Monday, 31 May 2021

Another County Galway paper joins BritishNewspaperArchive

Another Irish newspaper has made its debut – the fourth this month – on BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk. It's The Western Star, and Ballinasloe Advertiser, a weekly title founded in Ballinasloe in 1845.

It was founded and edited in its early years by the McClenaghan family, and continued in circulation until 1902. The BNA's holding will, when complete, span the entire period of its publication.

So far, nearly 2,000 editions are available to search in the database, with a gap between September 1869 and December 1888.

(The BritishNewspaperArchive is offering a 30% discount on its 3- and 12-month subscriptions. The offer expires at midnight tonight. Don't miss it. See details here.)



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.

Irish genealogy and history events, 31 May to 13 June

Monday 31 May: Spring Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland (does not apply in RoI)

Monday 31 May: Blundell Castle, a public lecture exploring the wider historical and social context of this and other similar castles, plus presentation on recent community programme works at Blundell. Hosted by the Irish Archaeology Field School and Irish Heritage School. 6pm to 7:30pm. Online. Free. Need to register. Details.

Wednesday 2 June: Irish Ancestors and Irish Lives, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS and Jill Williams FIGRS. Start of a six-week online course (ends 7 July) exloring the 17th-19th century social/political contexts of Irish life and where to find relevant genealogical and historical sources. Host: Society of Genealogists. Six two-hour sessions, 6pm to 8pm. £112.50/£90. Full details.

Thursday 3 June: Coming out of the pandemic: Onomastic research 2021 and beyond. The Deirdre Flanagan memorial lecture 2021. Host: Ulster Place Name Society. Online. Free. All welcome.Registration

Thursday 3 June: Virtual Exhibition Tour: From Turmoil to Truce: Photographs of the War of Independence. Host: National Library of Ireland Photographic Archive. Free. 11am. Online. Need to register.

Friday 4 June: Celtic Crosses, Identity and Symbolism in late 19th and early 20th Century Belfast, with Bronagh Patricia Murray. Part of the annual HeroNI Lecture Series. Host: DfC Historic Environment. 1pm. Free. Details.

Friday 4 June: All the Bridgets: The Genealogy of an Irish Workhouse, with Clare Doyle. A First Friday Talk hosted by the Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna. Online. 8pm. €5. Booking.

Saturday 5 June to Sunday 6 June: Ontario Genealogical Society conference 2021. Additional single evening events held each day 31 May to 3 June, plus a full day Ancestry Day on Friday 4th. Main programme, with two streams of lectures, on both days of the weekend. Lectures in both streams will be recorded and available to all delegates for 30 days post-conference. Details.

Monday 7 June: Bank holiday Republic of Ireland. Business as usual in Northern Ireland

Tuesday 8 June: The Military Archives Pensions Collections, with Michael Keane, civilian archivest at Military Archives. Host: Kildare Military Seminar 2021. Live online presentation at 7:30pm. Free. Need to register.

Wednesday 9 June Ground-breaking developments in treatment of wounded on the Western Front, with Tom Scotland. Hosts: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Western Antrim & Down Branch of the Western Front Association. Free, but need to register. 8pm to 9pm.

Thursday 10 June Representing the Last Moments of Irish Revolutionaries in Museums, with Dr Siobhán Doyle from the National Museum of Ireland. Host: Kildare Military Seminar 2021. Live online presentation at 7:30pm. Free. Need to register.

Friday 11 June: The Diaspora and the Irish Revolution, 1916-1923, a one-day conference. Host: Carlow College. Online. Free. Download full programme. Need to register. Full programme here.

Friday, 28 May 2021

Tipperary Studies digitises its Board of Guardians Minute Books

Here's a biggie for anyone with ancestors from County Tipperary.

Tipperary Studies, the county library's specialist local history department based at The Source in Thurles, has spent months of Lockdown digitising its Famine Era records and has today released 90 Board of Guardians' Minute Books into their online Digital Archive where they are available to explore free of charge.

The Minute Books cover the pre-Famine and Famine era, and provide an account of how the workhouses were run, how many men, women and children were entering, leaving or dying in them, as well as details of food provisions, medicines required, and purchases of furniture and other items.

