More videos of lectures from Genetic Genealogy Ireland conference are online

Five more of the lectures presented at the Genetic Genealogy Ireland (GGI) conference last month have joined the online library of videos from the two previous conferences and are now freely available to view on the GGI's YouTube channel.

They are:

• Y-SNPs: Key to the future, with Robert Casey
  
• Connecting your DNA to the Ancient Irish Annals, with Maurice Gleeson
  
• The Marriage of Genetics and Genealogy: A Case Study, with Diahan Southard
  
• The Ups & Downes of atDNA matching, with Paddy Waldron
  
• The genetic identification of the 1916 Cork Rebel, Thomas Kent, with Jens Carlsson

Grim Bastilles of Despair: a newly published study on Ireland's Poor Law Union workhouses

Grim Bastilles of Despair, by Paschal Mahoney, is a short study on the Poor Law Union workhouses in Ireland. It has been published by the Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University in the USA as one of this year's Famine Folios, a multi-disciplinary series which presents new research in Famine studies.

The folio explores how, despite strong Irish resistance, the British authorities established the 'Act for the Effectual Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland', which was to become one of the most despised Acts ever to come into effect in Ireland.

The author, himself a Dublin-based architect, includes an account of the selection of the workhouse architect, George Wilkinson, and provides a short biography of his career, together with a detailed description of his model designs for the workhouse buildings which had been created to ensure that nothing short of total destitution would compel anyone to seek refuge there.

The ideology of segregation and confinemen, as well as the traumatic daily experience of the paupers who had been forced by eviction and starvation to enter these brutal institutions, is described and illustrated with drawings and photographs.

Published in softback, the 48-page study also describes the devastating impact of the Great Famine and how these flawed institutions imploded under the enormity of this great tragedy, causing almost one third of a million people to die within their grey stone walls during the Famine years of 1846-51.

The Famine Folios are available through Cork University Press. Price €11.95.

ISBN: 9780997837421

Irish Roots Magazine publishes its 100th edition

100 editions of insightful, entertaining and
reliable news and features since 1992

Irish Roots Magazine has just published its 100th issue – a terrific achievement for Ireland's only independent genealogy magazine, now run by Maureen and Julie Phibbs, a mother and daughter team based in County Wicklow.

This quarter’s edition brings reflections and forecasts about the past, present and future of Irish genealogy, and reproduces a nostalgic feature, written by the late Tim Cadogan for the first edition of the magazine in 1992, exploring the impact on public libraries of developments then taking place in family history research.

In it, he writes: "In the course of the past 20 years, genealogical research has advanced from the low-profile mildly eccentric activity of times past to a high-profile semi-commercial activity, increasingly targeted by tourism interest as another aspect of our heritage that can be exploited. I must confess to a twinge of regret at the arrival of the new and aggressive approach to genealogy."

More than two decades later, such feelings are still being expressed by those of us getting a bit long in the tooth, even at we delight in the latest online releases of records that were previously difficult, inconvenient and time-consuming to access. I'm sure these conflicting sentiments will still be being discussed among genealogists in another 20-odd years!

But back to the contents of the magazine... There is also a mammoth listing of 100 research tips and ideas to inspire you. It's full of research techniques, notes of record collections you may have overlooked, historical context details that may cast a new light on some aspect of your family history, and background explanations to give you a better understanding of some of the major genealogical record sets.

Other research features include overviews of sources for tracing ancestors in County Waterford and New Zealand; an article explaining the Brehan Laws of Gaelic Ireland; news and views from around the industry; a review of the many record collections released online during the last quarter; letters to the editor; Q&A; and much more.

Irish Roots Magazine is available in print via good newsagents, and by post or by digital format at the Irish Roots Media website. You can also download a free sample of this special edition.

Book Launch: The Geraldines and Medieval Ireland

ISBN: 978-1-84682-571-2.

Four Courts Press has published The Geraldines and Medieval Ireland: The making of a myth. Edited by Peter Crooks and Seán Duffy, it is the inaugural volume in the Trinity Medieval Ireland Series, which arises from a symposium held three years ago to mark the 500th anniversary of the Great Earl of Kildare's death in September 1513.

The 446-page illustrated hardback traces the history of the Great Earl’s family from its origins to the sixteenth century. Some of Ireland’s finest historians offer fresh appraisals of the origins of the Geraldines, their significance and reputations, and explores the reception of the ‘myth’ of the Geraldines from the sixteenth century onwards.

You can see full details of the contents here.

The book is now available via the publisher's online shop for €45 (catalogue Price €50).

National Archives Advisory Council - candidates sought

Applications are being sought for ten suitably qualified candidates, including a Chairman (m/f), to sit on the National Archives Advisory Council (NAAC).

The NAAC is the board which advises the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on all matters affecting archives and their use by the public. 

A regional spread of candidates is sought, and applications would be welcomed from those that reflect the diversity of the Irish population, particularly in gender, geography and cultural interests. Council members need to have accredited qualifications and professional experience as archivists, leadership experience as ICT specialists, or have senior professional/academic experience in related fields, one of which is genealogy.

The closing date for applications is Monday 19 December 2016.

For more information, see www.stateboards.ie

UPDATE 21 December: Closing date extended to Thursday 5 January.

