Spring edition of Irish Roots Magazine published

The Spring edition of Irish Roots, Ireland’s only independent genealogy magazine, is now on sale. You can choose between paper and digital formats.

In this issue, you’ll find articles on Ireland’s historical education system and National School records; an overview of how to research your County Meath ancestors; an introduction to New York’s Watson House and its records of female Irish immigrants; and a look at the UK Parliamentary Papers as a source for Irish research. In this quarter's column on Australian connections, you can learn about Irish medical men on convict ships.

There are also features about how your DNA may help save the lives of future generations, and how joining a family history society could benefit your research, plus news of recent developments at the National Archives of Ireland;

You'll also find observations about going-ons in the world of Irish family history; letters to the editor; answers to readers’ genealogical queries; a round-up of all recently released records; news from history and genealogy societies, and details of newly launched books.

Click the cover picture to find out more, subscribe, buy a copy or download a free sample.

Church of Ireland's architectural drawings database expands

The RCBLibrary's 'Archive of the Month' for March explores the Church of Ireland's newly online 'Pain and Welland albums' collection of 1,500 architectural drawings of 591 church buildings.

South-west elevation of Innishannon parish church
(Cork), mid-19th century, by Joseph Welland,
RCB Library Ms 139/4.1

The recent upload of the 10 albums in this collection is the latest significant landmark in a huge digitisation and cataloguing project that started in 2011.

Many thousand drawings were already held in the Church's Architectural Drawings database, and the latest tranche of uploads means there are now a total of 8,615 digital drawings available to search and view free of charge. They include churches, glebe houses and rectories.

Architectural historian Dr Michael O'Neill has been carrying out the project for the past eight years and also put together the specific online exhibition An Even Wider Window to an Ecclesiastical World (the March archive), which can be viewed here.

MyHeritage DNA testing kits: End of Winter Sale

MyHeritage is running an End of Winter DNA promotion. The discount reduces the price of the company's autosomal DNA testing kits to £69 or US$69.

There's an additional saving to be made if you order two or more kits: free shipping, which is worth about £10 or equivalent.

Other offers may be available in alternative currencies... to find out, click on the promo image, right, and you should be directed to your local MyHeritage site.

The promotion will run until Monday 11 March.

The content above 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.

Military Service Pensions Collection symposium: free podcasts

Having released the IRA Brigade Activity Reports at a dedicated Symposium last week, the Military Archives team has uploaded podcasts of the presentations to SoundCloud, where they are available to access free of charge.

1. To listen to the four lectures delivered in the morning session(see below), go to Soundcloud here.

• The Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection and the new histories of the Irish Revolution, with Dr Anne Dolan

• Active Service in the "6-counties", with Barry John McCann

• The MSPC as source for researching women's history in the WOI and the Civil War, with Dr Leeann Lane

• The MSPC as a source for biography and memory, with Professor Fearghal MacGarry

2. To listen to the afternoon session – lecture, extracts and discussion (listed below) – go to Soundcloud here.

• The 'War Zone'- Reflections -Brigade Activity Reports form Cork and Munster, with Dr Donal O Drisceoil

• The Keepers of the Flame (three extracts from the film, audio only)

• Discussion and Q&A, with Dr Catriona Crowe (moderator), Dr Anne Dolan, Nuala O’Connor, Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, Cécile Gordon and Professor Eunan O’Halpin

Registration for RootsTech London 2019 is now open

Registration for RootsTech London is now open. The event, which is organised by FamilySearch International, will take place 24-26 October at the ExCeL convention centre in London's Docklands.

RootsTech London will offer more than 150 classes/lectures presented by industry experts, an exhibition hall where some 100 exhibitors from around the world will showcase family history technology and products, and a number of keynote speakers.

Nick Barratt, popular author, broadcaster, and historian best known for his work on the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? series, will be one of the featured speakers at the event.

The full conference schedule, as well as celebrity keynote speakers, will be announced in coming weeks.

In the meantime, pricing details have been announced, with pre-early bird offers available at £89 for a three-day ticket, and £49 for a single day ticket. I have no idea what a pre-early bird offer is, but it seems to be a discount that will expire in just two days time, according to the website. These pre-early prices are discounted from £149 and £89 respectively. Whether these higher prices are the non-pre-early prices or the regular prices, I can't tell you. Either way, full access to the general sessions, exhibition hall, and lectures is included in the ticket price.