Now presented as easy to download pdf files (mostly between 35Mb-60Mb), the new online records covers the following Poor Law Unions: 

  • Borrisokane (1850-1851) 
  • Cashel(1844-1852) 
  • Clogheen (1839–1851) 
  • Clonmel(1839–1852) 
  • Nenagh (1839–1852) 
  •  Roscrea (1839–1852) 
  • Thurles (1839–1852) 
  • Tipperary (1839 – 1850).

See the Tipperary Studies' Digital Archive here.


MilitaryArchives.ie releases 10th instalment from MSPC (1916-23)

The Military Archives in Dublin has released another tranche of online material from its Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection.

Launched this morning by the Minister for Defence, Mr Simon Coveney, T.D., the new material comprises more than 2,500 files representing records relating to 1,120 individuals. It includes applications for service pensions and applications under the Army Pensions Acts linked to disability pensions. Some 869 of the files are relating to women applicants.

This is the tenth release since the MSPC Project was launched in 2014, since when about 104,000 files have been individually catalogued, and more than 34,000 scanned files made fully available online.

At the launch, the Minister said: “The records contained in the Military Service Pension Collection provide invaluable historical information that captures first-hand accounts of the experiences of the individuals involved in this defining period of Irish history. Each release of material from this collection reveals previously unknown or forgotten experiences of those involved in events of that time. It gives me great pleasure to make further historical records contained in this collection available to the public.”

You can find out more about the MSPC here, and search it here.

New and updated British genealogy collections: 2-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 over the fortnight(for the previous summary, see 15 May 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

BritishNewspaperArchive (shared with some FindMyPast subscriptions)


UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FindMyPast

FamilySearch

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.

Wednesday, 26 May 2021

Historical newspapers from Galway and Antrim join online BNA

Another couple of historical Irish newspaper titles have joined the BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk (BNA). They are The Ballymena Advertiser and The Galway Express.

  • The Galway Express was published weekly on Saturdays in Galway City. So far, the editions uploaded to the online archive (which is shared with FindMyPast) span 1853 to 1897. When complete the holding will extend to 1920.
  • The Ballymena Advertiser was a Saturday weekly published in Ballymena, County Antrim. Nearly 1,000 editions of the paper, dating from 7 June 1873 to 16 July 1892, have already been uploaded, so the holding appears to be complete.

It either of these papers are relevant to your family history research, you might like to think about taking out a subscription to the dedicated BNA database – there's a 30% saving to be made if you sign up before midnight on Monday 31 May. Find out more here.


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.

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

RootsIreland adds 18,000 more RC parish records from Co. Kerry

RootsIreland has announced the addition of more than 18,000 Roman Catholic baptismal and marriage records from County Kerry. They have been transcribed from locally-held parish registers by local genealogists, providing a level of accuracy not always seen in other collections. You'll see below that most of the new parish records also extend to the end of the 19th century and beyond; most online collections stop at 1880/1.

These are the parishes and span of years covered in the new records:

RC Baptisms 

  • Beaufort baptisms 1844-1902 (4028 records) 
  • Duagh baptisms, 1800-1906 (9164 records) 

RC Marriages

  • Ballylongford marriages, 1824-1900 (1734 records)
  • Castlemaine marriages, 1804-1900 (2262 records)
  • Beaufort marriages, 1843-1896 (834 records)

View the full menu of County Kerry resources held on the RootsIreland database.

BritishNewspaperArchive marks partnership renewal with 30% off

The BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk is a partnership between the British Library and Findmypast to digitise the British Library's vast collection of newspapers. In the eight years since the online archive launched, nearly 43 million pages of newsprint have been digitised and uploaded to the database. 

More than 210 historical newspaper titles in the archive originate from the island of Ireland. Most of the remainder are from England, Wales and Scotland but a good number of papers published in the former colonies of the British empire have been making their way into the database recently.

This sizeable archive has transformed genealogical research in Ireland and the UK, because so much family history detail (and colour) about individuals was reported in news stories of crime and wrongdoing; accidental and suspicious deaths; academic, financial, and commercial prowess; local politics and social happenings, and that's before you turn to the more obvious genie sources of births, marriages and deaths columns or explore the advertisements.

The database is available either on the dedicated BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk or through some FindMyPast subscription packages.

Yesterday, the British Library and FindMyPast announced a continuation of their partnership. To celebrate the event, BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk is offering a 30% discount on any new 3-month or 12-month subscriptions taken out before 11:59pm on Monday 31 May.

