Lord Morpeth's document is on a roll

Back in mid-July, Ancestry put out a call for more volunteers to work on the transcription of Lord Morpeth's Roll, a single continuous document that dates from 1841 and contains the names of some 275,000 people from all over Ireland. (You can read my earlier post here.)

Well, it seems Ancestry did get a few extra hands on board because the pace of indexing has picked up, especially in the last couple of weeks.

While the project was 40% complete in July, it jumped over the 50% marker just over two weeks ago and hit 63% complete as of this morning. So it's storming ahead now.

Even so, if you've a few hours spare, I'm sure some extra help wouldn't go amiss. You can find out more here.

The indexing of Lord Viscount Morpeth's Testimonial Roll is one of Ancestry's World Archives Project, meaning that volunteers transcribe and index the document and it is then made available to researchers across the world free of charge.

Fate of Cork City's Catholic registers still undecided?

The saga of finding a permanent online home for Cork City's Catholic registers continues.

After an 18-year wait, the register records were thought to have been handed over (in transcribed and indexed format, I believe) by Cork County Council to the Irish Family History Foundation in early July for upload to the pay-per-view RootsIreland.ie database (news story here).

Since then, nada. A release of records from the IFHF for County Cork over the weekend just gone didn't include the Cork City records and there was no word on their likely addition to the site. This silence wasn't exactly unexpected, and July is not so long ago, anyway.

But last night's news from Cork-based genealogist Margaret Jordan, who has lobbied on behalf of researchers to get these records released, has come as a bit of a surprise. It seems discussions are still continuing between the Cork Diocesan Office and the NLI/Dept of Heritage, Arts & the Gaeltacht (the state-department responsible for the free to access irishgenealogy.ie database) as to where these records might permanently reside for access by researchers. The hope that they might eventually appear on irishgenealogy.ie is reignited!

You can read excerpts from the Diocesan Office's reply on Margaret's blog here.

HistoryIreland Sept/Oct issue on the shelves

It's a happy day, today. I picked up the new issue of HistoryIreland this morning, which is always a reason to be cheerful.

And as always, there's plenty to read in my favourite bi-monthly magazine. The stand out features for me will be one on Irish involvement in the American Civil War, a study of geographical (county) divisions and loyalties from the 12th century, and an article about censorship in the Irish Free State which had a lasting impact on Irish journalism. I'm also looking forward to reading a feature about attitudes to bankers in the mid-18th century; 'Hang up half a dozen bankers' demanded one Jonathan Swift in 1728. Sounds like a cry from more recent times!

Add in some book and museum reviews, news and views and relevant ads, and I'm wishing the day away till I can get those pages turning.

Oh, and the new-style laminated cover looks good, too!

HistoryIreland €6.70/£6.00.

Browse the 1862 Church of Ireland Directory online

The Earliest Church of Ireland Directory – the 1862 edition – has been digitised and released online on the website of the Representative Church Body Library as the September Archive of the Month.

Published by James Charles in reponse to demands from readers of his other publication, the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette, the Directory contains information about the church's structures – its parishes, dioceses, clergy and other key personnel – and the income of each benefice and diocese.

For those with clergy ancestors this Directory holds plenty of interest. Details of the incumbent and curate for each benefice are recorded, along with a snap-shot view of the acreage and value of the respective glebe land.

All 192 pages can be viewed here.

Genealogy Half-Day School Series at IARC

The Irish Ancestry Research Centre (IARC) at the University of Limerick is running a series of half-day workshops for Irish genealogy researchers. Beginners will benefit from the morning schedules (10am to 12.30pm), while the afternoon schedules (2.30pm to 5pm) would be better suited to more experienced family historians. The programme is specially geared towards online resources.

