Wednesday 31 July 2013

Missing Irish friends can now be found on Ancestry

Ancestry has added the Missing Friends collection of advertisements from the Boston Pilot newspaper to its database.

Between 1831 and 1920, the newspaper published some 45,000 adverts placed by families and friends of earlier Irish immigrants with whom they'd lost touch. Many of those who placed the adverts were newly arrived themselves; others were relatives still in Ireland, desperate to make contact. Submissions were received from well beyond Boston, and queries were made about immigrants living all over the USA. The published adverts often contain very useful genealogical data and, crucially, the townland of origin.

Ancestry's version, indexed as a World Archive Project, holds 96,583 searchable entries. The images can also be browsed by year. Interestingly, place of origin details are provided when you carry out a free search (if they were published, obviously). It's only when you want to view an image of the advert that you require a subscription or pay-as-you-go credits.

(The Missing Friends database is also hosted at Boston College's Information Wanted site. This database is free to use. It does not hold images.)

SeanRuad Townland Database has moved

Many of you who use the IreAtlas Townlands Database, aka SeanRuad.com will have been concerned to find that the website appeared to be offline and, according to a holding page, awaiting deletion. I'm happy to report that this indispensible website, a mainstay of many professional and amateur genealogists' bookmark lists, is still available; it's been moved to another server.

The database was the work of the late John Broderick. It was brought to the online research community with the help of Ed Finn who provided software and server access alongside the www.leitrim-roscommon.com site.

Long before his untimely death, Ed promised John that so long as he had a web server online, the database would remain active.

John's family chose to keep the well-known domain name going after his death in 2001, but it lapsed last week. Ed has, therefore, moved the database to a new url. It is up and running, in all its familiar livery, at http://www.thecore.com/seanruad.

I know I'm not alone in being very pleased that this vital database can still be accessed online by Irish genealogists. Many, many thanks to Ed Finn.

9 January 2014: Recent access problems with Townlands Database.



Tuesday 30 July 2013

Monday 5 August – Bank holiday arrangements

There's a bank holiday in the Republic of Ireland this coming Monday, 5 August. Here are the opening and closing arrangements for the main repositories and institutions used by genealogists:

Dublin City Public Libraries will be closed on Saturday 3 August and Monday 5 August, reopening for normal hours on Tuesday 6 August.

The National Archives of Ireland will be closed to the public on Monday 5 August and will re-open on Tuesday 6 August at 10.00. 

The National Library of Ireland Reading Room will be closed on Monday 5 August and there will be no Genealogy Advisory Service operating on that day.  However, exhibitions at Kildare Street (Yeats and JFK) will be open 12pm to 5pm. 

The GRO Research Room will be closed on Monday 5 August, reopening Tuesday 6 August.

Local branch libraries will be closed on Saturday 3 August and Monday 5 August, reopening for normal hours on Tuesday 6 August.

Northern Ireland is open for business as usual on Monday 5 August but will be enjoying its own bank holiday on Monday 26 August.



Family and Local History Fair at PRONI – details

Following on from my recent post (see here) about this coming weekend's genealogy happenings, which coincide with Northern Ireland's BIG Summer event, PRONI has finally released a list of exhibitors and its programme of talks.

You can download them in pdf format, as follows:

Talks

List of exhibitors


The Fair will be held at PRONI, Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm.


Monday 29 July 2013

Genealogy & history: Things to do in the week ahead

Tuesday 30 July: Sense of Place through Irish Life and Lore, with Jane & Maurice O’Keeffe, Irish Life and Lore. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Tuesday 30 July to Thursday 1 August:  Mother Jones Festival. Shandon area of Cork City with numerous events, lectures and more. Programme.

Tuesday 30 July: Castle Durrow – Nixers in the 17th century, with Shelly Stokes. Part of the A Celebration of Architecture: the Big Houses of Laois series of lectures. Venue: Portlaoise Library. Time: 8pm. Cost: Free. Details: 00 353 (0)57 8622333.

Tuesday 30 July: Visualising Scottish Settlement in Ulster: the legacy of the plantation maps, with Dr Annaleigh Margey. Part of the Ulster-Scots History & Heritage Lecture Series. Venue: Tower Museum, Derry. 7pm. Free.

Wednesday 31 July: On the trail of the mid-Antrim covenanters – a museum tour with Dr William Roulston. 1-5pm. £10 includes all admissions, transport and refreshments. Booking essential, from The Braid, Ballymena. Details.

Thursday 1 August: Migration in Down History, with Dr Paddy Fitzgerald. Venue: Newry Library, 79 Hill Street, Newry, Co Down BT34 1DG. 12:30pm. Free. For more details, tel: 028 3026 4683.

Thursday 1 August: Emigrant records, with William Roulston, Ulster Historical Foundation. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Thursday 1 August: Thousands are sailing: a history of Irish migration through song, with Dr John Moulden. Venue: Newry Library, 79 Hill Street, Newry, Co Down BT34 1DG. 7:30pm. Free. For more details, tel: 028 3026 4683.

Friday 2 August: Newry Heritage Day. Find out about available Irish history and local studies reference materials and learn about useful family history resources. Venue: Newry Library, 79 Hill Street, Newry, Co Down BT34 1DG. 10am–4pm. Free. For more details, tel: 028 3026 4683.

Friday 2 August: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow. Free advice and database access. Mobile unit visiting Caherciveen Celtic Music Festival. 10am–5pm. Free.

Friday 2 to Sunday 4 August: New Zealand's Family History Fair, Venue: Vodafone Events Centre, Manukau, NZ. Programme of seminars and list of exhibitors here.

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August: Family History Fair, including programme of talks. Venue: PRONI, Titanic Quarter, Belfast. GSI, NIFHS. For more details, see last week's blogpost.

Saturday 3 August: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow. Free advice and database access. Mobile unit  visiting North Kerry Week in Listowel. 10am to 5pm.

Sunday 4 August: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow. Free advice and database access. Mobile unit  visiting Ballybunion Bachelor Reunion. 10am to 5pm.


Friday 26 July 2013

Games bring genealogy focus to Northern Ireland

A huge influx of visitors in Northern Ireland is expected in Northern Ireland during the World Police and Fire Games 2013 (1-10 August), and the family history community is gearing up in readiness for many extra 'roots tourists'.

The Games is a biennial event for serving and retired fire, police and prison officers from across the world. I was shocked to learn that the WPFG is the third largest international multi-sport event in the world. It will be the biggest sporting event ever held in Northern Ireland, with more than 7000 competitors taking part in 56 sports held at 41 venues.

