Friday 23 December 2022

Latest Irish releases to check out over the festive period

Well here it is, Merry Christmas, and to help you survive the festive season, I've gathered some of this month's latest releases of records and videos plus some recent podcasts. Dig in and enjoy. IrishGenealogyNews will be back in early January 2023.

Ireland, Licences To Keep Arms 1832-1836: This Parliamentary report holds the details of 6,352 individuals who were granted licences for firearms and swords by county magistrates at the Quarter Sessions Courts across the island from 1 August 1832 during the years stated. The records note names and residences of the licencees, the type of weapon (guns, pistols, carbines, blunderbusses, swords and bayonets) and the name and address of the county magistrate who approved their licence application. See sample image below.

Northern Ireland, Wills and Administrations, Index, 1621–1858: This collection contains will and administration records from various Dioceses of The Church of Ireland in the six counties that now make up Northern Ireland. The vast majority of the 75,722 records date between 1621 and 1858 and typically contain the name of the deceased, the date and place when the will was signed, probated or administered by letter or by bond. Some records contain the residence of the individual and date of death.

Newspaper BMD announcements (Co. Clare): Part of the Lord Dunboyne collection, 1824–1878, these birth, marriage and death notices span 1824–1855, 1852–1854 and 1850–1855 respectively and were published in The Clare Journal, Limerick Chronicle, The Times, The Clare Freeman, Dublin Evening Mail and the Freeman's Journal. The collection was created by Theobald Fitz-Walter Butler, Lord Dunboyne (1806–1881) and has been transcribed by volunteers and indexed by County Clare Library staff.

Donegal local authority minutes: Donegal County Archives has been busy in the rundown to Christmas, digitising and releasing more of its Urban District and Rural District Councils Minute Books from the Revolutionary period in the early 1900s. During December the following were released: the Letterkenny Urban Council's Minutes 1922 and 1923; Buncrana Urban District Council's Minutes 1913–1916; Bundoran Urban District Council Minutes 1914-1926, and Londonderry No.2 Rural District Council Minutes (covering Burt/Killea/Bridgend & south #Inishowen area of Co. Donegal), 1899–1908. All available in pdf format and free to download.

MemsDead.com – is a brand new website that's been developed by Ciara Chivers of Shamrock Roots to help genealogists make the most of an excellent but underused resource: the Journal of the Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, which is also known as the Journal of the Irish Memorials Association. The journal was published from 1888 to 1934 and is a treasure trove of headstone inscriptions, many of which can no longer be read or have simply disappeared, but its rewards are notoriously hard won. Memsdead aims to guide you to a greater understanding of the resource, and provides researchers with tools to overcome its difficulties.

PRONI YouTube videos: In the last few weeks, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has released videos of a number of lectures presented earlier in the year and of interest to genealogists and social historians. Among them is the launch presentation for the online registers for Indoor Relief to the Belfast Workhouse 1892-1921 (BG7/GK); Olympic and Aquitania: Eyeing Up the Competition; The Uses and Abuses of Magic in Modern British and Irish History; and Demonised: 'The Islandmagee Witches, 1711' Project; and Researching armed forces in the 19th and 20th centuries; Records at The National Archives.

Irish History Podcast: This podcast is produced by historian and archaeologist Fin Dwyer and now has a huge library available to enjoy. His last two recordings for 2022 made great listening: A Slum City - Life & Death in Late Victorian Dublin and A Lost Town in the Wicklow Mountains.

IrishGenPod: The Irish GenPod is published by Senior Times magazine (the organisers of the Back To Our Past show) and sees professional genealogist Paul Gorry, FIGRS MAGI interviewing people working in Ireland's genealogy services, archives and related fields. In the autumn series (nos 5–8) he interviews Tom McGrath, author of Unspoken; Susan Hood, archivist of the RCB Library; Andrew and Johathan Martin of the Irish Newspaper Archives; and Steven Smyrl, professional genealogist, campaigner, historian and author.


Thursday 22 December 2022

England, Scotland & Wales genealogy updates: 2-week summary

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases. (Previous summary, 9 December.)

My 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 (and shared with FindMyPast)
  • New titles in main collection ($£€)

FindMyPast

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FindMyPast

TheGenealogist

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 21 December 2022

Christmas and New Year closures at major Irish genealogy venues

Below are the planned opening and closing times of the main genealogy repositories over the Christmas 2022 and New Year 2023 period. They're all subject to change, so if you're travelling any distance, check the venue's website or, better, phone.

Republic of Ireland

DCL&A and all Dublin City Libraries will be closed from Christmas Eve to 2 January inclusive. Reopening 3 January.

Royal Irish Academy: Library closed from Saturday 24 December until Monday 9 January 2023 at 10am inclusive.

National Library of Ireland: Reading Room and Exhibitions closed from 5pm on Friday 23 December until 9:30am (10am for Seamus Heaney) on Tuesday 3 January.

