year's Black Friday Deal, but it's already live and will remain so until end of play on Sunday 29 November.

The archive holds more than nine million pages from 212 Irish daily and regional newspaper titles published from 1738 to current editions.

The Silver Subscription provides access and pdf downloads to more than 80 local and national titles (they are listed on this page... scroll down to the green list). 

The standard costs for this package are reduced as follows: 

  • One month: down from £29 to £14.50 
  • Annual: reduced from £149 to £74.50.

The Gold Subscription provides access and pdf downloads to all titles in the Silver sub, plus 115 'Radical' publications (they are listed on this page... scroll down and choose the green list for regular titles and grey list for radical titles). 

The standard costs for this package are reduced as follows: 

  • One month: down from £36.50 to £18.25 
  • Annual: reduced from £169 to £84.50.
To take advantage of this rare half price offer from IrishNewsArchive, see this dedicated Black Friday Sale page or click the image above.

FindMyPast adds 350k British/Irish military records

FindMyPast has added some 350,000 records to its British and Irish Military Collections, as follows:

Ireland, Londonderry (Derry) War Memorial 1914-1918

The Diamond War Memorial, Derry City
The Diamond War Memorial in Derry City lists 754 locals who lost their lives in WWI.

The memorial dominates the city's main square where the old walled city's four main streets meet. It features an infantry soldier and a sailor, each poised for battle, at the base of a column topped by an angel.

The records include a transcript and image of handwritten forms completed by the deceased's next of kin. As such, the details provided vary but the following information is usually included: Rank, Regiment, Company/unit, Soldier number, Military awards, Residence (and connection to the City), Death date, Nature of death, Name + address + relationship and signature of next of kin.

British Armed Forces Soldiers' Wills 1850-1986

This new index of 190,282 entries relates to a collection of wills written by privates and non-commissioned officers who served in the Army and Air Force.

Soldiers on active service were encouraged to make a short, handwritten and signed will. It was usually completed in their pay book. With details from the index you can order a copy of the orignal will.

British Red Cross & Order of St John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing, 1914-1919

These 158,035 records can help you unlock details about the First World War’s wounded and missing that you won’t find in other sources. They were compiled by the The British Red Cross & Order of St John in regular lists of WW1 soldiers missing in action, about whom enquiries had been made.

Typical information includes a man’s name, regiment, battalion and company (for infantry battalions). Details about the date and place of casualty, and sometimes extensive additional information are included.

 

 

Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Researching Presbyterians in Ireland: lecture and book

To mark the publication of his latest book, Researching Presbyterians in Ireland, Dr William Roulston will be presenting an online lecture on Thursday 26 November, hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

The talk will include an overview of the range of records relating to the various strands of Presbyterians in Ireland over the last four centuries, and will include documentation created by individual congregations, as well as the records created by the higher courts of Presbyterianism and the personal papers of Presbyterian ministers.

Registration for the free event is required and you can find full details on Eventbrite.

Dr Roulston has been Research Director of the Ulster Historical Foundation (UHF) since 2006 and has written and edited a number of publications on Irish and especially Ulster history. His new book explores the many shades of Prebyterianism; the records (congregational, baptism and marriage registers) each produced and where they can be found by researchers.

It also provides information about Presbyterian ministers, places of worship/burial, education and publications, and sets out details about a selection of other Irish genealogy record collections where Presbyterian ancestors may be discovered.

The 192-page paperback is available from the UHF at BooksIreland for a very modest £9.99.

Wednesday, 18 November 2020

What's new for Canadian genealogy: 7-week summary

Below is a summary of Canadian family history collections that have been either newly released or updated by the major genealogy databases during the last seven weeks. The last summary list was published on 29 September, see blogpost).

These regular listings of additional sources are designed primarily to help family historians whose Irish ancestors emigrated to Canada, but you don't have to have heritage from Ireland!

They may prove useful to any researcher looking for a brief update of what's been recently made available for tracing ancestors in Canada.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis reflect the number of records in a new collection, or the total number in a topped-up collection (if provided by the database owner). I don't usually include updates of less than one thousand records.


NEW COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FamilySearch

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry
FamilySearch

MyHeritage

Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: mid-month update

Headstone in Kill Graveyard to Edward Boylan
Photo and copyright: Steve Napolitano.
Click image for larger view.

The mid-month update to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives includes items from Counties Cavan, Fermanagh/Monaghan and Galway, as below.

All the files are free to search and access by researchers.

