Irish Genealogy

Monday 23 May: A reception to mark the publication of Irish Archives Vol 27: Innovation, the ISA at 50, edited by Susan Hood and Elizabeth McEvoy, and to be launched by Aideen Ireland, President of ARA. An in-person event hosted by the Irish Society of Archives at the Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be served. Need to register.

Monday 23 May: The Treaty 1921, the National Archives of Ireland’s exhibition is now on tour and will be at County Hall, Carricklawn, Wexford Town, County Wexford until 10 June. Free. In-person event. All welcome. Details.

Monday 23 May: Arctic Ireland : The Great Frost and Forgotten Famine of 1740/41, with Professor David Dickson. An in-person event hosted by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme. Venue: Brownlow House, Windsor Avenue, Lurgan BT67 9BJ. Free. 7:30pm. Details and booking.

Tuesday 24 May: Past Lives: Spotlight on History of Family, a free online event hosted by the University of Limerick’s department of history and part of the Limerick Lifetime Learning Festival. 4pm to 5pm. Three recent graduates of the MA History of Family course present findings from their MA research. All welcome. Need to register for link.

Tuesday 24 May: The Wide Streets Commission, a free online presentation with architectural historian Dr John Montague. First of a series of webinars related to the Dublin Transcription Project. Hosts: Dublin City Library and Archive. 2pm to 3:30pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register.

Tuesday 24 May: Leaving Hearth and Home, an online talk with Natalie Bodle discussing the reasons why so many Ulster-Scots emigrate to North America in the C18th. Follows AGM. Hosted by the Belfast Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society. AGM 6:30 / talk at…

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases over the last week (for previous summary, see 13 May blogpost).

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

BritishNewspaperArchives, shared with FindMyPast (new total 52,861,748)

• New titles in main collection ($£€)

FindMyPast

UPDATED COLLECTIONS

Ancestry

FamilySearch

• England, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996 (2,780 / 141,620)
• England, Lancashire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1647-1996 (47,795/ 1,151,709)
• England, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988 (928 / 5,781,263)
• England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920 (1,486 / 450,961)
• England, Lincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-1885 (992 / 135,963)

FindMyPast

MyHeritage

Some of the above content contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission…

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has released its annual Digest of Statistics for 2020/2021 (April to March). As you’d expect, the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the operation of the Belfast repository, with access to physical collections restricted and staff adapting to new ways of working while continuing to deliver archival services. The majority of PRONI staff were not working on site on a full-time basis, in line with social distancing measures.

To download the 19-page pdf of the Digest, click the image right.

Here are some of the main statistics:

PRONI main catalogue: 2,724 new items were added.

PRONI e-catalogue: 15,161 new items published. The searchable database now holds more than 1.5million item descriptions and received 1,692,456 searches during the year.

PRONI online archives: The most popular online collection – Will calendars – received 2,313,448 searches. The second most popular, Valuation Revision Books, was searched 1,158,319 times. Figures for other collections were Name Search (543,126), Street Directories (519,173), Ulster Covenant (204,815) and Freeholders (127,467).

Visitors (in-person): In the five years to April 2020, annual visitor numbers had averaged some 4,200, with the highest number – 4,797 – in the 12 months before the first Lockdown. With the doors closed to the public for much of 2020/2021 year, only 536 visitors were able to use of the Search and Reading rooms. It was not possible to facilitate the registration of new visitors for most of 2020/21; just nine new visitors were registered. There were 2,757 documents requested and produced. While the tightest restrictions were operating, all orders for records were placed by staff in advance, to facilitate quarantining of the records….

A big topic of conversation among genealogists in the weeks leading up to last month’s census in the Republic of Ireland was what to include in the so-called Time Capsule. This was a blank space – quite literally – into which each household could write or draw whatever they wanted for later generations to discover when the census papers are released to the public in the year 2122.