To take advantage of this offer, click the image above. You'll then see the promotion code and savings have been applied, and can decide how long you want your subscription to run.

Please note: the discount is not available via FindMyPast site.



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, 24 May 2021

Ancestry DNA: 25% savings on offer to UK & Ireland researchers

Ancestry DNA is the world's largest consumer DNA network       
Researchers in Ireland and the UK can take advantage of 25% savings on Ancestry DNA test kits if they place their orders before the month runs out.

The discounts reduce the costs as follows:

  • Ireland residents: The offer reduces the price of a test kit from €95 to €69, a saving of €26. Shipping is extra.
  • UK residents: The offer reduces the price of a test kit from £79 to £59, a saving of £20. Shipping is extra.

The offer will expire at 11:59pm, Monday 31 May.



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.


Irish genealogy and history events, 24 May to 6 June

Monday 24 May: Northern Ireland's repositories, museums and other heritage sites can reopen after Lockdown. See details for Public Record Office of Northern Ireland here. Revised arrangements for General Record Office of Northern Ireland have not yet been published, although the offices are due to reopen today. Keep an eye on the GRONI website, here. The Linen Hall Library also reopens, with a brand new cafe. Some venues and sites will not reopen for a few days, while other may not be ready to do so until later.

Tuesday 25 May: People Power and Places: Grand Jury Records and Local History, ad afternoon seminar presented as part of the Beyond 2022: Ireland's Virtual Record Treasury Research Project in association with Local Government Archivists and Records Managers. 2:30pm–5pm. Free. All welcome. Details and registration.

Tuesday 25 May: ‘Burning the Books’: Series finale of 'Out of the Ashes'. Lecture with Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, Oxford, followed by Ovenden in conversation with Helen Shenton, College Librarian and Archivist of Trinity College Dublin. Hosted by Beyond 2022 in association with Local Government Archivists and Records Managers. Free. 7pm–8:30pm. Online. All welcome. Details and registration.

Tuesday 25 May: Past Lives: Exploring histories of Family, an online workshop and part of the Limerick Lifelong Learning Festival 2021. Host: University of Limerick. Includes the following presentations: The marginalisation of ex-servicemen in the Limerick District Lunatic Asylum, 1900-1925, with Stuart Clancy; The Earl Grey Orphans of Kilrush Union Workhouse, 1848-1850, with Sharon Dilger-Kelly; The South Limerick Volunteers, with Padraig Hogan. 4pm to 5pm. Details.

Tuesday 25 May: Burning of the Custom House, with Liz Gillis, final lecture in the centenary programme. Online. Free on Facebook at 8pm. (Recording will be on YouTube in due course.)

Tuesday 25 May: Kilstifeen and phantom island traditions of the west coast, with Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, National Folklore Collection, UCD. Host: Kilrush and District History Society. Online. 8pm. Free. Link.

Thursday 27 May: WWI: Exploring the Irish Experience, a virtual exhibition tour. Host: National Library of Ireland. All welcome. Free, but need to book tickets. 11am.

Thursday 27 May: Climate shocks and climate change: Climate and society in 18th-century Ireland, with Professor James Kelly. The J.C. Beckett Memorial Lecture. Host: The Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies (USIHS) and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). Online. 7-8pm. Free, but need to register.

Thursday 27 May: United Irishmen Émigrés of Erin, with Stephen McCracken. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. Lecture follows Annual General Meeting. 7:15pm. Online. Free. Open to non-members. For joining details, email https://www.nifhs.org/branches/ballymena/.

Thursday 27 May and Friday 28 Mary Silences and Inconvenient Truths in Irish Culture and Society – the 19th International AEDEI Conference. A virtual event hosted by the University of Vigo via its free TV streaming service. Free. All welcome. Programme and details.

Monday 31 May: Spring Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland (does not apply in RoI)

Monday 31 May: Blundell Castle, a public lecture exploring the wider historical and social context of this and other similar castles, plus presentation on recent community programme works at Blundell. Hosted by the Irish Archaeology Field School and Irish Heritage School. 6pm to 7:30pm. Online. Free. Need to register. Details.

