Rockstar Genealogists 2017 results announced

Final results in the 2017 Rockstar Genealogists' poll were revealed this morning and the results from the 'Irish jury' were an exact copy of the previous year's reckoning.

I held on to my bronze placement, which I'm very happy about, so many thanks to everyone who took the time to register a vote for me: John Grenham MAGI took the silver for the second year in a row; and Maurice Gleeson repeated last year's triumph by taking the gold crown again.

The poll is run by Ottawa-based genealogist John D Reid, who publishes the Anglo-Celtic-Connections blog. This is how he describes Rockstar Genealogists: "They are those who give "must attend" presentations at family history conferences or as webinars, who when you see a new family history article or publication by that person, makes it a must buy. If you hang on their every word on a blog, podcast or newsgroup, or follow avidly on Facebook or Twitter they are likely Rockstar candidates. For clarity, it's about communication and influence not who's the best researcher."

Pop over to John's blogpost to see the names of all the Gold Medal winners ie the Superstar Genealogists, and all the Silver and Bronze winners.

Irish genealogy & heritage events, 23 Oct to 5 Nov

Monday 23 October: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal. Details.

Monday 23 October: Protest and resistance during the Great Famine, with Dr. John Cunningham. Host: Moate Museum and Historical Society. Venue: Grand Hotel, Main Street, Moate, Co Westmeath. Free. All welcome.

Wednesday 25 October: The October Revolution in Russia: The Impact of Communism in Ireland conference. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter, Belfast, BT3 9HQ. 10am – 4pm. Free, but need to book ticket. The exhibition, Women in the Russian Revolution will be on display at PRONI on the day of the Conference.

Wednesday 25 October: Pre-Famine Dublin: a calamity waiting to happen? with Vincent Ruddy. Host: The Old Dublin Society. Venue: Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. 6pm. All welcome. Free.

Wednesday 25 October: Negotiating Insanity in Nineteenth-Century Ireland: the case of Carlow Lunatic Asylum and the south-east, with Dr Catherine Cox. Host: West Wicklow Historical Society. Venue: Timmins Bar (upstairs), Baltinglass, Co Wicklow. Admission €5 - includes tea / coffee. All welcome. 8pm.

Wednesday 25 October: The frustrated return of WWI Irish ex-servicemen, with Dr Emmanuel Destenay. Host and venue: National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. No booking required. All welcome. 6pm.

Thursday 26 October: The Treasonous Irish: Vigilantes, Conspiracies and the Mainstream Press, 1917-1918, with Mick Mulcrone. The Ernie O’Malley Lecture. Host & venue: Glucksman Ireland House, 1 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003, USA. All welcome. Free. 7pm–9:30pm. Details and registration.

Thursday 26 October: Researching around Adoption and using DNA Resources, with Séan T Traynor. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society Ballymena Branch. Venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena, BT43 5EJ. 7:15pm. All welcome.

Thursday 26 October: Mapping the Canal: David Vaughan and the Erie Canal, with Craig Williams. Host and venue: Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany, NY, USA. Free to members/ $5 non-members. 6:30pm–8pm. Need to register in advance.

Monday 30 October: Public Holiday in Republic of Ireland only. All libraries and archives offices closed.

Tuesday 31 October: The Wreck of the Leon XIII in 1907, with Mick Carrick. Host: Kilrush and District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Kilrush, Co. Clare. 8pm to 9pm. All welcome. Members free. Non-members €5 on the door.

Tuesday 31 October: Halloween Lock-in, with Martin McDowell. Late night research and social mingle. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. Venue: NIFHS Research Centre, Unit C4, Valley Business Centre, 67 Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 7LS. 8pm to 12pm. Need to be in by 8pm. Stay as long as you like. Complimentary light refreshments will be available. Free, but need to book. All welcome. Details.

Wednesday 1 November: Early medieval masons in Rathdown, with Jason Bolton. Host: Rathmichael Historical Society. Venue: Rathmichael NS, Stonebridge Road, Shankill, Co Dublin. 8pm. €4. All welcome.

Wednesday 1 November: Archives of the Valuation Office, with Frances McGee. Host and venue: National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free. All welcome. No booking required. 6pm.

