Friday 29 April 2022

LandedEstates.ie restored, moved and awaiting further improvement

The disappearance of the LandedEstates.ie database so soon after it had been restored following last September's attempted hack was greeted with dismayed groans over the last couple of weeks. But it's back, at http://landedestates.ie, and all systems are go.

NUI Galway tells me that the downtime resulted from the database being moved to new hosting and – fingers crossed – this should be the last of the unexpected outages. 

There are also plans for further improvement of the new version of the database over the coming months.

New edition of Divided States reading list published

An updated edition of Divided States: Irish Independence and its Aftermath 1918-1923, a reading list produced by the Church of Ireland’s Historical Centenaries Working Group, has been published online. 

 It will be of interest to those family historians who are studying this era of the island's past, with its very different narratives and interpretations. 

Divided States firstly covers the wider context of Irish history. It goes on to explore a number of more specialised topics: nationalism and unionism, events in Ireland in the crucial decade of 1913-1923, local studies, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Civil War, Partition and the development of Northern Ireland, the Southern Protestant community, and the role of women in the revolutionary era, alongside a number of personal perspectives. 

The reading list was first published in April 2019. Both the first edition and this new edition, which includes an updated representative selection of the historical literature of the period, are available to read and download free of charge here.

Click the image to download the new edition.

Thursday 28 April 2022

Listen up! Paul Gorry MAGI launches the Irish GenPod series

Accredited Professional Genealogist Paul Gorry has launched a new podcast series in which he chats with individuals working within the Irish genealogy community. It's called the Irish GenPod series, and aims to discover more about the background, experience, views and character of some of the island's well-known and not-so-well-known family historians.

In the first episode, Paul interviewed Nichola Morris MAGI, one of Ireland's most hard-working genealogists. You may recognise her name from many of the best-known ancestor hunt TV shows produced on both sides of the Atlantic, or from presenting lectures and teaching classes, or from her column in Irish Roots magazine.

When she's not meeting the likes of Jeremy Irons and Judi Dench, she manages to run her own genealogy research company and is currently in her first of a three-year-term as President of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, the accrediting and representative body for professional genealogists across the island.

This week is was Dr Brendan Scott's turn to share the mike with Paul. Brendan is another hard-worker... it seems to be a required personality trait for those who successfully develop a full-time career in genealogy. He is an academic, historian and lecturer, the manager of RootsIreland.ie (the not-for-profit database of records gathered and transcribed by genealogists working in the Irish Family History Foundation's network of genealogy centres), a writer and editor of history books and local/family history journals – he is currently sharing the research and writing for the Irish Historical Towns Atlas of Cavan – and is Cavan County Council's historian-in-residence, coordinating and supporting the local Decade of Centenaries Programme.

Each of the interviews runs to around 35 minutes and, although the conversations are suitably relaxed, they are quite densely packed with detail. Among the mix of topics discussed, you'll hear some behind-the-scenes observations on the manners (or lack of them) of celebrities and receive advance notice of imminent record releases!

You'll find the Irish GenPod series on the SoundCloud platform, where it is hosted by Senior Times, the magazine produced by the organisers of the Back To Our Past show. Here's the link: soundcloud.com/user-682413562-561358898

Wednesday 27 April 2022

The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives: exhibition starts tour

After a hugely successful three-month stint at Dublin Castle where the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 went on public display for the first time, The Treaty 1921: Records from the Archives exhbition is now on tour. This week, it has arrived in Wicklow, where it is will remain until 17 May.

Using the Anglo-Irish Treaty as a centrepiece, the National Archives has created an exhibition that marks its role as the official repository of the records of the State, one hundred years since its formation. It opens up significant historical records, official documents and private papers for the first time, including the first public presentation of both the Irish and British copes of the Treaty document.

The Wicklow stop of the tour will additionally include the papers of Wicklow's Robert Childers Barton, who was one of the plenipotentiaries of the treaty, local records from the Wicklow County Archives collection and some items loaned from the Military Archives collection. You'll find more details here.

The exhibition is free to visit at the county's newly-opened Library & Archive venue in The Mall during the following hours:

  • Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat: 10am – 5pm
  • Tues, Thurs: 10am – 8.30pm

A series of three in-person public talks will also be presented while the exhibition is in Wicklow. These will held at the Council Buildings (Whitegates, Wicklow Town). While they are free to attend, it is essential to book via Eventbrite in advance. The talks are:

Wednesday 27 April: The Anglo-Irish Treaty, with Dr Cormac Moore. 7pm to 8:30pm. Fully booked.

