British Newspaper Archive: Looking good at 40-plus

The British Newspaper Archive is adding Irish titles so quickly, it's getting difficult to keep up!

With more than forty titles already online, the BNA database has seen three additional 19th-century regional titles put in an appearance this week. By my reckoning, there are now a total of 44 Irish papers available.

The newest are:

• Connaught Watchman – 1852
  
• Kerry Examiner & Munster General Observer – 1844, 1846-48, 1854
  
• Limerick and Clare Examiner – 1847

These titles have also joined the Irish newspaper line-up in FindMyPast's Ireland and World subscription packages.

Nothing beats a well Mammy

I'm not much given to publishing personal stuff, but I feel I owe some explanation to the many people whose emails I've not responded to, and whose news I've appeared to have overlooked over the last six or seven weeks.

Truth is, my mother was rushed to hospital on the evening that Back To Our Past finished (she assures me the two events are unconnected) and underwent emergency surgery the following day. She then remained in hospital – 140 miles from my home – for five weeks. Only today, a fortnight after being released to the care of community nurses and yours truly at her home, has she been officially 'signed off' the hospital ward list.

That news even managed to trump yesterday's announcement from the National Library of Ireland about the Catholic Registers heading online! Nothing beats a well Mammy.

As I'm sure you'll appreciate, this has been an incredibly worrying time for the entire family, not to mention disruptive of work and normal life routines. I've been living out of a suitcase for most of this period, with only intermittent wifi connections and, with concentration levels running low, I haven't been able to follow up some news developments that deserved attention. While I was able to pass on or disown my full-time work commitments, the blog is a part-time one-woman show so delegation wasn't an option. I didn't abandon it, but I couldn't keep up with it properly, either.

So, to those who may have felt I was ignoring them, my sincerest apologies.

Fingers crossed, my mother's recovery will continue to be steady and sure, and I'll be able to gradually catch up again. If 'catching up' takes too long, I may simply draw a line, close up early for Christmas and re-emerge in the New Year. We'll see.

Ulster-Scots Hub opens in Belfast

A new hub for all things Ulster-Scots has opened in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. Housed in the Corn Exchange Building, it is home to several key Ulster-Scots organisations including a Discover Ulster-Scots Visitor Centre, the Ulster-Scots Library and Archive, and a newly-designed exhibition of the historical links between Scotland and Ulster.

Speaking at the launch, Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said: 'The Discover Ulster-Scots Centre provides an imaginative and informative presentation of the historic link between Scotland and Ulster. It is a ‘one-stop’ shop for all those interested in these important connections at home and abroad, be it culture, heritage, tourism, language or genealogy.

'The exhibition highlights the many ways in which Ulster-Scots culture, history, heritage and language has shaped Ireland and the province of Ulster in particular. Ulster is a multicultural province where Irish, English and Scottish strands have been intertwined throughout history... I hope [the hub] will open up Ulster-Scots to everyone – people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, here and beyond these shores'

One of the main aims of the development is to promote greater collaboration within the Ulster-Scots sector by bringing several groups together physically in one building. Its new tenants include the Ulster-Scots Agency; the Ulster-Scots Academy Ministerial Advisory Group; the Ulster-Scots Community Network, as well as the Library and Archive mentioned above.

Here's a video, courtesy of the Belfast Telegraph, from the opening night:

Ruan National School Roll Books now online

Roll Books for Ruan National School (parish of Dysart and Ruan) in North-East Clare have been uploaded to the County Clare Library website. They were transcribed and donated by Linda Hogan and Frances O'Halloran and can be freely viewed in chronological order or alphabetically by surname.

Comprising 838 records, the books for girl pupils date from 1871, while those for boys start a little later, in 1890; both run to 1939.

County Leitrim stories added to Schools Collection

Digitisation work has continued at the National Folklore Collection with the upload of County Leitrim to the online Schools Collection at Duchas.ie.

