Free online genealogy course (MOOC) starts 18 July

The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow is to re-run its free online Genealogy: Researching your Family Tree course from Monday 18 July.

The course has been created by the University's
Centre for Lifelong Learning’s Postgraduate Programme in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies and is delivered by FutureLearn, a company owned by The Open University. It runs for six weeks.

Primarily designed for beginner to intermediate researchers, the course does not concentrate on any specific country's records and sources, so it can be useful to any researcher, no matter where their ancestors lived. The weekly 'lessons' cover effective searching techniques, the major source types and how to use them, Genealogical Proof, DNA testing, putting your research into context, and how to document and communicate research results. A weekly study commitment of four hours is recommended.

The presenters of the course, Tabita McCabe and Graham Holton, are tutors in Genealogical Studies at Strathclyde. When this genealogy MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) was first run earlier this year, it attracted 26,000 participants!

AncestryIreland marks July celebrations with 50% off

To celebrate Canada Day and American Independence Day, the Ulster Historical Foundation has announced a half price sale.

The 50% discount will be available across the AncestryIreland.com database of two million pay-per-view birth, marriage & death records for Counties Antrim & Down.

In terms of births and baptisms, AncesetryIreland holds virtually all Roman Catholic registers and a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian baptism registers for both Counties Antrim and Down, as well as many civil birth records for Belfast.

For marriages it holds virtually all civil records for the two counties, as well as nearly all Roman Catholic records up to 1900. Additionally, it holds a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian registers of marriages for mid, south and west County Down.

The site also contains funeral records (where they survive) from Roman Catholic registers for Counties Antrim and Down prior to 1900 and a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian registers of burials for the city of Belfast.

The offer will expire on 8 July.

Celebrate 4th July with 50% off Irish News Archives

The Dublin-based Irish Newspaper Archive has announced a flash sale to mark American Independence Day. If you sign up for a monthly or annual membership to the online archive before close of play on Wednesday 6 July, you can enjoy a 50% disoount.

That puts the monthly sub at just €15 and the annual sub at €89.

See the list of publications included in the archive.

To take advantate of the offer, click the logo and choose which subscription you want. Enter the coupon code 1916FB when prompted.

Another Belfast title joins British Newspaper Archive

The British Newspaper Archive (BNA) has added another Irish title: the Belfast Evening Telegraph.

This broadsheet launched in 1870 as a four-page publication; much expanded, it remains one of Northern Ireland's top-selling titles.

While the BNA plans to increase its holding of this paper to span 1871 to 1912, its first tranche of Belfast Evening Telegraph uploads consists only of the editions published January to December 1877, 1881 and 1898.

The addition of this paper to the BNA means there are now 120 Irish historical newspapers (33 of them from Northern Ireland) in the online archive. This collection is also available via FindMyPast as part of the Ireland or World subscription package.

National Library of Ireland runs Exhibitions survey

You don't have to have visited an NLI
exhibition to take the anonymous survey

The National Library of Ireland is reviewing its exhibition programme and wants to find out if it is meeting the needs of its past and future exhibition visitors. It wants to find out what’s working well or not so well, and what it could or should do that might better meet expectations.

An anonymous online survey, which you can reach by clicking on the image to the right, is asking for your views. It consists of just 12 questions, some of them multiple choice, and a couple asking for your own ideas of topics/themes and manners of presentation for future exhibitions.

I've just completed it. It took all of 10 minutes.

The Library is also conducting face-to-face surveys with visitors as they leave the current exhibitions.The Library says it will share its survey's findings later in the year.

Dr Ray Refaussé, RCBL's Librarian & Archivist, retires

At a reception in Church of Ireland House, Dublin, last Wednesday, staff of the Representative Church Body said farewell to Dr Raymond Refaussé, Librarian and Archivist of the RCB Library, who retired after 35 years with the library.

