Go Global with FindMyPast's offer for new subscribers

FindMyPast has a special offer for new subscribers (only): try a one-month World subscription for the price of a Local subscription, and have the run of the globe.

The offer will be available until this Sunday, 7 August (11.59pm) and you can find out more by following the links below. Just select the flag and currency you prefer.

After the initial period, your subscription will be automatically renewed at the normal price unless you un-tick the 'auto-renew my subscription box' in the My Account section of the site.

	FindMyPast Ireland One-month World sub just €9.95		FindMyPast USA One-month World sub just $9.95
	FindMyPast UK One-month World sub £9.95		FindMyPast Australia/NZ One-month sub just AUS$9.95

Registry of Deeds Index Project: latest update

The Registry of Deeds Index Project has been updated with 1,274 entries added over the last month. These new entries have been transcribed from more than one thousand memorials of deeds.

The Index now stands at 215,494 entries from 24,532 memorials.

Managed by Nick Reddan FIGRS from Perth in Western Australia, the project is entirely led by volunteers. Can you help? The more people that contribute details of the memorials they are accessing, the greater the coverage in this free Index to such an important but still largely untapped genealogical source.

British Newspaper Archive reaches 15m pages

The British Newspaper Archive is celebrating another major milestone with 15 million pages of British and Irish newspapers now available in its online database.

It holds a total of 660 titles, including 121 titles published across the island of Ireland.

 The entire holding is also accessible on FindMyPast, depending on which subscription package you choose. For the Irish newspaper collection you need an Ireland or World subscription.

Royal Irish Constabulary Officers, 1816-1922: paperback launch

Now available in paperback

Just published by Four Courts Press, Jim Herlihy’s book— Royal Irish Constabulary Officers: A biographical dictionary and genealogical guide, 1816–1922 — is now available in paperback (hardback 2005).

Jim is a retired member of the Garda Síochána and a co-founder of the Garda Síochána Historical Society, and he has worked on RIC sources for many years.

In this book, he lists the 1700 Royal Irish Constabulary officers of the RIC, setting out the birth, marriage and death dates of each man, his native county, service (if any) in the British army, yeomanry and militia; dates of appointment and retirement, resignation, discharge or dismissal. There is also a list of officers who went on to serve as lawmen elsewhere.

The illustrated paperback runs to 368 pages and is on sale (with a €3 discount) for €26.95 from the Four Courts Press website.
ISBN: 978-1-84682-626-9

FamilySearch adds 1851 census, England & Wales

FamilySearch has uploaded 18,369,674 records from the 1851 England and Wales census to its free database. Taken so soon after The Famine, this census is an important collection for Irish researchers to check out, as many Irish men and women had migrated (temporarily or permanently) to England and Wales in order to survive.

The transcriptions are unusually comprehensive, providing details of Name, Event Type, Event Date, Event Place, Registration District, Gender, Age, Marital Status, Occupation, Relationship to Head of Household, estimated Birth Year, Birthplace and source details of Page Number/Registration Number/Piece/Folio.

When searching, the individual results (but not the transcriptions) also also list the name of spouse, children and others in the household.

If you want to see an image of the original record, you'll be taken to FindMyPast.co.uk where you'll need to have a registered account and, presumably, a subscription.

Free access to Irish resources at AmericanAncestors

The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEGHS) has announced a week-long Irish genealogy promotion via its AmericanAncestors website.

The promotion, which starts today and runs until midnight (EST) Tuesday 9 August, gives researchers free access to a selection of the Society's online Irish resources (among the databases are the (Missing Friends) Irish Immigrant Advertisements, 1831-1920 and an Index to the Marriage Licence Bonds of the Diocese of Cloyne, and two of the NEHGS-exclusive databases: The Annals of Beara, and The Session Book of Aghadowey, 1702-1725).

In addition to these and other record sets, the free access allows Guest Users to browse and use a wide variety of Irish records, subject guides and articles published in the Society's magazine, plus an hour-long webinar on the NEHGS's Irish Resources.

To take advantage of this offer, follow the link above and sign up as a Guest User. No financial information is requested. Guest User status also allows free access to a number of American genealogy resources.

Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives: latest updates

Stouke Burial Ground, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Photo courtesy Mark Wholihan & IGP
Click for larger view.

Below is a summary of the additions in the second half of July to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives.

There's a good crop of headstone photos and inscriptions are among them – nothing better than recording a graveyard on a summer's evening, after all – but check out also the 75 years of marriage records from the Maguiresbridge Presbyterian congregation, which join a mightily impressive line-up of parish registers transcriptions for County Fermanagh.

