Latest updates to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives

Daly family cross, St Mary's, Navan, Co Meath
Photo courtesy Kev Murray & IGPArchives

The files added to the volunteer-led Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP-web) in the first half of the month are dominated by photos and transcriptions of headstones, but if you've family connections to Co Louth, don't miss the Drogheda Rentals & Properties file contributed by Mary Heapy; it includes details of leases dating from the late 1600s to early 1800s.

CAVAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Brigids (R.C.), Killeshandra
Ballyconnell (CoI) Headstones (Updated)

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Deansgrange Cemetery, St. Mary's Section, Pt. 13

GALWAY Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Bohermore Cemetery, Galway

LEITRIM Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Gortletteragh Cemetery, Cloone
Drumeela (R.C.) Graveyard

LONGFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Clonbroney New Cemetery (Partial)

LOUTH Genealogy Archives - Land
Drogheda Rentals & Properties - 1835

MEATH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Mary's (Right Side), Navan (A-D)
St. Mary's (R.C.) Church, Navan

More lecture videos join PRONI's YouTube channel

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has updated its YouTube channel with more videos of talks and events it has presented. They include:

• History of County Armagh series – 4 talks
  
• East Belfast & The Great War – 1 lecture
  
• HMS Caroline – history and restoration – 2 talks
  
• Our maritime heritage – research, resources and restoration – a conference
  
• An Ghaeilge Inniu & Inné: The Irish language today & yesterday – 4 talks
  
• Year of Food and Drink series – 4 lectures

See the full list of linked topics on the PRONI's website.

More Sligo marriage transcriptions (to 1920s) online

The Co. Sligo Heritage and Genealogy Centre has uploaded more than 3,000 civil registration marriage records to the RootsIreland.ie database. The transcriptions have been made direct from the local custody marriage registers for the following districts:

Collooney: 1864–1923 (1040 records)
Geevagh: 1864–1928 (890 records)
Riverstown: 1864–1928 (1321 records)

Looking at the list of this Centre's online sources, I think these latest additions mean that transcriptions for ALL marriages registered in County Sligo from 1864 to the 1920s are now searchable on the RootsIreland database.

All FindMyPast's World collection for just $1/£1/€1/$1

Findmypast is offering new customers a chance to discover the rich and varied lives of their ancestors with a special deal: 30-days access to FindMyPast's entire World collection of records for just US$1 / £1 / €1 / AUS$1. This offer has now closed.

To take advantage of this discount, sign up for a monthly World package before 11:59pm on Monday 21 November using one of the flag links below.

After the initial 30-day period, your subscription will be automatically renewed at the standard price unless you un-tick the 'auto-renew my subscription box' in the My Account section of the site.

	FindMyPast Ireland – 30-day World access for €1 only, normally €14.95		FindMyPast USA/Canada – 30-day World access for US$1 only, normally $19.95
	FindMyPast UK – 30-day World access for £1 only, normally £12.95		FindMyPast Australia/NZ – 30-day World access for AUS$1 only, normally $19.95

Irish genealogy, history & heritage events, 14–27 Nov

Until 25 November: 150 years of the Presbyterian Children’s Society – an exhibition. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Open during normal PRONI hours. Free. Details.

Tuesday 15 November: Attempting to heal on the hinterlands of Hell: The Great War endeavours of four Tipperary nurses, with Alice McDermott. Tipperary People and Places Lecture series. Host: Tipperary Studies. Venue: The Gallery of the Source Library, Cathedral St, Thurles, Co Tipperary. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 15 November: The Records of the Erasmus Trust Archive, with Alan Phelan. Host: Irish Genealogical Research Society. Venue: Helen Roe Theatre, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 63 Merrion Square South, Dublin 2. 18:45pm. Free. All welcome. Details

Tuesday 15 November: Irish Medical Heritage, a seminar to launch the National Archives of Ireland's Survey of Hospital Records in Ireland. Host and venue: Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 6 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Free. 9am - 1pm. Details. 

Wednesday 16 November: Freemasonry in Carlow, with Arthur Keppel. Host: Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society. Venue: Masonic Hall, Athy Road, Carlow Town. 8pm. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 16 November: Steelboys, Oakboys and Bad Boys: the troubled County of Armagh, 1750 to 1800, with Dr Eoin Magennis. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free. All welcome, but need to book your place.

Wednesday 16 November: Making Sense of the Census, with Roddy Hegarty. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Armagh Branch. Venue: Bleary Community Centre, 1 Deans Road, Bleary, Craigavon, Co Armagh, BT66 8TD. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Thursday 17 November: The fortress prison - the archaeology of Victorial Spike Island, Cork, with Dr Barra O'Donnabhain. Host and Venue: National Museum of Ireland Archaeology. Ceramics Room, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm to 1:45pm. All welcome. Free but need to book by email to educationarch@museum.ie or telephone to (0)1 648 6334.

