St Patrick's Day: Eneclann offers 10% discount

Another St Patrick's Day discount, this time from Eneclann.

It's a straightforward discount offer... Purchase anything you fancy from the company's online store and claim a 10% discount by typing StPat into the Coupon Code box when you get to checkout.

The offer will be available up to and including Monday 17 March.

Browse the Eneclann store.

Ancestry releases 2.4m census records for C19th MA

As if this week's brand new Irish Roman Catholic parish registers weren't enough from Ancestry (see blogpost), they've gone and delivered another couple of record sets that have huge Irish interest: the Massachusetts State Censuses, 1855 and 1865.

And I mean huge. There are 1,138,563 individuals recorded in the earlier census and 1,273,140 in the later one. And they're both practically overflowing with Irish! I've just searched the 1865 returns and found 22 Santrys, for heaven's sake, and they're not two-a-penny.

The census returns for both years recorded the following details: name, age, gender, race, occupation and birthplace. The 1865 census additionally recorded marital status. Although the individuals are grouped by household, the head of household is not indicated. Relationship between the individuals are not noted, either.

To search the collections, take your pick:

Massachusetts State Census 1855

Massachusetts State Census 1865

UPDATE 15 March: Ancestry has also updated its collection of nearly 10million birth, marriage and death records 1840–1915 for Massachusetts.

Great St Patrick's Day offers from Origins

This St Patrick's Day, Origins is opening up access to its Index of Irish Wills, 1484–1858, and offering a whopping 36% discount on an Irish Origins monthly subscription.

Irish Wills Index
This Index spans 1484 to 1858 and contains more than 102,000 names compiled from records found at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI). It is concerned only with records that survive in more-than-index form, ie where original documents, copies, transcripts, abstracts or extracts still exist and can be examined at the NAI.

Each index entry contains the name of the person leaving a will, or being covered by a grant of probate or administration. It also contains their address, sometimes their occupation, and the place where the document was proved (ie a diocesan or the Prerogative court). About half of the entries contain the names and addresses of the executors.

Search and Access Irish Wills Index 1484-1858 FREE

There will be a 32-hour window to take advantage of this bounty, starting at 00:01hrs on Monday 17 March. This offer ends at 08:00hrs on Tuesday 18 March. (All times are GMT).

Monthly Subscription Offer

Irish Origins holds nearly 6 million Irish genealogy records including censuses, wills, directories, marriage and burial records, electoral registers, passenger lists, military records and rare publications.

This special offer allows you full access to Irish Origins for one month for the price of the standard 72-hour access: £6. All you have to do is select an Irish Origins Monthly subcription, and enter the Promotional code StPatrick2014 at sign-up or checkout.

You can take up the subscription discount offer until 24 March.

March issue of Irish Lives Remembered published

The March issue of Irish Lives Remembered magazine has been published and is now available for free download.

This month's main research focus is in double vision, with both County Limerick and New York highlighted. The 26-page Limerick section provides an overview of researching in both Limerick City and County and looks at the holdings of several repositories, including the Local Studies library, City Library and City Archives.

There's also a feature about the highly regarded Limerick's Life, by fellow blogger Sharon Slater, which anyone with an interest in the history of Limerick ought to be following, and a two-pager about this Saturday's Genealogy Day – easily the most important and interesting event happening in the City of Culture this weekend!

Moving across the Atlantic, Joe Buggy explores the need to appreciate the distinction between New York City and New York State, when searching for records in the Big Apple; there's a feature about Annie Moore, the first emigrant to pass through Ellis Island, and another about writer Mary Anne Madden Sadlier's life journey from Cootehill in County Cavan to Quebec and on to New York. And going further afield, there's a useful listing of online resources for those researching ancestors in Australia's North Territory.

There's a lot more besides, so download your copy and get reading.

Genealogy Roadshow returns to RTE in May

A second series of the Genealogy Roadshow will return to RTE One on Sunday 4 May.

In each episode, historian Turtle Bunbury teams up with professional genealogists John Grenham MAPGI and Susan Chadwick MAPGI to meet members of the public and work out the truth behind family stories of being descended from a famous historical character or connected to a historical event. The show has been described as 'Antiques Roadshow meets Who Do You Think You Are?'.

The second series was filmed at Powerscourt in Co Wicklow, University College Cork and Lumen Christi College, Derry.

Episode one, filmed at Powerscourt, will be broadcast at 7pm on 4 May, with the other two episodes screening at the same time on the following Sundays.

Produced by Big Mountain, the original series aired on RTE1 television in 2011 and has been repeated four times since. An American version was also developed last year.

UPDATE 4 May: The second series has been rescheduled to start on Sunday 11 May.