National Archives of Ireland: Reading Room closed from 5pm Friday 23 December until 10am Tuesday 3 January.

General Register Office: Research Room closed from Friday 23 December to Monday 2 January inclusive. Email service will be available Friday 23 December, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 December. Normal service from Tuesday 3 January.

Local County and Branch Libraries: Most appear to be closed from Saturday 24 December to Tuesday 3 January but some are opening for just one day during that period. Check with each venue.

RCB Library:The Church of Ireland library and archive has unexcpectedly had to close its doors on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 December. It will be open, 9:30am to 1pm only on Friday 23 December and will not re-open until Tuesday 3 January.

Northern Ireland

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI): Closed Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 December. Open Thursday 29 and Friday 30 December. Closed Monday 2 January. Returns to regular hours on Tuesday 3 January at 9am.

General Register Office of Northern Ireland (GRONI): Closed Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 December. Open Thursday 29 and Friday 30 December. Closed Monday 2 January. Returns to regular hours at 9:30am on Tuesday 3 January.

NILibraries / Local County and Branch Libraries: From Monday 19 to Friday 23 December inclusive, all libraries will close at 5pm. From Saturday 24 December to Monday 2 January 2023 inclusive, all libraries will be closed.

England & Wales

The National Archives, Kew, London: Closed Saturday 24 to Wednesday 28 December inclusive. Open Thursday 29 December and Friday 30 December. Closed Monday 2 January. Reopening Tuesday 3 January.

National Library of Wales: Closed from Saturday 24 December 2022 to Monday 2 January inclusive. Reopens 9am on Tuesday 3 January

Scotland

National Library of Scotland: Closed Saturday 24 to Tuesday 27 December inclusive. Open Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 December with revised hours. Closed Saturday 31 December to Tuesday 3 January inclusive. Reopening Wednesday 4 January.

Tuesday 20 December 2022

A bundle of Xmas gifts from Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives

An exciting mixed bundle of photos and records has been delivered early this festive season from Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives. It holds some real gems that may just knock down a brick wall for some lucky researchers.

Sample section from rental documents of
teneants of Marcus Goodbody, dated 1893.
Discovered in letter to Lawrence Mealy of
Tristernagh Demesne, ancestor of the
Contributor. Photo courtesy IGPArchives.

As always, these gifts come from volunteers who freely donate their time by tramping over graveyards, pencil and camera in hand, or passing on their own discoveries in the possibility and hope that their contributions will help other family historians learn more about their Irish ancestors. Why not consider becoming part of this team in the new year or even over the holiday?

Here are this month's additions to the free IGP Archives website:

CORK Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Killeagh Old Part 3 (Finished)

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Church of the Holy Trinity (CoI), Pt 4, Lisnaskea

MEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Colmcille Graveyard, Kells
St. Ultans, Ardbraccan, H-N. Text File added

TYRONE Genealogy Archives - Miscellaneous & Military
Church of Ireland Rectors
Muster Roll, Strabane Barony, Sir Geo Hamilton c1630
Militia Infantry, Royal Tyrone Fusiliers – Hart's Annual Army List 1876 & 1881

WESTMEATH Genealogy Archives - Land
Tenants of Marcus Goodbody, Tristernagh townland, 1893


Thursday 15 December 2022

Irish Registry of Deeds Archive joins Digital Repository of Ireland

The Property Registration Authority (PRA), which manages the Registry of Deeds in Dublin and cares for its priceless collection, is the latest new member of the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI).

Readers of IrishGenealogyNews will be aware that the Registry of Deeds Archive Services has embarked on a long-term programme of digitisation of its collection, one of Ireland's most precious sources for genealogists.

It includes parchment memorials, Transcription Books, Indexes of townlands and names of grantors, Abstract Books, microfilms and administrative records. In total, the archive holds more than 5million memorials and 17,000 bound volumes. (You can find out more about the collection, which dates to 1708, here.)

Joining the DRI is an important part of this process, as Ellen Murphy, Archive Manager of the PRA, explains: The PRA are delighted to become members of the DRI as we look to scale up our programme of digitisation at the Registry of Deeds in the coming years. Membership of DRI will give us a sustainable, best-practice solution for managing preservation quality digital surrogates, as well as access to experts in the field of digital curation."

Wednesday 14 December 2022

TipperaryStudies releases Revision Books for North Tipperary

Tipperary Studies, the local studies department of the county's Library Service, has released the first instalment of its project to digitise the Cancelled Valuation Books / Revision Books for the 75 District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) in North Tipperary.

Click to view enlarged image

This first tranche sees 57 volumes covering 23 DEDs uploaded to the Tipperary Studies Digital Archive. They date from 1902 to 1917 and can be used to trace the occupiers of a particular property over a period of years. (For more information about the genealogical value of Valuation Revision Books, see this dedicated page on my website, Irish Genealogy Toolkit.)