Anticipating demand, PRONI, the Northern Ireland Family History Society and the Ulster Historical Foundation are ready to help athletes and visitors alike trace their Irish genealogy.

PRONI
is holding a Family & Local History Fair on the first weekend of the Games (3-4 August) at its Titanic Boulevard offices in Belfast. PRONI's staff will be on hand, along with experts from the National Archives of Ireland, the Ulster Historical Foundation, Northern Ireland Family History Society and many other organisations, all offering free advice. There will also be a programme of talks showcasing heritage products and services throughout Ireland (details not yet confirmed). Access to microfilmed records will also be available. UPDATE: Programme and list of exhibitors released.

The Northern Ireland Family History Society's Research Centre, which is in Newtownabbey, just 6 miles from the centre of Belfast, will have specially extended opening hours in the following week, as follows:

Tuesday 6 August,   2:00pm–8:00pm
Wednesday 7 August,   10:00am–12.30pm & 4.30pm–9:00pm
Thursday 8 August,   4.30pm–9:00pm
Saturday 10 August,   10.30am–12.30pm

Volunteers at the Research Centre will be happy to offer guidance and direction to all-comers, no matter what stage their family history research has reached.

The Ulster Historical Foundation has produced a smart 32-page e-booklet, Irish Ancestors, which is free to download (click image).

It aims to help tackle the problem faced by so many new researchers of not knowing exactly where their ancestors were born, and, although intended primarily for visitors to the 2013 World Police and Fire Games in Northern Ireland, it will be of great value to anyone who wants to research their family’s Irish heritage.

Louth Genealogy Seminar, 14 September

Louth County Libraries will be hosting a free Genealogy Seminar on Saturday 14 September. It's part of The Gathering's year-long line-up of events and will be held at Dundalk Library, Roden Place, Dundalk, Co Louth. Here's the programme:

10:00am   Seminar Registration & Welcome Address
10:30am   Connections, relationships & opportunities when Ireland Reaches Out,
                with Henry Healy.
11:15am   How to tap into free resources using Irish Lives Remembered genealogy e-magazine,
                with Eileen Munnelly.
11:30am   Social history of families in Drogheda and South Louth from the 1800's to present,
                with Brendan Matthews.
12:30pm   Q&A
12.45pm   Lunch ( a light lunch will be provided on site)
13:30pm   Survival through assimilation 1641-1800: Evidence for the people of Ireland,
                with Fiona Fitzsimons
14:30pm   Genealogy & Local Studies in Louth County Libraries, with Alan Hand and
                 Genealogy sources in Louth County Archives, with Lorraine McCann
16:00pm   Q&A and Close

Numbers are limited, so book as soon as you can by contacting Amanda Branigan,
Louth County Libraries. Tel: 042-9324321 or email.

UPDATE, 12 September: The seminar is fully booked.

€45k grant for digitisation of exceptional documents

A collection of documents dating from the early 18th century is to be digitised thanks to a €45,000 grant from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Among the material covered by the project is a collection of contemporary documents relating to significant historical events and movements such as the rebellions of 1798 and 1803, the struggle for Catholic emancipation, the Repeal Association and Young Ireland, the Fenians, the Home Rule movement and the Land War.

Of the later material, by far the most significant is the Easter Week collection – a considerable repository of photographs and documents from the period 1910–1923. This collection includes items of great historical import, such as:
  • The original draft of Patrick Pearse’s order of surrender to General Maxwell in 1916
  • Political documents by Éamon de Valera and Arthur Griffith
  • Administrative records relating to the Irish Volunteers
  • A collection of autograph books and photographs from internment camps in Britain and Ireland
  • The last written messages of a number of the executed leaders of the 1916 Rising, including the letter Pearse wrote to his mother the morning he was put to death.
The collection makes up some of the most important paper-based documents held by the National Museum of Ireland.

The digitisation project, which will be completed this year, also includes the Cashman collection, which contains over 200 photographs — many of them previously unpublished — of events and individuals connected to 1916 and the War of Independence. A number of historical artefacts relating to Roger Casement and Thomas Ashe will also be covered by the project, along with historical and military collections from the period after 1922.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Interesting new additions to Cavan history collection

Cavan County Library's Local Studies department has been busily converting its collection to make it more accessible online.

Recent additions to its free online pdf library include:
  • Valuation Survey of the Castle Hamilton Estate, published 1849. The Library recently restored this survey of the 2075-acre estate in Killeshandra. It examines the soil in detail in the townlands of Cordalea, Cornaclea, Derrygrid,Disert, Drumully East, Gortnanoul,Keelagh, Kinlagh,Kinkeel,Portaliffe, Portaliffe Glebe, Portaquin and Snakeel and includes high-quality hand-drawn maps.
  • Registry of Freeholders in the County of Cavan 1825 (7814 entries), compiled by John Mayne and published in 1826.
  • Statistical survey of the County of Cavan, by Sir Charles Coote; published 1801.
  • The Life of William Bedell, DD Bishop of Kilmore, by Gilbert Burnett, Bishop 1643-1715; published 1736.
  • Authenticated report of the Discussion which took place between The Rev. Richard T.P. Pope, and the Rev. Thomas Maguire in the lecture room of the Dublin Institution, on the 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 24th, and 25th of April, 1827, by Rev Richard TP Pope; published 1827.
  • Sketches in Ireland : descriptive of interesting, and hitherto unnoticed districts in the North and South, by Rev Caesar Otway; published 1857.
  • Observations on the state of Ireland, principally directed to its agriculture and rural population : In a series of letters, written on a tour through that country : Volumes I and II, by J C Curwen; published 1818.
  • Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder, by Shan F. Bullock; published 1912.
You'll find these, and plenty more titles, in Cavan County Library's Local History electronic catalogue. If you have Cavan connections, you really should check it out.

UPDATE: Back in January, I announced details of two terrific new resources at the Local Studies department (news story here): The Farrell Loans Ledger and the Bellamont Estate Rental papers. Due to a lack of resources, these are still in the queue for digitisation but they're making their way towards the front!. I'll let you know when they've been uploaded.



'Attitudes' to PRONI: survey results

Northern Ireland's Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) has published Attitudes towards the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland which reports findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey April 2013.