Beginners Morning Schedule Topics:
2 October 2012 – Introduction to Genealogy
6 November 2012 – Using the 1901 & 1911 Census
4 December 2012 – Using Griffiths Valuation
5 February 2013 – The Tithe Applotment Books
5 March 2013 – Your Guide to Landed Estates
2 April 2013 – Your Guide to Irish Directories

Advanced Afternoon Schedule
2 October 2012 – The Tithe Applotment Books
6 November 2012 – Your Guide to Landed Estates
4 December 2012 – Irish Mapping -From a Genealogical Perspective
5 February 2013 – You Guide to Irish Directories
5 March 2013 – Your Guide to Irish Wills
2 April 2013 – Using Irish Prison Records

Cost for the full programme of 6 sessions – at either beginner or advanced level – is €190.00 but some discounts and concessions are available.

For more information contact info@irisharc.org or Deborah Clifford on 061 518355.

The Genealogy Event in New York: next month

Registration is now open for The Genealogy Event, New York's only major family history fair this year, which will kick off at 12-noon on Friday 26 October.

A busy schedule of 40 lectures will be taking place. There's only one that's specifically targetting Irish family history (Getting Started in Irish Genealogy, with the Irish Ancestry Research Centre from the University of Limerick, Friday 5.45pm) but as any Irish-American should know, tracing your immigrant ancestors means researching in the US first, and there are plenty of exhibitors and talks on hand to help in that pursuit.

See the full programme of lectures and a list of exhibitors at the organiser's website here.

Venue: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York.
Dates: Friday 26 October 12-noon to 7pm, and Saturday 27 October 9am to 6pm.
Cost: $15 advance ticket, $20 on the door.

Sydney to host 2013 Intl Famine Commemoration

The National Famine Commemoration Committee has selected Sydney as the venue for the 2013 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine.

The announcement was made by Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Chairman of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, who said that he looked forward to working with the community in Sydney and, in particular, with Sydney's Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee to ensure that those who perished, suffered and emigrated during this tragic time are honoured in a very special way.

He added: "We remember especially all of those who left Ireland during the Great Famine for Australia; particularly the 4,412 young Irish women and girls who travelled from the workhouses of Ireland between 1848 and 1850 under the Earl Grey Scheme in search of hope and a new beginning. We honour their great achievements and their extraordinary contribution to their adopted homeland and we recognise the bond that will always exist between the Irish people and the people of Sydney."

The commemoration will be held on 25 August 2013.

There have been four international commemorations of the Great Irish Famine to date. They coincide with the annual National Famine Commemoration, which rotates around the four provinces of Ireland. Previous overseas events have taken place in Canada (2009), New York (2010), Liverpool (2011) and Boston (2012).

Munster will be the host for the next National Famine Commemoration, but the exact location has yet to be chosen. However, I spotted a newspaper story last week reporting that a bid is being prepared from County Clare. Possibly other local authorities are doing the same. Either way, the announcement of the host venue will be made later this year.

Events in first two weeks of September

Tuesday 4th to end of year: Ulster Will Fight, an exhibition contextualising the political situation in Ireland and the UK when 500,000 men and women signed the Ulster Covenant on 28 September 1912. It brings together rare and unique contemporary material to inform a modern audience. Linen Hall Library, Belfast. Free.

Thursday 6th: Raiders of the Lost Archives: Covenant records at PRONI, with Stephen Scarth as part of the Change, Conflict and Transformation, 1912-1922 Lecture Series. PRONI, Belfast Titanic Quarter. Free. 6.30pm.

Thursday 6th: Genealogy Boot Camp, with Brian Watson. NIFHS Belfast Branch. Holywood Arches Library, Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NT. 7.30-9pm. Details.

Friday 7th: 2012 Maynooth Studies in Local History: Books published by Four Courts Press to be launched in Renehan Hall, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare. 7pm. This year's publications relate to Galway, Meath, Offaly, Kildare & Sligo.

Friday 7th: Irish Genealogy Mentoring Session, with Pat Concannon. Dennis Public Library, Dennisport MA. 10am to noon. Spaces limited. Bookings. 