Wednesday 4 May: Robert Barton and the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, with historian and genealogist Sean Murphy. 7pm to 8:30pm. Book here.

Wednesday 11 May: Wicklow: The War of Independence & Civil War - Military Archives Sources, with Lisa Dolan, Archivist at the Military Archives. 7pm to 8:30pm. Book here.

Other stops for the tour are:

  • Tuesday 3 May: Venue:The Source, Cathedral Rd, Thurles, Co. Tipperary to 31 May.
  • Thursday 5 May: Venue: Donegal County Museum, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal to 31 May.
  • Monday 23 May: Venue: County Hall, Wexford Town, to 10 June.
  • Thursday 9 June: Venue: St. Peter’s Church, North Main St, Cork City to 5 July.
  • Thursday 9 June: Limerick CC Council, Merchants Quay, Limerick City to 30 June.

If you are unable to visit the exhibition as it tours the country, you can enjoy a virtual tour, here.

Tuesday 26 April 2022

England, Scotland & Wales genealogy updates: 10-day summary

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases over the last 10 days (for previous summary, see 14 April blogpost).

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 FindMyPast (total 50,535,917 pages)
  • New titles in main collection ($£€)


UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Family Search

FindMyPast


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 25 April 2022

RootsIreland.ie adds 4,500 census substitutes for East Galway

New census substitute records have been added to RootsIreland.ie's East Galway database. There are more than 4,500 of them, split between two collections, as follows:
  • Galway Emigrant Index, 1829-1866 (2,746 records)
    This list, compiled by Peter Madden of Newcastle, Australia documents the immigration of people from Galway to New South Wales and Queensland.
  • Reproductive Loan Index (1,778 records)
    The Irish Reproductive Loan Fund was a scheme set up in 1824 that allowed local associations and committees to provide small loans to the 'industrious poor'. The records typically run from 1836 to 1848 and are available for the following associations in County Galway: Ahascragh, Ballygar, Castle Hackett, Clifden, Kilconickny, Outerard and Galway Town.

You can find out more about the East Galway Family History Society, the group that manages the local genealogy centre and continues to transcribe and gather historical records for the database, by clicking the logo above.

If you have ancestors from the area, you'll also want to view the full menu of online sources available for East Galway.

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 25 April to 8 May

Monday 25 April: Family History Resources in Armagh Robinson Library, an online talk with Thirza Mulder. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. 7:30pm to 9pm. Free. All welcome. Non-members should contact the Branch Secretary at Lisburn@nifhs.org for zoom link.

Monday 25 April: The Treaty 1921, the National Archives of Ireland's exhibition is now on tour and will be at Wicklow Library & Archives, The Mall, Wicklow Town until 17 May. Free. In-person event. All welcome. Details.

Tuesday 26 April: The Belfast Blitz, an online lecture with Dr Brian Barton. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. 7:30pm to 9pm. Free. All welcome. Non-members can contact Branch Secretary at Belfast@nifhs.org to request zoom link.

Tuesday 26 April: Surveillance of and violence against women during the War of Independence; case studies from Co Clare, with Dr Mary McAuliffe. Host: The Kilrush and District Historical Society. An in-person and online event at 8pm. Venue: Teach Ceoil (Old CoI), Grace Street, Kilrush, County Clare: members free/non-members €5. Also on zoom. Details on Facebook.

Tuesday, 26 April: Emigration from the port of Londonderry, an online lecture with Brian Mitchell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway C&G Branch. 7:30pm–9pm. Free. Non-members can request zoom link from causeway [at] ifhs.org.

Thursday 28 April: Researching your Church of Ireland ancestors, with Sandra Doble MAGI. An online event. Host: National Archives of Ireland. 6pm. All welcome. Free. Need to register.

Thursday 28 April: The merchant, the Quakers and the enslaved boy: a story of slavery from C18th-Ulster, with Dr Jonathan Wright. An online event hosted by the Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. Free. All welcome. 7pm–8pm. Need to register. Details.

Thursday 28 April: ‘Ours must go in time’: the burning of Sir John Keane’s Cappoquin House, Co Waterford, with Glascott Symes. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 28 April: The Reading Room of the National Archives of Ireland will close early (at 4pm) today. Reopening to normal hours 10am 25th.