The DEDs covered in this release* are Abington (3 vols); Ballycahill (3); Borrisnafarney (2); Borrisnoe (2); Bourney East (3); Bourney West (3); Finnoe (2); Foilnamon (3); Holycross (2); Inch (3); Killavinoge (2); Killea (3); Killoscully (3); Kilnarath (2); Kilrush (2); Littleton (3); Longfordpass (2); Moycarkey (2); Moyne (2); Rathnaveoge (2); Templederry (3); Thurles Rural (3); Timoney (2).

The Tipperary Studies digitisation team is now working on the remaining 52 DEDs in its collection. It hopes to have the second batch ready for release in late spring 2023.

For privacy purposes, only volumes produced up to 1921 will currently be made available online. However, revision books up to the 1960s are available to personal visitors to Tipperary Studies, which is based at The Source Library, Cathedral Street, Thurles.

Please note that Tipperary Studies does not hold the Cancelled Valuation Books for South Tipperary.

* The number of volumes for each DED is shown in brackets.


New edition of Irish Genealogy Matters newsletter published

The winter edition of the Irish Family History Foundation's newsletter Irish Genealogy Matters has been published.

It carries news and developments from around its island-wide network of local genealogy and heritage centres, with details of some products (think gifts, books, courses etc) to tickle the fancy of family historians, and festive events.

It also provides a summary of recent additions to the RootsIreland.ie database, as well as a teaser for another bundle of records expected to be released before New Year is rung in.

Irish Genealogy Matters is free to download by clicking the image, right.

Two new Irish titles as BritishNewspaperArchive tots up 61m pages

The BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk, which this morning held a total of 61,170,843 digitised pages of historical British and Irish newspapers, has added another couple of Irish titles. They are:

Dublin Sporting News:  The online holding when completely digitised will span 1889–1901. So far, editions published in the first five years of that period are available to search and view. While published in Dublin, the paper carried news and results from England, Scotland and Wales, and included 'Prophesies' from pundits at the big daily national papers. It covers many sports but horse-racing and coursing seem to dominate. The masthead is great... see below.

Dublin Advertising Gazette: The masthead of this paper described its contents as A Record of Trade, Property, Insurance, Railway and Shipping Intelligence but its adverts, which feature across the bulk of the four-page editions, are for a much wider range of life's essentials, including accommodation, tuition, pipes and tobacco, upcoming theatrical productions, homeware and clothing. The paper was published on Wednesdays as a freesheet and was in circulation from 1858–1877.

The entire holding of the BNA is shared with its sister database FindMyPast where all the titles are available to those with a PRO or PREMIUM subscription.

The masthead of the Dublin Sporting News in 1899.

Tuesday 13 December 2022

1926 Census of Ireland digitisation project: Tenders requested

Less than one month since state funding was confirmed for the digitisation and release of the 1926 Census of Ireland (see blogpost), the second step has been taken in the process that will deliver census returns relating to 2,971,992 individuals to our computer screens. (It's real. It's real. Hang out the bunting.)

On Monday, eTenders.gov.ie (the Irish Government’s electronic tendering platform) issued a Request to Tender from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. 

A supplier of Programme Management Services is sought to provide the necessary management and co-ordination from the development of a comprehensive project plan, through procurement of specialist contractors, budget control, monitoriing and evaluation, and liaison with the steering group, to the management of a pre-release programme of public engagement and then final delivery. Full requirements of the project can be read on eTenders. Supplier specifications can be obtained by those who register an interest. 

See the detailed tender here.

The deadline for potential suppliers to submit tenders is midday on 27 January 2023.

Friday 9 December 2022

New and updated genealogy records for England, Scotland & Wales

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases. (Previous summary, 27 November.)

My 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 some FindMyPast subs (nearly 61 million+ pages)
  • Echo (London) | Leighton Buzzard on Sunday | Sunday Mail (Glasgow) | Northwich Chronicle | Wembley News | Daily Dispatch (Manchester) | Nottingham Evening News | Football Mail (Portsmouth) | Clapham Observer | Leicester Advertiser | Macclesfield Times | Daily Post (Wales) | South London Observer | Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder | Greenford & Northolt Gazette | Croydon Express

FindMyPast

TheGenealogist

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FamilySearch

FindMyPast

FreeBMD

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 7 December 2022

More Roman Catholic records for RootsIreland's Co. Kerry database

Dropping into the RootsIreland.ie database today is another small but welcome bundle of Roman Catholic baptism and marriage records from County Kerry. They total 3,295 records and are from the parish of Prior (variant name Ballinskelligs), as follows:

  • Prior baptisms, 1850-1899 (2,500 records)
  • Prior marriages, 1850-1899 (795 records).

The registers for this coastal parish have not been imaged by the National Library of Ireland.

