Back To Our Past - what an opening!

The 3-day Back To Our Past show got off to a lively start at noon when it opened its doors to a good humoured queue waiting outside Hall 4 of the RDS. Within no time at all, the atmosphere inside was buzzing and exhibitors were doing brisk business.

Among the busiest were those with a dual offer of immediate access to records and professional know-how. Both Helen Kelly on the Association of Professional Genealogists of Ireland's stand, and Aideen Ireland of the National Archives of Ireland must be hoarse tonight after many hours providing one-to-one advice and direction.

RootsIreland and FindMyPast also seemed swamped throughout most of the day. At the latter, I got a chance to speak to the ever cheerful and enthusiastic Amy Sell, Find My Past's marketing executive, about the imminent launch of 19th- and 20th-century newspapers from the UK and Ireland.

'Some 4million pages of the British Library's newspaper collection will be searchable when the new site launches later this year,' she explained. 'It's possible to register now and take part in a survey giving you a say in which newspapers get digitised after the launch. The partnership agreement will see the digitisation of 400million pages over the next ten years, so we'll be scanning and uploading every day and we need to know which papers our customers want most.'

Across the aisle was Eneclann, FMP's joint venture partner in the Irish version of FindMyPast. The .ie company officially launched the Irish Prison Registers collection this morning. Drawing on details contained in the collection's 3.5million records, Eneclann's CEO Brian Donovan gave a fascinating presentation on the subject of Murderers, Rebels and Drunkards: Your ancestors and the Law.

He also mentioned that some 15million Petty Sessions Court records would be released by June 2012.

Without mentioning any deadlines, Steven Smyrl, Chairman of the Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) also suggested more outstanding records could soon be available online. 'A society such as the IGRS, being a fairly academic society, has a lot of material that other newer societies wouldn't have – in particular we have the terrific contents of our library in London,' he said.

'We're hoping to start putting some of this outstanding collection on the Internet quite soon.'

These records will be available only to members of the Society so the canniest visitors were taking up the special show membership offers. They could choose from a discounted traditional membership package (Library access, Journal and newsletters) for 20Euros or a special membership package of 60Euros which additionally includes a subscription to Irish Roots Magazine (an independent newsstand publication) and a cd containing all the IGRS Journals back to 1937. Excellent value.

There were, of course, many special show offers and promos available today. Among the best was one from History Ireland, a magazine that I criticise only for being bi-monthly rather than monthly. I love this publication. And today I eagerly signed up for a subscription that carried the added bonus of free access to JSTOR's Ireland Collection of 75 journals and 200 monographs. Oh Happiness!

While the Prison Registers took the 'launch of the day' crown, there were others of note. These included the first Irish Family and Local History Handbook (224 pages containing 60 articles and a huge listing section of libraries, genealogical centres, family history societies, cemetaries, professional genealogists and more) from Robert Blatchford Publishing, and the Irish DNA Atlas project by the Genealogical Society of Ireland.

Another exhibitor that I'll be following up after the show is the Irish Ancestry Research Centre, a company based on the University of Limerick campus and sponsored by American interests. It is already running family history workshops and online certificate courses but also has a walk-in research centre. Me thinks a visit will be in order very soon.

It was an excellent opening day. Informative talks, plenty to learn, plenty to discuss, and still more to discover. Which is why I'll be returning tomorrow morning!

Best print off another of my vouchers!



See also my report from Day Two.

Prison registers are online

For the first time, Ireland's surviving prison registers are online. They're going to be officially launched by FindMyPast.ie at the Back To Our Past show tomorrow, but they are already available for searching.

And what fun they are, too! I've just spent more than two hours happily lost in them and I've already found important detail about some of my ancestors. How about this:

Daniel Santry, aged 19, was taken into custody at Cork prison on 6 March 1867. No minor crime, for Daniel. He was charged with attacking and burning the police barracks and open insurrection against HM The Queen. His home address is recorded and so are some personal details – height 5ft 7½, fresh complexion, grey eyes, brown hair, and two vaccination marks on his left arm. Surprisingly, given the crime, he was bailed after 14 days incarceration and ordered to appear at the Spring Assizes.