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Kill Graveyard (partial), Kilnaleck
St Patrick's RC Graveyard, Corlough

FERMANAGH* Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Aghadrumsee CoI Marriages,1825-1921
Clones Marriages CoI, 1845-1921
Cooneen CoI Marriages 1887-1921
Kinawley Parish Marriages, (Derrylin CoI) 1845-1921
*Some of these records include people from MONAGHAN

GALWAY Genealogy Archives - Newspapers
Wreck of emigrant ship St John of Galway, 3 Nov 1849

IGRS Early Irish Birth, Marriage & Death Indexes grow

The Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) has uploaded a batch of more than 10,000 records to its Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes. In total, the three indexes now hold 185,789 records (and comfortably more than 400,000 names to search), across the three record sets, as follows:

  • IGRS Early Irish Births Index – 41086 Births 
  • IGRS Early Irish Marriages Index – 114323 Marriages 
  • IGRS Early Irish Deaths Index – 30380 Deaths

The Early Irish Indexes are exclusive to the IGRS and include records spanning 1660 to 1863. They do not include either civil or church register records and are transcribed from a wide range of original sources including newspapers and journals, memorials of deeds, court bills, rare and old publications, private papers and the Society's own unique collection. Most are unlikely to be found online. 

While the Marriage Index is completely free to all researchers, the Early Irish Birth and Death Indexes are resources reserved for IGRS members. However, anyone can still make a search for names.

You can find out more about the IGRS Early Irish Indexes on the Society's website, IrishAncestors.ie.

Tuesday, 17 November 2020

FindMyPast offers subscription savings of up to 30%

And there was me just thinking this morning that it's been a mighty long time since FindMyPast offered a discount across its four 'territories', when word arrived of savings on short-term and annual subscription packages.

As you can see below, there are 25% discounts available for those wanting either one-month or 12-month subscriptions as offered by FindMyPast's .com, ie and com.au sites.

The FindMyPast.co.uk site is even more generous, with 30% savings on both its 3-month and 12-month packages.

In all cases, the offers are now live and can be claimed until Monday 23 November.

Choose from the flags below to claim the discount from the site most appropriate to your research needs.



FindMyPast Ireland – 25% off any 1- or 12-Month Subscription.


FindMyPast USA/Canada – 25% off any 1- or 12-Month Subscription.


FindMyPast UK – 30% off any 3- or 12-Month Subscription.


FindMyPast Australia/NZ – 25% off any 1- or 12-Month Subscription.


Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above

 

Updated British genealogy collections: 1-week summary

Below is a summary of new and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales released by the major genealogy databases during the last week (for the last summary, see 9 November blogpost).

This regular summary of releases and updates relating to British collections is designed to help family historians whose Irish ancestors migrated, temporarily or permanently, to England, Scotland or Wales.

By default, it will also be useful to anyone carrying out research in those three nations, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.

The figures in parenthesis in the New Collections section are the numbers of records/images in the new record set.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis in the Updated Collections section reflect the number of records added to the collection in the recent update. In some instances, the supplier has not made this figure available. Where two figures are given, the first is the number of additions, the second is the new total.

Please note that I don't usually include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.


NEW COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

BritishNewspaperArchive (shared with FindMyPast's British Newspaper Collection)


FamilySearch

FindMyPast

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


FamilySearch
FindMyPast

ScottishIndexes

The Genealogist

Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Monday, 16 November 2020

Royal Irish Academy reopens research bursary scheme

The Royal Irish Academy has once again opened its RJ Hunter Research Bursuries Scheme to applications from historians.

The scheme was founded in 2014 in honour of the late R J (Bob) Hunter who was a highly respected historian of the Ulster Plantation and offers support for research into aspects of Ulster History during the period 1500-1800.

Previous Bursary awards have included grants towards research into the plantation of Inishowen and its impact on the parish of Clonmany, Co. Donegal, and a study of early 17th Century vernacular architecture in the Merchant Taylor’s plantation village in Macosquin, Co. Londonderry.

Grants are awarded to provide support for the direct costs of research up to a maximum of €2,500.

The deadline for applications to the 2020/2021 scheme is Thursday 17 December. You'll find more information, a detailed Guidelines for Applicants document, and the application form on the RIA site here.

Friday, 13 November 2020

RootsIreland latest: new County Limerick records, updates and corrections

Limerick Genealogy has added more than 11,000 records to its database at limerick.rootsireland.ie.

