IrishGenealogyNews

Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 27 March to 9 April

Tuesday 28 March: The People of Belfast, with Aidan Campbell. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Belfast Branch. Online from 7pm. Hybrid meeting starts at 7:30pm. In-person venue to be confirmed. Free. All welcome. See details.

Tuesday 28 March Where to start your Irish family history research, with Claire Bradley. An in-person workshop hosted by Baldoyle Library, The Mall, Baldoyle, Co. Dublin. Starts 18:45. Free. All welcome. Booking required. Details.

Tuesday 28 March: Irish Land Commission Records, with Natalie Bodle. A hybrid meeting hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Causeway Coast & Glens Branch. In-person venue: Sandel Centre, Knocklynn Road, Coleraine Knocklynn Road, Coleraine. 8pm–10pm. Free. All welcome. For online access, email causeway @ nifhs.org for link.

Wednesday 29 March: The History of a Port City: Transport, Trade and an Archive, with Lar Joye. Part of the 'People, Places & their Heritage' spring lecture series hosted by the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin and the Dublin Cemeteries Trust. In-person. Venue: Milestone Gallery, Glasnevin Cemetery, Finglas Road, Dublin 11. Free. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Thursday 30 March Lilian Bland, the first woman in the world to design, construct and fly her own aircraft. A hybrid event with Guy Warner. Hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Ballymena Branch. In-person venue: Michelin Arts Workshop, Braid Arts Centre 1-29 Bridge Street, Ballymena. 7:15pm–8:45pm. For zoom link, email branch secretary at Ballymena@nifhs.org.

Thursday 30 March: Behind Old Ireland in Colour, an online presentation by John Breslin. Hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 7pm to 8pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Saturday 1 April: A display of Artefacts of the Great War, with Eugene Power. Part of the 2023 Lifelong Learning Festival, and an in-person event hosted by Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park, Mardyke, Cork. Part of the museum's 2023 lecture series. Starts at 1pm. Free but need to book by email (museum @ corkcity.ie) or phone 021-4270679).

Monday 3 April: The Boundary Commission, with John Dooher. A hybrid meeting hosted by North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. In-person venue: Lecture Room, Derry's Central Library, 35 Foyle Street, Derry. For online link, email Foyle @ nifhs.org. Free. 7pm. All welcome. Details.

Wednesday 5 April: Spectral mansions: Henrietta Street and Dublin's tenement past, with Timothy Murtagh. Part of the 'People, Places & their Heritage' spring lecture series hosted by the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin and the Dublin Cemeteries Trust. In-person at: Milestone Gallery, Glasnevin Cemetery, Finglas Road, Dublin 11. Free. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Thursday 6 April: The Landed Gentry of Kinsale & the Great Famine, with Shannon Forde. An in-person event and the inaugural lecture of the Kinsale Cultural and Heritage Society. Venue: The Temperance Hall, Kinsale, Co Cork. 8pm. All welcome.

Thursday 6 April: Genealogy – where to start, with Ger Whelan. An in-person event hosted by Mount Merrion Historical Society. Venue: Fitzwilliam Rooms, The Community Centre, North Avenue, Mount Merrion, Dublin. 8pm. Admission: Members Free / Non-Members €4 / Students €2.

Friday 7 April Good Friday. Most businesses, libraries and archives will be closed in the Republic of Ireland until Tuesday 11th. In Northern Ireland, some businesses close; Libraries and archives (including PRONI) will work normal hours on Friday (and Saturday if that is a normal timetable opening) but will be closed on Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th. Check before you travel.

Saturday 8 April: Follow the Footsteps, an historical bus tour visiting key Irish Civil War site. An in-person event hosted by the Newcastle Liam Lynch Centenary Commemoration programme. 10:30am to 3pm. €15. Meet Newcastle Community Hall, Newcastle, Clonmel Co Tipperary. Need to book. All welcome.

Monday, 27 March 2023

Rolling years of civil BMD registers added to IrishGenealogy.ie

An additional year of historic Births, Marriages and Deaths (index entry + register image) has been added to IrishGenealogy.ie, the state-managed, free database.

This update means the civil records now available to search and view on the site are:

Birth register index and images – 1864 to 1922
Marriage register index and images – 1845 to 1947
Death register index 1864 to 1972. Images 1871 to 1972 only.

