Ancestors from Antrim or Down? 50% off bmd records

All birth, marriage and death records for Counties Antrim and Down are available at half-price at the Ulster Historical Foundation's online database on AncestryIreland until the end of the month.

All two million of them!

AncestryIreland's collection includes almost all pre-1900 Roman Catholic baptism registers for Counties Antrim and Down, a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian baptism registers for Counties Antrim and Down and Belfast City, as well as many civil birth records for Belfast.

For marriages, the site holds almost all civil marriage records and all pre-1900 Roman Catholic marriage registers for the two counties, as well as a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian marriage registers for mid, south and west County Down.

In addition, the site holds pre-1900 funeral records (where they survive) from Roman Catholic registers for Antrim and Down and a large number of Church of Ireland and Presbyterian burial registers for Belfast City.

The offer ends on 31 January.

Dublin City Library & Archive's Dublin 1916 resources

Dublin City Library and Archive has produced a useful list of its 1916 Rising resources.

The repository's material incudes eye-witness statements, newspaper collections, electoral registers 1898–1916 (1908–1915 are online), the Monica Roberts Collection (also online), the archives of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and the archives of Jacob's Biscuit Factory. The latter is due to be made available online this year.

The Monica Roberts Collection comprises some 453 letters from 56 men serving in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and the Royal Flying Corps. They were sent in response to letters from Monica, a young woman from Stillorgan, Co Dublin, who sent letters with comforts such as tobacco, chocolate, socks etc to Irish men at the Front. Many of the recipients replied to her, giving a vivid picture of conditions at the Front and commenting on contemporary politics including the 1916 Rising. Each item has been digitised and transcribed and can be searched and viewed online at the above link.

See the DCL&A's 1916 Resources here.

Seven new databases launched for Ulster research

The Ulster Historical Foundation has added seven new databases to its online collection. Collectively, they hold more than 3,000 names. The databases are:

• Poll Book for County Cavan Election of May 1761: an index to the freeholders voting at this election (1,200 entries)
  
• Gravestone inscriptions from St Michael’s Catholic Church, Lissan, Cookstown, County Tyrone (74 entries)
  
• A list of Ulster-Irish Convicts who were transported to New South Wales, Australia, 1800-1818 (379 entries)
  
• Petition from the inhabitants of Bangor, County Down relating to the Act of Union, 31 January 1800 (211 entries)
  
• Preliminary Research in the USA: Naturalization Records from Vermont, 1839-1900 (415 entries)
  
• A list of those who contributed to the funds of the House of Industry, Belfast, 1834 (759 entries)
  
• County Armagh pre-1900 gravestone inscriptions with Australian connections (27 entries)

These databases are for Guild members only. Details.  

Note: I've edited the above since it was published this morning. I thought non-members could also access these collections on a pay-as-you-go basis but I've been advised this was incorrect. Apologies for any convenience caused.

Genealogies of the 1916 Leaders: course starts 20 Jan

Sean Murphy has advised Irish Genealogy News that the start of his UCD Adult Education course, Genealogies/Family Histories of 1916 Leaders, has been deferred by one week to 20 January.

The ten-week evening course will use genealogical and historical methodologies to explore the family backgrounds of the more prominent participants of the Rising looking at their ancestral origins, social status, political affiliations, accomplishments, interactions and other aspects of the families.

There are still a few places on the course, and you can enrol at www.ucd.ie/adulted (click on 'Lifelong Learning' and scroll down to AE-GN204, about half-way down the page).

The revised end-date of the course, which will be held on Wednesday evenings at UCD Bellfield, is 23 March.

Irishmen and women at war in 1916: 2-day conference

The Military History Society of Ireland, Military Archives and the National Museum of Ireland are to host a two-day conference next month, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 February, at Collins Barracks in Dublin.

The conference, From Sackville Street to Salonika and the Somme – Irishmen and Women at war in 1916, features a terrific line-up of military historians and other specialists, including Prof Charles Townshend, Nicholas Perry, Stephen Sandford, Martin Staunton, Emmanuel Destenay. Fionnuala Walsh, Mark Phelan, Michael Kennedy, Anthony Kinsella, Daithi O Corrain, Ann Matthews, Gerry White, Lar Joye, Michael Pegum, Neil Richardson.

The conference is open to the public.