During those three and a half decades, the library's printed and archival collections grew considerably, particularly after Ray secured agreement with the Public Records Office of Ireland (now the National Archives) that the RCB Library was the appropriate place of custody for Church of Ireland parish registers. Over 1,100 parish record collections have been secured, stored and catalogued during his tenure, as have thousands of manuscript collections, and the papers of diocesan, cathedral as well as the central RCB and other administrative records of the wider Church.

The content of this material and its value for research has been heavily promoted by Ray's establishment of an exemplary publication scheme since the early 1990s, and latterly the development of online catalogues. As a result the library is visited by genealogists and historians from throughout Ireland and overseas.

In addition to his role as Librarian and Archivist, Ray has made an important contribution to other areas of the Church, especially in the area of publishing and communications. For many years he has edited the Church of Ireland notes, published weekly in The Irish Times (a role which he will continue) and as Secretary to the Literature Committee which manages Church of Ireland Publishing. In Dublin and Glendalough, he is a member of the Diocesan Communications Committee.

Paying tribute to his loyal service and hard work for the Representative Church Body and his contribution to so many aspects of church life, the Chief Officer, David Ritchie, presented Ray with a gift from his colleagues - a painting of South William Street, Dublin, by the artist Peter Pearson.

Dr Ray Refaussé (centre) with Dr Susan Hood who succeeds him as Librarian and Archivist and
Chief Officer David Ritchie. (Photo: David Wynne)

Irish genealogy and history events, 4–17 July

Wednesday 6 July: Newgrange and the Bend in the Boyne, Dr Geraldine Stout. The Hill of Tara Lecture Series. Venue: Hill of Tara Visitor Centre, Tara, Co Meath. No booking but seating is limited so come early. Free. 8pm.

Saturday 9 July: The National Library's History & Heritage, an introduction to the Library's rich architectural history and the Signatories exhibition, plus a guided tour of the Reading Room.  Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Admission free. All welcome. 1pm. No need to book.

Saturday 9 July: Genealogy drop-in, with Mayo Genealogy Group. Host and venue: National Museum of Ireland, Country Life, Turlough Park, Co Mayo. If you have an interest in finding out about your family history come along for free practical tips. No booking required. New researchers welcome. 11:30am to 1pm.

Saturday 9 July: Jumping the Pond – Finding the origins of your immigrant ancestor, with Donna Moughty. Host: Imperial Polk Genealogical Society. Venue: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lakeland, 3140 Troy Avenue, Lakeland, Florida, USA. All welcome. 1pm.

Saturday 9 July: Irish Saturday, with the Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI). Venue: Minnesota Genealogical Library, 1185 Concord St. N, South St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. 10am to 4pm. Details. No need to book.

Sunday 10 July: Women of the Irish Revolution. Film - Guns and Chiffon, followed by a talk - Rebel Sisters, with Dr Sonja Tiernan, plus launch of Manchester's Irish Story. Also Irish book stall, bar, tea & coffee. Hosts: Manchester Irish Film and Chorlton Irish Club. Venue: Chorlton Irish Club, Irish Association Social Club, 17 High Lane, Manchester UK, M21 9DJ. Doors open at 2pm. Entry £4.

Tuesday 12 July: 1392: The Attack on St Thomas’s Abbey by the Citizens of Dublin, with Aine Foley. Host: Friends of Medieval Dublin / Milestones of Medieval Dublin Lunchtime Lectures series. Venue: Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. 1:05–1:50pm. Free. No booking. All welcome.

Tuesday 12 July: The Irish DNA Atlas – a Study of Genetic Diversity in Ireland, with Ed Gilbert. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dún Laoghaire Further Education Institute, Cumberland Street, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin 18. 8–10pm. All Welcome. €3.

Wednesday 13 July: The Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and the Easter Rising, with Meadhbh Murphy. Launch of Surgeons and Insurgents exhibition and talk, followed by wine reception. Host: Dublin City Public Libraries. Venue: Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. 6pm. All welcome. No booking, but arrive early to ensure a place.