Thursday 2 November: Paisanos: The forgotten Irish who changed the face of Latin America, with Tim Fanning. Host: Mount Merrion Historical Society. Venue: Mount Merrion Community Centre, North Avenue, Mt Merrion, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. 8pm. All welcome. Non-members €4.

Thursday 2 November: From Medieval Warlords to Anglicised Loyalists: The Powers of Curraghmore, 1400-1700, with Julian Walton. The Niall Byrne Memorial Lecture. Host & venue: Waterford Museum of Treasures, The Mall, Waterford City. No prior booking is required. 7.30pm. Admission €5.

Saturday 4 November: Irish Research Expert Help Desk, with Ruth Mathewson and Roz McCutcheon of the Irish Genealogical Research Society. Host: West Surrey Family History Society. Venue: Woking Leisure Centre, Kingfield Rd, Woking, Surrey, UK (GU22 9BA). 10am–4:30pm. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 4 November: Our Wicklow Heritage: Making Local History. Hosted by Heritage Office, Wicklow County Council. Venue: Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh, Glendalough, Co Wicklow. Keynote speaker Professor Raymond Gillespie. Other presentations by five local historical societies, Wicklow Library and Archives services, and a group workshop. 9:30am–4:30pm. Free, but need to register. Details.

Saturday 4 November: The Children of the 1916 Rising: part of Women's History Day. A talk, walk, and museum visit. Host: Maryland Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. Venue: Irish Railroad Workers Museum, 918-920 Lemmon St, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 11:30am–2pm EDT. Free. Details.

Saturday 4 November: Dublin Histories, with Donal Fallon, John Gibney and Aileen O’Carroll in conversation with Myles Dungan. Hosts: Dublin Book Festival and NLI. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Free. 3.30pm – 4.30pm. All welcome. Booking advised.

Saturday 4 November: Family History Advice Day, with the Western Family History Association. Host: Galway City Museum and WFHA. Noon for lecture presentation by Paul Greaney and Pat Finn); From 2pm: free consultations. Venue: Galway City Musuem, Spanish Parade House, Merchants Rd Lower, Galway City. For more information or to book consultation, phone Museum on 091 532460.

Back To Our Past & Genetic Genealogy Ireland: last day on Sunday

Despite intending to be at this year's Back To Our Past (BTOP) and Genetic Genealogy Ireland (GGI) conference at the RDS in Dublin, events have conspired against me and I won't be able to attend. But I've been in touch with some of those attending the show and all seems to be going well: a happy, busy atmosphere, with lots of help and guidance being freely dispensed to family historians of all levels by knowledgeable genies on the exhibitor stands and in the lecture halls.

There are also loads, and I mean LOADS, of special offers to be had, whether you're after DNA tests, genealogical society memberships, database subscriptions, stationery supplies for the researcher, family history magazines and books, or pretty much anything else.

From what I'm hearing, visitor numbers look pretty good despite the downpours and gales being thrown down on Ireland courtesy of Storm Brian.

I've managed to beg and borrow some photos to give you a feel for the show, so if you fancy popping along tomorrow when the weather is likely to be bit quieter, you'll know what to expect.

The Shelbourne Hall doors open on Sunday at 11am and the show continues until 6pm. Check out the lecture programmes for the day (Genetic Genealogy and Traditional Genealogy/Heritage), and be sure to allow yourself enough time to visit all the stands and attend a selection of talks.

Top: Eppie Jones presents her lecture 'Ancient DNA and the Genetic History of Europeans' at GGI (photo
Svetlana Hensman @SvHensman); Middle: Irish Genealogy Supplies stand has all your research
stationery needs covered; Bottom: Irish Roots Magazine - Ireland's only independent family history magazine.

Top: North of Ireland Family History Society's stand: check out their Family History Beginner’s Pack or
dedicated County Research Guides; Middle: Making their debut at BTOP is MyHeritage;
Bottom: Who cares about the lotto? This weekend all eyes are on the
Irish Genealogical Research Society's fabulous raffle prize worth €1,000!

Clockwise from Top Left: Books galore on the Royal Irish Academy's stand; Wesley Burke, Editor of Ireland's Military Story magazine; Maurice Gleeson, co-ordinator of Genetic Genealogy Ireland conference with Cathal McElgunn, visiting geneticist; Find out how the collections and resources of PRONI can help your Northern Ireland research.