Thursday 28 April: Policing in Ireland in 1922, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Thursday 28 April:The Registry of Deeds, an online talk with Brian O'Hara. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. Free. 7:15pm–9pm. All welcome. Non-NIFHS members can email for zoom link to ballymena@nifhs.org

Monday 2 May: May Bank Holiday across the island. All repositories closed.

Tuesday 3 May: The Treaty 1921, the National Archives of Ireland's exhibition is on tour and will be at The Source Arts Centre, Cathedral Road, Thurles, County Tipperary until 31 May. Free. In-person event. All welcome. Details.

Tuesday 3 May: Five Top Tips for Analysing your DNA Results, an online refresher class with Anne Johnston. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. 7pm-8pm. Fee: £10. All welcome. Need to book.

Wednesday 4 May: Archives and Memory, North and South, an online discussion with Janet Hancock, Stephen Scarth and Tim Murtagh from PRONI and Nigel Johnston from NAI. Hosted by PRONI, NAI and Trinity Long Room Hub. 7pm–8:15pm. An online event. Free. All welcome. Details. Need to book.

Wednesday 4 May: Defending the Interests of Dublin's Poor: Sarah Cecilia Harrison and the 'greatest tragedy of modern times', an in-person event with Dr Mary Muldowney. Host: Dublin City Council. Venue: Central Library, Ilac Shopping Centre, Henry Street, Dublin 1. 1pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Wednesday 4 May: Documentary screening of Burren Girl, a Minnesota woman's quest to discover her County Clare ancestors, followed by discussion. An in-person event (Ireland premier) to be hosted at Hotel Doolin, Fitz Cross, Doolin, Co Clare. 8pm to 10pm. All welcome. Free. Donations to Burrenbeo Trust appreciated. Booking essential. View trailer.

Thursday 5 May: The ruined Irish country house: reality and perception, with Robert O'Byrne. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 5 May: The Treaty 1921, the National Archives of Ireland's exhibition is on tour and will be at Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal until 31 May. Free. In-person event. All welcome. Details.

Saturday 7 May: Discover and Publish your Irish Family History, an online presentation with Miles Davenport. Host: McClelland Irish Library, Phoenix, Arizona USA. 11am–1pm. All welcome. Members $15 / Non-Members: $20. Details and registration.

Friday 22 April 2022

Half price access to 1921 Census of England & Wales records

FindMyPast is offering half price access to the 1921 Census of England and Wales this weekend. This record set, released in January, is available exclusively online at FindMyPast.

The special offer can be taken up by anyone with a registered account, which you can quickly set up using just your name, email address and your chosen password.

There's no coupon/promo code. The discount will be automatically applied at checkout and applies only to 1921 Census record image and transcript purchases.

The offer will expire on Monday 25 April at 23:59pm BST (GMT+1).

To make a worthwhile saving and track down any ancestors among the 38 million people in England or Wales on 19 June 1921, click on your preferred flag below.


PRO Subscribers please note: your subscription already includes a 10% discount on 1921 census records; this will be increased to 50% for the duration of this offer.


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 21 April 2022

Irish Registry of Deeds Index Project: more updates and guides

The Irish Registry of Deeds Index Project is still going full steam ahead. At its mid-month update, the volunteer-led project, managed by Canberra-based Nick Reddan FIGRS, has 483,361 records in its index, drawn from 50,525 memorials of deeds. These are fully searchable and free of charge, to all researchers. Click the image below to explore the site.

In addition to the main database updates, more transcriptions from the Registry of Deeds' Grantors and Townland Indexes have recently been added. There's always space for more though!

The volunteer work is A LOT easier than it used to be, thanks to the free availability of images of the memorials and Grantors and Townland indexes at FamilySearch.org.

Volunteers no longer need to spend hours at the repository in Dublin... you can view the images from your own laptop as and when you've got a half-hour spare. There's no commitment or targets. And the reward is knowing that you're helping other Irish genealogists from around the world to discover more about their ancestors.

Nick has prepared a series of guides to help any new volunteer upload to the main database or accompanying indexes. He's added another this month, in fact.


Wednesday 20 April 2022

New / updated genealogy collections for USA: four-week summary

Below is a summary of US family history collections released or updated by the major genealogy databases in the last four weeks. (Previous summary list published 23 March – 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 or 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, and the revised total. I do not include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.