Or this: Jerry Santry, aged 20. Held in gaol from 2 August 1849 for stealing clothes from Skibbereen Workhouse, for which he received 1 month's hard labour after nearly one month in prison custody.

In fact there are many, many cases of 'stealing clothes from Workhouse'. And quite a few 'stealing dishes from Workhouse' or 'stealing potatoes' or 'stealing apples' in the 1849 registers. As the notes to the collection explain, the numbers of cases before the courts was very high this year when those worst affected by the famine sought refuge within the prison system. At least there was food and shelter there, no matter how hard the regime.

Perhaps it was this 'refuge' that some other young Santrys were after when they were accused of stealing sheep that summer. Margaret (7), Mary (9) and John (5) were held in custody from 17 July 1849 until 3 August when they were found not guilty and discharged. I can't help wondering if they were pleased with this verdict. I don't know who these kids 'belonged to', nor if they survived the Great Hunger.

I'm going to enjoy pouring over old newspapers to see if I can find any more details in reports of the trials in which my ancestors were involved in. And there's still plenty more to search out.

It's a fascinating collection. It dates from 1790 to 1924 and covers most of the surviving records of the 26 counties of the Republic. A total of 2.7million records are included, with information on over 3.5million names. The latter figure is higher because the collection is searchable not only for the name of prisoners but also victims.

I found one of my maternal ancestors, James Doolittle, recorded as a victim of assault by Peter Reilly, a 35-year-old bachelor labourer from Wicklow who was ordered to pay a fine or be imprisoned for seven days in January 1878.

When searching the registers by county, bear in mind that the registers are indexed according to the county where the prison was located, not where the accused resided. This tip, together with full details of the register dates for each county register, plus a summary of the prison system over the years, can be found on the notes page. It's worth reading before you get stuck in!

Excavated burial site yields more secrets about famine years

An informative piece in today's Irish Times tells of a study carried out on the remains of nearly 1,000 famine victims at a Kilkenny workhouse.

Seems there was a little more dignity shown to the dead than you might have expected. Darn sight more than was shown while they were alive, anyway.

There's no point my summarising it here. Type this link into your browser: www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sciencetoday/2011/1020/1224306123786.html

Prison releases this week

Find My Past Ireland will be adding a very exciting new collection to their website at the Back To Our Past show.

It's the prison registers, which date from 1790 to 1924. I don't know yet exactly which collection they have digitised, but if it's the one held by the National Archives, it contains details of name, age, crime, sentence, location of conviction, marital status, literacy level, trade or occupation and number of previous convictions.

This is pretty meaty stuff, and I, for one, can't wait to get stuck in. There's a particular story concerning one of my grandmother's brothers that I'd like to follow up. Family lore says he was put on a fast boat to America in the early 1920s to escape a second long spell of porridge, but I don't know what his earlier incarceration had been about.

I'll report here when I have more details about this new release. This may not be until the official launch at the Back To Our Past show.

News & snippets

Records in the pipe
The half million or so Waterford baptism records recently uploaded to RootsIreland.ie are the first batch of that county's church register collection on the site. Coming along shortly will be a collection of some 250,000 marriages. These will be followed by more records for county Mongahan, adding to the 32,000 RC baptisms already available, a first collection from Wexford, and some memorial inscriptions from Ulster.

Calendars at the ready
Archives, libraries and heritage centres in the Republic will be closed on Monday 31st October (a public holiday). In Northern Ireland, where there is no October Holiday, such venues should be open. Looking further ahead, the Reading Room of the National Archives of Ireland in Dublin will be closed on Wednesday 7th, Thursday 8th and Friday 9th December for the annual press preview of state documents that will become open (after the expiry of the 30-year closure rules) for public scrutiny in the new year.

Worth bookmarking
I came across a site today that I haven't visited for some years: www.irelandoldnews.com. To be honest, I'd forgotten about it, but I've now bookmarked it because, while it doesn't have any newspaper transcriptions for some counties and some years, it's got plenty enough to entice me back for a good regular rummage around.