See an up to date list of online sources for County Kerry here. To search the records, click the logo above and then login or subscribe* as necessary.

* RootsIreland is currently offering a 25% discount to new and existing subscribers. It expires on 10 December.


Tuesday 6 December 2022

A History of St James 's Church & Graveyard, Dublin: free pdf

Genealogist, lecturer and historian Sean J Murphy has made available for free download an e-book version of A History of St James’s Church and Graveyard, Dublin. The paper book is now out of print.

Click the image to learn more and download a copy

The book includes parallel histories of the Protestant and Catholic Parishes of St James and features appendices listing both ministers and priests. There is also much new research contained in the book, including:

  • a chapter on St James and Compostela
  • the fact that Dr Pearse Lyons, who funded and brought to fruition a project to restore and convert the decaying old church into the new Pearse Lyons Distillery and Visitor Centre, which opened in 2018, was born in Inchicore, Co Dublin, and not in Dundalk as originally thought
  • that about 100,000 people are buried in St James's Graveyard, mostly Catholics
  • and that the burials include Sir John Trail, architect of Kilmainham Gaol, James Power, founder of Power's Distillery, and nine members of Dr Lyons's family.

Most importantly for researchers, the book also provides practical guidance for those who wish to check if someone is buried in St James's Graveyard.

Nine decades of the Representative Church Body Library

The Representative Church Body Library (RCB Library) reached the grand age of 90 earlier in 2022 and rounds off its nine decades as the Church of Ireland's archive and library with a look back and a look forward in this month's Archive of the Month.

The only interior photograph known to survive of the original
RCB Library as it was at Church House, 52 St Stephen’s Green.
(Church of Ireland Gazette, 3 April 1970)

The story dates back to the days leading to Christmas 1931, when Rosamond Stephen (1868-1952) founder and original librarian of the Irish Guild of Witness library, recorded the despatch of some 5,000 volumes housed within her home on Upper Mount Street, Dublin to no. 52 St Steven's Green.

This was the HQ of the Representative Church Body – the Church of Ireland’s central trustee body.

She wrote: ‘They went properly through the streets drawn by a fine pair of cart horses. R.S. watched them vanish into the mist.'

Prior to its time in Dublin and eventual association with the RCB, the original content of Rosamond’s library had been in existence from 1903 operating on the Crumlin Road in Belfast.

The online Archive of the Month presentation tracks the journey from Belfast to Dublin, and explores how the new Library acquired oversight of archives and record-keeping on behalf of the RCB following the loss of many records that had been in the Public Records Office of Ireland in 1922 when over 500 collections of parish records, together with the medieval and early modern diocesan archives, were destroyed.

Portrait of Rosamond Emily Stephen in her 24th year by her
sister, DJ [Dorothea] Stephen, 1892. RCB Library Collection

An important early remit for the fledgling library was to focus on collecting copies of manuscripts concerning the Church of Ireland that had been lost.

This far-sighted approach has reaped many rewards for the Church at large, and today in addition to its printed collection of over 60,000 volumes, it holds vast archives.

These include some 1,132 collections of parish records together with the archives of the Church’s dioceses, cathedrals, architectural drawings, the administrative records of the Representative Church Body and its multiple committees, and thousands of manuscripts relating to the Church’s people, buildings and activities, spanning from medieval times to the present.


Monday 5 December 2022

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 5 to 31 December 2022

As the year end approaches, this post will be the final listing for 2022. If necessary, I'll update this list as December rolls on.

Monday 5 December to Friday 9 December inclusive: Closures. Reading Room of the National Archive of Ireland, Dublin, closed for Media Preview. Reopening Monday 12 December. Similar at Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast, where it is Preservation Week: No original materials available. Search Room open for microfilm viewing etc.

Monday 5 December: Local History on Film, with NI Screen. A hybrid event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society's Foyle Branch. In-person venue: Lecture Room, Derry’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Derry, BT48 6AL. 7pm–8:30pm GMT. For online access, email the branch secretary at Foyle@nifhs.org. All welcome.

Monday 5 December: The Irish face of British politics: Irish agrarian violence, ultra-Tories, and the end of the Whig government, 1845-1841, with Dr Jay Roszman. A hybrid event hosted by Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Irish Studies. In-person venue: QUB, 27 University Square, Belfast BT7 1NN. Online via MS Teams. 4:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Tuesday 6 December: Rebel Statesman: The Life and Times of WT Cosgrave, with Liz Gillis and Cathy Scuffil. Part of the Decade of Centenaries programme from South Dublin County. Hosted online by Ballyroan Library. 7pm to 8pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Tuesday 6 December: The Decade of Commemoration: Sources & Legacies, an online event featuring lightning talks from archivists and librarians on projects undertaken during the Decade of Centenaries. Hosted by the Irish Society for Archives. Free. 6pm to 7:30pm. Need to register.