New Collections


Ancestry

MyHeritage
  • US 1950 Census: Alaska, American Samoa, Delaware, Guam, New Hampshire, Panama Canal Zone, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Wyoming, and four overseas islands of Canton, Johnston, Midway, and Wake. (3,539,297 indexed records)

Updated Collections


AmericanAncestors
  • Suffolk County, MA Probate File Papers: new additions include case numbers 35452-43717, years 1848-1861 (partial). (Total new papers: 198,000)
  • Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850: records from 13 towns in Berkshire and Hampden counties, 12 towns in Franklin County and 10 towns in western MA. Total additions: 218,4000 records and 449,800 names.
  • Massachusetts: (Image-Only) RC Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from 7 eastern MA parishes: St Mary, Foxborough | St Mary, Quincy | St Monica, South Boston | St Peter South Boston | St Vincent de Paul, South Boston | St John-St Hugh, Roxbury| and St Philip, Roxbury. 24 scanned volumes.
  • Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920
    St Agnes, Arlington | St Joseph, Everett | St Joseph, Lowell | St Joseph. Malden | St James, Medford | St Joseph, Medford | St Joseph, Needham |and St Mary, Quincy | St Louis de France, Lowell | St Rafael, Medford | Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Methuen | St George, Norwood | St Anne, Salem | St Anthony of Padua, Shirley | St Brigid/St Eulalia, South Boston | St Joseh, Woburn. (Total additions: 50,000 records and 100,000 names)

Ancestry

Family Search

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 19 April 2022

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 18 April - 2 May

Tuesday 19 April: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland closed.

Tuesday 19 April: Tough Times, Toffees and Textiles, with John Healy. An online AND in-person event hosted by Foxrock Local History Club. In-person venue: Foxrock Pastoral Centre Hall, Kill Lane, Dublin 18; all welcome, non-members €5. Online via zoom - non-members should email info@foxrocklocalhistory.ie for link - free to all. Starts 8pm.

Wednesday 20 April: Introduction to Research in the National Library, an online Lunchtime Talk with Maeve Casserly. Host: National Library of Ireland. Free. All welcome. 1:10pm. Need to book.

Wednesday 20 April: The Kings of Aileach and the Vikings, 800-1060 AD, an in-person AND online event with Dr Darren McGettigan. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: at Leighlinbridge Commmunity Centre, Co Carlow, but also on zoom (see details) and Facebook. Free. 8pm. All welcome. Details.

Thursday 21 April: Munster’s ‘Campaign of Fire’: Big House burnings in Counties Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, 1922–23, with Gemma Clark. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 21 April: Trapped on the Wrong Side of the Border, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Friday 22 April to Sunday 24 April: Back To Our Past, genealogical fair and lectures, as part of SeniorTimes Live. An in-person event. Venue: RDS Hall 1, Ballsbridge, Dublin D4. For Free Admission, register here.

Saturday 23 April and Sunday 24 April: Sleuthability: Irish Genealogy, History & DNA Conference, an online event. Starts 3pm, Saturday. Ends 5pm Sunday. Details and tickets.

Saturday 23 April: DNA for Beginners, a free online event marking DNA Day with Martin McDowell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. 11am-12noon BST. This talk is designed for people who have not yet taken a DNA test and want to know more. Details. To book, email Martin at Education.Zoom@nifhs.org with 'DNA' in the subject line.

Saturday 23 April: Early Christian Irish Missionaries, an in-person lecture with Dr Enzo Farinelli. Host: Fermanagh Genealogy Centre. Venue: Fermanagh House, Broadmeadow Place, Enniskillen BT74 7HR. Refreshments 1.30pm followed by the talk. All welcome. Talk free to members / £5 non-members.

Monday 25 April: Family History Resources in Armagh Robinson Library, an online talk with Thirza Mulder. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. 7:30pm to 9pm. Free. All welcome. Non-members should contact the Branch Secretary at Lisburn@nifhs.org for zoom link.

Tuesday 26 April: The Belfast Blitz, an online lecture with Dr Brian Barton. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. 7:30pm to 9pm. Free. All welcome. Non-members can contact Branch Secretary at Belfast@nifhs.org to request zoom link.

Tuesday 26 April: Surveillance of and violence against women during the War of Independence; case studies from Co Clare, with Dr Mary McAuliffe. Host: The Kilrush and District Historical Society. An in-person and online event at 8pm. Venue: Teach Ceoil (Old CoI), Grace Street, Kilrush, County Clare: members free/non-members €5; Also on zoom. Details on Facebook.