The new additions include the following (figures in parenthesis note the number of records):

  • Presbyterian marriages records from Limerick 1813-1841: (42)
  • Knocklong RC marriages 1830 & 1855-1860: (137)
  • Knocklong RC baptismal records 1817-1819 & 1854: (312)
  • Caherconlish RC marriage records 1843-1846: (117)
  • Caherconlish RC baptismal records 1841-1845: (528)
  • 1821, 1841 & 1851 Census abstracts: (639)
  • Transcribed parish census from Pallasgrean in 1834: (213)
  • Titaldoes of Limerick from Pender’s Census, 1659: (808)
  • Biographical notices of births, deaths and marriages from the Limerick Chronicle newspaper, 1823-1855: (7,106)
  • References to residents and subscribers from Limerick in Samuel Lewis’ A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837: (726)
  • Teachers in Limerick in 1824 listed in the Second Report from Commissioners of Irish Education Inquiry, 1826: (505) 

Where available, Limerick Genealogy has also extended non-Catholic baptismal records up to 1919, non-Catholic church and civil marriages up to 1919 and death/burial records up to 1919.

Updates and corrections to the database have also been made. 

See a full list of available sources for Limerick Genealogy here.

 

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Irish Community Archive Network wins national award

The Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN) was recently named the winner of the ‘Networks of Archives’ in the 2020 Community Archives & Heritage Group (CAHG) national awards.

This Networks of Archives award seeks to identify a collective with demonstrable collaboration and co-operation with a wide range of partner groups that share best practice and resources and introduce effective communication that furthers the aims of the network. The awards themselves are organised and judged by the CAHG, a special interest section of the Archives & Records Association (UK & Ireland), the sector's main professional and membership body.

The Irish Community Archive Network is still expanding but is currently comprised of 28 online archives reflecting local history and heritage collections of communities in Counties Mayo, Galway, Clare and Wicklow. Six new Wicklow-based archives came on stream during the summer (see blogpost).

OurIrishHeritage is the online home of iCAN. The site invites readers to share photographs, memories, folklore, family histories, personal stories, historical documents and research, and aims to create 'A people's history of Ireland', with information that would otherwise not be documented or readiy accessible, particularly for communities overseas.

With much of Ireland’s material and intangible cultural heritage in the care and ownership of its citizens and diaspora, iCAN is empowering local communities to document their own history, heritage and culture on digital platforms. They are proving to be extremely popular locally, nationally and globally, with visits to the network’s archive websites growing year on year. Since 2011, the site has attracted six million page views from all over the world, with 1.5 million of these in the last 12 months alone.

If you haven't dipped into the OurIrishHeritage site before, do so today. All the groups that make up the network are listed on the landing page (click image above) or you can search by place, people and topic, here.

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Ireland's Military Archives uploads 2020 MSPC release

A 9th instalment from the Military Service Pension Collection (MSPC) has been released today morning by the Rathmines-based Military Archives.

The files relate to claims lodged by 1,170 individuals or their dependants, and contain new information on the War of Independence and the Civil War.

This release brings the number of individuals whose files are now available online to over 10,720 entries (representing over 32,000 files).

Taking into account all the MSPC file series (whether available online or in the Military Archives), over 100,000 files have been processed individually by the Project team to date.

The new files released this morning include:

  • 139 successful service pensions awarded under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1924 (National Army applicants/Pro-Treaty)
  • 604 files of claimants applying under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934
  • 554 applications under Army Pensions Acts (from 1923 onwards), including wounds and Special Allowances linked to disability pensions.

Click the screenshot image to discover more about this release and see if any of your ancestors are included in the 42-page list of names.

Monday, 9 November 2020

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: recent additions

I'm mega delighted to see Christina Hunt's years of dedication to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP-web) recognised with the Wallace Clare Award from the Irish Genealogical Research Society. IrishGenealogyNews and IGPArchives became 'research partners' back on St Patrick's Day 2011, just a year after this blog launched, and Chris has never failed to impress with her tireless hard work and professionism.

 Erected by CHR. BIGLEY and Family in affectionate
remembrance of his loving wife JANE BIGLEY who
departed this life at Tonagh, Westmeath, 9th Sep. 1885
aged 49 years. Also her husband CHRISTOPHER
BIGLEY who died 29th Jany 1900, Aged 65 years.
Also their son JOE died 1914 His wife ISOBEL died
1903. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for
they rest from their labour. Benown, Co Westmeath.
Photo courtesy David Hall and IGPA

After many years of researching her own Irish ancestral heritage, she understands the challenges faced by Irish family historians and the value of headstone inscriptions, miscellaneous newspaper reports, family memorabilia, memorial cards, and other items beyond regular record collections. They can be gold to genealogists looking for that one elusive snippet or clue that opens up their research. 