CORK Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Kilnaglory Cemetery (partial)
Stouke Burial Ground, Ballydehob (partial)

DUBLIN Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Mount Jerome Cemetery, Pts 130-131

FERMANAGH Genealogy Archives - Church Records
Maguiresbridge Presbyterian Marriages 1845-1920

MAYO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Burrishoole Cemetery, Newport
Holy Trinity (CoI) Cemetery, Westport

ROSCOMMON Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Ballinameen Church Cemetery

SLIGO Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Sligo Cemetery - Middle Pt, Section C (M-W)
Kilmactigue Cemetery, Aclare

TYRONE Genealogy Archives - Headstones
Fivemiletown Cemetery
St. John's (CoI) Cemetery, Caledon

Irish genealogy and history events, 1–14 August

Monday 1 August: Bank holiday in Republic of Ireland. All libraries and archives closed (except National Library of Ireland's exhibitions, see details). Northern Ireland open for business and research as usual.

Tuesday 2 August: Territory, maps and genealogy, with Paul McCotter MAGI. Part of the NLI Genealogy at Lunchtime lecture series. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare St., Dublin 2. Free. 1pm. All welcome. Booking not required.

Wednesday 3 August: The life and legacy of Roger Casement, a special event including exhibition and access to Air Corps Museum. Host: Ireland 2016 and the Defence Forces. Venue: Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, Dublin 22. 11am to 5pm. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance. Details and booking.

Thursday 4 August: Explorations in Irish genealogy, with Fiona Fitzsimons. Part of the NLI Genealogy at Lunchtime lecture series. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2. Free. 1pm. All welcome. Booking not required.

Tuesday 9 August: Researching the Rising Workshop, with Dr Emma Edwards. Advice on researching the collections of theh NLI. 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. 2pm. Free. Need to book. Details.

Tuesday 9 August: The manor of Kilmainham, with Paolo Virtuani. Part of the Milestones of Medieval Dublin Lunchtime Lectures series. Host: Friends of Medieval Dublin. Venue: Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. 1:05–1:50pm. Free. No booking. All welcome.

Tuesday 9 August: Sisters of the Revolutionaries: Margaret and Mary Bridget Pearse, with Teresa O’ Donnell. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dún Laoghaire Further Education Institute, Cumberland Street, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin 18. 8–10pm. All Welcome. €3.

Thursday 11 August: The Yanks are Coming: The American Expeditionary Force in the Great War, with John Lee. Host: Western Front Association. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 6:30pm. All welcome. Free. No need to book.

Thursday 11 August: 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.

Thursday 11 August: The Reading Room of the National Archives will not open until 2pm.

Thursday 11 August: Oral traditions, with Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill. Part of the NLI Genealogy at lunchtime lecture series. Host and venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Free. 1pm. All welcome. Booking not required.

Saturday 13 August: 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 13 August: 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.

Sunday 14 August: Bonnets and Brothels: The Women of Dublin Castle, with Kimberley Foy. Host and venue: Dublin Castle, Dame Street, Dublin 2. Talk tailored to adults. 4:15pm. Free, but booking required by email to DublinCastleEducation@opw.ie.

Reduced summer service for Irish Genealogy News

I'm waving the white flag as a temporary measure

I've been on the verge of doing this for a few weeks but today, however reluctantly, I know I have to wave the white flag and take a short break from the blog. I've been struggling with a backlog of work-work for some time and if I'm ever going to catch up, I really must focus on it.

So I shall be head down until the middle of next week (when there's a lovely gift coming your way... more about that on 3rd/4th) and will then bring you a limited blog service until mid-August, at least.

August is usually a pretty quiet period for record releases and I'm not expecting anything particularly significant to drop from the sky, but you never know.

If I hear of any major news along the way, I'll make sure to report it, if only briefly, but otherwise, I'll hang fire. I'll do catch-up posts as and when I can.

Royal Navy records reveal place of birth for thousands of mid-C19th Irish sailors

Ancestry has added another of its 'Web Search' collections, meaning it has uploaded a searchable index to a record-set held on a third party website.

In this particular case, the record set is the Royal Navy Ratings’ Service Records, Series ADM 139; some 90,000 records strong in total, it holds the details of many thousand Irish sailors*.

Ancestry has called the index the Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853–1872.

Importantly, in all but a tiny number of cases, the town where the man was born is recorded in these service records (see image, right, of some search results). With most of the sailors born in the 1810–1845 period, this collection may be the only surviving documentation providing this vital piece of information.

I found two records of interest for my Santry One-Name Study, and one that was especially revealing. It related to a 14-year-old William Santry who signed up as a Boy 2nd Class in 1862. Not only was his date and place of birth recorded as 6 October 1848 in Baltimore, County Cork, and a personal description provided (4ft 9inches, fair skin, light hair, grey eyes), his father had to provide name (John Santry) and signature on account of his son's young age.

From that information, I was able to nip over to IrishGenealogy.ie (my preferred site for my Cork ancestors)  to find William's baptism record in Skibbereen parish, his mother's name and the name of his siblings, as well as his parents' marriage record. Not bad for 15 minutes' research, even if I did have to pay TNA £3.45 for images of the service records!

*I can't be certain exactly how many Irishmen are indexed because when I search using Ireland as the place of birth, I get 5,300 results, all of them in the south. When I search using Northern Ireland as the birth place, another 1,000-odd results are returned. I'd have expected a higher proportion of the 90,000 records (as per the catalogue entry) to be Irish.