Tuesday, 26 April: Emigration from the port of Londonderry, an online lecture with Brian Mitchell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway C&G Branch. 7:30pm–9pm. Free. Non-members can request zoom link from causeway [at] ifhs.org.

Thursday 28 April: Researching your Church of Ireland ancestors, with Sandra Doble MAGI. An online event. Host: National Archives of Ireland. 6pm. All welcome. Free. Need to register.

Thursday 28 April: The merchant, the Quakers and the enslaved boy: a story of slavery from C18th-Ulster, with Dr Jonathan Wright. An online event hosted by the Ulster Society of Irish Historical Studies and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. Free. All welcome. 7pm–8pm. Need to register. Details.

Thursday 28 April: ‘Ours must go in time’: the burning of Sir John Keane’s Cappoquin House, Co Waterford, with Glascott Symes. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 28 April: Policing in Ireland in 1922, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Thursday 28 April:The Registry of Deeds, an online talk with Brian O'Hara. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. Free. 7:15pm–9pm. All welcome. Non-NIFHS members can email for zoom link to ballymena@nifhs.org

Thursday 14 April 2022

English, Scottish & Welsh genealogy updates: three-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 last three weeks (see previous summary, 25 March).

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


BritishNewspaperArchive, shared with FindMyPast (total 50,056,587 pages)
  • New titles in main collection ($£€)

MyHeritage

UPDATED COLLECTIONS


Ancestry

FamilySearch

FindMyPast

Free BMD

TheGenealogist

Tuesday 12 April 2022

Ninth historical Waterford title joins BritishNewspaperArchive

Another Irish historical newspaper has been added to the BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk (BNA) database, which is shared with some subscriptions on FindMyPast (FMP).

It's the Evening News (Waterford). More than 3,950 editions are already available to search and view, with the holding ultimately expected to span 1899 to 1914.

Researchers with ancestors from Waterford City and County are well served by the BNA (and FMP). Eight other titles that cover the area were already held in the database. They are, Waterford Chronicle, Waterford Mail, Waterford Mirror & Tramore Visitor, Waterford News, Waterford News Letter, Waterford Standard, Waterford Star, and the Munster Express. Including today's new title, Waterford now accounts for for more than 33,000 editions in the online BNA. They span 1824–1953.

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 IrishGenealogyNews online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Monday 11 April 2022

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 11 - 23 April

Monday 11 April: When Harry met Dotty – in search of the Fullers, an online talk with Dr Nick Barratt. Hosted by the Newtownabbey Branch of the NIFHS. 7pm to 8:30pm. Free. All welcome. For zoom link, download form and follow instructions.

Tuesday 12 April: The Ó Néill Lordship of Medieval Tír Eoghain & its supporting lineages, with Dr. Colm Donnelly. Other surnames explored inclue Donnelly, Devlin, Quinn, O'Hagan and the Mac Domhnaill gallóglaigh. Host: NIFHS, South Tyrone Branch. Online and free. 8pm. Email southtyrone@nifhs.org for zoom link.

Wednesday 13 April: A Blitz Spirit in Blitzed Belfast? An exploration into the response of the Belfast populace to the German bombing of Belfast in 1941, with Dr Tom Thorpe. An online event. Hosts: The Antrim and Down branch of the Western Front Association and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 14 April:A smouldering mass of charred stones’: The burning of country houses in Offaly, 1920-1923, with Ciarán Reilly. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 14 April: Lost Presbyterian Meeting Houses of Belfast, an online talk with Tom Hartley. Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 2pm to 3pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register at least one hour before the event to receive zoom look.

Thursday 14 April: Ireland's Other Civil War of 1922, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Thursday 14 April: The United Irishmen Rebellion in the North East & their Legacy Abroad, an online talk with Stephen McCracken. Host: NIFHS, Larne Branch. 7:30pm to 9pm BST. Non-members need to request the zoom link by 12Noon on Saturday 9 April, by emailing the Branch Secretary at Larne@nifhs.org.

Thursday 14 April: Titanic at 110: Learning, Unlearning & Relearning history, with Mark Chirnside. An online event to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking. Hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in partnership with the Belfast Titanic Society. Free. Noon to 1pm. All welcome, but need to register. Details.

Friday 15 April: Good Friday, not a public holiday, but banks, libraries, schools and some businesses typically close in ROI. NLI and NAI (reading rooms, exhibitions... the lot) closed until Tuesday 19th. PRONI open in Belfast.