Wednesday 7 December: The Enigma of Arthur Griffith, with Colum Kenny. An in-person event hosted by Rathmichael Historical Society. Venue: Rathmichael School Hall, Stonebridge Road, Shankill, Co. Dublin. Doors oopen 7:30pm. Members free. Non-members €5. Includes light refreshments. Details.

Thursday 8 December: The Centenary of An Garda Síochanaon, with Dr Liam McNiffe. An in-person event hosted by Meath County Library. Venue: Oldcastle Library, Millbrook Rd, Knockmacoony, Oldcastle, Co. Meath 7pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book: tel 046-8542084 or email oldcastlelib@meathcoco.ie.

Friday 9 December: Reading Room at the RCB Library in Churchtown, Dublin, closed from 2pm.

Monday 12 December: The realities of rural childhoods in modern Ireland: birth, life and death in 19th and 20th century County Donegal, with Megan McAuley. A hybrid event hosted by Offaly History. In-person: Offaly History, Bury Quay, Tullamore. With mince pies and tea. €2 members/€5 non-members. Online: email info@offalyhistory.com for free zoom access code. 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 13 December: Christmas in Lisburn through the years, an in-person talk with Aaron McIntyre. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. Venue: Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street, Lisburn, County Down BT28 1XP. 7:30pm–9pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 14 December: Book Launch: Iarmhi, Journal of the Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society, vol 2. An in-person event. Host: WAHS. Venue: The Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. 7:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Thursday 15 December: Main and Microfilm Reading Rooms closed from 1pm. National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. The Main and Microfilm Reading Rooms will be closed for an event on the afternoon of Thursday, 15th December, from 1pm. Other services, including the Manuscript Reading Room, Family History Room and ticket office, will remain open as usual.

Monday 19 December Tracing Your Ancestors Through Land Records, with Chris Paton. A hybrid meeting hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. In-person venue: Larne Museum and Arts Centre 2 Victoria Road, Larne, Co Antrim. 7:15pm–8:45pm GMT. For online access, email Larne@nifhs.org. Details. All welcome.

Tuesday 20 December: Ikerrin and the O'Mahers, with Dr Paul MacCotter. An in-person event and part of the Tipperary People and Places Lecture series no.16. Host: Tipperary Studies, the local history dept. of Tipperary County Librairies. 7pm. Free. Venue: Gallery of the Source Library, Thurles. Tea and coffeee served. All welcome. Details.

Friday 2 December 2022

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: November updates

This headstone is in Holy Cross Cemetery, Athea,
Co Limerick. Photo courtesy of IGP Archives and
the photographer, Larry Kehoe.

The volunteer team for Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives has continued to work hard to bring us another bundle of headstone photos and transcriptions, all free to search.

The additions uploaded in November came from six burial grounds in six counties, as follows:

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Patrick's R.C. Graveyard Part 3, Corlough

CORK Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Holy Rosary Cemetery Part 5, Midleton

DONEGAL Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Glenties New Graveyard Part 3, Inishkeel

KILDARE Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Confey Graveyard, Sections G, M & N

LIMERICK Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Holy Cross Cemetery Part 3, Athea

MEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Ultans CoI Graveyard, Ardbraccan (Part 1) (Update)

Thursday 1 December 2022

Finding archival homes for CoI primary school records

A new policy has been introduced by the Representative Church Body Library to guide Church of Ireland primary schools in how to best keep and share archived information about their work and service. This follows lengthy discussions with all organisations involved, and in consultation with the Secretary of the General Synod Board of Education.

Miss Stella Greer’s class at Killeigh School, Co Offaly c1931
RCB Library P48.28.1

The document – A Policy for the Appropriate Custody of Primary School Records – has been produced with the aim of promoting awareness about the importance of primary school records and their value as a reference tool for a variety of legal, educational, historical and social purposes in the future, and seeks to ensure that the schools management take the correct steps to arrange and safeguard these materials.

This is particularly relevant where records have ceased to be used in the day-to-day administration of a school, or in circumstances where a school is due to close or has already closed.

While the RCB Library is concerned about the preservation of these records, the Library is not itself the custodian of primary school records and is not responsable for the long-term storage of such records.

The Library has, however, been in discussion with colleagues in the National Archives of Ireland and the Local Government Archivists and Records Managers (LGARM) Group representing archivists and records managers at local government level. LGARM has confirmed that it is happy to facilitate requests from any Board of Management or Patron of a Church of Ireland primary school wishing to deposit their collections in a local authority archive service, subject to available storage and these services being considered as the first place of deposit for these collections.

Each school is to be responsible for arranging the collection prior to its transfer to the local archive. For example, all registers, roll books, daily attendance books, District Inspector’s observation books, organiser’s observation books, and corporal punishment books could be sorted chronologically. LGARM members are particularly interested in acquiring any extant school photographs as these records can be made available without restriction.

