Exclusive: AskAboutIreland to add more GV maps

More Griffith's Valuation maps will become available

AskAboutIreland's free access to Griffith's Valuation is back online again. The searchable collection was taken down over the Christmas holidays for maintenance and upgrading work that was expected to take a few weeks.

It's taken slightly less time. It reappeared last night, in all its familiar livery, and it feels and reacts in the same way as previously. This is because the upgrade has been of a technical, behind-the-scenes and future-proofing nature.

The techies are testing the site today, so probably best not to all go rushing in there at once!

Upgrading work will be continuing over the coming months. It is expected that this can be carried out without impacting users.

And then the seriously good news! The Griffith's Valuation section of the site will be upgraded with more maps. As many researchers will already know, Griffith's Valuation maps are a bit of muddle, because any number of sets were produced over the years but none of the surviving sets is complete. At present, there is only one set of maps accessible on AskAboutIreland. Originating from the Department of the Environment, it was chosen as the initial map set for AskAboutIreland because it's in colour, which makes it easier to study online.

As the upgrade moves on, additional map sets will be bolted onto the search system. These are black and white, and some are quite sketchy, so they won't be easy on the eye. What is more, some are of unknown date and there are, again, gaps in geographical coverage. Some townlands, for example, may appear in five or six map sets, but they may not be dated. In other words, these new map sets probably won't become the sets of choice for most researchers. However, they may reveal new details, and they may be useful for clarifying certain issues that may have arisen from the better-known main set.

I will be one of those most eager to look at alternative maps because I have never been able to pinpoint the home of my great great grandfather just outside Clonakilty. The land holding is still in the family, so I know its location, but the dwelling is not identified on the AskAboutIreland map and I want to know where it was. Perhaps one of these alternative map sets can help.

The online arrival of these additional map sets is not yet scheduled. It may take a few months, but they are coming.

Irish Military Pensions Collection: formal launch notes

Following the online arrival of Phase 1 of the Irish Military Pensions Collection at lunchtime (see earlier blogpost), the official launch took place this evening. Details of the formalities are below, but here's a quickie summary of the additional information to emerge:

1. Phase 2 doesn't seem to be coming any time soon.
   
2. It will be some years before the entire collection is in the public domain.
   
3. Not all of the material will be online.
   
4. The Archives facility at Cathal Brugha Barracks will be improved to accommodate researchers who have to visit in person to view the offline releases

The launch formalities were conducted by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, at the GPO in O'Connell Street, Dublin. He described the Military Service Pension Archive project as a cornerstone of the Government's Decade of Centenaries 2012-2022 Commemorative Programme and said the online archive was "bringing the era to life for a new generation... and honours the memory of those who lived and served their country during this defining period in Irish history."

Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter, TD, also spoke. He said the Military Service Pension Collection is one of the last and largest pieces of the archival jigsaw relating to Ireland's revolutionary period in the lead up to independence. "The Collection records the personal commitment and sacrifice by those men and women who shouldered the task of gaining independence for this country. These records provide a window into every parish and townland in the country and the activities undertaken by ordinary people pursuing the ambition of nationhood."

He said that future releases of material from the Irish Military Service Pensions Collection will take place over the next few years. "But not all of this material will be available online. Visits to the Military Archives will be required."

He then announced that funding had been provided for a new Military Archive facility. "This will be provided over the next few years as part of the Government's Decade of Commemorations programme. A design team is in place. When completed, it will provide improved facilities for the viewing of this and the other material held in the Military Archives."

Update 17 January: The video below gives an excellent overview of the collection, its importance, scope and contents and how it was conserved.

SeanRuad/Townlands Database problems resolved

The administrator of the IREATLAS Townlands Database (aka SeanRuad) has contacted
Irish Genealogy News this morning to advise that the recent off-on problems with the site (see blogpost) seem to have finally been resolved.

"After many frustrating days of research, we believe we have identified the root cause of the DNS issue that was making the domains on our server appear as being 'offline'," he said. "We have taken action to remedy that situation and so far everything appears to be working properly.

"Once again I apologize for any inconvenience that this issue may have created for our users and hope that they will continue to enjoy the genealogical resources available via the IREATLAS and Leitrim-Roscommon databases."

Old IRA/Military Pension records – 1st batch online

Phase 1 of the Old IRA/Military Pension record set – formal name Military Service (1916–1923) Pensions Collection (MSPC) – is now available for free online searching at MilitaryArchives.

This first tranche of records consists of 9,600 files and can be searched in three databases:

• Pension and Awards files
• Organisations and Membership Files
• Administration files

There's a separate section dealing with the Easter Rising. The site points out that not everyone involved in the Easter Rising applied for a military pension. Some applied only for a Medal (and that distinct record set, which holds some 60,000 applications, won't be released until 2015).

Pension and Awards
Phase 1 includes details of 3,200 individual pension applicants, including 2,400 recipients of pensions in respect of the 1916 Easter Rising. Some individuals have as many as seven files. An alphabetical list of the veterans of 1916 can be downloaded from the site or here (pdf 752kb).

Organisations and Membership
This tranche of the Irish military pensions records set includes supporting files such as Membership Rolls of 16 Divisions of the IRA (87 Brigades), Cumann na MBann (at July 1921 & 1922), Na Fianna Eireann (the entire series), and four files relating to 1916 Brigade Activities in the counties of Louth, Wexford and Galway.