Saturday 16 April: Book launch – Hugh de Lacy, by Noel French. An in-person event at StockHouse Restaurant, Finnegan's Way, Trim, Co Meath. All welcome. 2pm.

Saturday 16 April and Sunday 17 April: Most branch libraries closed. Some shops closed on the Sunday.

Monday 18 April: Easter Monday. Public holiday.

Tuesday 19 April: Public Office of Northern Ireland closed.

Tuesday 19 April: Tough Times, Toffees and Textiles, with John Healy. An online AND in-person event hosted by Foxrock Local History Club. In-person venue: Foxrock Pastoral Centre Hall, Kill Lane, Dublin 18; all welcome, non-members €5. Online via zoom - non-members should email info@foxrocklocalhistory.ie for link - free to all. Starts 8pm.

Wednesday 20 April: Introduction to Research in the National Library, an online Lunchtime Talk with Maeve Casserly. Host: National Library of Ireland. Free. All welcome. 1:10pm. Need to book.

Thursday 21 April: Munster’s ‘Campaign of Fire’: Big House burnings in Counties Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, 1922–23, with Gemma Clark. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 21 April: Trapped on the Wrong Side of the Border, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Saturday 23 April to Sunday 24 April: Sleuthability: Irish Genealogy, History & DNA Conference, an online event. Details, Programme and Ticket options

Saturday 23 April: DNA for Beginners, a free online event marking DNA Day with Martin McDowell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. 11am-12noon BST. This talk is designed for people who have not yet taken a DNA test and want to know more. Details. To book, email Martin at Education.Zoom@nifhs.org with 'DNA' in the subject line.


Friday 8 April 2022

Ireland's free LandedEstates database is back online

Now here's some good news to close out the week!

LandedEstates.ie, the database of landed estates and historic houses in Connacht and Munster, from c1700 to 1914, is back up and running.

I'm not sure when the button was pressed, but the site has returned in glorious technicolour. Maybe it's just my poor memory, but I have to say it is looking better than I recall.

The site was dramatically taken offline back in September last year when an attempted cyber attack was made on the University of Galway's computer system, where landedestates.ie is hosted.

It's been a long haul for the Tech Support team – I salute them! – and it is great to see the online home of this important resource fully accessible again.

Minutes of Dublin City Council's meetings, 1841-1881, released online

Newly digitised minutes of Dublin City Council's first forty years of existence have been released online. At present, this handwritten collection of manuscripts, in which each volume was loosely 'chronologically' indexed by topic and/or name, is available as an image-only format at the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI), here. They are free to view.

The handwritten volumes contain indexes of the topics and people
discussed at the meetings. Click image to search the collection.

However, the collection was the subject a crowdsourced transcription project last week; this was organised by Dublin City Library and Archive and will result in a more user-friendly index in due course.

Following local elections, DCC held its first meeting in November 1841, when Daniel O'Connell was elected as Lord Mayor of Dublin. The minutes cover a significant period in Irish history, and the minutes deal with many major civic developments that improved living and social conditions for all strata of society.

These included the 1868 opening of the Vartry Reservoir, which dramatically increased the quality and quantity of the City's water supply (and still provides it to this day) and, from 1875, DCC-managed social housing projects for the working classes.

Thursday 7 April 2022

Digitial Repository of Ireland uploads HD maps of Waterford City

Seven historical maps of Waterford City have been published in a new collection on the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI). They show the development of the city from a walled town to a bustling merchant city over a period of more than 300 years.

Image Credit: Nicholas Sinnott. (2022) Map of Waterford City 1830,
Courtesy Digital Repository of Ireland and Waterford City & County Council
Click image to explore the new collection on DRI.

They track not only the growth and development of this major Irish port city and its neighbourhoods, but the technical developments which were arriving in Ireland such as the railway, telegraph, and electricity.

The high-definition maps can be explored through the DRI's free IIIF viewer. "These maps contain marvellous detail about the City City," says Waterford City and County Archivist Joanne Rothwell. "As well as mapping City wards that were used for electoral and policing purposes, the location of graveyards, thatched cottages, forests and even boreens can be seen in these maps.

"Together they give us an impressive picture of how Waterford developed from the late-seventeenth to the early-twentieth century and what life was like for the inhabitants of the City."

These surveys and maps are part of the collection created by what was then Waterford Corporation. The Corporation commissioned surveyors, such as William Leahy, to map and survey the City and also the Corporation lands in the City and surrounding areas.