Halloween's a-coming
Glasnevin Cemetery is gearing up for a busy Samhain. Until 7th November, the Ghastly Glasnevin exhibition will be available in the Prospect Gallery of the Museum, with pictures and stories about death and burial in 19th-century Dublin. From 26th to 31st October, the Glasnevin Gravedigger Cemetery Tour, which I'm told is suitable for all ages, will be held at 11am and 5pm. And for the truly fearless, there's a Samhain Supper & Storytelling evening on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th at a cost of 45Euros pp, which includes a meal, ghost stories from Jack Lynch, traditional harp entertainment and a torch-lit tour with Glasnevin Trust's resident historian Shane MacThomas. Bookings 01 882 6550 or email booking@glasnevintrust.ie.
Find out more about the origin of Halloween.

Back To Our Past
Just a reminder that Ireland's very own family history show, Back To Our Past, takes place this coming weekend in Dublin. Held at the RDS, it starts on Friday (Midday to 7pm) and continues over Saturday and Sunday (both days 11am to 7pm). Don't forget to download and print a discount voucher to save yourself 50% of the entrance charge.

Mid-month update from IGP

Updates from Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives so far this month:

DERRY/LONDONDERRY Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary

1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Glasnevin Part 7

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives - Church
Births at Irvinestown & Pettigoe Presbyterian Church

KERRY Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary Records
1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

KILDARE Genealogy Archives - Military
1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

KILKENNY Genealogy Archives - Military
1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

LEITRIM Genealogy Archives
Dromahaire, St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cemetery

LIMERICK Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

LONGFORD Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

MONAGHAN Genealogy Archives - Headstones.
Ballybay, 2nd Presbyterian

OFFALY (Kings) Genealogy Archives - Military & Constabulary
1845 Royal Irish Constabulary records

Irish Genealogy Toolkit is the Research Help partner of IGP Archives.

Free seminar: Care and conservation of historic graveyards

A free seminar on the care and conservation of historic graveyards will be held next Saturday (22 October) in Maghery, co Donegal.

The aims of the seminar are to provide communities, groups and individuals with advice on the conservation of the built, cultural and natural heritage found in historic graveyards and to promote best practice in the management, care and maintenance of these graveyards. Guest speakers include representatives from the National Monuments Service, Department of the Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht; Archaeological Survey of Ireland; Dedalus Architecture and the Donegal Biodiversity Project as well as people involved in historic graveyard projects in Cooley historic graveyard (near Moville), St. Catherine's historic graveyard (in Killybegs) and Templecrone historic graveyard (in Termon, Maghery), County Donegal.

The free seminar is organised by the County Donegal Heritage Office, Cultural Services & the Roads & Transportation Directorate, Donegal County Council in association with the Peadar O’Donnell Weekend. To book your free place, please contact John Kerrigan on (074) 917 2359 or by e-mail at hra@donegalcoco.ie

Ionad an Mhachaire, An Machaire / Maghery, County Donegal
9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Reaching out and gathering up the world's Irish

It's been a week for friendly and inviting waves to the Irish diaspora. First came proposals for what's been billed as the 'biggest tourism initiative ever staged in Ireland'. The Gathering, as it's been named, will be a year-long programme of events, festivals and fun designed to bring an extra 325,000 visitors to Ireland in 2013.

Proposed by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadker TD, The Gathering is intended to boost the tourism industry, create jobs and inject millions of euros into the economy. It will focus on a series of flagship festivals throughout the year, along with special interest spin-off events, and a community-led programme. It will showcase Irish arts, sports, food, learning, genealogy and family heritage, science and hospitality.

While The Gathering aims to stimulate interest and appeal and extends a general invitation, a separate project is taking a more direct-to-the-diaspora approach.

The Ireland Reaching Out (IRO) initiative aims to trace descendents of Irish emigrants and invite them to visit their ancestral homelands.

Piloted last summer in east Galway, this genealogy-in-reverse process saw 30 visitors from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia respond to invitations from local people for a 'week of welcomes' that started with a reception at Cloghan Castle in Kitchreest, co Galway, and included a tour of the region, a dedicated family history day, a real Irish wedding and a hurling match.