Wednesday 13 July: Researching the Rising Workshop, with Dr Emma Edwards. Advice on researching the National Library's collections. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. suitable for anyone looking to embark on a research project or to enhance research skills in navigating the catalogue, accessing the various collections and interpreting the sources. 11am. Free. Need to book. Details.

Wednesday 13 July: Revealing its story through excavation, with Dr Ann Lynch. The Hill of Tara Lecture Series. Venue: Hill of Tara Visitor Centre, Tara, Co Meath. No booking but seating is limited so come early. Free. 8pm.

Thursday 14 July: WWI Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience, an exhibition tour. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, 2/3 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Booking is not required. All welcome. 2pm.

Saturday 16 July: Using databases to research your information, with Mary Wickersham. Host: Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI). Venue: Minnesota Genealogical Society Library, 1185 Concord St. N, South St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. 10:30am to 12 noon. Need to register. Class fee is $15 for IGSI members and $20 for non-members.

FindMyPast adds Brtish military records & Canadian census

FindMyPast has added the following new records to its database today:

WW1 Officers and Household Cavalry 1801–1919
An additional 1,670,000 records have been added to the British Army Service Records collections. They include the records of officers who served during World War 1 and men who served with the famous Household Cavalry between 1801 and 1919.

RAF Gallantry medals from WW1
This is an index of 3,714 RAF members awarded gallantry medals during WW1. The index includes name, rank, service number and the date his medal award was published in the London Gazette.

Census of Canada 1911
Holding some 6.7million records, this collection covers census returns for all ten provinces and two territories (Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories). As with most census records, these allow you to discover where your ancestor was living, their birth place, age, marital status, occupation and much more.

TCD launches 'Irish soldiers voices from the Great War'

A new website – Fit as fiddles and as hard as nails - Irish soldiers’ voices from the Great War – has been launched by the Library of Trinity College Dublin to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Free to access, the new site presents diaries, letters and memoirs from Irish officers who served on both Western and Eastern Fronts during WW1. Three of them were Trinity graduates; two never came home and two received the Military Cross.

A total of 1,600 pages have been digitised as part of the project. See the short (2.5minutes) video below for more information.

RCB Library commemorates the Battle of the Somme

“Ulster’s Sacrifice”  article as published in the
Church of Ireland Gazette, 14th July  1916.

This month's Archive of the Month from the Representative Church Body Library (RCBL) commemorates the Battle of the Somme with a focus on how it was reported in the weekly Church of Ireland Gazette.

The battle began 100 years ago today with the Allied objective of advancing along the banks of the River Somme to the French village of Thiepval to penetrate the German trench network called the Schwaben Redoubt.

Both the 36th Ulster and 16th Irish Divisions were involved at the Somme and paid a heavy price. Within a fortnight, the Gazette had published a heart-breaking piece entitled Ulster’s Sacrifice, recording that ‘there is hardly a house where there is not one dead’.

The shared experience of unionists and nationalists fighting side by side at the Somme remains one of the most poignant Irish legacies of the First World War, and in the first edition published after the battle began, on 7 July, the Gazette was highlighting this significance. Its lead article of that date – entitled The Somme or the Boyne – was written in the context of government proposals to partition Ireland as a solution to the Irish question in response to the Easter Rising. Speaking for wider Church and island interests as a whole, the article took on the language of appeal that all would remain united in the spirit of the Somme, rather than dividing along green and orange lines, thus promoting the Somme as a symbol of Irish unity.

The online search engine, which provides free access to the editions of the newspaper for the entire commemorative period, 1911-1923, reveals no less than 23 different articles covering the Somme between July and December 1916.

The newspaper's "The War Week by Week" columns by its lay editor and wartime correspondent Ware Bradley Wells (1892-1958), the “Boyne or the Somme” series, and all the other content of the Gazette editions between 1911 and 1923 remains freely available using the online search engine available through the Church of Ireland website at https://esearch.informa.ie/rcb

Thanks to support from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, a commemorative reprint of the 7 July 1916 edition – as it appeared for contemporary readers – will be printed and circulated for current Gazette readers on 8th July 2016.