Unfortunately, no sign yet of the register images for deaths from 1864 to 1870. They've been promised for several years now. Why don't they just get on with it, or give it out as a project to volunteers to complete?

With thanks to Kiltaglassan.

Accredited Genealogists Ireland announces new Member (MAGI)

Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI), the island-wide organisation that represents both the interests of people engaged professionally in genealogy and monitors the standard of their work, has another new member.

Gill Johnson MAGI

She is Gillian Johnson, who, having been through the Association’s Affiliate Programme, has now been admitted into Membership of Accredited Genealogists Ireland. As such, she can now use the coveted MAGI post-nominals.

For almost a decade, Gill has been working with Timeline, a Dublin-based genealogical research company run by fellow AGI Member, Nicola Morris. As an employee of Timeline, Gill has undertaken research for the BBC and RTE series of Who Do You Think You Are? She has also carried out research for the RTE series The Great House Revival

Gill graduated from Maynooth National University with an honours BA degree in Local Studies specialising in primary documents. Her thesis focused on the slums of Dublin.

She also completed the genealogy course delivered by Sean Murphy through the National Library of Ireland, and is a member of the AGI panel which provides the Genealogy Advisory Service for Dublin's National Archives.

Friday, 24 March 2023

Two-week update: English, Scottish and Welsh genealogy records

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases. (Previous summary, 10 March.)

My regular summary of releases and updates relating to British collections is designed to help family historians whose Irish ancestors migrated, temporarily or permanently, to England, Scotland or Wales.

By default, it will also be useful to anyone carrying out research in those three nations, regardless of the origin of their ancestors.

The figures in parenthesis in the New Collections section are the numbers of records/images in the new record set.

Unless otherwise stated, the figures in parenthesis in the Updated Collections section reflect the number of records added to the collection in the recent update. In some instances, the supplier has not made this figure available. Where two figures are given, the first is the number of additions, the second is the new total.

Please note that I don't usually include updates of fewer than 1,000 records.

NEW COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

Westminster, London, England, Poor Law Registers, 1561-1900 (1,077,550)
Hampshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1921 (1,586,354)
Tyne & Wear, England, Non-Conformist Baptism, Marriages, Burials, 1710-1960 (512,140)

BritishNewspaperArchive - shared with FindMyPast (1,610,356 added pages / 65,674,044 total)

New titles in main collection ($£€)

	Camberley News	Grimsby Target
	Luton on Sunday	Wrexham Mail

FindMyPast

British Army, Local Armed Forces' Enrolment Forms, Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 (64,888)

MyHeritage

Wales, Denbighshire, Wrexham Burials (37,655)

UPDATED COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

UK and Ireland, Find a Grave Index, 1300s-Current (73,715 / 16,712,454)
UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current (7,442,038)
UK and Ireland, Families of Historic Properties

FamilySearch

England, Cumberland Parish Registers, 1538-1990 (483,919)

FindMyPast

British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919 (41,023/69,350 )
British Army, Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment 1901-1918 (85,011/86,019)

TheGenealogist

Tithe records for Welsh counties linked to Map Explorer: Brecknockshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Monmouthshire. (420,000 plots)

Some of the above content contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission if you buy via these links. This does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, but it does contribute to keeping Irish Genealogy News online. See Advertising Disclosure tab above.

Thursday, 23 March 2023

Donegal Vindicator joins BritishNewspaperArchive and FindMyPast

The latest paper to join the online BritishNewspaperArchive (BNA) and its sister company FindMyPast is The Donegal Vindicator.

The title was founded in Ballyshannon in 1889 when John McAdam was invited by the Land League and supporters of Charles Stewart Parnell to set up a newspaper. His daughter, Eily McAdam, took over as editor in 1921. The premises was subsequently raided several times by the Free State Army and the IRA but the publication continued during the unrest of those years, and did not close until 1956.

It circulated mainly circulated in south Donegal and across the county's borders with Fermanagh, Leitrim and Sligo.

So far, some 560 editions are available to search. Their publication dates are 1889-1896, 1912, 1915 and 1930.

