Monday 8 May 2023

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 8 - 21 May 2023

Until 24 July: Ulster-Scots and the Declaration of Independence, an in-person exhibition, launched on 21 April and hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Free. All welcome. No need to book. Visit during PRONI's normal opening hours.

Monday 8 May Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland only; most repositories will be closed.

Monday 8 May: Protestant and Irish – The minority’s search for place in independent Ireland, a talk with Dr Ida Milne and Dr Ian d'Alton. Host: Celbridge Historical Society. Venue: Community Library, St Patrick's Park, Celbridge, County Kildare. An in-person event. 7.45-8.45pm. Free. All welcome. Details.

Monday 8 May Ireland's Sarajevo: How the assasination of Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson MP changed the course of Irish history, with Ronan McGreevy. A hybrid event hosted by Offaly History Society. 8pm. In-person venue: Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co Offaly. For online link, email info @ offaly history .com. All welcome. Charge on the night €2 members / €5 non-members.

Monday 8 May to Tuesday 9 May: 21st Annual Historic Irish Houses Conference. In-person event hosted by the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates. Venue: Maynooth University, Co Kildare. This year's theme is 'Picturing the Country House'. In-person prices start at €30.00. Online option, with recordings available for one month, €50. Details and programme.

Tuesday 9 May: Launch of the Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies, a free online showcase event. Tahitia McCabe, the Head of the new Institute, will be joined by Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde and guest speaker Professor Turi King. 5:30pm–7pm. Details.

Tuesday 9 May: A History of Housing in Dublin – Tenement Beginnings. The first in a series of four talks with historian Donal Fallon exploring the social and architectural hsitory of housing in the capital. Hosted by Culture Connects at Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 6:30pm. Tickets free but booking essential. Sold Out.

Tuesday 9 May: The Londonderry Militia (1793-1816), with Al Bodkin. Hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Lisburn Branch. This talk follows the branch's AGM. In-person venue: Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway St, Lisburn, County Down. Free. All welcome. 7:30pm–9pm. Details.

Tuesday 9 May: Do-it-Yourself Heraldry – The design, assumption and registration of armorial bearings, with Martin Goldstraw. An online event hosted by the Genealogical Society of Ireland (GSI). All welcome. Free. Request access from Membership @Familyhistory .ie. 8pm. Talks will be posted on YouTube asap after the event.

Wednesday 10 May: Sport in Victorian Tipperary, an in-person event with Dr Pat Bracken, author of Sport in County Tipperary, 1840-1880. Venue: Roscrea Library, Birr Road, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. 8pm. Free. All welcome. No booking required. Refreshments provided.

Wednesday 10 May: The Irish Women Workers’ Union 1911-1984, a TeaTime Talk with Dr James Curry. An in-person event hosted by Dublin Historians/Dublin City Council at 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1. 6:00pm. Tickets €5 / €3 concession. Details and booking here.

Thursday 11 May: William Goff Beale of 57 Grand Parade, first of a series of lectures commemorating 130 years of Cork City Libraries. Hosts: Cork City Libraries Service. In-person venue: City Library, 61 Grand Parade, Cork City. Free.

Saturday 13 May: National Library of Ireland's Reading Rooms and Readers Ticket Office open to in-person visitors from 9:30 to 1pm. Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Saturday 13 May: Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, an online event with Chris Paton. Hosted by the Society of Genealogists. 2pm-3pm. £10 non-members / £6.50 for SoG members. Booking.

Saturday 13 May: IGRS Ireland Branch Open Day, an in-person and free event from 10am to 4pm. Hosted by the Irish Genealogical Research Society. Venue: Dublin City Library and Archive, 139-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Lunch, at own expense, from 12pm to 1pm. All welcome. No booking required. Details. Four talks will be presented, as follows:

  • Codebreaker: The untold Story of Richard Hayes, with Marc McMeniman
  • Troubled Waters: Wales, Ireland and the Irish Sea in the long C18th, with Dr. Mary-Ann Constantine
  • The Youghal Witch Trial, with Rosaleen Underwood, MAGI
  • Killester Garden Village and the Irish WW1 ex-servicemen and families who lived there, with Áron Crampton.

Monday 15 May: Update on the Ballycarry & Islandmagee DNA Projects, with Martin McDowell & Anne Johnston. Follows branch AGM. Hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. 7:15pm–8:45pm. Free and all welcome. See details for in-person venue and online link.

Monday 15 May: Hope & History, with Paul McFadden. A hybrid event hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. 7pm. In-person venue: Lecture Room, Derry’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Derry, BT48 6AL. All welcome. To attend online, see details.

Tuesday 16 May: A History of Housing in Dublin – The First Suburbias: Townships and Victorian Dublin. An in-person event. The second in a series with historian Donal Fallon exploring the social and architectural hsitory of housing in the capital. Hosted by Culture Connects at Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 6:30pm. Tickets free but booking essential.

Tuesday 16 May: How to start researching your family tree with Fingal Libraries' resources, an in-person talk with Claire Bradley. Venue: Swords Library, Rathbeale Rd, Commons West, Swords, Co Dublin. 6:30pm TO 7:30pm. Free. Need to book: T: 8905582, E swordslibrary @fingal.ie.

Wednesday 17 May: Window on the Irish soul – a century of Irish stamps, with Stephen Ferguson. An in-person event in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson St, Dublin 2. 1pm to 2pm. Free. All welcome. Book to reserve your seat. Admission at the door subject to availability.

Wednesday 17 May: Researching your WW1 Ancestors, with Alan Rosborough. Talk follows AGM. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. A hybrid meeting. In-person at Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre, 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, Co Antrim. 7:15pm to 8:15pm. For online link, see details. All welcome.

Thursday 18 May: From Workhouse to White House: causes and consequences of the Great Hunger, an online lecture to mark the National Famine Commemoration 2023, with Professor Christine Kinealy. Host: National Library of Ireland. Free. 7.00pm - 8.00pm. Need to book.

Thursday 18 May: Negotiating Grief in the Archives: Gender, Loss and the Irish Free State, with Lindsey Earner-Byrne. An in-person event hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9HQ. 6pm to 7pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May: 7th Annual Irish Military Seminar, an in-person event at Riverbank Arts Centre, Main St, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. A series of free talks (and a book launch) over two days. All welcome. All events are free but booking is essential. Hosts: County Council and the County Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee. Full event details and booking here

Saturday 20 May: How to start researching your family tree with Fingal Libraries' resources, an in-person talk with Claire Bradley. Venue: Balbriggan Library, George's Square, Balbriggan, Co Dublin. 11:30pm TO 12:30pm. Free. Need to book: T: 8704401, E balbriggan library @fingal .ie.

Saturday 20 May: Cork Local History Symposium, in honour of Ronnie Herlihy. Venue: O'Rahilly Building, University College Cork. 9:30am to 4:30pm. Nine presentations/discussions. Lunch and refreshments provided. Free. All welcome. No need to book. Programme.

Sunday 21 May: National Famine Commemoration will take place at the site of the Workhouse in Milford, Co. Donegal.