See the RootsTech London website for more information and to register.

AmericanAncestors: latest Boston RC registers updates

In the last two weeks of February, the New England Historic Genealogical Society has updated its Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston registers, 1789-1900 collections on AmericanAncestors.org. While the Society continues to digitise this vast collection, two online databases are accessible on the site. The first contains the fully digitised and searchable records. The second holds images of parish registers prior to indexing.

Indexed database
Eight volumes from the parish of St Charles Borromeo in Woburn have been fully imaged, indexed and made available to search since mid-February. They include baptisms and marriages from 1857 to 1900, and one register of confirmations dating 1898-1899 only. Collectively, these registers have added 21,261 records and more than 282,907 names to the database.

This database is available to Individual-level and above NEHGS members only.

Unindexed Image-only database
The latest upload added images from 46 volumes from elevent parishes, as noted below. You don't need a subscription to view these unindexed images, only a Guest Account. To find out how to navigate the unindexed collection to find the records you want, watch this short how-to video.

• Boston Harbor Islands Baptisms, 1877-1900
• Immaculate Conception (Lowell) Baptisms and Marriages, 1868-1900
• St. Lawrence (Brookline) Baptisms & Marriages, 1898-1900
• St. Mary (Dedham) Baptisms and Marriages, 1866-1900
• St. Catherine of Genoa (Somerville) Baptisms and Marriages, 1892-1900
• St. Catherine of Siena (Norwood) Baptisms, Confirmations & Marriages 1890-1900
• Our Lady of Pity (Cambridge) Baptisms and Marriages, 1892-1900. Confirmations, 1897-1900
• Sacred Heart (Watertown) Baptisms and Marriages, 1896-1900. Confirmations, 1898-1900
• St Mary (Lowell) Marriages 1847-1861
• St. Bernard (Concord) Baptisms and Marriages, 1868-1900
• St. John the Evangelist (Hopkinton) Baptisms and Marriages, 1851-1900. Confirmations, 1867-1882; First Communions and Confirmations, 1885-1900

FindMyPast wins 1921 Census (England+Wales) project

The census will be published online in January 2022

Findmypast has been awarded the contract to digitise and publish online the 1921 Census of England and Wales.

This census was taken on 19 June 1921, and comprises more than 28,000 bound volumes of original household returns containing detailed information on close to 38 million individuals. It provides greater detail than any previous census as, in addition to the questions asked in 1911, the 1921 returns also asked householders to reveal their place of employment, the industry they worked in and the materials they worked with, as well as their employer’s name.

People aged 15 and older were required to provide information about their marital status, including if divorced, while for those under 15 the census recorded whether both parents were alive or if either or both had died.

The 1921 Census also included detailed questions on education, and was the first in which individual householders could submit separate confidential returns.

The contract, awarded by The National Archives in association with the Office for National Statistics, will see Findmypast capture digital images and transcribe the records in a way that will enable family historians to conduct meaningful searches of these important records when they are opened for the very first time.

The 1921 census will be published online by Findmypast in January 2022.

You'll find more information about the project here.

Irish records for mid-March delivery from Ancestry

The major databases usually deliver some Irish family history goodies to coincide loosely with St Patrick's Day (17 March), but we don't typically receive prior notice of what will be in the packages. This year, however, Ancestry has provided some advance teasers of the contents of its 'early' and 'mid-March' arrivals.

It will deliver two significant and welcome updates to existing record-sets, and one brand-new addition to the Irish collection. I've set out the basic details below, and will, of course, report when the new records are live for searching.

Sample from Gillman's Index to Marriage
Licence Bonds - Cork and Ross.
Click/tap image for full size sample page.

Belfast Newsletter BMD notices
Currently, this collection holds some 385,000 records of birth, marriage and death notices published in the Newsletter from 1828 to 1877. In early-March it will be nearly doubled in size with the upload of a further 340,189 BMD notices for the years 1878–1907. This indexing was carried out by volunteers as an Ancestry World Archives Project.