(And to those who copy my blogposts and don't credit the source.... this serves you right!!)

Ancestry gives free access to Irish collection

Since St Patrick's Day is nearly upon us, the good folks of Ancestry are opening up their Irish records collection with free access.

The offer doesn't require any registration, email addresses or credit cards, and free access will continue until 17 March, 11:59 ET, which I think is four or five hours behind GMT.

The records available include many of the essential resources – Irish civil registration records of birth, marriage and death; the 1901 and 1911 Irish census; and Griffiths Valuation – plus some other valuable collections such as the New York Emigrant Savings 1850-1883, the Lawrence Collection of photographs 1870-1910, and the Irish Canadian Emigration Records 1823-1849.

Collections of parish register records include the four exciting Roman Catholic record sets uploaded yesterday (see blogpost).

What a great opportunity to check out those new register records!

South Australian records added to FindMyPast

FindMyPast has added a batch of South Australian records to its World collection. The 8,474 records cover the years 1835 to 2005.

While the collection is not big in numbers, it could well hold some gems for researchers with links Down Under.

These are the new record sets (number of records in brackets):

• British Garrison Deserters In South Australia (45)
  
• South Australia Cemetery Inscriptions (1,656)
  
• South Australia Destitute Women 1855-1860 (294)
  
• South Australia Landowners 1835-1841 (3,482)
  
• South Australia Naturalisations 1849-1903 (2,958)
  
• South Australian Ex-Convicts (39)

PRONI completes upload of its will calendar collection

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has completed its upload of additional Will Calendars to its free public database.

Some 170,000 entries have been added to the site and can now be searched.

PRONI's Wesley Geddis (who will be talking at the official launch tomorrow lunchtime) told Irish Genealogy News this afternoon that the total of entries now available to search is 415,000 covering the years 1858 to 1965 inclusive.

This fully searchable online database holds data from entries in the Will Calendars of wills proved in Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry District Registries. These Registries cover the six counties now in Northern Ireland, plus Counties Louth, Monaghan and Donegal, which are in the Republic of Ireland.

Most searches return a transcription of the entry in the Calendar, which is basically an annual index. As such, the returns don't include all the details of the will, only the rudiments, but they can often be very revealing, providing information about the deceased's address and occupation, together with the value of the estate and the name of the person to whom probate has been granted.

Where copies of the original will have survived, their details can provide outstanding genealogical information. See example below.

Digitised images of entries from the copy will books are available for some 100,000 wills. Images for wills proved in the Londonderry District Registry extend to 1899; those from Armagh District Registry extend to 1919; those for Belfast District Registry extend to 1909.

This is a top-rate genealogical resource, and it's very simple to use. Search the Will Calendars.

Genealogy afloat: July cruise includes Irish research

Now here's a novel way (to those of us in northern Europe, at least) to progress your Irish genealogy research: a cruise around the geographical British Isles, taking in Scottish, English and French islands, London, Normandy and Dublin.

The 10-day Unlock The Past cruise will set off on the Marco Polo from London on 19 July. It'll be the fifth genealogy cruise from the Australia-based organisers, and their first in the northern hemisphere. In addition to all the on-board relaxation and shore excursions that you'd expect of a classic ocean liner, passengers will be able to choose from a terrific programme of genealogy lectures, Research Help Zones, special-interest groups and technology-related presentations throughout the cruise.

The Marco Polo Waldorf Restaurant

Around 40 topics will be available across 25 sessions, with most of them held in the early evening to allow plenty of time for shore leave (there's only one full day at sea) and cruise entertainment.

Topics will appeal to those with British and Irish connections, and the line-up of lecturers includes many names well-known for their specialism in these areas of research. Among them are Eileen and Sean Ó Dúill who will be presenting the Irish-themed talks.

The lecture programme is still provisional but Irish lectures are likely to be as follows:

Eileen Ó Dúill:

• Researching in Ireland: planning is the key to success – intermediate/advanced
  
• Dublin, 30 June 1922: did everything blow up? – intermediate/advanced
  
• Introduction to Irish genealogy: where do I start? – beginner
  
• Mrs Fancy Tart is coming to tea: making sense of family stories

Sean Ó Dúill:

• Country cures from Irish folklore
  
• Death and burial: peasant Ireland in the 19th century
  
• Matchmaking and marriage customs in 19th century rural Ireland

Details of the main focus of each of these talks can be found here.

In addition, the organisers may offer a genealogy-related shore tour in Dublin and possibly in one or two other ports. See the full itinerary of the cruise for details of ports of call and typical excursions available from them.

For more details about the cruise, click on the image of the Marco Polo below.