RootsIreland.ie adds Full Text Search function

A new edition of Irish Genealogy Matters, the newsletter of the Irish Family History Foundation that co-ordinates the island-wide network of local genealogy centres, has been published. You can view/download it here.

Full Text Search is available only from a county search page.

It brings news of a handy new function on the RootsIreland.ie database. It's a Full Text Search, and allows researchers to search for words (not names) that appear in various records.

This allows you to search for occupations (go easy on the blacksmiths), or status such as illegitimate, foundling and twin, or other information of interest

The Full Text Search option is only available to those with a subscription.

To access it, you need to be logged in, and making a one-county search. (The search will not be offered if you have not selected a specific county database.)

Click on 'Search' in the horizontal menu, and then select Full Text Search in the drop-down menu (see image). You then enter the word/words you want to search.

The new Full Text Search facility is an excellent addition to RootsIreland.ie and will really open up the database, especially to historians or researchers making selective topic searches.

Monday, 20 March 2023

Irish genealogy, history and heritage events, 20 March to 2 April

Monday 20 March: Daughter of Laharna, a hybrid meeting with Patricia McNeill. Hosted by North of Ireland FHS, Larne Branch. In-person venue: Larne Museum & Arts Centre, 2 Victoria Rd, Larne. 7:15pm–8:45pm. Free. All welcome. For online link, email Larne@nifhs.org by 18 March.

Monday 20 March: Traditional Architecture in Offaly – history, materials and furtniture, from 1800, with Rachel McKenna. A hybrid event hosted by Offaly History. In-person venue: Offaly History Centre, Bury Quay, Tullamore. All welcome. 8pm. Email info @ offalyhistory.com for Online link.

Tuesday 21 March: National Archives of Ireland closed all day. Reopening 10am on 22nd.

Tuesday 21 March: The Photographic Guild: A circle of Cavan and Monaghan photographers in the 1890s, an online session with Orla Fitzpatrick. Host: PRONI. 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Free. Need to book.

Tuesday 21 March: Where to start your Irish family history research, with Claire Bradley. An in-person workshop hosted by Skerries Library, Strand St, Townparks, Skerries, Co. Dublin. Starts 18:45. Free. All welcome. Booking required. Details.

Tuesday 21 March: Cumann na mBan and women combatants in the Irish Civil War, 1922-23, with Dr John Borgonovo. An in-person event in the Tipperary People and Places series. Host: Tipperary Studies. Venue: The Source Gallery, Cathedral Street, Thurles. 7pm. Refreshments served 6:30pm. All welcome. Free.

Wednesday 22 March: Grangegorman Histories: People Places and Practices, with Philip Cohen. Part of the 'People, Places & their Heritage' spring lecture series hosted by the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin and the Dublin Cemeteries Trust. In-person. Venue: Milestone Gallery, Glasnevin Cemetery, Finglas Road, Dublin 11. Free. 7:30pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 22 March: Stradbally Photographic Archive, with Christine Kine. An in-person talk hosted by Waterford County Museum in Dungarvan. 7:30pm. At the door, €5. All welcome.

Thursday 23 March: Starting out on Irish Family History, with Audrey McKeown. First of a two-session afternoon course aimed at beginners. Online. Hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society. 2:30pm. Second session on afternoon of Thursday 30 March. £20 for course. Details.

Thursday 23 March: Starting out on Irish Family History, with Audrey McKeown. First of a two-session evening course aimed at beginners. Online. Hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society. 7pm. Second session on evening of Thursday 30 March. £20 for course. Details.

Thursday 23 March: Getting Started Workshop: Using Online Resources, an online workshop hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Friday 24 March: The Development of the Photograph: Information Sessions on Historic Photographs. An in-person event hosted at PRONI's Reprographics Studio, Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Free. All welcome, but numbers are limited. Need to register.

Friday 24 March: It happened in March '23, an online presentation by Barry Lacey, historian in residence, reflecting on the Irish Civil War in 1923. Hosted by Wexford County Council. View YouTube video from 10am. Free. All welcome.

Saturday 25 March: The Military Effectiveness of the American Army's 69th Regiment in the Great War, with Will Bryant. An in-person event hosted by Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park, Mardyke, Cork. Part of the museum's 2023 lecture series. Starts at 1pm. Free but need to book by email (museum @ corkcity.ie) or phone 021-4270679).