Irish City & Regional Directories, 1847-1946
Ancestry's existing collection of 6,205,675 records holds nearly all of Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directories published between 1847 and 1946. Exactly what is lined up for the March upload, I haven't been told, other than it will provide some 2million additional records and will arrive mid-March.

Cork Marriages Licence Bonds, 1623–1750
In view of the dates quoted by Ancestry, I'm assuming the source material for this collection is Herbert Webb Gillman's Index to Marriage Licence Bonds of the Diocese of Cork and Ross, which was published in 1896-97. If that's the case, I think this will be the first online searchable database of the Index. It will deliver 11,926 records in mid-March, each providing the full names of both bride and groom and the year the licence was granted. See the image, right.

A Marriage Licence Bond was entered into for a stated sum prior to the granting of a Marriage Licence. It was entered into in front of a Church of Ireland bishop. The intention was to ensure than the marriage was legally sound. While most of the marriages were between Protestants, Gillman notes in his preface that some Catholics also entered into these bonds. Unfortunately, the religion(s) of the two parties was not recorded on the bonds themselves.

Irish genealogy and history events, 25 Feb - 10 March

Monday 25 February: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, will operate as normal.

Tuesday 26 February: Researching First World War relatives, with Alan Rosborough. Host: NIFHS, Belfast Branch. Venue: C S Lewis Room, Holywood Arches Library, 4-12 Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NT. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 26 February: Tales from the Annals: Clare Surnames and Y-DNA, with Paddy Waldron. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8pm. Free to members. €5 for non-members, payable on the door. All welcome.

Tuesday 26 February: Irish family history, with Lisa Dougherty. Host and venue: Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany, New York 12207, USA. Free. 6:30pm–7:30pm. No need to register. (Rescheduled from 12 Feb.)

Tuesday 26 February: Branch workshop. Host: NIFHS, Causeway Branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine BT52 1HF. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine BT52 1HF. 8pm. All welcome. Free.

Wednesday 27 February: RCB Library closed to the public in the morning. Reopening at 2pm. RCBLibrary, Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14.

Thursday 28 February: Introduction to PRONI Online. Host: NIFHS, Ballymena Branch. Venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre, 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, BT43 5EJ. 7:15pm. Free. All welcome.

Thursday 28 February: Online family and local history resources, a workshop. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. This two-hour workshop includes an orientation tour of PRONI and an introduction to searching online resources. 6pm. Free. Need to book.

Thursday 28 February: Book launch: A Long Week In March: The 36th (Ulster) Division in the German Spring Offensive, March 1918, by Michael James Nugent. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 7pm. Free, but need to reserve your place.

Friday 1 March: Access restrictions at the RCB Library. No access to the Archives and Manuscripts Collections on Fridays (on-going). Access to Printed collection not affected. RCB Library, Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14.

Saturday 2 March: Genealogy Pot Luck, a day of Irish family history and DNA talks and discussion. Hosts: Irish/British Genealogy Meet Up Group and New York Irish Center. Venue: New York Irish Center, 1040 Jackson Avenue, Queens, New York, USA. 10am to 4pm. Cost: from $39, includes lunch and tea/coffee. Tickets.

Monday 4 March: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed all day to facilitate the Library's continuing redevelopment of the premises. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service, will operate as normal.

Monday 4 March: The people would take tents, with Ronnie Kilgore. Host: NIFHS, Foyle Branch. Venue: Lecture Room, Derry City’s Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Londonderry, BT48 6AL. 7pm. All welcome. Free.

Monday 4 March: The Weaver Poets, with Laura Spence. Host: NIFHS, Killyleagh Branch. Venue: Killyleagh Masonic Hall, 50 High Street, Killyleagh, Downpatrick BT30 9QF. Free. 8pm. All welcome.

Monday 4 March: The heart of Inchicore: The Railway Works, with Mary Muldowney. Mondays at the Mess talks series. Host and venue: Richmond Barracks, Off Bulfin Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8. Free. 11am. Reserve your place at EventBrite.