Among the findings:
  • Nearly two-thirds (59%) of people had heard of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).
  • Those aged 16-34 were less likely than any other age group to have heard of PRONI. Single people, those from the Catholic community and those with a disability were less likely to have heard of PRONI than members of their corresponding groups.
  • Fourteen per cent of respondents had had some form of contact with PRONI in the past.
  • Fifty-five per cent of those who had heard of PRONI would like to see archives detailing historic events available online, while just under half (49%) would like to see photographs online.
  • Just under one in every five (19%) who had heard of PRONI stated that they were prepared to pay to access online archives. Thirty-seven per cent stated that paying for records online would depend upon the charges while over two-fifths (44%) were not prepared to pay for online records.
  • Fifty-five per cent of those who had heard of PRONI would like to see archives detailing historic events made available online, while just under half (49%) would like to see photographs. Four in ten people (40%) would like to see church records online, while 37% would like to see school registers. Around a quarter of those who had heard of PRONI would like to see hospital records (27%), workhouse records (26%) and pre 1858 wills (23%) made available online.

Cavan emigration exhibition needs memorabilia

Cavan County Museum is planning a new exhibition to tell the 'Story of Emigration from County Cavan'. A provisional date for opening has been set for Wednesday 7 August, but this may be pushed back as the team is still collecting memorabilia for display.

Danielle Wilson Higgins told Irish Genealogy News that the museum is looking for items that tell the real stories of emigrants. 'We have already sourced items for the two main spaces – an American Wake kitchen and a Railway Station waiting room – but we're still in need of loans or donations of photographs, train/ship/plane tickets, letters sent home by emigrants or any other items that truly personalise the theme. The exhibition's time-frame spans the Famine right up to today.'

If you have suitable memorabilia, please contact Danielle or Savina at Cavan County Museum by email or telephone 00 353 (0)49 854 4070.

More free-to-access Clare burial records online

The following burial records have been added to Clare County Library's free-to-access online collection this month:

Bunratty Graveyard 1783–2011: This record set contains 395 transcriptions of headstone inscriptions. Each memorial has been photographed and the transcriptions have been arranged in alphabetical order of surname. A map identifying grave locations and numbers is also available. The collection was donated by Clare Roots Society.

Kilreedy Graveyard: Located in Tubber, on the north-eastern edge of The Burren, most of the burial plots in this graveyard are marked by uninscribed stones or are unmarked. The oldest headstone recorded in this small collection of just 34 transcriptions dates to 1706. It was donated to the Library by Dierdre Keane.

Kiltacky Graveyard: Close to Kilreedy, Kiltacky graveyard holds 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st-century examples of graveslabs and headstones, including many uninscribed stone markers. The oldest inscription in the graveyard dates from 1794. This collection covers 151 burial plots and a map, and was donated by Claire Keane.


Wednesday 24 July 2013

Mount St Lawrence cemetery: Phase 1 almost complete

Limerick City Archives will be releasing a searchable database of nearly 70,000 burial register entries for Mount St Lawrence cemetery next month. The burial ground has been the primary place of interment for all sectors of the population of Limerick City since it opened in 1849 and is one of the largest cemeteries in Ireland.

This will mark the completion of Phase One of the Mount St Lawrence project, which started in 2008/09. Initially, the registers were digitally copied and made available for free download in a series of pdfs (here). Since 2010, Archives staff have been working with students from the History Department of Mary Immaculate College of Education to manually transcribe the registers; they date from 1855 to 2008 and record name, age, address and, in some cases, the cause of death of those buried in the 16-acre cemetery.

"The greatest challenge of this phase has been deciphering some of the writing in the registers," Limerick City Archivist Jacqui Hayes told Irish Genealogy News. There were so many different staff making entries in the registers, there were inevitably a lot of inconsistencies, spelling mistakes and other errors. So the quality control exercise has been intense."

She added that while the initial release of the online collection – on 20 August – will be searchable by surname, it is possible that the database may be refined, in time, to be searchable by date or even address.

In the meantime, Phase Two of the Mount St Lawrence project is already underway. This involves the mapping and photographing of every plot in the cemetery. Some 70 students from the Geography department of the college have been carrying out this work every week for some months and have already completed one-third of the cemetery.

"The resulting database should finish in April 2014 and it is our intention to merge the two databases," said Jacqui. "We will also be producing a publication and we plan to hold a conference next April to showcase the project and its results."

The event, and the successful completion of the Mount St Lawrence cemetery project, will form part of Limerick's celebrations as Ireland's first National City of Culture in 2014.




Ancestry: 1911 England & Wales Census FREE

Ancestry.co.uk has recently upgraded its version of the 1911 Census for England & Wales so it's going to offer free access to tempt you to take a look!

The offer is live from today and will run until 14 October.

You need to register with name and email address, but there's no requirement to give credit card details.


Monday 22 July 2013

Genealogy & history events this week

Monday 22 July: Tracing your Irish Jewish Roots, with Stuart Rosenblat. 2:45pm. Free. Venue: Irish Jewish Museum, 3 Walworth Road, South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Part of the Irish Jewish Gathering (to 30 July). Full details.

Tuesday 23 July: Crowd-sourcing your family tree: how social media can help with tracing ancestry, with Claire Bradley. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Tuesday 23 July: The Forgotten treasures of Laois, with Siobhain Holland. Part of the 'A Celebration of Architecture: the Big Houses of Laois' series of lectures. Venue: Portlaoise Library. Time: 8pm. Cost: Free. Details: 00 353 (0)57 8622333.

Wednesday 24 July: Life in Northern Ireland during World War II, with Alrene Hughes. Irish World Heritage Centre, Manchester, UK. 7:30pm. £3. Details.

Wednesday 24 July: Ogham in 3:D – Digitising Ireland's ogham stones, with Dr Nora White.Hill of Tara Lecture Series. Tara Visitors Centre, Co Meath. 8pm. Admission free.

Thursday 25 July: Farthest South: From Kerry to New Zealand, a talk on emigration from East Kerry with Seán Brosnahan. East Kerry Roots Festival, opening night. River Island Hotel, Castleisland, Co Kerry. 7:30-9pm. Programme.

Thursday 25 July: Ireland’s history carved in stone, with Mervyn Colville, Glasnevin Trust. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 July: Genealogy workshops, part of East Kerry Roots Festival and Gathering. Castleisland. Workshops will be held each day from 9am to 1pm. Many other heritage events, too. Details.

Friday 26 July: Family History Open Day at Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Free advice from genealogy societies, consultations with professional genealogists, and online searches on major databases, plus a chance to explore DCL&A's rich family history collection. 10am–4:30pm. Free. More info. Tel: 00 353 (0)1-6744870.

Saturday 27 July: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow at the Brosnan Clan Gathering, Castleisland, Co Kerry.