Wednesday 2 June: Irish Ancestors and Irish Lives, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS and Jill Williams FIGRS. Start of a six-week online course (ends 7 July) exloring the 17th-19th century social/political contexts of Irish life and where to find relevant genealogical and historical sources. Host: Society of Genealogists. Six two-hour sessions, 6pm to 8pm. £112.50/£90. Full details.

Thursday 3 June: Coming out of the pandemic: Onomastic research 2021 and beyond. The Deirdre Flanagan memorial lecture 2021. Host: Ulster Place Name Society. Online. Free. All welcome.Registration

Friday 4 June: Celtic Crosses, Identity and Symbolism in late 19th and early 20th Century Belfast, with Bronagh Patricia Murray. Part of the annual HeroNI Lecture Series. Host: DfC Historic Environment. 1pm. Free. Details.

Friday 4 June: All the Bridgets: The Genealogy of an Irish Workhouse, with Clare Doyle. A First Friday Talk hosted by the Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna. Online. 8pm. €5. Booking.

Saturday 5 June to Sunday 6 June: Ontario Genealogical Society conference 2021. Additional single evening events held each day 31 May to 3 June, plus a full day Ancestry Day on Friday 4th. Main programme, with two streams of lectures, on both days of the weekend. Lectures in both streams will be recorded and available to all delegates for 30 days post-conference. Details.

Northern Ireland's research and heritage venues start to reopen

It's a big day in Northern Ireland with most of its repositories and some heritage sites reopening after a long five months of Lockdown.

For researchers, the major venues of PRONI (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland) and GRONI (General Register Office of Northern Ireland) have reopened to the public this morning, both on an appointment-only basis. If you're needing to visit PRONI in the near future, you'll need to check out the changes to their services and follow new procedures for visiting. All these details are on their webpages.

GRONI is a little later to the party, with no updated information about revised procedures on their website, although their pages confirm they will reopen today. Probably best to phone for details of visitor arrangements until their post-Lockdown regime is published.

The Linen Hall Library has reopened today with a brand-new cafe, now featuring decor inspired by Irish mythology and folk stories. (It's always worth remembering this venue if you're peckish or thirsty when in central Belfast.)

On the museum front, be sure to check before setting out to visit, as some are not yet ready to open the doors to the public. While Fermanagh County Museum and the Inniskillings Museum both reopen today in Enniskillen, as does the Siege Museum in Derry City, the Ulster Folk Park in Omagh will hold off until tomorrow, and Titanic Belfast will not reopen until Thursday May 27.

Friday, 21 May 2021

Mayo County Library has digitised Ballinrobe Workhouse collection

Mayo County Library's Local Studies team has released online its newly digitised Ballinrobe Poor Law Union Workhouse collection.

Click image to reach Mayo's Workhouse Collection home page
Forty volumes of minute books are available in pdf format for free download from the Library's County council's website, along with informative articles about the workhouses, the role of the Board of Guardians, and other matters under the control of the local regime, and a gallery of maps and newspaper cuttings.

I would recommend any researcher new to these types of resources to read these articles and, whether experienced or not, to check out the comprehensive collection directory and index. This 73-page word doc should be consulted for details of the content of the individual pdf files.

The collection includes Board of Guardian minute books (1844-1899), financial records (1841-1931), letter books (1855-1915), workhouse infirmary records (1906-1921) and outdoor relief records (1874-1926).

Click each item below to access the pdf menu for each category.

In total, there are more than 160 pdfs to explore.

Thursday, 20 May 2021

€25m redevelopment funding for Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library

The Government has announced funding of €25 million towards the restoration of one of Ireland’s foremost national heritage sites: the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

The Old Library is home to the magnificent Long Room (see image below), 350,000 early printed books, and 20,000 precious manuscript and archive collections, including the 9th-century Book of Kells. Its priceless collection spans millennis and has been in the care of TCD for more than 400 years.

But it now faces significant conservation and environmental challenges. External pollution and dust accumulation are taking their toll on the collections and the fabric of the Old Library building.

There is a need to modernise environmental control and fire protection measures. Recent fires in similar heritage sites across the globe provide stark warnings.

The Old Library Redevelopment Project draws on the best 21st-century design and technology to safeguard the Old Library building and conserve its precious collections for future generations. It includes urgent structural and environmental upgrades; and the redevelopment of facilities in line with the best library and museum experiences around the world.