Many local government archives have already been acquiring these collections for a number of years. In the case of local authorities with no archivist, the group recommends that the National Archives of Ireland might be considered as the temporary custodian of these collections until such time as a local authority archive has been established or that suitable storage has been identified.

The policy is available in the Parish Resources section of RCB Library, here.

Personal Injury Claims from Revolutionary Era for release in April

The National Archives of Ireland is starting work on a newly transferred collection that is expected to be of great interest to Irish genealogists when it is released next year.

The Compensation (Personal Injuries) Committee collection contains first hand accounts of physical injuries inflicted on members of the public – people of all ages, from all and no sides – as they were going about their daily lives. Some were deliberately targeted or shot. Others were accidentally caught in crossfire or bomb blasts.

The accounts also show the unseen effects of war from those who took their own lives or ended up in institutions, unable to forget the terrible events they had witnessed.

Speaking at the National Archives of Irelandy yesterday, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said: “The Financial Compensation Files give a previously unseen and perhaps unromantic ground level view of what were this country’s most formative years.

"What makes these files important is what they do not contain. The overwhelming majority of claims are from individuals otherwise unrecorded by history, the silent majority. The files give insight into not just well known events like Bloody Sunday and the shelling of the Four Courts, but also minor actions in every county of Ireland and places as far away as India.

"I have no doubt that when this collection is made available to the public next year that the stories within will be an invaluable source of social and personal histories for historians, academics as well as descendants and family members.”

Archive closures during early December

The National Archives of Ireland's Reading Room will closed from Monday 5 December to Friday 9 December inclusive. This is to facilitate the annual media preview.

The Church of Ireland's Library and Archive (RCBL) will be closed on the afternoons of Friday 2 December and Friday 9 December from 1pm, and on the morning of Wednesday 14 December from 9.30am – 2pm.

At PRONI, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Preservation Week will run from 5 December to 9 December 2022 and no original records will be accessible. The Reading Room will be closed but the Search Room will be open, including access to microfilm.

Wednesday 30 November 2022

Any specific questions you'd like to see in the 2027 Irish Census?

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has opened a public consultation process for Census 2027 and is seeking submissions from members of the public, organisations and interest groups on suggested questions for the Republic of Ireland’s next census, which will take place in 2027.

Submissions proposing changes to the phrasing of questions used in Census 2022 or suggesting new question(s) for Census 2027 are welcomed as part of the consultation. I'm sure questions that would gather useful data for future genealogists would also be appreciated!

Eileen Murphy, Head of Census Administration, said: “Preparations for Census 2027 have already begun and this public consultation on the questions for the next census is an important part of the process. We are accepting submissions through an online form, via email, or by post, to ensure that as many organisations and individuals as possible can participate. We will acknowledge each submission we receive.

"The CSO has also started work on delivering an online response option for the first time in an Irish census.”

The consultation will close on Wednesday 21 December 2022 and you'll find more information about how to make a submission on the CSO website here.

The 1921 Census of Scotland has been released online

The 1921 Census of Scotland, taken on 19 June of that year, has been released online this morning and is likely to be of interest to many researchers with Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors.

You'll find the collection on the Scotland's People database where you'll need to register if you don't already have an account. There's no charge for searching,and the free information returned in a search should help you identify the individuals of most interest to you.

To view any returns, you'll need to have to buy 'credits'.

The collection holds details of 4.8million people.

Tuesday 29 November 2022

MilitaryArchives releases 13th instalment from the MSPC

Ireland's MilitaryArchives has released its 13th instalment of records from the extensive Military Service (1916-23) Pension Claims collection. This is the largest single pension files release since digitised copies of MSPC material began to make its way online eight years ago.

Today's release features just over 5,000 files representing 1,835 new individuals. (You can download a pdf of those names, with place of residence and reference number, here.)

Among them is the final tranche of 1,658 service pensions claims by women. In total, 6,445 women made a claim for a pension – 25% of them were successful – and all are now catalogued and digitised.

In addition, files relating to 177 men are included in this release.

More than 113,500 MSPC files have now been catalogued and around 46,000 of these are fully digitised. The content of these digitised files, now all online, consists of more than 2,400,000 pages of archival maaterial.

These files are yielding fresh insights into this period our ancestors lived through, and are a rich source of genealogical information.

RootsIreland adds 27,000 land records for County Clare

RootsIreland.ie has added nearly 27,000 names to its County Clare database. They have been transcribed from the Tithe Applotment Books and date from 1824-43. They cover the entire county.

Given the loss of most of the 19th-century census records, the Tithe Applotment Books are a vital source for genealogical research in rural areas for the pre-Famine period. They were compiled in order to determine the amount due from occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre.

This tithe was then paid to the Church of Ireland, an arrangment that was much hated by the majority Roman Catholic population.

For an up to date list of sources for Clare and to search these records, click the logo above and login or subscribe as required.