Sunday 28 July: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow at the Killarney Summerfest, Killarney, Co Kerry.

Saturday 20 July 2013

GRO's relocation is a 'temporary' one, we're to believe

The Irish Times has taken up the sorry tale of the GRO Research Room's move to Werburgh Street, in a feature published today. (The story was published on this blog on Wednesday afternoon, see here.)

It doesn't add a lot that's new, except that the relocation appears to be being dressed up by the Office of Public Works (OPW) as a temporary one. So we're to believe the Werburgh Street move is 'until more suitable accommodation is identified in the long term', are we?

This can be interpreted as 'the Research Room has been found accommodation so it's been crossed off our to-do list'.

Remember the Research Room's former home at Joyce House, Lombard Street? The accommodation scored at the highest level on the Grotty Index. It was unhealthy (did those radiators EVER turn off), and totally inadequate in size for the demand it faced. It was, frankly, embarrassing to see members of the diaspora subjected to this first hand experience of public service in Ireland. How many years was this deemed acceptable before its late-2007 move to the Irish Life Centre? How long did it take for the need for relocation to rise to the top of the OPW's list?

UPDATE 13 September: Move has still not happened. See blogpost.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

GRO's Dublin Research Room to move in August

The current Research Room is a pleasant place to visit
The General Register Office's bright, well-appointed and conveniently located Research Room at the Irish Life Centre, Talbot Street/Abbey Street Lower, Dublin, is to close when its current lease expires at the end of August.

The current facility is close to Connolly Station, LUAS, DART and many bus stops, and is just a stone's throw from O'Connell Street. To the benefit of genealogists, it’s also next to the Valuation Office, where information about ancestors’ land holdings can be traced back to the 1850s.

The Research Room will reopen in a delapidated former Dole Office on Werburgh Street. The office is currently protected by high security fencing topped with barbed wire.

When asked about the move Steven Smyrl, President of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI) and executive liaison officer for the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO), described the proposed move as 'appalling'.

Welcome to the new GRO Research Room
'Given that this is the year of The Gathering, it’s about as unwelcoming as it could possibly be. All the outward signs suggest an area riddled by crime and antisocial behaviour. If the Government wants to demonstrate its belief that genealogy has a role to play in our economic recovery and if new premises must be found soon, the underused Dublin Tourism Centre in St Andrew’s Street would be one ideal location. The city is full of unused office space without the need to dump Ireland’s ‘Mecca’ for roots tourism in an unsavoury side street.

'I call on Joan Burton, the Minister for Social Protection, who has responsibility for the GRO, to immediately step in and provide family historians from both home and abroad, with a new facility equal to, if not better than, the current one at the Irish Life Centre.'

Thousands visit the GRO's Research Room each year. Rather than having to fight for the facility to stay at its current location, family historians would like to hear that the GRO is listening to their needs and will finally allow public access to its computerised database of birth, death and marriage records, which date back to 1845. Currently, researchers must wade through individual annual hardcopy indexes, and searches over many years can be very time consuming.

By contrast, the GRO in Belfast has full public access to its computerised records with enhanced index data and by the end of year will also allow access to historical records through the Internet. Its research room is based in a well-appointed facility in the centre of Belfast.

(With thanks to CIGO)

UPDATE 20 July
: The Irish Times has taken up the story. The move is being billed as 'temporary'. See blogpost.

UPDATE 13 September: Move has still not taken place. See blogpost.

Ancestry adds New York naturalisation records

Ancestry has added a new database of New York Naturalisation Records. This collection of some 1.2million records filed in various federal, state, and local courts in New York dates from 1794 to 1906 and includes many, many Irish emigrants.

The information available for each individual recorded in the collection includes:

  • Given name and surname
  • Court where petitioned
  • Birth date or age
  • Nationality
  • Arrival port
  • Arrival date
  • A reference to the location of the original record including a volume number, page number and record number

Further details from Ancestry: The first step for an immigrant wishing to become an official U.S. citizen was to complete a Declaration of Intention to naturalize. These papers are also known as First Papers as they are the first forms to be completed in the naturalization process. Generally these papers were filled out fairly soon after an immigrant's arrival in America. After the immigrant had completed these papers and met the residency requirement (which was usually five years), the individual was able to submit his Petition for Naturalization. Petitions are also known as Second or Final Papers because they are the second and final set of papers completed in the naturalization process. Immigrants also took a naturalization oath or oath of allegiance. These oaths are often filed with the immigrant's first or second papers. After an immigrant had completed all citizenship requirements he was issued a certificate of naturalization. Many of these documents may be found in the court in which they were created.

The amount of information that is contained on each of these naturalization documents varies widely between time and place. However, they often contain significant genealogical information and are often worth the search to locate them.


Memorial card project launched for County Kerry

A project to record details from memorial cards has been launched in County Kerry. It hopes to emulate the success of a similar project in neighbouring County Clare (details here).

The new project plans to include:
  • Memorial Cards for anyone born in Kerry,
  • Memorial Cards for people who lived in Kerry for most of their lives
  • Memorial Cards for anyone who died in Kerry.
In launching the project, Martine Brennan, who is a parish administrator for Ireland XO, hopes to create a new resource for family historians. She explains: 'For many people searching for their Irish roots, memorial cards provide information that has passed from living memory. The cards were (and still are in some cases) printed when someone dies to honour them and were traditionally kept in prayer books so that the living could remember the dead and pray for their souls. Sadly, many of these cards are destroyed in house clearances because people don't understand their value.'

If you would like to contribute memorial cards from your family, you should scan the front and back of the originals and send them by email. You can also, if you wish, provide a contact email address to which potential family members could be directed..

Details from the submitted memorial cards will be held on a database that may, in time, be made available for searching online. In the meantime, enquiries can be sent to the email address above.

Martine: 'Creating the database will be a slow task but we are very excited by the possibility that it will help people with Kerry roots all over the world to find their family of origin.'

Further details.


Tuesday 16 July 2013

Inside History's Top 50 blogs

A little bit of bragging, if you'll excuse me, and a shout out for a very fine publication.

I was thrilled to discover that Irish Genealogy News had earned a place in the '50 Best Blogs' awards 2013 run by Inside History. This 76-page bi-monthly magazine, now in its third year, focuses on genealogy and the history and heritage of Australia and New Zealand.

It's produced in Sydney to a highly sophisticated visual spec and is edited by Cassie Mercer, whose many years of editorial experience makes the publication a joy to read.