Tickets are €25 per day, which includes tea/coffee and lunch, and an optional conference dinner taking place on Friday evening costs €45.

See the full programme and online booking

Dublin Shipping & Mercantile Gazette debuts on BNA

The British Newspaper Archive has added another Irish title to its database: the Dublin Shipping and Mercantile Gazette.

The target market of the weekly paper is stated just below the masthead: "An Advertising Medium For The Shipping Interests, and For Grocers, Wine and Spirit Merchants, Druggists, Outfitters, Carpenters and Builders, Iron-Workers, Food-Contractors".

It includes the names and destinations of ships that had left Irish ports, and also provides name and origin of those that had arrived. In addition, shipping intelligence from around the world is listed, advising of ships that had completed longer voyages. Other than the columns dedicated to these matters, the four-page paper carries mainly British establishment news – wars, parliament and monarchy – although the adverts are predominantly Irish.

So far, all editions for 1871 have been uploaded to the database. The holding for this title will eventually span 1869 to 1872.

The Dublin Shipping and Mercantile Gazette has also joined FindMyPast's Irish newspaper collection where it is available as part of a FindMyPast Ireland or World subscription.

National Archives of Ireland – late opening 29 January

The National Archives of Ireland has advised that its Reading Room at Bishop Street will not open until 11:30am on Friday 29 January.

This late opening morning is due to staff training and has nothing to do with the other closures expected shortly, which will facilitate the installation of an air-conditioning system. No dates are yet confirmed for the installation.

I'm not sure what arrangements will be made for the NAI's free Genealogy Advisory Service on the 29th. I'll update this blogpost when it's confirmed.

UPDATE: The free Genealogy Service, which is run by members of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, will operate from 1pm to 4:30pm.

Google launches Street View tour of the Easter Rising

An interactive Google Street View tour, The Dublin Rising 1916–2016 Tour, has been launched this evening by Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD at Google's offices in the Irish capital.

Narrated by actor Colin Farrell, the virtual tour explores the iconic locations, people and stories of 100 years ago, bringing the 1916 events to live for people around the world.

It was developed by Google in partnership with Ireland 2016, with expert advice from a dedicated team of archivists and historians, and resources from some of the country's major national cultural institutions,including the National Library, Military Archives and Glasnevin Cemetery Museum. The virtual tour and exhibitions will allow millions of people around the world to share in Ireland’s 2016 commemorations and learn more about the 1916 uprising right from their phone, tablet or computer.

The Dublin Rising 1916-2016 tour is narrated by actor Colin Farrell

Throughout the tour, visitors stop at city centre locations as they are today, hear what happened there and click to explore photos, videos, stories and witness statements from the Dublin of 1916. If you stand in front of today's GPO on O'Connell street, for example, you see the GPO as it was 100 years ago, destroyed by shell fire, and you can listen to witness statements from rebels who fought there and hear stories of all the people involved. You can also see one of the only photographs taken inside the GPO during the Rising itself of Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army soldiers.

For the first time, statements from witness to the Rising, courtesy of the Military Archives, have been brought to life by contemporary actors. These statements demonstrate so many parts and emotions of those who were there and reveal the violence and brutality, and the grief which gripped so many in the aftermath. They also bring the Rising to life by sharing some of the lesser known more human moments. One witness recalls seeing “Padraig Pearse and James Connolly sitting on high stools in a little enclosure in the middle of the main hall drinking tea and eating sandwiches” in the GPO. And a claim that “some members of the unit were not taking their fair share of the risks at the barricades, that they preferred to remain with the Cumann na mBan in the kitchen rather than go out and risk their necks”.

Speaking at the launch, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “2016 is an important year that allows us to explore and understand the events not only of 1916, but the subsequent events that led to the establishment of our independent state. In acknowledging our past, we are creating stronger foundations for a more vibrant and shared future. I want to congratulate Google, Ireland 2016 and the cultural partners who have come together to create this unique online experience. They are enabling all the people of Ireland, the diaspora and others around the world to commemorate, learn about and explore the events of 1916 and the 100 years since then and to celebrate the country we are today.”

Most of the artefacts featured in the tour are also be available for anyone to explore in virtual exhibitions on Google’s Cultural Institute. The exhibitions tell the stories of the people who were involved, from the women rebels of Cumann na mBan, to the messengers who carried information around the city; from members of the British forces in Ireland, to the leaders of the Rising.