A new Research Collections Study Centre will provide national and international scholars with a secure, accessible, and inspiring environment to intimately study the unique and distinct collections.

Located in the beautifully colonnaded ground floor, the Research Collections Study Centre will overlook Library Square, one of the original historic courtyards at Trinity College. In addition, a Virtual Trinity Library will provide digital access to the unique and distinct collections of the Library across the world.

The Government's allocation is the most significant funding award for the cultural heritage sector this year.

Mná 100 explores women's contributions to Irish nation's history

A new online resource, aimed at showcasing women's participation in political, military, professional and domestic roles over the last 100 years, has been launched as part of the Republic of Ireland's Decade of Centenaries commemorative programme.

Mná 100 explores the experiences and influence of women who lived during this period of immense change. Some are well-known and have contributed significantly to Irish political life and public service. Others have never before found their voices.
Click to view the Pop Up Women's Museum exhibition tour

But through new research and archival discoveries, and the generosity of the many descendants of those women who have given access to their private archives of family photographs, letters and personal mememtos, their stories can now be told and their contribution to historical events, particularly the campaign for independence and the Civil War, examined and valued.

Through the medium of film, podcast, articles, exhibitions, photo essays and webinars, Mná 100 offers another online primary source for people with an interest in the concerns, beliefs and lives of their female ancestors, and their contributions to the nation's history.

Find out more by clicking the Mná 100 logo above.

Two-week summary of new and updated US genealogy collections

Below is a summary of US family history collections that have been released or updated by the major genealogy databases in the last two weeks. (The previous summary list was published on 4 May, 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


Ancestry

Family Search

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


AmericanAncestors
  • Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from:
    Sacred Heart, Boston | Sacred Heart, Brockton | St Alphonsus, Beverly | St Francis of Assisi, Cambridge | St John the Evangelist, Cambridge| St Joseph, Belmont | St John the Evangelist, Canton | Sacred Heart, Groton | Sacred Hearts, Haverhill. (Total 170,000 searchable names added)

Ancestry

FamilySearch
  • Some 34 collections updated. Follow the link, then click the (bold blue) 'Last Updated' option twice for full listing of most recent updates.


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.

Wednesday, 19 May 2021

Did your Tipperary ancestors own dogs during the War of Independence?

Tipperary Studies, the county library's specialist local history department based at The Source in Thurles, has been beavering away for some years on its project to digitise material held in its archive. I've mentioned many of the releases on Irish Genealogy News, and over the time, the number and scale of collections and documents held in the free digital archive has grown hugely.

Click to view enlarged image from 1918 dog licence register

Another major release is due shortly. It relates to the library's famine records, and nearly all of the project work was carried out during the Lockdown. I'll bring news when the upload is completed and the records are ready for us.

In the meantime, researchers with Tipperary connections can enjoy a hunt through some newly-digitised Dog Licence Registers, none of which is included in the huge indexed dog licence collections available through the FindMyPast and Ancestry databases.

These registers cover the areas around Mullinahone, Drangan, Cloneen, and Glengoole, Gortnahoe, Killenaule, and run from 1918 to 1923.

It's worth reading this fact-filled feature article from the Tipperary Studies team as it sets the records in historical context, and picks out some of the more notable entries.

Monday, 17 May 2021

Online Irish genealogy and history events, 17 - 30 May

Tuesday 18 May: Revolutionary Daughters: Nora and Ina Connolly, with Liz Gillis. Host: Áras Uí Chonghaile | James Connolly Visitor Centre, Virtual Spring Programme. 7pm. Free. All welcome. View on Facebook or YouTube.

Tuesday 18 May:: 'UNTOLD' Donegal Women - War of Independence & Irish Civil War, with Caroline Carr. Host: Donegal County Museum. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome. Talk will be via GoToMeeting. Book by email to museum@donegalcoco.ie or telephone 0749 124613.

Wednesday 19 May:: Elections and Propaganda in Ireland and Carlow 1917-1921: Votes, Violence and Victory, with Dr Elaine Callinan. Host: Carlow Historical and Archeological Society. 8pm. Free. On Zoom and Facebook. Details and links.

Thursday 20 May: Sources for house histories, with Nicola Morris MAGI and NAI archivist Natalie Milne. Host: National Archives of Ireland. Online. Free. 6pm. Need to register.