Following the success of the pilot, an extended IRO project was launched on Wednesday. Some 25 parishes across the country attended the event to find out how the initiative can be implemented and tailored locally. At least 10 have committed to running such a project in 2012. Next year's target is for several hundred people to enjoy a week of welcomes.

"Sending out details of a a person's Irish ancestry had an 'enormously persuasive power' in enticing them to Ireland," said Mike Feerick, the Galway-based, American-born entrepreneur who started ROI. He added that training was very important for volunteers both in how to look after guests and how to access genealogical records.

Third into this diaspora-focussed week was a new social network website, www.worldirish.com. It's live, and showing some promise with an eclectic collection of stories and videos already gathered or submitted. If you've got something deep and meaningful (or just plain playful) to say about Irishness, or just want to add something curious or interesting into the world's view of Ireland and its people, you'll want to see how this site develops.

Countdown to Back To Our Past

It's just ten days to the doors opening on Ireland's very own genealogy and family history show. Back To Our Past kicks off at the RDS in Dublin at midday on Friday 21st October and continues on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd.

The inaugural event last year was a resounding success, but the organisers say next weekend's show will be even bigger and better.

"Because 2010's event went so well, we allocated more than double the space this time," explains John Lowe of S&L Promotions.

"That's 50-odd stands, and almost all of them have been allocated to exhibitors. We have two left; if anyone is interested, they should contact me immediately."

All the major institutions, commercial companies and genealogy groups will be there, including the National Archives and National Library, PRONI, FindMyPast.ie, Roots Ireland, Ancestry, Eneclann, APGI and societies such as GOONs and the Irish Genealogical Research Society. The exhibitors' list suggests that all family historians, whether just starting out on their research or advanced, are going to find plenty of interest.

The Lecture Programme is also a major draw. This, too, has been beefed up. "Because of the huge demand for speakers to be allocated slots, we have added a second presentation area," says John.

The following examples will whet your appetite, but you can download the full programme from www.backtoourpast.com:

• Murderers, Rebels & Drunkards: Irish ancestors & the Law (Brian Donovan, FMP)
• Beyond the Beginner (Gerry P Cahill, Irish Family History Society)
• The UK National Register: a new source for WW2 (Steven Smyrl, MAPGI)
• The Irish in Argentina (Helen Kelly, MAPGI)
• Researching Ulster Ancestors (Gillian Hunt, Irish Family History Foundation)
• Newspapers as a source for genealogy (Nicola Morris, MAPGI)

There are bound to be a crop of special offers and launches from exhibitors. Among these will be the launch of the Irish Family History and Local History Handbook from Robert Blatchford Publishing and the arrival of a major new resource on FindMyPastIreland.

Back To Our Past forms a distinctive element of The Over 50s Show. "A major advantage of our event is that visitors can avail of all the features of both shows as part of their entrance fee," says John. "Overall, there are nearly 300 exhibitors and, with advance ticket sales up by more than 40% on last year, we are expecting total attendence to top 25,000 over the three days."

If you're planning to come along, make sure to take advantage of a 50% discount kindly offered by the organisers to readers of Irish Genealogy News.

Click here to download and print a voucher that entitles you to reduced admission of just €5. Up to two people per voucher can claim the discount, and it's valid for any of the three days.


Note: Link to voucher is no longer active.

Genealogist receives Canada's highest civilian award

A senior member of the Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) was recently invested with the Order of Canada for his services to genealogy.

Dr Terrence Punch has written several books about genealogical research in Canada, including Genealogist’s Handbook for Atlantic Canada Research, Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia, and Erin’s Sons: Irish Arrivals in Atlantic Canada (a multi volume series of books), and is also a regular broadcaster on CBC Radio’s Maritime Noon where he answers callers questions and queries about genealogy. He is a Fellow of the IGRS, and is a regular and knowledgable contributer to the Society's Newsletter and Journal.

The official photo below was taken during the investiture ceremony in Ottawa with Terry third from the right, in the second from back row. "I thought that our being beneath the portrait of Victoria Regina was a propos, since it was in her reign my great grandfather came from Cork to Nova Scotia," he said.

The Order of Canada is Canada's highest civilian award.