In the current issue, Jill Ball, who runs the Geniaus blog, and Cassie have put together a list of '50 blogs you need to read' across a number of categories. (I don't know why Irish Genealogy News is in the Professional Genealogists category – I'm not a pro – but I'm not complaining!)

As you'd expect, there's a strong Antipodean emphasis, but even those with no connections to Australia and New Zealand would still find plenty to learn and enjoy from these blogs. So take some time out and go exploring.



DiscoverEverAfter breaks through 100,000 milestone

If only all inscriptions were so comprehensive!
DiscoverEverAfter, the graveyard surveying company based in Portglenone, Co Antrim, has been busy in recent months carrying out surveys in churchyards across Northern Ireland.

The results of those surveys have now been uploaded to the website for free searching.

It brings the total number of burial records on the site to 100,504.

The latest records come from these six burial grounds (number of records in brackets):

  • Magheradroll Church of Ireland Ballynahinch, Co. Down (800)
  • St. John & Trea Roman Catholic Church Moneymore, Co. Derry (694)
  • St. Malachys Roman Catholic Church Kilcoo, Co. Down (1436)
  • St. Patrick's Church Culfeightrin, Ballyvoy, Co. Antrim (1320)
  • St. Patricks Roman Catholic Church, The Loup, Co. Derry (499)
  • Church of the Immaculate Conception, Castlewellan, Co. Down (1755)


Mid-July updates to IGP Archives

The latest uploads to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives are listed below:

Ireland General Genealogy Archives – Emigration
"Ship Patty" 5th May 1803

Dublin Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Dublin; St Marys Church of Ireland
Deansgrange Cemetery, St. Nessan's Part 8

Fermanagh Genealogy Archives – Church
Ederney Catholic Baptisms 1836-1881
Ederney Catholic Marriages 1837-1942
Ederney Catholic Church Burials 1840-1844

Galway Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Ross Errilly Friary Graveyard

Roscommon Genealogy Archives – Land
Cancelled Book Transcriptions – Electoral Dist. Kilteevan ca 1911-1920's
(Aghmagree, Annaghmore, Ballinlig, Belderg, Clooncah, Carrigeens. Cooltona, Clooneigh, Clooneskert)

Wicklow Headstone Index – Headstones
Killmurray Old Cemetery


Monday 15 July 2013

Genealogy/history events: 15 – 21 July

Until end October: Power & Privilege: Photographs of the Big House in Ireland, 1858-1922, exhibition. Mon-Fri, 9:30-1pm; 2:15-5:30pm, last entry 5pm), Cork Archives, the Seamus Murphy Building, Great William O'Brien St, Blackpool, Cork

Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 July: Historic Graves workshop in Edenderry area (e.g. Ballymacwilliam), Co Offaly. Training in low-cost high-tech surveying methods as well as recording your own local oral histories. 9:30am – 4pm, or for whatever time you can spare. All welcome. Email/text your details to doshea@irelandxo.com or (085) 1925466. (Nominal charge of €10 to cover materials & equipment).

Tuesday 16 July: The Valuations Office - A Colourful Treasure Trove! with Maeve Mullin, Genealogist. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Tuesday 16 July: Dublin's first coinage – the money of the Hiberno-Scandinavians, with Andy Woods. Milestons of Medieval Dublin series. Wood Quay Venue, Civic Offices, Dublin 8. 1:05pm – 1:45pm. Free. All welcome.

Tuesday 16 July: Stradbally Hall – the evolution of an estate, with Dr Tom Cosby. Part of the A Celebration of Architecture: the Big Houses of Laois series of lectures. Venue: Portlaoise Library. Time: 8pm. Cost: Free. Details: 00 353 (0)57 8622333.

Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 July: Historic Graves workshop in Daingean area (eg Kilclonfert), Co Offaly. Training in low-cost high-tech surveying methods as well as recording your own local oral histories. 9:30am – 4pm, or for whatever time you can spare. All welcome. Email/text your details to doshea@irelandxo.com or (085) 1925466. (Nominal charge of €10 to cover materials & equipment).

Wednesday 17 July: Killegar House & estate, with Sue, Lady Kilbracken discussing the house and its papers. The latter have recently been archived and placed in storage at Leitrim County Library in Ballinamore. Carrick on Shannon and District Historical society. Venue: Bush Hotel, Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim. 8:30pm.

Thursday 18 July: Of gunslingers, tarantulas, Elvis & Walt – a global history of the Irish abroad, with Turtle Bunbury. Venue: Lyrath Hotel, Dublin Road, Kilkenny City. 7:30pm. Tickets cost €10 at the door.

Thursday 18 July: The Irish roots of Jackie Kennedy, with Jim O’Callaghan, Genealogist. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Friday 19 and Saturday 20 July: The Famine Irish: Emigration and New Lives, the 3rd annual International Famine Conference. Venue: Strokestown Park House, Co Roscommon. Cost: €25, includes refreshments (and a light lunch on the Friday). Full programme.

Saturday 20 July: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow at Ventry Regatta, Dingle, Co Kerry. 10am–5:30pm. Free guidance and online searching. More.

Sunday 21 July: Kerry Genealogy Roadshow at The Stack Clan Gathering, Listowel, Co Kerry. 10am–5:30pm. Free guidance and online searching. More.

Sunday 14 July 2013

Burial records for Co Monaghan going online

The records of St Joseph's Cemetery in Carrickmacross are now available for free searching via Carrickmacross Workhouse website. The formal launch of this dedicated section of the website, which includes historical information, maps etc of the cemetery, will take place this afternoon at 3pm during a Community Afternoon at the Workhouse.

The majority of the 1,313 plots in the cemetery are marked by a gravestone; the earliest legible inscription dates from 1866. A record search returns plot number and location, a transcription of the full inscription, a large photograph and a description of the grave marker ie 'Limestone Celtic Cross on Large Plinth - Iron Railing'.

While this is obviously good news for researchers with ancestors from the town, family historians with connections to other parts of County Monaghan, and even across the border into County Louth and County Cavan, should also take note as records from a good number of burial grounds in the area will be joining those for St Joseph's. There's no mention of timescale but you can see the list here.

Three Fridays of free family history at DCL&A

Venue: DCL&A conference room, 
133-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2
Dublin City Library & Archive in Pearse Street will be holding a series of free Genealogy Open Days on the following dates:
  • Friday 26 July
  • Friday 9 August
  • Friday 16 August
The Open Days are organised as Drop In events where you can meet and receive research advice from professional genealogists including John Grenham (author of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors) and take advantage of free searches on online family history resources.