Top: Family Tree DNA sponsor the Genetic Genealogy Ireland conference.
Middle: Ancestry's ProGenealogists team in action, busy busy busy.
Bottom: BTOP is held as part of the Over 50s show at the RDS.

FindMyPast discounts running to end of October

FindMyPast is offering discounts on some of its subscription packages. In each case, the money-saving offers are available on new subscriptions only, and you'll need to sign up for your chosen package before the end of October, when the discounts expire.

The following discounts are now live using the links below:

10% off 12-month World/Premium Subscription - Ireland, Australia/NZ & USA only*
*Links for the UK site will be added in due course

FindMyPast Ireland
10% off 12-month World package

FindMyPast Australia/NZ
10% off 12-month World package

FindMyPast US
10% off 12-month Premium package
(See also 50% discount offer below)

50% off one-month Premium Subscription - USA only

FindMyPast US
50% off 1-month Premium package

FindMyPast adds three collections of abstracts and pedigrees, and an early rural Cork census

FindMyPast has added four useful new collections to its database of Irish records. Three of them feature the work of renowned genealogists of yesteryear and include abstracts of wills dating as far back as the 16th or 17th centuries as well as transcripts from other miscellaneious records The fourth collection, though small, will be of interest to those with Cork ancestors. The four collections are held by the National Archives of Ireland.

From Betham Genealogical Abstracts
Click for larger image.

Betham Genealogical Abstracts

Sir William Betham was appointed Ulster King of Arms in 1807 and set about creating abstracts of pre-1800 wills. He also reconstructed family trees and pedigrees. This collection holds nearly 490,000 records created by him. It includes abstracts of wills, reconstructed family trees and detailed pedigrees.

Crosslé Genealogical Abstracts

The Crosslé Genealogical abstracts were created in the 19th century by Dr Francis Crosslé and his son Philip (1875-1953). The miscelleneous collection of more than 657,000 detailed abstracts dates from 1620 to 1804, many of them transcribed from prerogative wills subsequently destroyed in the 1922 fire, as well as Army returns from 1767 to 1816. A good proportion of the material comes from the Northwest of Ireland.

Thrift Genealogical Abstracts

Created by the genealogist Gertrude Thrift (1872-1951), this collection of 150,000 abstracts contains transcripts and notes from military commission books, parish registers, exchequer bill books, prerogative grants, chancery bill books, freeman rolls, wills, and more. It also includes detailed family trees and pedigree charts for a number of well-heeled families. The original sources and lives recorded date back to 1505 and spans up to the 1930s, but more than 90% of the entries are from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the wills copied by Thrift were subsequently lost during the fire at the PRO in Dublin in 1922.

NorthWest Cork/East Kerry, Pobble O'Keefe Census 1830-1852

An 1850 census from townland of Tooreenclassagh.
Click for larger image.

This is a small-ish record set but for those whose ancestors are recorded, it will bring rich pickings. The rest of us with Cork connections can only look on with envy.

The townland of Pobble O'Keefe, aka Pobal O'Keefe or Pobal O'Keeffe, was originally owned by the O'Keefe family but was forfeited in 1641.

The area includes 9,000 acres on the banks of a tributary of the Blackwater, straddling the Cork and Kerry borders. In the 1830s it was managed by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, who built many roads and a new rural town, known as KingWilliamstown. The name has since been changed to Ballydesmond.

This record set holds just over 4,500 records from seven local censuses – 1830, 1834, 1836, 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852 – providing names, ages and occupations of household members. It also appears to be free to search and view (unlike the others above).

Book launch - Dublin: A New Illustrated History

A new book telling the story of Dublin has been published by Collins Press.

Dublin: A New Illustrated History. The story of the capital from origins to the present, by historian and walking tour guide John Gibney, is a 348-page hardback featuring full colour photographs and a multitude of tales to explain how the city developed. The author tells his story of the capital’s social, political, cultural and architectural past through anecdotes about personalities, goings-on, buildings, literature and song over the centuries.

Unlike other histories, this sweeping portrait starts with the prehistoric settlements from which the city’s two names, Dublin and Baile Átha Cliath, are drawn, charting its growth through the Vikings and Normans, the Georgian, Victorian and Revolutionary eras, into the new millennium.