Given the fun, chatter and preparation for completion of the Time Capsule, I was surprised to read in the Irish Times at the start of May, when enumerators were still collecting census forms from homes, that a survey of householders showed almost 60% had chosen to not leave any message to the future.

There was no obligation to do so, but c’mon… How could anyone waste such a unique opportunity, even if it was only to have a rant about politicians, social issues or the price of a pint? I bet no self-respecting family history researcher was capable of leaving that space blank!

According to the survey, carried out by Amárach Research of Dublin, a narrow majority of those who chose to leave something more creative than answers to the formal census questions had their descendants in mind when they filled in the space.

While not doubting the veracity of the published survey results, I was curious as to whether the survey had been commissioned by the Central Statistic Office (CSO). It seemed unlikely, and sure enough, the Central Statistics Office quickly confirmed that they had not released any ‘early’ stats from the paper returns already received at their base in Swords, Co Dublin.

Although preliminary Census 2022 results will be published by CSO in June, these will not relate to the Capsule. Looking forward, the CSO has confirmed to IrishGenealogyNews that it does not anticipate…

Monday 16 May: AGM & Update on the Islandmagee Project, with Martin McDowell & Anne Johnston. An online event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society, Larne Branch. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome. Email Larne@nifhs.org by Saturday noon for link.

Monday 16 May: ‘The Temple, the Ark and the Edicule’: Recreating Jerusalem in Early Medieval Offaly, with Dr Tomás Ó Carragáin (UCC). An online lecture hosted by Offaly History. All welcome. 7:30pm via Zoom. Free. Email info@offalyhistroy.com for the link.

Monday 16 May: Ireland’s Biggest War? – The American Civil War, with Dr John Lynch. An online event by North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. AGM at 6:30pm. Talk starts c7pm. Free. All welcome. Non-members should email Foyle@nifhs.org for zoom link. Details.

Tuesday 17 May: Sourcing Family Connections before 1800, with Roddy Hegarty, plus AGM, an online event hosted by the North of Ireland Family History Society’s South Tyrone Branch. Non-members welcome. Free. Starts 8pm. Non-members can email to SouthTyrone@nifhs.org for zoom link. Details.

Thursday 19 May: Ablaze! Fire and the country house: a perspective beyond Ireland, with Christopher Ridgway. Last of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses & Estates, Maynooth University. 7pm–8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 19 May: A day programme of workshops exploring how the Irish Historic Towns Atlases are used by various sectors from academic to architectural. An online event, live-streamed from the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin 2. Free. All welcome. 9:30am to 6pm. Need to register. Details.

Thursday 19 May: Ancestral Voices: Dillon and Parnell, the 2022 J.C. Beckett Memorial lecture with Professor Paul Bew. An in-person…

Below is a summary of newly released and updated family history record collections for England, Scotland and Wales from the major genealogy databases over the last two weeks or so (for previous summary, see 26 April blogpost).

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

• UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current (2,495,690)
• UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current (8,653,927)
• UK, Women’s Royal Naval Service Records, 1917-1919 (558)
• Edinburgh, Scotland, Alien Registers, 1794, 1798-1825 (328)
• UK, Women’s Royal Air Force Service Records, 1918-1920 (31,399)
• UK, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Service Records, 1917-1920 (19,773)

BritishNewspaperArchives, shared with FindMyPast (total 52,722,807)

• New titles in main collection ($£€)

FindMyPast

UPDATED COLLECTIONS

Family Search

• United Kingdom, Prisoners of War, 1715-1947 (19,012 / 993,584)
• England, Northumberland Non-Conformist…

Monday 9 May: Pier 53, Philadelphia, an online talk with Susan McAninley, plus AGM. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Newtownabbey Branch. All welcome. Non-members should contact Branch Secretary at Newtownabbey@nifhs.org for zoom link. 7pm–8:30pm BST. Free.

Monday 9 May: Ferries on the Foyle, an online talk with Dr Jim Condren, plus AGM. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. 7pm to 8:30pm. Talk Postponed.