The Marco Polo (Cruise & Maritime Voyages)

Ancestry adds collection of Roman Catholic registers

Making their debut on Ancestry today are four collections of Irish Roman Catholic parish registers. They include baptism, marriage, burial and, very unusually, confirmations from a selection of parishes in the counties of Armagh, Carlow, Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kildate, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Many of the entries include a high quality scanned image of the original register entry, while others return a transcript.

Baptisms: This is a big collection of more than half a million (544,651, to be precise) entries in 73 parish registers. Dates range from 1763 to 1912 (the individual registers do not each cover this span). Depending on the layout of some of the registers, you may find that you need to click through to the next page to see the names of sponsors.

Marriages: This collection covers 147,133 marriages in 62 parishes with dates ranging from 1775 to 1912 (see note above) .

Burials: This collection holds details of 15,773 burials recorded in the registers of 19 parishes from 1767 to 1912 (see note above).

Confirmations: This collection of 8,131 entries includes confirmations in just 12 parishes with dates ranging from 1775 to 1912 (see note above).

Here's a list of the parishes included in these collections. Please note the spellings are taken from the Ancestry site; some appear to be incorrect*:

Baptism	Marriage	Burial	Confirmation
Addergoole	Addergoole	Armagh	Ballina
Allen	Allen	Armagh	Ballina (Kilmoremoy)
Annacarty	Annacarty	Ballinakill	Ballon & Rathcoe
Armagh	Armagh	Baltinglass	Baltinglass
Aughrim	Aughrim	Canice's (Finglas & StMargaret)	Canice's (Finglas & StMargaret)
Backs	Backs	Carlingford	Castleconnor
Ballina (Ardnaree)	Ballina (Ardnaree)	Carlingford & Omeath	Easkey
Ballina (Kilmoremoy)	Ballina (Kilmoremoy)	Castleconnor	Killala
Ballinakill	Ballinakill	Cooley	Moneymore
Ballon & Rathoe	Ballon & Rathoe	Darver	Mouthrath
Ballyadams	Ballyadams	Kilglass	Rathvilly
Ballybricken	Ballybricken	Kill	Tourlestrane (Kilmactigue)
Ballyconneely	Ballyconneely	Magherafelt
Ballyfin	Ballyfin	Mountrath
Baltinglass	Baltinglass	Portlaoise (Maryborough)
Bangor Erris	Bangor Erris	Rathvilly
Belmullet	Caherlistrane (Donaghpatrick&Kilcooney)	Skreen & Dromard
Beragh	Canice's (Finglas & StMargaret)
Caherlistrane (Donaghpatrick&Kilcooney)		Summerhill
Canice's (Finglas & StMargaret)	Cappawhite	Tinryland
Cappawhite	Carlingford
Carlingford	Carlingford & Omeath
Carlingford & Omeath	Carnacross
Carnacross	Castleconnor
Castlebar	Clifden
Castleconnor	Cooley
Claddaghduff (Omey & Ballindoon)	Crossmolina
Clifden	Darver
Coalisland	Donaghmore
Cooley	Easkey
Crossmolina	Emly
Darver	Golden & Kilpack
Donaghmore	Inishboffin
Easkey	Kilcommon Erris
Emly	Kilcurry (Faughart)
Golden	Kilglass
Golden & Kilpack	Kilglass
Inishboffin	Kill
Kilcloon	Killala
Kilcommon Erris	Killursa
Kilcurry	Knockbridge
Kilcurry (Bridgeacrin)	Knockmore & Rathduff
Kilcurry (Faughart)	Lackagh
Kilglass	Lacken
Kill	Louisburgh
Killala	Louisburgh (Kilgeever)
Killursa	Louth
Kilmacshalgan	Magherafelt
Knockmore & Rathduff	Malahide
Lackagh	Mountrath
Lacken	Moy
Louisburgh (Kilgeever)	Moy (Clonfeacle)
Louth	Naas
Magherafelt	Portlaoise (Maryborough)
Malahide	Rathvilly
Moneymore	Skreen & Dromard
Mouthrath	Solohead
Moy	Summerhill
Moy (Clonfeacle)	Termonmaguire
Mullingar	Tinryland
Naas	Tourlestrane
Portlaoise (Maryborough)	Tourlestrane (Kilmactigue)
Rathangan	Tullow
Rathvilly
Skreen & Dromard
Summerhill
Termonmaguirc
Tinryland
Tourlestrane
Tourlestrane (Kilmactigue)
Tullow
Westland Row

* According to Ancestry, Aughrim is in Co Galway; it isn't... its in Aughrim Street, Dublin. (Thanks to Stuart McGee, who's just found a relative in that parish register!)