Friday 7th: Genealogy Workshop – Rules and records; where to start your family history, with John Grenham. Killarney Library, Rock Road. 7pm. For details, tel: 064 663 2655

Saturday 8th: Irish genealogy day seminar at the Irish Cultural Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Programme includes four one-hour talks with Eileen M. Ó Dúill, tour of the new McClelland Irish Library, lunch and Q&A session. $40/$30. Numbers limited. Details.

Saturday 8th: UK National Family History Fair, Premier Inn, Newcastle Upon Tyne. 10am-4pm. £3 entrance.

Saturday 8th: Family History Drop In, with Mayo genealogy group. National Museum of Ireland, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Free. 11am-1pm. No booking required.

Saturday 8th: European Heritage Open Day at PRONI, Belfast Titanic Quarter. Talks and tours. 10am-3pm. More.

Tuesday 11th: The Records of the Royal Irish Academy as a Resource for the Family History Researcher, with Siobhán FitzPatrick. Genealogical Society of Ireland. Dún Laoghaire College of Further Education, Cumberland Street, Dún Laoghaire. 8pm. €3.00.

Thursday 13th: Understanding the Ulster Covenant, with Dr Brian Feeney and Professor Brian Walker as part of the Making History Talk series of events. Venue: The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen. 7.30pm.

Thursday 13th: Nationalism 1900-1922, with Dr Eamon Phoenix as part of the Change, Conflict and Transformation, 1912-1922 Lecture Series. PRONI, Belfast Titanic Quarter. Free. 6.30pm.

Saturday 15th: The early medieval kingdoms of Donegal, some new thoughts, with Dr Brian Lacey delivering the 2012 Paddy McGill Memorial Lecture. Donegal Historical Society, Heritage Centre, Ardara, Co Donegal. 8.30pm.

Armagh, Cork and Waterford additions to IFHF site

RootsIreland.ie, the website of the Irish Family History Foundation, has uploaded new records from Armagh Ancestry, Mallow Heritage and Waterford Heritage Centres to its pay-to-view database.

The announcement email gives no indication of the type of records, nor the parishes covered, so if these areas are relevant to your research, you'll have to look on the site at the full list of sources for each genealogy centre.

Based on a recent update for Waterford, I can, however, calculate that about 13,000 marriage records have been added to that county's source list.

The much anticipated arrival of Cork City records has not happened. These registers were handed over to the IFHF in early summer, already transcribed. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer....

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest updates

IGP Archives have uploaded the following new records and images during the second half of August:

Antrim Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary, 1847

Clare Genealogy Archives - Memorial Cards
Assorted Memorial Cards

Dublin Genealogy Archives - Miscellaneous
Charitable Institutions Dublin - Candidates for admission 1824-1842

Dublin Genealogy Archives - Memorial Cards
Assorted Memorial Cards

Kildare Genealogy Archives - Memorial Cards
Assorted Memorial Cards

Louth Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Drogheda; St. Peter's Parish Cemetery, Part 3 - additional headstones

Leitrim Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Dromahaire, St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cemetery

Tyrone Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary, 1846, additional

Tipperary Genealogy Archives - Miscellaneous Records
List of Teachers, 1824, Barony of Eliogarty
Pawnbrokers 1827- 1837 Electors and Voters polled, Barony of Clonmel, 1835
Electors and Voters polled at the General Election 1835

Tipperary Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary, 1846, additional

Waterford Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary, 1846, additional

Westmeath Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary, 1846, additional

Wicklow Genealogy Archives
Military & Constabulary – Royal Irish Constabulary, 1846, additional
Headstones – Delgany Old Cemetery
Land – Rentcharges for the years 1832-1835
Cemetery – Assorted Memorials (Delgany)
Church – Dublin Diocesan Marriage Licences - Wicklow Names: 1789-1794, A-K