RoorsIreland is currently offering a 25% discount on annual subscriptions until Saturday 10 December. Find out more here.



Monday 28 November 2022

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 28 Nov. to 11 Dec.

Monday 28 November: The Ulster Settlers Database: a new digital resource for the study of the province and its people, with Dr Richard Fitzpatrick. A hybrid event hosted by Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Irish Studies. In-person venue: QUB, 27 University Square, Belfast BT7 1NN. Online via MS Teams. 4:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Tuesday 29 November: GRONI Records, with Kathie Walker. A hybrid meeting hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway Coast and Glens Branch. Venue: Sandel Centre, Knocklynn Road, Coleraine, Co LondonDerry. 8pm. All welcome. Email secretary for online zoom link. Details.

Tuesday 29 November: The Lighthouses of the Shannon Estuary, with Gerald Butler, author of The Lightkeeper. An in-person event hosted by the Kilrush and District Historical Society at Teach Ceoil (Old Church of Ireland), Grace St, Kilrush, Co. Clare. Members free. Non-members €5 on the door. 8pm to 9pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 29 November Gendering Loss in the Irish Civil War, with Professor Lindsey Earner-Byrne who explores the impact on the relatives of those injured or killed as a result of the conflict. Hosted by the National Library of Ireland and University College Cork. A hybrid event. Venue: The Shtepps Lecture Theatre, The Hub, UCC, College Road, Cork City. See details for online link.

Wednesday 30 November: Exploring Victorian Belfast, an in-person event with Dr Alice Johnson, Dr Paul Harron and Stephen Scarth. Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland 2 Titanic Boulevard Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. 2pm–3:45pm. All welcome. Free but need to register. Details.

Thursday 1 December: Always in the Human Consciousness - Exploring the Memory of Ireland's Revolutionary Period, with Tomás Mac Conmara. An in-person event hosted by the Oral History Network of Ireland. Venue: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 63 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. 7pm to 9pm. Free but need to book your place. Details.

Thursday 1 December: Mixed marriages in medieval Ireland, with Dr Katherine Simms delivering the Irish Texts Society's Breandán Ó Buachalla Lecture 2022. An online event in partnership with the National Library of Ireland. Free. 6:30pm–7:45pm. All welcome. Need to book.

Thursday 1 December: The cult of St Edmund in Ireland, with Dr Francis Young. An online event. Host: the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in conjunction with The Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies. 7pm to 8pm. All welcome. Free. Book here.

Friday 2 December and Saturday 3 December Foundation of the Irish State, a two-day conference hosted by University College Dublin. An in-person event at University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin. 9am–5pm both days. Full details.

RCB

Friday 2 December RCB Library in Churchtown, Dublin, closed from 2pm.

Friday 2 December Members’ Experiences, a series of 10-minute talks about members' family history research, followed by Christmas festivities. An in-person event hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society's Belfast Branch. Venue: St. Donard’s Hall, Beersbridge Road / Bloomfield Road, Belfast BT5 5LT. 7:30pm–9pm.

Friday 2 December Dating Old Family Photographs, an online class with Alison Tait. Hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society. £10. All welcome. 7pm–8:30pm GMT. Booking.

Friday 2 December British Army operations in Ireland in 1922-1924, an in-person event with Anthony Kinsella. Host: Military History Society of Ireland. Venue: Griffith College, South Circular Rod, Dublin 8. 8pm. Non-members welcome.

Monday 5 December: Local History on Film, with NI Screen. A hybrid event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society's Foyle Branch. In-person venue: Lecture Room, Derry’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Derry, BT48 6AL. 7pm–8:30pm GMT. For online access, email the branch secretary at Foyle@nifhs.org. All welcome.

Monday 5 December: The Irish face of British politics: Irish agrarian violence, ultra-Tories, and the end of the Whig government, 1845-1841, with Dr Jay Roszman. A hybrid event hosted by Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Irish Studies. In-person venue: QUB, 27 University Square, Belfast BT7 1NN. Online via MS Teams. 4:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Tuesday 6 December: Rebel Statesman: The Life and Times of WT Cosgrave, with Liz Gillis and Cathy Scuffil. Part of the Decade of Centenaries programme from South Dublin County. Hosted online by Ballyroan Library. 7pm to 8pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Wednesday 7 December: The Enigma of Arthur Griffith, with Colum Kenny. An in-person event hosted by Rathmichael Historical Society. Venue: Rathmichael School Hall, Stonebridge Road, Shankill, Co. Dublin. Doors oopen 7:30pm. Members free. Non-members €5. Includes light refreshments. Details.

Thursday 8 December: The Centenary of An Garda Síochanaon, with Dr Liam McNiffe. An in-person event hosted by Meath County Library. Venue: Oldcastle Library, Millbrook Rd, Knockmacoony, Oldcastle, Co. Meath 7pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book: tel 046-8542084 or email oldcastlelib@meathcoco.ie.