Wednesday 6 April 2022

CorkPastAndPresent.ie makes a welcome return with new design

It's good to see CorkPastAndPresent.ie functioning again, and with a new look and reorganised navigation.

The site, which is managed by the Local Studies department of Cork City Libraries, has been online for just over 12 years. When launched, it was one of the first such sites, and for several years it saw steady uploads of digitised items providing free information on the city's history, culture, places, people and events.

And then – I don't know what happened, or why – it simple stopped growing and began to look a little forlorn.

Well, the new site offers a modified collection of Local Studies material. There are five digital collections. They include Genealogy, Maps, Images, Street Directories and Texts (the latter include Crofton Croker Correspondence and Ye Mayoral Booke of Thomas Pembrock 1773).

These are limited for now, but they are free to browse and search, and the team say they will be uploading more items over the course of the year.

Tuesday 5 April 2022

National Archives UK opens military personnel collection WO 420

The first tranche of a previously closed military service record collection has been catalogued and made available for viewing at The National Archives (TNA), Kew, London. The collection (in W0 420) holds some 9.7million records. The remainder will be transferred from the British Ministry of Defence to TNA over a six-year period.

Capturing the service of almost 10m individuals, this record-set holds the military story of about 500,000 individuals with First World War service – a high proportion will have been Irishmen – but the vast majority of the records will relate to those who saw WW2 service when you would expect men from Northern Ireland to make up significant numbers.

Within this first release are 56,262 records relating to soldiers (but not officers) who served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers regiment from 1942 to immediately after and were discharged as 'over age' before their time expired.

   Click image to find out more and start searching

Today's first instalment consists of the 56,261 service records of soldiers (but not officers) who served in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) during the Second World War and immediately after, and who were discharged from the armed forces as 'over age' before their time expired.

Service records are a record of an individual’s time in the military. The information contained in the record typically consists of personal information and interactions between the individual and the part of the armed forces they served with such as record of service, disciplinary and conduct sheets, service postings and information captured when they first signed up. In addition, they may include discharge forms and a variety of supporting correspondence.

The closure period for the records in this vast collection has been set at 115 years from an individual's date of birth.

The documents can currently be viewed only in person at TNA and have to be ordered with a minimum of four days' notice. A Reader's Ticket is required. (TNA is presently undertaking a procurement exercise to appoint a digitisation partner.)

You can download TNA's free guide to this collection and how to access it here.

Monday 4 April 2022

Decade of Centenaries: RCB Library digitises 1922 memoir

April’s Archive of the Month from the RCB Library presents another of the repository's digitized sources as a further contribution to the Decade of Centenaries. This is the unpublished memoir of Emily Ussher, of Cappagh House, near Dungarvan in Co. Waterford, who described unfolding events from 1914 to 1924 inclusive, from the perspective of a landed Protestant family.

     Emily Ussher (née Jebb). Image courtesy of Henrietta,
      Lady Staples, via William Fraher, Waterford County Museum.
An accompanying introduction by local historian Pat McCarthy, author of a number of books on Waterford during the era, captures the value of this primary source (RCB Library Ms 70).

Emily Jubb was born in Ellesmere, Shropshire, England in 1872, and married Beverley Grant Ussher, an Inspector of Schools under the Board of Education. On Beverley’s retirement in 1914, the family moved to the Ussher family home, Cappagh House, when her journal begins.

The Usshers’ sympathy and support for Home Rule and the broader concerns of their nationalist friends and neighbours made them suspect to other landowners, while that very identity also made them suspect to nationalists and militant strikers.

This nuance makes the memoir of Emily Ussher all the more valuable, providing the historian with a unique insight into the trials and tribulations of a forgotten minority.

See the Archive of the Month for April - ‘The True Story of a Revolution’, the Unpublished Memoir of Emily Ussherhere.

Irish genealogy, history and heritage, 4 to 17 April

Monday 4 April: Women and the Great War in Ireland, with Dr Fionnuala Walsh. An online lecture hosted by Offaly History. All welcome. Free. 7:30pm via Zoom. Email info@offalyhistroy.com for link.

Monday 4 April: The Citizen Army is out today, with Lorcan Collins. An online talk. Host: Mondays at the Mess series hosted by Richmond Barracks, Dublin. 7pm to 8pm. All welcome. Free. Need to book.