This county's collection comprises stories collected from 145 schools under a project run across the 26 counties of the Irish Free State in 1937–39. The pupils collected stories – topics included folk legends, weather lore, local history, proverbs, pastimes, trades and crafts – from their local communities, and recorded the names of their informants, often grandparents or older members of their family or neighbours.

You can find out more about the Schools Collection in this earlier blogpost which I wrote following a visit to the National Folklore Collection at UCD.

An Irish Surnames Index has also been added to the Duchas website. It is a database of 2,810 surnames developed from work carried out by the Irish Folklore Commission in the 1930s, when local, non-standardised versions of surnames were collected. It does not claim to be a comprehensive list of the surnames of Ireland (which is just as well, since my surname doesn't appear in it!) nor an authoritive spelling guide to Irish surnames.

While there is no surviving account of the criteria followed in selecting advised versions or recognising related versions of a surname, it is assumed that the Commission's scholarly team would have conducted extensive research before making its choices.

The variation of surnames from area to area, or even from household to household, is significant. The surname Cafferky provides a good example, with the following variations recorded: O’Cafferky, McCafferky, McCafferty, Mac Eachmharcaigh, Ceafarcaigh, Ó Ceamharcaigh, Ó Ceafarcaigh, Cafferkey and Mac Ceamharcaigh.

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest updates

More than 150 memorial cards
added to Wexford Archive

Below are the updates made to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives in the last two weeks of November.

All the records, transcriptions, headstone photos and images of memorial cards held in IGP-web's online archives are donated by volunteers and made freely available on the site for the benefit of other researchers.

Do you have any similar items that you could contribute? If so, use the IGP submission form.

CAVAN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Blacklion, Thornhill Cemetery
Old Dobally, Dowra Graveyard

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Mount Jerome Cemetery, - Part 92
Deansgrange Cemetery, St Brigids Section, pt 9, and St Itas Section, Pt. 3

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives
Church Records:
Births Recorded in Killadeas (CoI) 1880-1941
Marriages Recorded in Killadeas (CoI) 1883-1935
Burials Recorded in Killadeas (CoI) 1888-1951
Lisnaskea, Marriages from Holy Trinity CoI 1804-1867
Vital Records – Assorted Death Certificates - 1869

KILKENNY Genealogy Archives – Miscellaneous
Contributors to fund for Christian Brothers School 1866
Contributors to Anti-Father Robert O'Keefe Supporters Fund 1875

LEITRIM Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Mohill, St. Mary's Church of Ireland Cemetery

MAYO Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Bushfield Headstone Transcriptions - Part 1

WEXFORD Genealogy Archives – Memorial Cards
More than 150 Memorial (Funeral) Cards

WICKLOW Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Baltyboys Cemetery, Part 4

National Library confirms plans to release Irish Roman Catholic registers online

Further to this morning's announcement by John Grenham (see my earlier blogpost), the National Library of Ireland has confirmed that it is to make almost 400,000 images of Catholic parish register microfilms available online for free. Here's the official announcement:

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has today unveiled details of its most ambitious digitisation project to date. The project will see the Library’s entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms made available online – for free – by summer 2015.

The records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 Census. Dating from the 1740s to the 1880s, they cover 1,091 parishes throughout Ireland, and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records.

Commenting today, Colette O’Flaherty, Head of Special Collections at the NLI, said: “This is the most ambitious digitisation project in the history of the NLI, and our most significant ever genealogy project. We believe it will be of huge assistance to those who wish to research their family history. At this stage, we have converted the microfilm reels on which the registers are recorded into approximately 390,000 digital images. We will be making all these images available, for free, on a dedicated website, which will be launched in summer 2015.

“Anyone tracing Irish family history will be able to access this site – from anywhere in the world – and search for the parish in which they are interested. They will be able to see a list of registers for that parish, and will be able to click on whichever registers they like to browse through the images contained within.