A number of Irish family history organisations, including the Association of Professional Genealogists of Ireland (APGI), the Irish Genealogical Research Society, the Irish Family History Society, the Genealogical Society of Ireland and Ancestor Network, will have information stands, and Dublin City Libraries & Archive will be showcasing its wide range of genealogical resources.

The Open Days will be held 10:30am to 4:30pm on each of the Fridays. Everything will be free, and it's a great opportunity for beginners, experts and tourists to start exploring or progress their family research.

More info: www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie. Tel: 00 353 (0)1-6744870 or (0)1-6744800.

Friday 12 July 2013

New website and email facilities coming from GRO

Responding to a query from UK-based genie Stuart McGee, the General Register Office of Ireland has revealed that its current website is to be scrapped and that customers can now receive research copies of birth, marriage and death certificates by email.

Anyone who has visited GROIreland.ie will know that the site is not only looking a tad faded, it is also many years out of date. Many of its pages have not been updated since the GRO moved to Roscommon in 2005.

Since then, responsibility for the General Register Office has shifted from the Ministry of Health to the Minister for Social Protection. (This is where it starts to get confusing... the Health Service Executive runs the Civil Registration Service and www.certificates.ie, an online service for the purchase of 'legal quality' bmd certs.) So GROIreland's new online presence will be aligned with the Department of Social Protection's website. This, confirms the GRO's Bernadette Smith, will allow GROIreland to avail of modern infrastructure and to provide a more accessible and user-friendly service.

"The content currently on the GRO website, including the history, is also being reviewed in advance of the proposed transfer and will therefore be up-to-date and capable of being maintained into the future."

Among the expected updates is a facility for genealogists to order and receive their 'research copies' by email.

Bernadette: "We have recently introduced [an email] facility on a pilot basis and we're now extending it to customers who indicate email as their preferred method of issue. This option will also be offered on the new form, when the website is fully updated."

As to timing, the GRO's web presence should migrate to its new platform this year.

Another issue of burning interest to family historians is the mooted upload of the GRO's bmd indexes. Bernadette confirms that "consideration is being given to making the index data relating to GRO registers available for online searching" but tells me that this is unconnected to the current upgrade and migration of the GROIreland site. If and when the indexes go online, they will appear on irishgenealogy.ie – the Department of Heritage, Arts and the Gaeltacht.

(With thanks to both Stuart McGee and Bernadette Smith.)






Power and Privilege opens with a Cork flavour

The exhibition Power & Privilege: Photographs of the Big House in Ireland, 1858-1922, which proved an enormous success in Dublin, is to open today in Cork with a local twist.

The outstanding prints from the National Library of Ireland will be joined by photos and memorabilia from the collections of Cork Archives, where the exhibition will be hosted.

If you're interested in going along to the launch, which will be performed today by Lord Mayor Catherine Clancy at 2:30pm, you'd be welcome. If you can't make it this afternoon, the exhibition will be open Monday to Friday (9:30-1pm; 2:15-5:30pm, with last entry at 5pm) until the end of October at the Cork Archives, Seamus Murphy Building, Great William O'Brien Street, Blackpool, Cork.

Kerry Genealogy Roadshow revs into gear

You can't miss the Kerry Genealogy Roadshow 
mobile unit!  Here it is in Main Street, Killarney, today
Today at noon, Minister of Heritage, Arts and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan TD will officially launch The Kerry Genealogy Roadshow.

The formalities will take place in Main Street Killarney, outside Macs Ice Cream Parlour, so you can cool down with an ice while you find out about this ambitious project.

For those that can't be there, I'll tell you that the Kerry Genealogy Roadshow is a mobile genealogy unit that's going to be attending 20-odd Gathering and summer festivals being held in the county between now and October.

On hand will be professional genealogists from Ancestor Network, and they'll be ready to help all comers explore their Kerry family names and start tracing their Kerry roots.

As well as an exhibition about family history research in Kerry county, a free printed guide will be distributed and online search facilities to the major genealogy databases will be available, giving access to Census Returns, Tithe Applotment Books, Griffiths Valuation, Civil BMDs, and Church Baptism and Marriage Records.

Here's the list of events:

Sat 13 July : Kenmare Food Carnival, Kenmare
Sun 14 July : Valentia Island King Scallop Festival
Sat 20 July : Ventry Regatta, Dingle
Sun 21 July : The Stack Clan Gathering, Listowel
Sat 27 July : Brosnan Clan Gathering, Castleisland
Sun 28 July : Killarney Summerfest, Killarney
Fri 2 Aug : Caherciveen Celtic Music Festival
Sat 3 Aug : North Kerry Week, Listowel
Sun 4 Aug : Ballybunion Bachelor Reunion
Fri 9 Aug : Puck Fair, Killorglin
Sat 10 Aug : Dingle Races, Dingle
Thur 15 Aug : Rose of Tralee Festival
Sat 17 Aug : Tarbert Family Gathering Festival
Sat 24 Aug : Charlie Chaplin Film Festival, Waterville
Sun 25 Aug : Killarney National Park, Muckross
Sat 31 Aug : Gangs of New York Gathering, Kenmare
Fri 6 Sept : Daniel O'Connell Weekend, Caherciveen
Sat 7 Sept : Daniel O'Connell Weekend, Caherciveen
Sat 14 Sept : Dingle Tradfest / Feile Trad an Daingin
Sun 15 Sept : Listowel Races
Fri 4 Oct : Dingle Food Festival
Sat 5 Oct : Kenmare Lace Festival
Sun 6 Oct : Portmagee Sea Shanty Festival

For more details, contact Ancestor Network on info@ancestor.ie, Tel: +353 87 050 5296.

Thanks to Maria Breen (@breen_maria on Twitter) for the photo.

UPDATE: Here's a short video featuring John Hamrock of Ancestor Network explaining the aim and focus of the Kerry Genealogy Roadshow.


Thursday 11 July 2013

Family History Fair at PRONI, 3–4 August

PRONI will be hosting a Family History Fair at their Titanic Boulevard offices on Saturday 3 August and Sunday 4 August (10am–4pm).

Full details are not yet available but experts from PRONI, the National Archives of Ireland, Ulster Historical Foundation, and North of Ireland Family History Society, plus other societies and organisations, will be attending. A programme of talks will be released in due course. Admission is free.

While no original documents will be available, visitors will be able to access self-service microfilms.

For now, just stick the dates in your diary. I'll update when I get more specifics.