Irish genealogy and history events, 28 Nov to 11 Dec

Tuesday 29 November: Reconstructing West Clare family histories using DNA, with Paddy Waldron. Host: Kilrush & District Historical Society. Venue: Teach Ceoil, Grace Street, Kilrush, Co Clare. 8pm. New members welcome. €5 for non-members.

Tuesday 29 November: Heylands & Gettys of Ballintemple & Cullyrammer, with R.W. Patterson. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway Coast and Glens Branch. Venue: Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine, Co Londonderry. BT52 1HF. 8pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 29 November: A Dominican's view from Dublin Bridge, with Bernadette Williams. Host: Milestones of Medieval Dublin lunchtime lecture series. Venue: Wood Quay Venue, Civil Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. Free. 1:05pm. All welcome.

Saturday 3 December: The secrets of the Bog Bodies, with Eamon P Kelly. Host & venue: Tipperary County Museum, Mick Delahunty Square, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. 10:30am. €5. All welcome. Seats allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Sunday 4 December: Evensong at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. A thanksgiving service to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Irish Genealogical Research Society.  3:15pm. Details.

Monday 5 December:  Agnes Jones – Pioneering Nurse, with Gerald McGill. Plus Members' Research Meeting. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. Venue: Derry Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Londonderry, BT48 6AL. 7pm. All welcome.

Tuesday 6 December: Frongoch & 1916, a series of new 1916 exhibitions – Official Launch by Catriona Crowe. Host: Digital Repository Venue: National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7. Noon. All welcome. No need to book.

Wednesday 7 to Friday 9 December:  Reading Room closed to the public for annual media preview. National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8. Free Genealogy Service will not operate on these dates.Reopens Monday 12 December.

Thursday 8 December: 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.

Friday 9 December: Women of the Rising, with Dr Margaret Ward. Host: Enniskillen Library, Halls Lane, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh BT74 7DR. 12:30pm. Free. All welcome.Booking advised: T 028 6632 2886 or enniskillen.library@librariesni.org.uk.

Saturday 10 December: Ower the Sheugh – considering the Irish and Scottish migrations across the Narrow Sea in historical prespective, with Dr Paddy Fitzgerald. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Tyrone Branch. Venue: Omagh Library, Dublin Road, Omagh, BT78 1HL. 10am. All welcome.

Saturday 10 December: 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 10 December: Finding the Source: A Survey of Irish Genealogical Websites and Databases, an intermediate level workshop with Miles Davenport. Host and venue: McClelland Irish Centre (Norton Room), 1106 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85004, USA. 10:30am to 1pm. Non-Members: $20/Members: $15. Need to register. Details.

Sunday 11 December: Family History Fair. Venue: Great National Abbey Court Hotel, Dublin Road, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, 11am- 4:30pm. Admission free.

Round-up of this weekend's Irish genealogy bargains

There's a selection of worthwhile Black Friday / Cyber Monday / Holiday Weekend discounts and bargains available this weekend. They include savings on DNA testing kits, subscriptions to records databases and historical newspapers, purchases of books and magazines.

Most, but not all, have been reported here on Irish Genealogy News over the last week, but for convenience, I've gathered them together onto just one page on my Irish Genealogy Toolkit site.

If you fancy grabbing yourself a good deal, take a look at the Special Offers page.

Ancestry DNA - November Holiday - Big Savings

To mark the Thanksgiving-Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, Ancestry DNA has announced some very worthwhile discounts on its testing kits.

These special offers are available in Ireland, the UK, the USA and Canada, and each of the discounts comes with a 'lowest ever' or 'lowest this year' price tag. All will be available until Monday.

(Apologies to Australian/NZ readers. I haven't received details of any discounts for your neck of the woods.)

Just click 'your' flag below to find out more:

	Ancestry.co.uk – £30 off + shipping = £49 (lowest price ever). Order before 11:59pm GMT, Monday 28 November.
	Ancestry.com – 30% discount = $69 + shipping. Lowest price of the year. Order before 11:59pm ET, Monday 28 November.
	Ancestry.ca – $50 off regular price = $79 + shipping. Order before close Monday 28 November.

* I'm not absolutely sure what expiry time applies to the CA offer (I can't view the pages, thanks to Ancestry's wretched 'geo-locater', grrrr), but I expect it's just before midnight like the other two.

Irish Newspaper Archive: One month for just €7.50

The Dublin-based IrishNewsArchive.com has a Black Friday offer that will bring cheer to a good many researchers: one month's subscription to the entire database of 60 historical national, regional and local newspapers for just €7.50. That's a terrific saving... the regular monthly price is €30.

To take advantage of the offer, click the Subscribe button and select the monthly payment button. When you get through to check out, use the coupon code: BlackFri02.

The offer will be live for one day – Friday 25 November – only, so act quickly to ensure you don't miss out.

Four Courts Press offers 'Black Friday' double discount

Four Courts Press, one of Ireland's leading academic book publishers, has a double discount offer on all books ordered from its website between now and midnight on Friday 25 November. When you visit the company's website you'll see a 'web' price alongside each book; while this offer runs, you'll see a second discount applied when you reach the check out page and enter the coupon code.

The image below shows some indicative total price reductions on a selection of recently published titles.

The coupon code is FCPFRIDAY.