Friday 9 December RCB Library in Churchtown, Dublin, closed from 2pm.


Sunday 27 November 2022

Recent updates to English, Scottish & Welsh genealogy collections

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases. (Previous summary, 17 November.)

My 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, and shared with some FindMyPast subscriptions (60 million+ pages)

City of London

FamilySearch

FindMyPast

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FindMyPast

TheGenealogist

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Thursday 24 November 2022

Three new and updated Irish genealogy collections join Ancestry and TheGenealogist

Both Ancestry and TheGenealogist have recently expanded their Irish collections. Two of the new additions are available elsewhere – let's not forget that fresh transcriptions or redigitised material can often bring new discoveries – while the other is an update to a growing obituary index.

Ireland's Memorial Records, 1914–1918
New to TheGenealogist is a collection of some 50,000 records of Irish soldiers and soldiers with a connection to Ireland who died in World War I.

This collection, which is online at several other databases, was originally compiled by the Committee of the Irish National War Memorial and published in an eight-volume set in 1923, complete with decorative borders designed by Harry Clarke, the renowned stained glass artist and book illustrator.

Each entry gives the name, regiment, rank, date and place of death of the soldier, including in some cases, their date of birth and next of kin.

Ireland, National Army Census, 1922
New to Ancestry, this collection is sourced from Ireland's MilitaryArchives. The records was gathered at midnight on the 13th-14th of November 1922, less than one year since the Partition of the island and at the mid-point of the Irish Civil War, when military leaders needed an accurate count of the strength of their forces to make decisions about feeding, clothing, and arming the troops.

The index holds the details of some 32,000 soldiers and can also be searched by their next of kin's name and address. The records include age, religion, marital status and residence of the soldier and the date and place of attestation.

UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current
This index provides data mostly gleaned from death notices and obituaries published in titles held by Ancestry's sister database Newspapers.com. Since arriving on Ancestry about 18 months ago, it is updated every few months and now holds more than 19 million entries. Unfortunately, the proportion of that total with an Irish flavour is tiny.

If you do find a record of interest, however, the genealogical information provided by the index is generous, typically including age, place of birth and death, names of family and funeral attendees.

Wednesday 23 November 2022

25% off annual subscriptions to RootsIreland.ie database

RootsIreland.ie, the single most useful database for Irish genealogists, is offering a 25% discount on its annual subscription. The all-island database gives researchers access to the most complete and accurate set of Roman Catholic church records online, as well as millions of records of Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Quaker and smaller denominations. Many of these church records are not available online anywhere else.

The database, which is managed by the not-for-profit Irish Family History Foundation, holds a total of more than 23 million records, all transcribed from the IFHF's network of 34 genealogy centres. These centres have an unparalleled amount of local knowledge and add to the database regularly. This year, they have added almost 136,000 to the RootsIreland database, and more than 27,000 more are due to be uploaded for County Clare shortly.

The discount offer will run until 11:59pm IST/GMT on Thursday 10 December.

To take advantage of the worthwhile discount, click the logo above.

If you already have a subscription, click the logo, My Account, My Subscription and Start a New Subscription. The 25% discount will then begin when your current sub expires.

Tuesday 22 November 2022

Two more Irish titles join the online British Newspaper Archive

As the BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk (BNA) approaches a new milestone of 60million pages of historical newspapers, two more Irish titles have been added to the database. They are:

The Roscommon Herald
Established in 1859, the Roscommon Herald is still in circulation and is the County's largest selling local newspaper. It is a weekly print title, produced from Roscommon Town and Boyle and published on Tuesdays. The BNA's holding, when complete, will span 1859 to 1953.

The Midland Reporter and Westmeath Nationalist
This paper was published in Mullingar from 1891 to 1939 and was an important regional paper in its day. The BNA holding, however, seems to be limited to the editions circulating in 1928. only.

In addition to the two new titles above, researchers may also wish to take a look at another historical paper much read by Irish Catholics, especially those who had settled in Liverpool, London and Irish hotspots in the north of England.

The weekly Catholic Times and Catholic Opinion was founded in 1860 in Manchester and went on to became the most widely read Catholic paper in England around the turn of the 19th century. Despite a decline in circulation in the first half of the 20th century, it continued to be published and it was only two years ago that it merged with The Universe.


Monday 21 November 2022

Enjoy 25% savings on all FindMyPast subscription packages

FindMyPast is offering 25% off most of its subscription packages.

The discount will expire on Sunday 27 November at 11:59pm Irish/British Standard Time (IST/BST).

Choose from the FindMyPast 'territories' below and then select your preferred subscription. The sale savings will have been applied so you can see the discounted price you'll pay.

This offer has expired.



FindMyPast Ireland – 25% off any 1- or 12-month subscription.


FindMyPast USA/Canada – 25% off any 1- or 12-month subscription.


FindMyPast UK – 25% 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