Flash sale: FindMyPast World sub 50% off: Be quick!

Offer has expired

FindMyPast has announced a 'flash' half price sale on all of its World subscription packages. If you missed out on the pre-Christmas offer, don't delay. This offer is for two days only and expires Thursday 14 January at 23.59 GMT.

A World package includes FindMyPast's entire Irish collection of family history records and all British and Irish titles in the British Newspaper Archive (currently 556 titles), as well as the British, USA and Australian/NZ family history collections (excluding the 1939 National Register for England and Wales). Both monthly and annual subscriptions are available with the discount.

All you have to do is decide through which FindMyPast territory and currency you wish to buy.

	Through FindMyPast Ireland, the World subscription is reduced to €7.48 monthly / €74.75 annual
	Through FindMyPast USA, the World subscription is reduced to US$9.98 / US$99.75 annual
	Through FindMyPast UK, the World subscription is reduced to £6.48 monthly / £64.75 annual
	Through FindMyPast Australia/NZ, the World subscription is reduced to AUD$9.98 / AUD$99.75 annual

National Library of Ireland launches Clarke and Connolly 1916 Digital Collections

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has today made personal papers and photographs related to Tom Clarke and James Connolly available online as part of its 1916 Digital Collections. These unique collections are related to the seven signatories of the Proclamation and tell the story of the momentous events of 1916.

These collections of material relating to Clarke and Connolly papers are now available online to the public free of charge at catalogue.nli.ie and join the Éamonn Ceannt collection which was published in December when the NLI launched its 2016 Programme (pdf 2Mb).

The 1916 Digital Collections is a culmination of years of intensive work by the NLI team, and more than 20,000 items will be available online by April 2016. The digitised papers include diaries, postcards and photographs that tell the stories of the family and working lives of each signatory, alongside dramatic records of their activities during Easter Week 1916.

Highlights of the Clarke and Connolly collections

Highlights from the Tom Clarke collection include letters from him to Kathleen Daly, one of which is dated from 8th August 1899 and expresses delight at her declaration of love and his forthcoming trip to America. Others include details of his plans and preparations for opening a shop in Dublin. In another letter, dating from 1908, he is reassuring Kathleen, by then his wife, that it was not a mistake to move back to Ireland.

In a letter from 1905 sent by Tom Clarke to his son John Daly Clarke, who was staying in Limerick with his mother, Kathleen, after he had been unwell, Clarke writes: “How many cows have you seen, and did they all have ears and tails? Did you see the one that jumped over the moon at all, he must be a great fellow.”

The Connolly papers were gathered as part of the William O’Brien collection. They feature personal letters from Connolly to his then fiancée Lily, including one which begins “This is a love letter”, as well as a poignant newspaper cutting from the 'Weekly People' in which James and Lillie Connolly thank friends for condolences received upon the death of their daughter, Mona, dating from 3rd September, 1903. The manuscript draft of a song by James Connolly, titled 'When Labor Calls', circa 1903 also features, as does a letter from 1907 to the Secretary of the ISP (Irish Socialist Party) about the formation of a new organisation of Irish socialists in the United States, and requesting a poem, 'The artisan's garret', for use in that organisation's inauguration.

Also featuring in the collection is an order dated 25 April 1916 issued by James Connolly, Commandant-General, Dublin Division, Army of the Irish Republic, to "Officer in Charge [Frank Henderson], Henry Street" informing him to erect barricades in Henry Street and occupy the first and top floors of houses in the street.

Speaking at the announcement of the Clarke and Connolly collections today, Dr Sandra Collins, Director of the National Library said: “We are delighted to continue our contribution to the 1916 commemorations by cataloguing and digitising materials pertaining to Tom Clarke and James Connolly. These original documents will allow viewers to experience the drama and intensity of the Easter Rising as well as gain insights into the social history of 1916 and personal stories of those involved. These collections remind us of the people behind the history."

Next month, the NLI will issue the material related to Seán MacDiarmada and Thomas MacDonagh. In March, the papers of Patrick Pearse and Joseph Plunkett will be released.

NOTE: The NLI will offer a series of free events and activities throughout 2016 to mark the Easter Rising's centenary. These events will include a week of family history workshops presented by members of Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) to help visitors trace their ancestors in this period. See blogpost.