Thursday 17 November: 1916 Galway & the Battle of the Somme – Conference. Host: Galway County Council and Loughrea Memorial Group. Venue: Loughrea Hotel & Spa, Old Galway Road, St Laurencesfields, Loughrea, Co Galway. 9:30am to 5pm. Free. Includes refreshments and lunch. Booking essential. Details.

Thursday 17 November: Local Clocks & Clocktowers, with Ian Orr. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, North Down and Ards Branch. Venue: 1st Bangor Presbyterian Church Hall, Main Street, Bangor BT20 4AG. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Saturday 19 November: Intermediate Genealogy, with Toni McKeen. Host: Irish Family History Forum. Venue: Bethpage Library. Meeting starts 10am. 47 Powell Ave., Bethpage, New York, USA. Details.

Monday 21 November: Genealogy information sessions, with Margaret Bonar and Elizabeth Craven. Morning and afternoon sessions. Morning venue: Raheny Library, Howth Rd, Dublin 5 from 10:30am to 11:45am. Afternoon venue: Donaghmede library, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Dublin 13 from 2:30pm to 4pm. Free. Bookings to 087 6491605 or impossibleancestors@gmail.com.

Monday 21 November: Church Records, with Gillian Hunt of the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. Venue: Larne Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club, 112-120 Glenarm Road, Larne, BT40 1DZ. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Monday 21 November: Using the National Library, a research workshop with Dr Emma Edwards. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 2pm. Free admission. Booking required: learning@nli.ie or 01 6030 278. Details.

Tuesday 22 November: Quaker Records, with Noel Jenkins. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. Venue: C.S. Lewis Room, Holywood Arches Library, Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NT. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 22 November: Report on the newly-released Survey of Hospital Archives, with Brian Donnelly. Host and venue: National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. 6pm. All welcome. No booking required.

Thursday 23 November: Book launch: Edenderry 1916 and the revolutionary era, by Ciarán Reilly. Host and venue: Edenderry Public Library, JKL St, Edenderry, Co Offaly. 7:30pm.

Thursday 24 November: Merchant sailors from Glenaan to Glenarm lost in the 1st World War, with Ian Bradley. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. Venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, BT43 5EJ. 7:15pm. All welcome.

Saturday 26 November: Battle of the Somme Seminar, part of the Explore Your Archives Campaign 2016. Host and venue: Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. 2pm–4pm in the conference room. Full programme available from cityarchives@dublincity.ie. Free. All welcome.

Fold 3's British Commonwealth Military Collection free

Until Sunday 13th November, 23:59hrs GMT

Fold 3, the dedicated Military Records database owned by Ancestry, is opening up a British Commonwealth Military Collection to free access this weekend.

Free access will be available until 23:59hrs GMT on Sunday 13 November. You need to register for an account if you don't already have one, but only your email address and a password are required from you. No financial details are requested.

The records include British and Australian records sets, including WW1 War Diaries, the surviving WW1 Service Records, Medal Rolls and Army Lists.

Also up for free viewing are the trio of pensioner collections released earlier this week (see blogpost for more details): Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admission & Discharge Records, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, and the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (Dublin) Pensioner Records.

FindMyPast: free access to World Military Collection

Whatever you may call it in your neck of the woods – Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Veterans Day – this weekend of November concentrates our minds on the soldiers in our living and ancestral families.

Cue a four-day free access promotion from FindMyPast.

From 9am today until 23:59hrs GMT on Sunday 13 November, you can explore FindMyPast's entire Military, Armed Forces & Conflict collection free of charge. Within this collection are more than 70million military records covering some of modern history's most significant conflicts.

You'll need a registered account. If you don't already have one, they're easy and free to set up and you don't need to provide financial details. All that's required is your name, email, country of residence and a password. You're then ready to go.

To start your weekend's free research, select one of the flags below (all give you access to the World Collection).

	FindMyPast Ireland – Free Access to World Military Records*		FindMyPast USA/Canada – Free Access to Military Records
	FindMyPast UK – Free Access to Military Records**		FindMyPast Australia/NZ – Free Access to Military Records

*  Click here for Ireland (only) Military Records
** Click here for British (only) Military Records

Book launch: The Country House and the Great War

From the Four Courts Press website at
a discounted price of €24.95.

Newly published by Four Courts Press is The Country House and the Great War – Irish and British experiences.

As you can see from the Contents list, the 208-page paperback presents a spectrum of experience, from owners, to servants and tenants, as well as the local communities that lived in the shadows of the country houses.