Medical ancestors? FindMyPast adds 1858 Directory

FindMyPast Ireland has added the 1858 Medical Directory for Ireland to its searchable database. It details the locations and published works of professionals holding qualifications as either apothecaries (pharmacists) or medical doctors in Ireland.

This was the year in which a Medical Act started to regulate the medical profession and to drive out unlicensed practitioners.

There's more information about this Directory and its compilation here.

The first directory of Ireland's medical profession, which was published in 1852, is also available.

These and all FindMyPast Ireland records are also available via a World Subscription with FindMyPast USA, FindMyPast Australia/NZ and FindMyPast UK.


The Big Houses of Laois: lecture series underway

Portlaoise Library has launched a series of lectures called ‘A Celebration of Architecture: the Big Houses of Laois’. The lectures, all to be held on Tuesday evenings, feature houses spanning 1699 to the 1820s.

The series started this week, and the remaining lectures are as follows:

16 July      : Stradbally Hall – The Evolution of an Estate, with Dr Tom Cosby
23 July      : The Forgotten Treasures of Laois, with Siobhan Holland
30 July      : Castle Durrow – Nixers in the 17th century, with Shelly Stokes
6 August   : Abbey Leix – Spanning Four Centuries, with Tom Cox
13 August : Emo Court, with Kevin Flanagan
20 August : Ballyfin – The Restoration of an Irish House and Demesne, with Kevin V Mulligan

Venue: Portlaoise Library
Time: 8pm
Cost: Free

For details contact Portlaoise Library 00 353 (0)57 8622333, or download the programme from the library's website.

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Putting Clare surnames on the map

Prepare to turn green with envy (again) all ye who don't have Clare ancestors!

You may remember me raving about a new map overlay system developed by Clare County Library back in January last year. Well, they've not left it alone. The latest incarnation of this resource – to be known as GenMaps – has created THE MOST sensational maps resource that not only overlays modern maps onto historical maps, it can now map surnames into hotspots.

Searching by surname, the software creates heat maps where clusters or instances of the name appear in either the tithe applotment books 1820-40, Griffiths Valuation 1855 or the 1901 census.

Not content with that, you can then zoom into the 1842 6" ordnance survey map and overlay it with a modern road map and satellite view. Switching between the two is simple.

As and when you want to find out more about a particular townland, you simply click on the location and a host of additional information, from external sites as well as the Clare County Library site, can be checked out.

There's a very useful video tutorial to get you started on the Surname Finder.

It's great fun. Go play, whether or not you've got Clare ancestors!





Take three magazines and read all about it

As I'm currently laid up with a slipped disc (hope to be back to normal output next week), I've been reading quite a lot, so this post is rather timely.

History Ireland
My subscriber copy of the latest issue of HistoryIreland was, as always, a welcome sight on the doormat. The magazine is also now in the shops. You can't miss it! It's got a very distinctive cover, in fire-engine red, with a graphic of Jim Larkin in characteristic pose. You'll quickly get the message that this is a special edition dedicated to the Dublin Lockout of 1913.

Among the features are studies of the main protagonists – Jim Larkin and William Martin Murphy – and their portrayals as hero and villain, the conduct of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, the role of the Jacob's Biscuit Factory, and the after-effects of the Lockout on subsequent labour relations in Ireland. There are also context features and in-depth articles about the Belfast dock strike of 1907, the Wexford lockout of 1911, and similar contemporaneous labour disputes in the USA.

Even the Regular pages keep the focus; the Gems of Architecture's target is Liberty Hall, while the Book Reviews relate to books on industrial and social developments of the era.

A terrific read. And only €7/£6.

Irish Roots
Hurry, hurry. The editor of Irish Roots magazine, which is published in both print and digital format, invites you to enjoy last December's issue (number 84) absolutely free.

As always, this issue holds several features exploring family history resources and how to get the best from them. Among them is the final (4th) part of the Tracing your Ancestors Online series, which looks at where and how to uncover records using gravestone inscriptions, military records (both British and Irish) and crime and court records. There's also some very useful advice on the four worst things you can do to photographs in the name of preservation, a thorough introduction to the Petty Sessions Court records collection now available at FindMyPast and an indepth tutorial on finding Irish relatives in America.

You need to get on with it if you want to take up this opportunity. The offer to read the issue free will expire on Friday 12 July.

Irish Lives Remembered
The July issue of this monthly digital-only magazine is now available to download free of charge.

County Donegal is the focus of this issue's main genealogy resources section with listings of collections held by the local libraries and archives, a study of the surnames associated with the county, and an invitation to the Gallagher Clan's Gathering.

Elsewhere, there's a major feature about the recent Obama visitation and their family history, and personal family tales of ancestors from Cavan and Sligo and Kerry who emigrated to New Jersey and Nova Scotia. There's also the final part of a series about researching 'missing' ancestors in Australia and New Zealand, and an analysis of a wonderful photo dating from c1880 of a coach full of passengers in Galway's Eyre Square.

You can download or read the issue online here.







Tuesday 9 July 2013

The Irish in Liverpool, 1767 – a free resource

Every now and again a little bit of gold falls into my Inbox! On this occasion, it's come via Colin of Liverpool.

It's a fantastic new online resource for those whose ancestors found themselves in Liverpool in 1767 (or surrounding district) and were recorded in the Papist Returns, one of a series of polls of known or reputed Roman Catholics ordered by the British Parliament between 1680 and 1781.

Duly returned to the House of Lords, the documents were retained in the Parliamentary Archives.

In most of these polls, individual names were not recorded, but there are several examples of those taken in 1767 when much more than names were collected. Liverpool was one such. In addition to full names, typically of all family members, the returns recorded ages and occupations, and, in some instances, length of tenure at the particular address and sometimes even place of origin. Many of these Roman Catholics would have been Irish, whether they are recorded as such or not.

The 2,000-odd entries in the Liverpool returns have been transcribed by the otherwise anonymous Blue70, a member of the Liverpool & South West Lancs Genealogy Forum and placed on a dedicated website for free access (click image).

Big round of applause to Blue70. Great work.




Monday 8 July 2013

Genealogy & history events in the week ahead

Since we're now well into the summer holiday period, the number of events taking place has shrunk quite dramatically. Thank goodness for the National Library of Ireland's Summer Genealogy series (Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout July and August); it'll help to see us through what would otherwise be a lean time.

Don't forget that most of Northern Ireland closes the door of normality on Thursday afternoon (11th) and doesn't re-emerge until Tuesday next week (16th). All Libraries*, GRONI and PRONI will be closed.