Administration
Phase 1 includes 134 general Service Pensions files; 40 Departmental files; 116 files from the Pensions Board; 151 Army Pension Board files dealing with Finance matters; 12 files relating to the Military Service Pension 1924

The rest of the MSPC collection, which, in total, holds some 300,000 files relating to 60,000 pension applicants, will be released in 'regular phases' leading up to 2016.

The Irish Military Pensions Collection will be formally launched this evening by An Taoiseach, Edna Kenny TD, at the GPO in Dublin's O'Connell Street.

See later blogpost updating on the official launch and view an interesting overview video (4mins).

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archive: first 2014 update

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives has been impacted by the Big Chill, as their US-based county adminisitrators huddled around radiators and fires rather than computers during the recent extreme weather. Let's hope their typing fingers thaw out in the second half of the month!

Here are the latest updates and news:

New Facebook Groups
Kilkenny Genealogy
Meath Genealogy
Donegal Genealogy
Fermanagh Genealogy

ARMAGH Genealogy Archives – Military & Constabulary
Men who enlisted in the Irish Constabulary from Armagh 1849

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Glasnevin - St Paul's Section, Part 14

KILDARE Genealogy Archives – Cemetery
Ballybracken Churchyard Memorials

LONGFORD Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Newtowncashel Marriages 1830-1868 (sorted by date)

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Monaseed North Section, Part 2. (completes this cemetery)

Down Survey of Ireland website wins award

Land ownership in 1641
(blue denotes Catholic landowner)

The Down Survey of Ireland website, which launched last May, has won the Best Practice Award at the annual Irish Organisation for Geographic Information (IRLOGI) research awards.

The Down Survey website maps out for the first time the dramatic transfer in landownership from Catholics to Protestants in the 1650s and changes our understanding of landownership, settlement and religious changes in 17th-century Ireland. A Trinity College Dublin project, it attracted over 100,000 visitors in the first few weeks alone.

It features the Down Survey map collection, which was believed to have been lost in a fire in 1711, and comprises, county, barony and parish maps that are rich in detail, showing not only individual townland boundaries, but also churches, roads, rivers, bogs, woods and settlements.

Led by Dr Micheál Ó Siochrú, Associate Professor in History, the project team (David Brown and Eoin Bailey) tracked down over 2,000 contemporaneous copies of the original survey maps in dozens of libraries and archives throughout Ireland, Britain and France. They are now available as a free online resource. By overlaying these maps onto Ordnance Survey maps, Google maps and satellite imagery and employing GIS technology, the website allows users to explore this turbulent period in Irish history in exciting and innovative ways.

If you haven't taken a look at the website, you really should. It's key features include:

• 2,000 magnificent county, barony and parish maps from the Down Survey
  
• National, provincial and county maps detailing massive landownership transfer
  
• Mapping out of murders and violent assaults reported during the 1641 rebellion
  
• Representation of 17th-century road network
  
• Searchable database of over 10,000 landowners

The Down Survey of Ireland, undertaken by the Cromwellian regime in the years 1656-1658, introduced modern mapping techniques into Ireland and led to the creation of the recognisable maps of the country. It was also the first ever detailed land survey on a national scale anywhere in the world and measured all the estates to be forfeited by Catholic landowners.

The IRLOGI ‘Best Practice Award’ is in recognition of the project's successful cooperation between the humanities and cutting-edge technology, building on the work of the 1641 Depositions project and the FP7-sponsored CULTURA project. The IRLOGI is the umbrella organisation for the geographical information industry in Ireland. Its research awards are sponsored by the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

War & Peace – Diplomacy, Espionage and WW1

The National Archives (TNA) in Kew, London, is to hold a conference entitled War and peace - Diplomacy, Espionage and the First World War on Saturday 28 June.

Details will follow in due course. For now, just save the date and get flights booked, if needs be.

This one-day conference kicks off TNA's centenary programme, First World War 100, and will look at a number of diplomatic aspects of the war, from build-up through to the peace process via intelligence gathering and espionage.

National Famine Commemoration – date set

After last month's announcement that Strokestown in Co Roscommon would host the next National Famine Commemoration, the date has now been set: Sunday 11 May.

Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, confirmed both the date and the attendance of An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D., who will lead the official representation.

This will be the 7th consecutive year in which the National Famine Commemoration has taken place. Mr Deenihan described the event as "a very moving and fitting solemn tribute in remembrance of our forebears who perished, emigrated and suffered such loss during this desolate time."

National Archives of Ireland: Requests for Tenders

The National Archives of Ireland (NAI) has issued two Requests for Tenders, the first for Preservation Assistance, the second for Data Input Assistance.

In both cases, the selected contractor will work directly for the NAI.

Job and person specifications, together with contract details can be downloaded from the NAI site here. The deadline for applications is Friday 24 January.

Additionally, a Request for Tender has been advertised via the Office of Public Works' public procurement site e-Tenders for a Contract for Services: Data Entry and Work Coordination. The selected contractor will co-ordinate, supervise and quality check the work of the data entry assistant and preservation assistant. Again, the deadline is Friday 24 January. Details.

Conference: Ireland and WW1, 24-25 Jan, Cork

University College Cork's School of History will host a two-day conference later this month entitled 'Ireland and the First World War: In defence of right, freedom and of religion?'

The conference (see the full programme) covers a wide range of subjects, including specific Irish regiments and campaigns, details of record sets, conscription, the growth of socialism in Ireland, commemmoration, war bereavement by Irish families and Unionism's response to the war.

It will be held on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 January.

You can also download the programme in Word.doc format here.