Saturday 25 March: Irish Records? They all went up in smoke . . .or did they? a two-hour online beginners workshop with Jill Williams FIGRS. Host: Scottish Genealogy Society. 2:30pm to 4:30pm. All welcome. Cost: £15 for non members and £10 for members. Need to book by 24 March. Details.

Saturday 25 March: Irish Family History Research Day, with the Ulster Historical Foundation. Hosts: British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO). In-person event taking place at The Chamber, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 9am-4:30pm (doors open 8.15am). Cost: $40 for non-members; $30 for BIFHSGO members. Registration.

Thursday 30 March: Behind Old Ireland in Colour, an online presentation by John Breslin. Hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. 7pm to 8pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Friday, 17 March 2023

FindMyPast uploads two new record-sets of Irish probate records

Since it's St Patrick's Day (have a great day, everyone), I haven't had much time to look over the latest FindMyPast Friday delivery, but here's a quick run-though.

The delivery sees additions to FindMyPast's Irish probate collection. One collection is new, the other sees the inclusion of an index to PRONI's Wills Calendars.

Ireland, Inland Revenue Wills & Administrations 1828-1879

Click for enlarged image from the Ireland Inland Revenue Wills records

This is a new collection of more than 300,000 records created by the Inland Revenue in London to determine tax obligations on Irish estatess. According to the blurb, the collection contains indexes for all years (1828-1879), with surviving registers for 1828-1839 that contain extracts from the original documents.

The indexes include the name of the deceased, the executor or administration of their will. The original documents were mostly destroyed in 1922.

Ireland Calendars of Wills & Administrations 1858-1965 (Northern Ireland)
This record-set is held within FindMyPast's Ireland Calendars Of Wills & Administrations 1858-1965 collection, now newly extended in date.

It covers the entire island up to 1920 but now sees the addition of some 261,256 new record transcriptions of will calendar entries for the District Probate Registries of Armagh, Belfast and LondonDerry from 1921 and 1965.

These calendars are held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, and each transcription includes a link to PRONI's will calendar application.

Wednesday, 15 March 2023

Any apothecaries in your Irish family history?

If you have apothecaries among your Irish ancestors you should be able to find them in this new collection on Ancestry. It's the Ireland, Apothecary Records, 1736-1920 collection and it's been sourced from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland's Heritage Centre. It's an all-island record-set, with all 32 historical counties covered in its 42,000 record, and it's a beauty!

From the List of Apprentices book, 1812.
Click to view enlarged image.

Apothecaries formulated and dispensed materials to physicians, surgeons and patients (today, the terms pharmacist, druggist or chemist would be used) and they needed to be well-trained and regulated to perform this specialist role.

Their first Guild was set up in 1746, and the Apothecaries Hall Act of 1791 regulated training, introduced apprenticeships of seven years, awarded certificates for journeymen and Master Apothecaries. Only the latter could run a pharmaceutical shop.

Click the image, right, to view the first page, dating from 1812, of the Apprentices Book, full of lads in their mid-teens, and all providing details of their place of residence.

There are several types of registers, books and lists in the collection – Apothecaries Resident in Dublin, Apprentice Certificate Book, Inspection of Apothecary Shops (where you can find details of their workplaces, often their homes, with or without laboratories, and even notes relating to relocations); Rolls of Licentiates, etc – many of them dating back to the mid-18th century. Most are handwritten.

Watch out for some pretty wacky spelling in Ancestry's indexing of placenames!

MyHeritage opens irish collection to free access for St Patrick's Day

To mark St Patrick's Day on 17 March, MyHeritage has opened up its Irish collection to free access.

MyHeritage wouldn't ordinarily be my first stop for Irish research because most of its 14million Irish records are available free all year round on other sites such as the National Archives of Ireland's Genealogy database and FamilySearch.

However, having some of them in just one database AND free will be a plus for many people taking their first steps in Irish family history research.

Collections included are the 1901 and 1911 census, various vital records, a selection of census substitutes, a healthy number of street and trade directories, and a load of peerage/toff publications that have little value to the average family historian.

There's never any harm testing a collection to see if it has any treasure for you, so dip in. It's free... you just need to register... until Sunday 19 March.

Click the image to get started.