Until Saturday 13 July:
Irish Historical Maps, on display at Terenure Library, Templeogue Road, Dublin 6. Free. Opening hours.

Tuesday 9 July:  Ireland’s Quakers and their records, with Christopher Moriarty, Dublin Quaker Library. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Tuesday 9 July: The Shamrock Fund in WW1, with Brian White. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: Dún Laoghaire College of FE, Cumberland St, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. €3.00. 8pm. All welcome.

Wednesday 10 July: Violence, Politics and Voice: Irish Catholics in London and the Troubles in Northen Ireland, 1970-1981, with Sean Sorohan. Irish World Heritage Centre, Manchester, UK. 7:30pm. Details.

Thursday 11 July: Is there a doctor in your house? Family history records in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, with Harriet Wheelock, RCPI. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Saturday 13 July: Mayo Genealogy Group Workshop at the National Museum of Ireland, Country Life, Turlough, Castlebar, Co Mayo. A monthly drop-in event for family history advice and chat. No booking required. Free. Details.

Sunday 14 July: Arbour Hill church and graveyard, Dublin, a guided tour with Paul O'Brien. 12noon. Booking essential as places limited. This tour is carried out in conjunction with the OPW as part of the Communities Initiative. Details and booking.


*LinenHall Library will be closed 11, 12 and 13 July; open Monday 15 July.

Saturday 6 July 2013

Roots Ireland offers 40% discount

Roots Ireland is offering a 40% discount on birth and baptism records until Sunday 14 July.

Having seen the announcement on their Twitter feed, I clicked through to the site for more details, but there are none. In fact, the offer is not mentioned on the home page of their website, nor in their news feed box. You have to go through to one of the Search pages to see the offer highlighted, but still no explanation of how the offer works.

In the hope of providing the explanation that RootsIreland ought to be providing, I've just tried it out.

I had a few credits remaining in my account. I was charged 15 credits to view a baptism record. I've no idea if this was a discounted number of credits or not. The 'top up' page says the cost of viewing a record is 15 credits but doesn't say anything about this being a special offer. Nor does it distinguish between the costs of viewing baptism and marriage (or anything else) records.

So have I received a discount or not? No idea.

Usual clarity from RootsIreland.

UPDATE – Monday 8 July: Just received an invitation from RootsIreland to take advantage of this offer. It comes with an explanation that the discounted records are 15 credits rather than the usual 25 credits.





Friday 5 July 2013

FindMyPast.ie adds Kiltullagh graves and memorials

FindMyPast Ireland has added just under 2,500 transcriptions and full colour photographs of graves and memorials from the parish of Kiltullagh, Ballinlough, County Roscommon.

The burials recorded date from between 1723 and 2011 and are from four churchyards Ballinlough, Granlahan, Teamhair and Kiltullagh.

Although officially a Roscommon parish, the townlands extend into County Mayo ie Ballyglass.

FindMyPast Ireland already holds transcriptions (no images) of some 12,000 marriage and baptism entries from the 1839–1880 registers of this parish.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Latest updates: Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives

Below are the additions to Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives uploaded during the second half of June:

GENERAL IRELAND Genealogy Archives – Emigration
"Baltimore" 30 Apr 1803
"Ship Jefferson" 28 April 1803 (from Sligo)
"Strafford" 14 May 1803

FERMANAGH
Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Mullaghdun (CoI) Parish Church Cemetery

LEITRIM Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Annaduff, St Mary's RC Church Cemetery
Manorhamilton (Church of Ireland)
Lurganboy (CoI) Cemetery near Manorhamilton

MEATH
Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Rathmolyon; St. Michael and All Angels (CoI) Cemetery

MONAGHAN Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Clones Church Cemetery (partial)

ROSCOMMON
Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Kilronan Church of Ireland Cemetery - (partial)

SLIGO Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Geevagh Cemetery (in a field) (Possibly Foyoges)

TIPPERARY Genealogy Archives – Headstones
Ballymackey Church of Ireland Cemetery
Dromineer Church Cemetery
Grawn R.C. Church Cemetery
Modreeny Church Cemetery


Monday 1 July 2013

National Archives of Ireland: Reader's Tickets

Don't forget....  New requirements for the issue of Reader's Tickets came into operation today at the National Archives of Ireland. Details

1913 Church of Ireland Directory online

The Representative Church Body Library has released the 1913 Church of Ireland Directory as its Archive of the Month. This Directory provides an insight into the Church on the eve of one of Ireland's most pivotal decades, and, when read in conjunction with the first edition published in 1852 (and also online, here), reveals the huge changes the Church had undergone since dis-establishment.

As you'll see if you follow the link, the 1913 editions of the Church of Ireland Gazette will be going online at the RCBL website next month.

Irish genealogy and history events this week

Until 9 July: Every townland earned its name in song: John Hewitt's Ulster Scots tradition, exhibition. PRONI, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Belfast. Free. During normal opening hours.

Until 28 July: Abandoned Mansions of Ireland Exhibition, Tarquin Blake’s photos on display at Kilkenny Castle, The Parade, Kilkenny City. The exhibition documents the end of the landed aristocracy in Ireland and the demise of their country mansion houses. 9am–5pm.  More information.

All month: Plantation: Process, People, Perspectives exhibition. Guildhall, Derry-Londonderry. Free.

Tuesday 2 July: Connections, Relationships & Opportunities when Ireland Reaches Out, with Henry Healy, Ireland XO. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Tuesday 2 July: Life in a medieval town: the grim details, wtih Liam Mannix. Venue: Cashel Library, Friars St, Cashel, Co. Tipperary. Summer lecture series. 7:15pm. Free.

Tuesday 2 July: County Monaghan Genealogy 'Home to the Little Hills'. Official launch of the training programmes scheduled to take place in Monaghan 14-17 Oct, and Carrickmacross 21-24 October. Launch venue: The Market House, Market St, Monaghan Town. 7:30pm. Need to book.

Thursday 4 July: Sources for Family Research at the Military Archives, with Padraic Kennedy, Military Archives. Venue: Seminar Room, National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. 1pm.  Free. No booking necessary.

Thursday 4 July: Irish migrant networks: the Ribbon Society in England, c.1830s-1870s, with Dr Kyle Hughes (Northumbria University). Venue: Gallowgate Lounge, Tyneside Irish Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SG, UK. Telephone: 0191 261 0384. 7:30–9:30pm. Free.

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 July: Eneclann Genealogy Roadshow, part of the Swift Satire Festival. Venue: Trim Castle Hotel. Saturday 11am–7pm. Sunday 11am–5pm. Free, but donations accepted.