These personal narratives identify lost or forgotten figures, uncover unknown stories and military records and excavate the more hidden histories of those who endured the war at home. They are a powerful reminder of the experiences common to many during the 1914–18 period, as well as a record of how individual lives were shaped by personalities and unique circumstances.

The book is illustrated with previously unpublished images and has been edited by Terence Dooley, director of the Centre for Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University, and Christopher Ridgway, curator at Castle Howard in Yorkshire.

(ISBN: 978-1-84682-617-7)

Surnames and Clans of Ireland: 2017 programme

A Clans and Surnames of Ireland genealogy event and conference is to be held next year, 15–19 May, in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

The three-and-a-half-day programme features personal research assessements for delegates, lectures, fieldtrips and consultations, followed by a further full-day Clans and Surnames Conference.

It will be held at Great National Abbeycourt Hotel and an Early Bird booking discount will be available until the end of December.

You'll find the full programme, details of speakers, rates (with or without B&B accommodation) and contact details on the Clans and Surnames of Ireland website.

Ancestry releases Kilmainham and Chelsea pension indexes

Ancestry has released a trio of indexes to military pension collections. One relates to Dublin's Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the others to London's Royal Hospital in Chelsea. In each case, the records on Ancestry are indexes to records transcribed from original documents; images of the documents are held on Fold3, so if you want to see them, you'll need an Ancestry All Access subscription*.

Royal Hospital Kilmainham Pensioner Discharge Documents, 1724-1924:
This collection of nearly 105,000 records is made up of certificates of pensioners of the Royal Kilmainham Hospital in Dublin. The Hospital dates back to 1680 and when built housed just 20 retired soldiers. It continued to be a veterans' home for more than two and a half centuries.

For each record, details provided generally include name, age, calculated year of birth, rank, regiment, date and place of admission to pension and/or date of discharge. In some cases a place of birth is provided. Here are a few of examples of entries I found in my travels through this collection:

– Martin Tobin, a private with the 62nd Foot Regiment – Pension Admission on 30 August 1858, aged 41, in Dublin.

– Owen Tierney, born Dungannon, Co Tyrone, a private with the 3rd Regiment of Royal Veterans – Discharged on 1 June 1821, aged 38, in Dublin.

– Thomas Lonergan, born Mollough, Co Tipperary, a dragoon with the 7th or Princess Royal's Regiment of Dragoons Guards – discharged on 10 June 1792 in Dublin, aged 44.

UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925:
This collection of some 920,000 records is made up of registers of the award of 'out-pensions' of the Royal Hospital Chelsea to soldiers discharged from the Regular Army or the Militia on account of disability. Some British Army pensioners chose to surrender their pension in order to take up residence at the Royal Hospital. Those who preferred to receive their pension allowance and live elsewhere were called 'out pensioners'.

Inevitably, there are a lot of Irishmen in this collection. Those noting birthplaces in Ireland number about 40,000, but I'm sure there are many more. Here are a few representative entries of Irishmen going through the pension process in the 18th and early-19th centuries:

– Jas Doyle, born about 1722 in Charleville, County Cork, a Sargeant with the 47th Regiment of Foot – Examination or Pension Admission Date, 4 December 1759.

– Henry Sullivan, born about 1750 in Drogheda, Co Louth, a private with the 26th Regiment of Foot – Discharged 7 June 1811.

– Dominick Gallagher, born about 1736 in Sligo, served in Major Bowen's Company – Examination or Pension Admission Date, 1 February 1802.

UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, 1760-1920
This collection comprises service documents of soldiers (but not officers) who either became in- or out-pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. By 1815, there were more than 36,000 out-pensioners. Documents after 1883 usually contain fuller particulars, such as next of kin and details of marriage and children. The attestation and discharge documents constitute the most detailed record of a soldier's service. These records usually give particulars of age, birthplace, service (including any decorations), information about physical description, previous occupation on enlistment and the reason given for discharge to pension. After 1883, most soldiers will appear in these records if they survived their service. In total, more than one million records are in this collection; the number of Irish-born soldiers is 46,578.

Here's an example of a search result (I've yet to unravel it):

Geremiah Santry
Age: 23
Birth Date: abt 1843
Birth Place: Tremalagne, Cork
Service Start Year: 1866
Regiment: 62 Regiment Of Foot

Obviously the name should be Jeremiah, but I've no idea where Tremalagne is (google just suggested 'travel agent cork'!!). Could be Timoleague, I suppose. That would make sense.


*Hmmm. I don't think much of that. Seems the 'Explore comprehensive military, immigration & Irish records' promised by my Premium subscription is rather less comprehensive and rather more selective.

UPDATE, 11 November: Fold 3 is offering free access to these three new collections (and more) until 13 November. See blogpost.