Monday 4 March: The early medieval sculptural heritage of Northern Ireland, with Megan Henvey. Host: Royal Society of Antiquities of Ireland, Venue: Helen Roe Theatre, Society House, 63 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 5 March to Saturday 16 March: Galway History Festival. Numerous events, most of them free. Hosts: NUI Galway, Galway CC, Creative Ireland. Various venues in Galway City. Download programme

Wednesday 6 March: Towards a further understanding of the violence experienced by women in the Irish Revolution, with Professor Linda Connolly. Part of the Social History and the Irish Revolution public lecture series. Hosts: Glasnevin Museum and Trinity College Dublin's School of History & Humanities. Venue: Milestone Gallery, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11. 7pm to 8:30pm. Tickets should be booked in advance. €6.

Wednesday 6 March: Saving Lives at Sea: The story of Ulster's Lifeboats, with Robert Corbert. Part of PRONI's Wreck and Rescue lecture series. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book. Details.

Wednesday 6 March: Irish family history, with Dr Irene O'Brien. Venue: Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre, 6 Daisy Street, G42 8JL Glasgow, Scotland. Free. 7pm to 9pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 6 March: The lost village of Milltown, with Patrick Salmon. Host: Rathmichael Historical Society. Venue: Rathmichael NS, Stonebridge Road, Shankill, Dublin 18. 8pm. All welcome. €3.

Thursday 7 March: No Reading Room access until 2pm at the National Archives of Ireland. Doors to the public will open 2–5pm only. NAI, Bishop Street, Dublin 8.

Friday 8 March: Online family and local history resources, a workshop. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. two-hour workshop will start with an orientation tour of PRONI, followed by an introduction to searching online resources 11am. Free. Need to book.

Saturday 9 March: The history and heritage of St James’s Hospital in Dublin, with Prof Davis Coakley (2:15pm) and The Irish Revenue Police, with Jim Herlihy (3:15pm). AGM from 10am, members only. Host: Irish Family History Society. Venue: Dublin City Library and Archives, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Free. All welcome to attend the afternoon session.

Saturday 9 March: The Scots-Irish in New England, a genealogy workshop with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host and venue: New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park St, Concord, New Hampshire, USA. 9:00am-4:30pm. Details and registration. $75 Members of New Hampshire Historical Society / $125 for non-members.

Saturday 9 March: National Irish Studies Conference 2019. Host: The Manchester Irish Education Group (MIEG). Venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, 1 Irish Town Way, Cheetham, Manchester, UK. A full day of lectures and workshops, plus bookstall, exhibition and raffle. 9am to 4:30pm. Tickets £25 prepaid / £30 on the door. Includes lunch and refreshments. Details.

Saturday 9 March: Irish Immigrants in Troy, with Chris Connell and Donna Vaughn. Host: Troy Irish Genealogy Society. Venue: Troy Public Library, 100 2nd St, Troy, New York, USA. 2pm–5pm. Need to register.

Sunday 10 March: Researching Your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors, with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Host: The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Venue: Brookside Manor, 50 Bustleton Pike, Trevose-Feasterville, Pennsylvania, USA. 8:30am-4:30pm. Cost: $104. Details and registration.

MilitaryArchives.ie releases IRA Brigade Activity Reports

This year's release of records from the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection (MSPC) – the Brigade Activity Reports – has been launched this morning and is now ready for searching, free, on MilitaryArchives.ie. So, too, is a complementary bundle of finding aids for researching the War of Independence.

Papers in the Brigade Activity Reports (BAR) were originally created between 1935 and 1941. They were created by the Brigade Activity Committees set up around the island to assist the Referee and Advisory Committee in the verification of subsequent pension claims.

They provide details of IRA operations and activities across more than 8,000 locations, including names of those who took part in them. Most of the activities date from April 1920 to July 1921, when the War of Independence was at its height, but there are also a small number of files holding information about earlier and later activities in which the Irish Volunteers and IRA were involved.

The reports include drawn maps and sketches – a total of 402 of them cover the locations of IRA operations in all four provinces – interactive Google maps for exploring operations, fatalities and executions by geographical areas, a gallery of photos (mostly memorial cards), and timelines. There is also a well-produced 171-page Guide (26Mb), downloadable from the BAR home page, which includes context to the collection and several essays by established Irish historians exploring specific themes or locations. This seems to me the best place to start after an initial rummage!

Researchers should note in the introduction to this record set that the files are not a definitive listing of IRA operations during the Independence struggle, and a number of companies and units do not appear in the Activity File series. There are also inconsistencies in terms of the activities and events covered, and the information provided by different brigades and units.