Thursday 20 May: Burning the Custom House, 25 May 1921. Part of the centenary programme. Two lectures: The Civilian Dead, with Brian Smith, and The Human Cost for the IRA, with Des White. Online. Free on Facebook at 8pm. (Recording will be on YouTube in due course.)

Thursday 20 May: Collecting the National Memory, with Dr Sandra Collins, Director of the National Library of Ireland. Host: University College Dublin. 11am. Online. Free. Details.

Saturday 22 May: The Firemen's Tale, with Las Fallon. Host: Burning the Custom House, 25 May 1921 centenary programme. Online. Free on Facebook at 8pm. (Recording will be on YouTube in due course.)

Sunday 23 May: Caught in the Middle - Inside the Custom House 25 May 1921, with Mícheál Ó Doibhilín. Host: Burning the Custom House, 25 May 1921 centenary programme. Online. Free on Facebook at 8pm. (Recording will be on YouTube in due course.)

Monday 24 May: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland reopens to the public on an appointment only basis. Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Information.

Tuesday 25 May: People Power and Places: Grand Jury Records and Local History, ad afternoon seminar presented as part of the Beyond 2022: Ireland's Virtual Record Treasury Research Project in association with Local Government Archivists and Records Managers. 2:30pm–5pm. Free. All welcome. Details and registration.

Tuesday 25 May: ‘Burning the Books’: Series finale of 'Out of the Ashes'. Lecture with Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, Oxford, followed by Ovenden in conversation with Helen Shenton, College Librarian and Archivist of Trinity College Dublin. Hosted by Beyond 2022: Ireland’s Virtual Record Treasury Research Project in association with Local Government Archivists and Records Managers. Free. 7pm–8:30pm. Online. All welcome. Details and registration.

Tuesday 25 May: Past Lives: Exploring histories of Family, an online workshop and part of the Limerick Lifelong Learning Festival 2021. Host: University of Limerick. Includes the following presentations: The marginalisation of ex-servicemen in the Limerick District Lunatic Asylum, 1900-1925, with Stuart Clancy; The Earl Grey Orphans of Kilrush Union Workhouse, 1848-1850, with Sharon Dilger-Kelly; The South Limerick Volunteers, with Padraig Hogan. 4pm to 5pm. Details.

Tuesday 25 May: Burning of the Custom House, with Liz Gillis, final lecture in the centenary programme. Online. Free on Facebook at 8pm. (Recording will be on YouTube in due course.)

Tuesday 25 May: Kilstifeen and phantom island traditions of the west coast, with Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, National Folklore Collection, UCD. Host: Kilrush and District History Society. Online. 8pm. Free. Link.

Thursday 27 May: WWI: Exploring the Irish Experience, a virtual exhibition tour. Host: National Library of Ireland. All welcome. Free, but need to book tickets. 11am.

Thursday 27 May: Climate shocks and climate change: Climate and society in 18th-century Ireland, with Professor James Kelly. The J.C. Beckett Memorial Lecture. Host: The Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies (USIHS) and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). Online. 7-8pm. Free, but need to register.

Thursday 27 May and Friday 28 Mary Silences and Inconvenient Truths in Irish Culture and Society – the 19th International AEDEI Conference. A virtual event hosted by the University of Vigo via its free TV streaming service. Free. All welcome. Programme and details.

Friday, 14 May 2021

English, Scottish & Welsh genealogy updates: this week's summary

Below is a summary of new and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales released by the major genealogy databases over the last week (for the previous summary, see 7 May 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

BritishNewspaperArchive (shared with some FindMyPast subscriptions)


FindMyPast

UPDATED COLLECTIONS

Ancestry


DeceasedOnline
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.

Thursday, 13 May 2021

Irish Ancestors, Irish Lives: explore their world in this online course

An interesting Irish genealogy and history course, hosted by the Society of Genealogists, will be held online on Wednesday evenings over six weeks starting on 2 June. Each weekly session will run from 6pm to 8pm (GMT+1).

Called Irish Ancestors, Irish Lives, the course is as much about helping researchers to understand the daily lives, social issues and concerns of their Irish ancestors as it is about finding and successfully exploiting relevant historical and genealogical records, both common and lesser-known sources.