“The information in the registers varies from parish to parish but, typically, includes the dates of the baptisms or marriages, and the names of the key people involved, including godparents or witnesses. Obviously, such information is extremely valuable for both amateur genealogists and professional researchers.

“The microfilms have been available to visitors to the NLI since the 1970s. However, this project means that, for the first time, anyone will be able to access these registers without having to travel to Dublin.”

Contribution of the Catholic Church

Ms. O’Flaherty said the registers are a wonderful legacy of the Catholic Church to Ireland.

“The role of the Catholic Church in creating and maintaining these records during some of the most turbulent times in Irish history must be acknowledged and praised,” she said. “Most census records from this period were destroyed in the Custom House (sic) fire of 1922*, so these parish registers are the most comprehensive surviving source of information on Irish families in the 1700s and 1800s.

“The NLI has worked with the Catholic Church to preserve these registers since the 1950s, when we were initially invited to make microfilm copies. Now, in the 21st Century – and in keeping with our aim of enhancing accessibility through making our collections available online – we are delighted to embark on this major digitisation project.”

What Type of Information Will be Available?

The 390,000 digital images due to be published by the NLI will be searchable by parish location only. They will not be transcribed or indexed by the NLI, and the images will be of the microfilms of the original registers, which – in some cases – were in poor condition when the microfilming took place. The images will be in black and white.

“Anyone who has traced their family history knows it can sometimes be frustrating due to illegible handwriting on original records or poor-quality reproductions or transcriptions,” said Colette O’Flaherty. “Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to transcribe or index the images we are making available.

“We are fortunate, though, that the network of local family history centres throughout the country holds indexes and transcripts of parish registers for their local areas. We would envisage direct access to the digitised registers will complement the work of these local centres by enabling researchers to cross-reference the information they uncover, and assisting them in uncovering wider links and connections to their ancestral community.”

Further details of this digitisation project will be announced by the NLI in the coming months.

*It was, of course, the Four Courts fire.

Irish genealogy and history events, 1–13 December

Tuesday 2 December: The heritage sites of County Kildare, with Ger McCarthy. Host: Naas Local History Group. Venue: Community Library, Harbour View, Naas, Co Kildare. 7:45pm.

Tuesday 2 December: Women in Waterford History, with Andy Kelly. Venue: Town Hall Theatre, Friary Street, Dungarvan, Co Waterford. 8pm. €5. All welcome.

Tuesday 2 December: The trial of Lundy Winter School. Venue: The Courthouse, Bishop Street Within, Derry BT48 6PQ. Dr Padraig Lenihan will evaluate the 'Book of Evidence', followed by a History Ireland Hedge School panel discussion on the theme: 'Lundy: hero or traitor?'. Admission free. Doors open 6:30pm for tea/coffee with proceedings getting underway at 7pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 3 to Friday 5 December: Reading Room closed to public for annual media review. National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin. Details.

Wednesday 3 December: Ulster and the First World War, with Jonathan Bardon. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 1pm. Free but need to reserve your place by email to proni@dcalni.gov.uk or telephone 02890 534800.

Thursday 4 December: Cork and the Great War, an illustrated talk with Gerry White. Host: Coppeen Archaeological, Historical & Cultural Society. Venue: An Caipín, Coppeen, Co. Cork. 8:30pm. €5 non-members. All welcome.

Thursday 4 December: The Story behind the Name, with Eddie Lowe. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. Venue: Belmont Tower, 82 Belmont Church Road, Belfast, BT4 3FG, Co Antrim. 7:30pm. (Please note change of venue as Holywood Arches Library is being refurbished.) All welcome.

Thursday 4 December: Something of the Nature of a Massacre: The (1922) Bandon Valley Killings Revisited, with Dr John Borgonovo. Host: School of History's Research Seminar. Venue: G19 Kane Building, University College Cork. 6pm. Free. All welcome.

Friday 5 December: Ireland, Australia and the First World War, with Dr Jeff Kildea. Host: Military History Society of Ireland. Venue: Griffith College, South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Non-members welcome. 8pm.