Wednesday 6 April: Griffith’s Valuation and Other Irish Land and Property Records, an online workshop with Miles Davenport. Host: McClelland Irish Library, Phoenix, Arizona USA. 11am–1pm. A Level II / Intermediate workshop. All welcome. Members $15 / Non-Members: $20. Details and registration.

Wednesday 6 April: The Decade of Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, an online webinar with Chris Paton. 7.30pm. Free to members and non-members. After the live event, a recording will be available for one month. Need to register. Details.

Wednesday 6 April: Irish Diaspora webinar, an online event with Claire Bradley providing advice and tips for identifying your Irish ancestor's place of origin in Ireland. Host: CBGenealogy, Dublin. 8pm–9:30pm IST/BST. Fee: €10. Need to register in advance. Details.

Thursday 7 April:A barbarous mania of incendiarism’: house burnings in Co Louth, 1921-23, with Jean Young. Part of the online Burning the Big House series. Host: CSHIHE, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 7 April: Tracing your Irish Police ancestors, an online talk with Jim Herlihy. Host: NIFHS, Ballymena Branch. 7:15pm–9pm BST. Free. Non-members should email the branch Secretary at ballymena@nifhs.org for zoom link.

Thursday 7 April: The Civil War, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Thursday 7 April: Lost Presbyterian Meeting Houses of Belfast, an online lecture with Tom Hartley. Host: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 2-3pm. Free and all welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 7 April: Using Ancestry DNA, an online class with Martin McDowell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. 7pm to 8pm. All welcome. £10. Need to book by 5 April.

Monday 11 April: When Harry met Dotty – in search of the Fullers, an online talk with Dr Nick Barratt. Hosted by the Newtownabbey Branch of the NIFHS. 7pm to 8:30pm. Free. All welcome. For zoom link, download form and follow instructions.

Tusday 12 April: Family History Resources in Armagh Robinson Library, an online talk with Thirza Mulder, ARL Archivist. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. 7:30pm–9pm BST. Free. All welcome. For zoom link, contact Branch Secretary by email to Lisburn@nifhs.org.

Wednesday 13 April: A Blitz Spirit in Blitzed Belfast? An exploration into the response of the Belfast populace to the German bombing of Belfast in 1941, with Dr Tom Thorpe. An online event. Hosts: The Antrim and Down branch of the Western Front Association and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Thursday 14 April:A smouldering mass of charred stones’: The burning of country houses in Offaly, 1920-1923, with Ciarán Reilly. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 14 April: Ireland's Other Civil War of 1922, with Cormac Moore, Dublin City Council Historian-in-Residence for the North Central Area. Part of the 'Ireland in 1922' online history talks hosted by Raheny Library. 7pm. Free. Need to book here.

Thursday 14 April: The United Irishmen Rebellion in the North East & their Legacy Abroad, an online talk with Stephen McCracken. Host: NIFHS, Larne Branch. 7:30pm to 9pm BST. Non-members need to request the zoom link by 12Noon on Saturday 9 April, by emailing the Branch Secretary at Larne@nifhs.org.

Thursday 14 April: Titanic at 110: Learning, Unlearning & Relearning history, with Mark Chirnside. An online event to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking. Hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland partnership with the Belfast Titanic Society. Free. Noon to 1pm. All welcome, but need to register. Details.

Friday 15 April: Good Friday, not a public holiday, but banks, schools and some businesses may be closed in ROI.

Saturday 16 April: Book launch – Hugh de Lacy, by Noel French. An in-person event at StockHouse Restaurant, Finnegan's Way, Trim, Co Meath. All welcome. 2pm.

Saturday 16 April and Sunday 17 April: Most branch libraries closed. Some shops closed on the Sunday.


Friday 1 April 2022

RCB Library updates List of Parish Registers with recent additions

The RCB Library has again updated its colour-coded list of parish records in the care of its archive in Dublin. 

Among the new additions are significant updates from the following parishes: 

  • Aughrim – baptisms now run from 1814-1992, marriages from 1815-2014, and burials from 1822-1991

  • Adare – baptisms now run 1826-2001, marriages  1826-2007, and burials 1826-2001 

  • Kilmallock – baptisms now run 1882-2001, marriages 1846-1956, and burials 1883-1995 

  • Ahascragh -- baptisms now run 1787-1998, marriages 1795-2009, and burials 1787-1998.

The list of parish records provides details of some 1218 register collections. It records the parishes for which some or all of the registers have not survived, the registers (or transcripts of them) held by the RCBL and others, and points researchers to online sources, where available. The free List can be downloaded here.