Her determined work building up IGPArchives to a popular and highly regarded Irish family history database is testament to the countless hours she's spent transcribing inscriptions from photos donated by volunteers, and the hoops she has had to jump through to keep the site robust in the face of countless technological developments over the last decade or so. 

Occasional donations from those who've benefitted from the archive have helped her to keep pace with the amount of (cloud) storage needed to keep the ever-growing site secure and online. 

Congratulations, Chris. You thoroughly deserve the award. 

And here, right on cue from Chris but delayed at my end, is a summary of the files added to IGPArchives in the second half of October.

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mt Jerome Cemetery - Pt 265 - 267

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Clogh CoI Marriages, 1846-1921
Colebrook Marriages 1871-1921
Cooltrain CoI Marriages 1845-1871

LIMERICK Genealogy Archives - Land
List of Claims - For Co. Limerick -1700 (Pt 3)

TIPPERARY Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Fethard Parish Baptisms (R.C.) 1814

WESTMEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Benown CoI Graveyard, Liss/Ballinling/Athlone.

Justin Homan Martin elected Emeritus Member of AGI

Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI), the all-island association of accredited professional genealogists, has elected Justin Homan Martin as an Emeritus Member in recognition of his many years of committed service to the Association and Irish genealogy.

Justin started his career as a professional genealogist in 1984 and received credentials from AGI in 1992.

To find out more, see AGI's website by clicking their logo, right.

New/updated British genealogy records: 2-wk summary

Below is a summary of new and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales released by the major genealogy databases in the last 2 weeks (see last summary, 26 October).

This regular summary of releases relating to British collections is designed to help family historians whose Irish ancestors migrated, temporarily or permanently, to England, Scotland or Wales.

By default, it will also be useful to anyone carrying out research in those three nations, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.

The figures in parenthesis in the New Collections section are the numbers of records/images in the new record set.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis in the Updated Collections section reflect the number of records added to the collection in the recent update. In some instances, the supplier has not made this figure available. Where two figures are given, the first is the number of additions, the second is the new total.

Please note that I don't usually include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.


NEW COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

BritishNewspaperArchive (shared with FindMyPast)

FamilySearch


UPDATED COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

FamilySearch

FindMyPast

National Library of Scotland


Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Friday, 6 November 2020

Early holiday savings on Ancestry DNA testing kits

With the holiday season approaching, Ancestry is offering a range of discounts on its popular autosomal (ancestry) DNA testing kits.

The savings are pretty good, and they'll be available for a couple of weeks (except for Canadian residents where an updated offer has extended the term to 26 December).

Choose from the Ancestry territories below:


https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100l4pTC/creativeref:1100l30129
Ancestry DNA (UK & Ireland) £59 (regular price is £79) plus shipping. Sale ends 11:59pm GMT Sunday 22 November

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4pku/creativeref:1011l28284
Ancestry DNA (US only) $59, reduced from $99. Offer ends Wednesday 25 November


https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100l4pTB/creativeref:1101l28044
AncestryDNA (Australia only) - $89, incl taxes, plus shipping. Offer ends 11:59pm AEDT on Monday 23 November

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1101l4phT/creativeref:1100l27973
Save $40: AncestryDNA (Canada) on sale for $89 CAD + shipping. Offer ends 11:59pm ET on Saturday 26 December.


Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Thursday, 5 November 2020

FindMyPast's military collections free for one week

To mark Remembrance Day 2020, FindMyPast has opened up its military collection to all family historians, free of charge, until Thursday 12 November. 

Its 105 million military records include records from conflicts as various as the Boer War, Korea and Vietnam wars, the Maori campaigns and the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, plus, of course, many service and medal collections for WW1 (including some 210,000 Irisfhmen who fought in the British Forces) and WW2.

To reach the free access page, use the following links according to your place of residence:



Free access ends 10am GMT on 12 November.

In addition to this opportunity to explore the collection for free, FindMyPast has launched a new campaign to encourage family historians to discover the stories behind the names etched on war memorials.

To find out more about the #RememberTheirStories campaign, watch the video below.



Some of the above content 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 Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.