Monday 9 May: Visit to the Livingstone Centre, an in-person event at The Livingstone Centre, 3 Church Hill, Killinchy, Newtownards, Co Down. Host: NIFHS, Killyleagh Branch. All welcome. For confirmation of meeting time and other details, contact the Branch Secretary at Killyleagh@nifhs.org.

Monday 9 May: Big Jim Larkin 1874-1947, an in-person talk with Historian-in-Residence James Curry. A Mondays at the Mess event. Venue: Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 7pm–8pm. All welcome. Admission: €5 full / €3 conc. – includes refreshments after the talk. Booking.

Tuesday 10 May: Towards an understanding of Mary MacSweeney: Trauma and the Brixton Hunger Strike, 1920, with Dr Leeann Lane, an in-person talk presented to coincide with The Treaty 1921 exhibition. Hosts: Tipperary County Council and the National Archives. 7pm. Free. All welcome. Venue: The Source, Cathedral St, Thurles, Co Tipperary. Details.

Tuesday 10 May: Military Records – Nineteenth century British Army, WW1 & the Irish Revolution, an advanced family history workshop with Declan Brady. In-person at Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Free. Details. Fully booked

Tuesday 10 May: From the Ashes: Creation of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, with Stephen Scarth. An online event hosted by the Antrim and Down branch…

I attended a presentation hosted by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland this lunchtime and learned that the £2.8million Belfast City Cemetery Heritage Project will not only see some of the burial ground’s outstanding architectural features restored and the creation of a new visitor centre, it will also provide family historians with a new digital and interactive resource.

The burial ground, which was opened in 1869 and now covers more than 80 acres, is the final resting place for an estimated 225,000 people.

For some years, burial records have been available online via the Belfast City Council website, which provides images of records over 75 years old at a fee of £1.50 each.

However, as part of the Heritage Project’s remit to introduce new and improved digital experiences, PlotBox.io – a Ballymena-based company specialising in Management Software & Mapping For Cemeteries – has surveyed, photographed and mapped the cemetery plot by plot and carried out a full audit to verify the digital data for each burial matches the Council’s historical documentation.

Researchers will recognise Plotbox as the company behind (Discover) EverAfter, a free site hosting burial details for many cemeteries in Northern Ireland. The businessnow has a 80-strong team across its NI HQ and offices in Boston and San Franscico.

Today’s brief presentation was given by Plotbox’s Solution Consultant Niall Adams. He ran through various features of how genealogists will be able to search the Belfast City Cemetery site, zoom into its map to identify the exact location of each plot, view the headstone, and find out whether the plot is shared (and if so, with whom). Niall said the new database is not quite ready for public access, but its launch is not far off. All the records…

Monday 2 May: May Bank Holiday across the island. All repositories closed.

Tuesday 3 May: The Treaty 1921, the National Archives of Ireland’s exhibition is on tour and will be at The Source Arts Centre, Cathedral Road, Thurles, County Tipperary until 31 May. Free. In-person event. All welcome. Details.

Tuesday 3 May: Newspapers and Directories, an advanced family history workshop with Declan Brady. In-person at Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Free, but need to book. Fully booked.

Tuesday 3 May: Five Top Tips for Analysing your DNA Results, an online refresher class with Anne Johnston. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society. 7pm-8pm. Fee: £10. All welcome. Need to book.

Wednesday 4 May: Archives and Memory, North and South, an online discussion with Janet Hancock, Stephen Scarth and Tim Murtagh from PRONI and Nigel Johnston from NAI. Hosted by PRONI, NAI and Trinity Long Room Hub. 7pm–8:15pm. An online event. Free. All welcome. Details. Need to book.

Wednesday 4 May: Defending the Interests of Dublin’s Poor: Sarah Cecilia Harrison and the ‘greatest tragedy of modern times’, an in-person event with Dr Mary Muldowney. Host: Dublin City Council. Venue: Central Library, Ilac Shopping Centre, Henry Street, Dublin 1. 1pm. Free. All welcome. Need to book.