Each chapter brings a different period to life with lavish artworks, maps, artefacts and photos. The absorbing episodes and characters that fill these pages guarantee that this book is no mere local history. Rather, it is an illuminating chronicle of the Irish nation’s nerve centre and will captivate everyone interested in the ebb and flow of Irish life.

Via the publisher's website, the book is on sale for €29.99, which includes free shipping in Ireland. Its ISBN is 9781848893306.

The official launch of the book will be held this evening, from 6:30pm, at Hodges Figgis in Dawson Street, Dublin 2. The guest speaker will be Frank McDonald, author, journalist and former Environment Editor of the Irish Times. John Gibney published this tweet earlier today: 'If near @Hodges_Figgis tonight...all welcome!'

MilitaryArchives.ie prepares to release more MSPC files

MilitaryArchives.ie has announced some details of its imminent online release from the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection. These files relate to claims lodged by the participants of the revolutionary period or by their dependents and have already yielded significant new information for period.  .

This will be the fourth instalment from the collection and includes the files of 1,576 individuals. In total, this instalment includes 290,000 scanned pages in 4,730 files. These files relate to claims lodged by the participants of the revolutionary period or by their dependents and contain a wealth of new and unique information for the period.

The release includes:

• 300 women participants
  
• 343 IRA Civil War casualties
  
• 66 individuals executed during the Civil War.
  
• 352 claims lodged by dependants of deceased participants
  
• 5 veterans of Easter Week
  
• 510 applications for service (either pre-Truce or War of Independence and Civil War (IRA and National Army)

The names and residences of the 1,576 individuals have been published in a downloadable list (PDF 1.3Mb). The release will be on Tuesday 24 October.

See details about the various record sets within the MSPC that are already online here.

Rockstar Genealogists 2017 poll: voting ends Saturday

Rockstar Genealogists 2017 poll is now open for your votes.

Run by blogger John D Reid of Anglo-Celtic-Connections, the Rockstar awards were introduced as a way of helping the organisers of lecture programmes to know who is popular internationally and in different regions.

John says:"Rockstar genealogists are those who give 'must attend' presentations at family history conferences or as webinars, who when you see a new family history article or publication by that person, makes it a must buy. If you hang on their every word on a blog, podcast or newsgroup, or follow avidly on Facebook or Twitter they are likely Rockstar candidates. For clarity, it's about communication and influence not who's the best researcher."

Voting requires access through a Google account. This stops people voting multiple times. If you don't already have an account, you can sign up for free here.

You can  select as many or as few of the nominated genealogists as you wish, but you can submit only once.

All votes need to have been submitted by 2pm (EDT-USA/Canada) / 7pm Dublin/London.

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives passes milestone

Please see below a summary of the files added to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives (IGP Archives) in the first two weeks of this month. 

The volunteer team noted that in the course of these uploads, more than 120,000 gravestone images – an impressive milestone – are now available to view via the IGP Headstone Project.

ARMAGH Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Ballymacnab Old Graveyard - McKee & McParlan

DONEGAL Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Donaghmore, St. Patrick's (CoI)
Meenglass(CoI) Diocese of Raphoe

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Deansgrange Cemetery, St. Anne's Section, Pt. 6
Golden Bridge Cemetery, Part 2 (D-G)
Mount Jerome, Dublin - Part 178

LIMERICK Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mungret Graveyard

TYRONE Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Urney Cemetery, Parts - Completed

WATERFORD Genealogy Archives - Headstones
St. Otteran's, Waterford City, Part 8

WICKLOW Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Greenane Main Cemetery, Part 2

Accredited Genealogists Ireland admits new Affiliates

Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) has announced that two more genealogists have recently been admitted as Affiliates of the association. The Affiliate category was introduced by AGI as a stepping stone towards an application for accreditation from genealogists in the early stage of their transition to professional status.

The two new Affiliates are  Séamus O’Donoghue, who is based in his native Co. Clare, and Des Murtagh, originally from Dublin and now resident in Co. Kildare.

AGI's two new affiliates: Séamus O’Donoghue (left) and Des Murtagh (right)

AGI has limited places in the Affiliate programme, partly because each Affiliate is matched with a mentor from within the body of accredited Members.  To date there have been fifteen Affiliates and six of them have progressed through the accreditation process to becoming Members (MAGIs). See the AGI website for more information about the Affiliate programme.