It will be presented by Jill Williams and Roz McCutcheon, both of them Fellows of the Irish Genealogical Research Society, and both experienced and popular speakers at the SOG and elsewhere.

Their workshops and courses nearly are nearly always fully booked, so if this sounds just like the type of course you've been looking for to help you understand the lives of your forbears, and how to progress your research, I'd suggest you book quickly.

The cost of the six-week course is £112.50, discounted to £90 for SOG members. You'll find out more about the course, including the topics to be presented at each session, on the SOG site.

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

RootsIreland will be offline from 5pm for scheduled maintenance

The Irish Family History Foundation has advised that its RootsIreland.ie database, which holds more than 24million records, most of them from church registers (several denominations) and civil records, will be offline from 5pm this evening due to scheduled maintenance.

Five hours has been allocated for the maintenance tasks to be carried out, so the database should be back up and running by 10pm (Irish/GMT+1), but it could be earlier. 

 

FindMyPast offers 20% savings on most subscription packages

FindMyPast is offering a 20% discount on most of its subscription packages. Such savings don't come along as often as they used to - this is the first, I believe, for six months - so if you were casually thinking of getting stuck into your genealogy research, or returning to it after a break, this might be the time to get your decision cap on.

While the saving doesn't amount to much on a one-month package, it certainly is worth having if you were thinking of taking out an annual subscription. If you're a brand-new or returning customer, be sure to take advantage of the offer before 10am (GMT+1) on Saturday 15 May.

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

You'll find all the details about what's included in each package on the landing page.



FindMyPast Ireland – 20% off 1-month Starter and Pro (not Plus) subs and 12-Month Starter, Plus and Pro packages.


FindMyPast USA/Canada – 20% off 1- or 12-Month subscriptions to Essential and Ultimate packages.


FindMyPast UK – 20% off 3- and 12-Month subscriptions to Starter, Plus and Pro packages


FindMyPast Australia/NZ – 20% off 1-month Starter or Pro (not Plus) subs, and 12-Month Starter, Plus and Pro packages.


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, 10 May 2021

Limerick Archives launches Sean Wall Family Archive and exhibition

A new online exhibition and digital archive highlighting Limerick’s role in the War of Independence has been launched by Limerick City and County Council Archives Service. The exhibition is based on the Sean Wall Family Archive, a valuable collection of material relating to Limerick East Brigade leader Sean Wall and his extended family.

The material has been held by the family since he was shot dead while on active duty in May 1921 and was donated last year to the Council for preservation as part of the Decade of Centenaries commemoration.

It is now fully listed and digitised, and several resources – essays, interview videos and more – have been created; details here.

Sean Wall led the East Limerick Brigade, one of the first Flying Columns during the War of Independence. Throughout his tenure as Chairman of Limerick County Council, he was on the run from British authorities, and proved an effective manager and organiser and fundraised thousands of pounds for the Dáil Loan Scheme.

His brother, Fr. Tom Wall, was also an influential figure in nationalist and republican circles in Limerick, having founded the first Irish Volunteer branch in Limerick, while another brother, Bill Wall, was another IRA activist and took part in key engagements with the East Limerick brigade.

The virtual exhibition will mark the centenary of Sean Wall’s death, but a public exhibition about him is planned when public health restrictions allow.

Irish genealogy and history events, 10 May to 23 May

Monday 10 May: Many libraries, archives and similar research centres begin to reopen in the Republic of Ireland, subject to safety restrictions.

Wednesday 12 May: Ireland 1900 - 1925: Crisis, War and Revolution, launch of a new resource exploring some of the most significant events in Ireland’s modern history, from the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill to the First World War, Easter Rising, partition of Ireland and the creation of two new states. 2pm to 3:15pm. Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Speakers: Janet Hancock, Deputy Head of Public Services, PRONI; Dr Timothy Bowman, Reader in Military History, University of Kent; Jim McBride, secretary of HTANI. Zoom event, free. Need to book

Wednesday 12 May: Ireland in Flanders: Men from the island of Ireland during the First World, with Piet Chielens, director of the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres. Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. All welcome. Free. 8pm. Need to register.

Thursday 13 May: From Turmoil to Truce: Photographs of the War of Independence, an online tour. Host: National Library of Ireland Photographic Archive. 11am. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Thursday 13 May: Recovering the Voices of West Cork in the American Civil War, with Dr Damien Shiels. Host: Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage. An online lecture, starting at 8:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register. Details.