Saturday 6 December: The Families in British India Society (FIBIS) Day Workshop. Venue: Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Jordan Well, Coventry CV1 5QP, UK. 10am to 4pm. Free but booking essential. Details.

Saturday 6 December: Survival and revival – Ireland's historic gardens and demesne landscapes, with Finola Reid. Venue: Tipperary County Museum, Mick Delahunty Square, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. 10am to Noon, with refreshments provided. €5 per session. Bookings: julia.walsh@tipperarycoco.ie or 076 106 5564.

Monday 8 to Friday 12 December: Preservation Week at PRONI. Limited service. There will be no Document Production but the Public Search Room, including Self-Service Microfilm area, will operate as normal at Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. More.

Tuesday 9 December: Dying in 11th-century Dublin, with Barra O Donnabhain. Last of the Living and Dying in a medieval city – Dublin in the Age of Clontarf lunchtime lecture series. Host: Friends of Medieval Dublin. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. Time: 1:05pm to 1:45pm. Free.

Tuesday 9 December: Researching a Family Business – Resources in the Dublin City Library and Archive, with Eithne Massey. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dún Laoghaire FE Institute, Cumberland Street, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. 8pm. Admission: €3.

Wednesday 10 December: Book Launch: 'Tracing your Kildare Ancestors' by Karel Kiely, Mario Corrigan and James Durney. Formalities to be conducted by Johnny Doyle. Venue: Kildare Town Library. 7pm. Free. Everyone welcome.

Thursday 11 December: The Making and Breaking of the Country House in Europe during World War One, with Professor Christopher Ridgway. Part of the CSHIHE/Carton Lecture Series. Venue: Carton House, Maynooth, Co Kildare. Admission fee €10, includes refreshments. 7:15pm. Followed by optional dinner, see details. Enquiries: tel: (01)6517708 Email: sales@cartonhouse.com.

Thursday 11 December: Christmas in County Wicklow 100 years ago, with James Scannell. Host: Enniskerry History Society. Venue: Powerscourt Arms Hotel, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. 8:30pm. €3.

It's happening! Ireland's Roman Catholic registers to go online

John Grenham has announced the news every Irish genealogist has been longing – dreaming – of hearing for years: the National Library of Ireland is to publish its collection of pre-1880 Roman Catholic Registers online.

I've heard rumours about this during the past year, but everytime I've asked the question I've been told 'no, it's not happening'.

I almost don't mind having been lied to!

John broke news of this fantastic development in his Irish Roots column. Go read and be happy.

UPDATE: See my later post for additional details from the National Library of Ireland's official press release.

Lantern slide show of Boer War and Great Wars images

The Representative Church Body Library’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War continues with the online presentation of lantern slides relating to “The Great European War” and related items from the earlier Boer War. These originated (before their transfer to the RCB Library) in St Patrick’s Cathedral Deanery, Dublin, where they may have been used to inform contemporary audiences about these conflicts.

The “Great European War” and related Boer War slides collectively form part of a bigger collection of lantern slides that were transferred from the Deanery into the library during the past 18 months.
They reveal the important role that the church and church personnel played in disseminating visual materials in times past when photography was a relatively privileged and rare occupation. Since its acquisition by the library it has been arranged, catalogued and listed into five main groups, of which the War images are one component.

The online slide show speculates how such a collection might have ended up at St Patrick’s and demonstrates how they were used as contemporary educative tools to inform people what was going on in an otherwise limited visual era. In church halls, churches and cathedrals, audiences would gather to be brought up to date with on the realities of warfare, and specifically the progress of the Allied advance on mainland Europe between 1914 and 1918 and related events.

View the lantern slide show here. .

(November's Archive of the Month – the Church of Ireland’s short commemorative film about the Great War and ten letter writers from the trenches, The Boys From East Belfast, continues at this permanent link.)