Thursday 13 May: Online book launch: Shadows from the Trenches - Veterans of the Great War and the Irish Revolution by Emmanuel Destenay. In conversation with Professor William Murphy. Host: UCD Press. 7pm. All welcome. Need to register.

Friday 14 May: From Speed to the OS: Surveying the Streets through the Irish Historic Towns Atlas, with Sarah Gearty. Host: Carti Cymru 2021 symposium (12-14 May), National Library of Wales. Free but need tickets. 1pm. Online.

Saturday 15 May: Emigrants and Exiles, the East Galway Story, a day conference. A range of speakers composed of descendants and academics will gather virtually across the diaspora to share their stories and the stories of their communities. Host: Trasna na Tíre. On Zoom. 11am (Irish/GMT+1). Free. Download programme pdf. Registration.

Saturday 15 May: House History Show, an online day conference, 10am to 4:30pm (plus series of weekly lectures for four following weeks). Organised by Family Tree magazine (UK). £45. Details.

Saturday 15 May: Padraic Colum Gathering 2021, an online festival hosted by Longford Libraries. Four lectures and more, from 10am to 4pm, will be presented online via Microsoft Teams. Free. All welcome. To view programme and joining arrangements, see Library.

Sunday 16 May: Pat Walsh; The Life and Legacy of an Irish Revolutionary, an online documentary. Host: Pat Walsh Memorial, Dunamaggin, Co Kilkenny. 3pm. Details.

Sunday 16 May: National Famine Commemoration, Republic of Ireland. The ceremony, led by President Michael D. Higgins, takes place in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin at 12pm on Sunday 16 May and includes military honours and a wreath laying ceremony in remembrance of all those who suffered or perished during the Famine. Due to current health restrictions, the event will not be open to the public, but will be broadcast on RTÉ News and the DTCAGSM's YouTube channel.

Tuesday 18 May: Revolutionary Daughters: Nora and Ina Connolly, with Liz Gillis. Host: Áras Uí Chonghaile | James Connolly Visitor Centre, Virtual Spring Programme. 7pm. Free. All welcome. View on Facebook or YouTube.

Tuesday 18 May:: 'UNTOLD' Donegal Women - War of Independence & Irish Civil War, with Caroline Carr. Host: Donegal County Museum. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome. Talk will be via GoToMeeting. Book by email to museum@donegalcoco.ie or telephone 0749 124613.

Wednesday 19 May:: Elections and Propaganda in Ireland and Carlow 1917-1921: Votes, Violence and Victory, with Dr Elaine Callinan. Host: Carlow Historical and Archeological Society. 8pm. Free. On Zoom and Facebook. Details and links.

Thursday 20 May: Sources for house histories, with Nicola Morris MAGI and NAI archivist Natalie Milne. Host: National Archives of Ireland. Online. Free. 6pm. Need to register.

Friday, 7 May 2021

New Irish title for BritishNewspaperArchive.com: The Ballina Herald

The Ballina Herald and Mayo and Sligo Advertiser has joined the online BritishNewspaperArchive (BNA). This database is shared with some FindMyPast subscriptions.

The paper was founded in 1844 as a weekly and carried local news and advertisements, as well as some national and international news. It continued publication until 1962 when it was merged with The Western People, a title still dominent in the region.

When fully digitised, the BNA's holding of the paper will span 1891 to 1927.

Click the image for information about the editions now available to search.

With this addition to the BNA/FindMyPast databases, the collection holds 211 Irish titles.



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.

English, Scottish & Welsh genealogy: 2-week summary of updates

Below is a summary of new and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales released by the major genealogy databases over the last week (for the previous summary, see 25 April 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

BritishNewspaperArchive (shared with some FindMyPast subscriptions)


FindMyPast
  • Middlesex Poor Law Records (Parishes of Chelsea, St Luke; Ealing, St Mary; Feltham, St Dunstan; Fulham, All Saints; Hammersmith, St Paul; New Brentford, St Laurence; Shepperton, St Nicholas; Staines, St Mary; Stanwell, St Mary; Uxbridge, St Margaret. (16,058 records)

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FamilySearch

FindMyPast

National Library of Scotland

Scottish Indexes

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.