Wednesday 4 May: Documentary screening of Burren Girl, a Minnesota woman’s quest to discover her County Clare ancestors, followed by discussion. An in-person event (Ireland premier) to be hosted at Hotel Doolin, Fitz Cross, Doolin, Co Clare. 8pm to 10pm. All welcome. Free. Donations to Burrenbeo Trust appreciated. Booking essential. View trailer.

Thursday 5 May: The ruined Irish country house: reality and perception, with Robert O’Byrne. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Thursday 5 May: The Treaty 1921, the National Archives of Ireland’s exhibition is on tour and will be at Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal until 31 May. Free. In-person event. All welcome. Details.

Saturday 7 May: Discover and Publish your Irish Family History, an online presentation with Miles Davenport. Host: McClelland Irish Library, Phoenix, Arizona USA. 11am–1pm. All welcome. Members $15 / Non-Members: $20. Details and registration.

Monday 9 May: Pier 53, Philadelphia, an online talk with Susan McAninley, plus AGM. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Newtownabbey Branch. All welcome. Non-members should contact Branch Secretary at Newtownabbey@nifhs.org for zoom link. 7pm–8:30pm BST. Free.

Monday 9 May: Ferries on the Foyle, an online talk with Dr Jim Condren, plus AGM. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society, Foyle Branch. 7pm to 8:30pm. Talk Postponed.

Monday 9 May: Visit to the Livingstone Centre, an in-person event at The Livingstone Centre, 3 Church Hill, Killinchy, Newtownards, Co Down. Host: NIFHS, Killyleagh Branch. All welcome. For confirmation of meeting time and other details, contact the Branch Secretary at Killyleagh@nifhs.org.

Monday 9 May: Big Jim Larkin 1874-1947, an in-person talk with Historian-in-Residence James Curry. A Mondays at the Mess event. Venue: Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 7pm–8pm. All welcome. Admission: €5 full / €3 conc. – includes refreshments after the talk. Booking.

Tuesday 10 May: Towards an understanding of Mary MacSweeney: Trauma and the Brixton Hunger Strike, 1920, with Dr Leeann Lane, an in-person talk presented to coincide with The Treaty 1921 exhibition. Hosts: Tipperary County Council and the National Archives. 7pm. Free. All welcome. Venue: The Source, Cathedral St, Thurles, Co Tipperary. Details.

Tuesday 10 May: Military Records – Nineteenth century British Army, WW1 & the Irish Revolution, an advanced family history workshop with Declan Brady. In-person at Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8. 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Free. Details. Fully booked

Wednesday 11 May: Waterford Heritage – Plans, Projects and Partnerships, an in-person event with Bernadette Guest, Waterford County Heritage Officer discussing her role and projects. Host: Waterford Museum Society. All welcome. 8pm. Venue: upstairs at Merry’s Gastro Bar, Lower Main Street Dungarvan. Admission fee €5.

Thursday 12 May: Grangegorman’s archive collection, an online lecture with Brian Donnelly, senior archivist at the NAI. Host: TU Dublin Conservatoire. Part of the Stages of Memory project. 5pm. Free. All welcome. Need to register on Eventbrite.

Thursday 12 May: ‘Such troubled times’: the burning of big houses in Northern Ireland 1921-1981, with Olwen Purdue. Part of the online Burning the Big House lecture series. Host: Centre for the Study of Historic Irish houses and Estates, History Department, Maynooth University. 7pm to 8pm. Booking. Fully booked.

Sunday 15 May: O’Connell Avenue, Limerick City, a free walking tour with Dr Paul O’Brien. An in-person event. Meet at the Model School at 1.45pm. Tour starts at 2pm. All welcome.

Accredited Professional Genealogist Paul Gorry has launched a new podcast series in which he chats with individuals working within the Irish genealogy community. It’s called the Irish GenPod series, and aims to discover more about the background, experience, views and character of some of the island’s well-known and not-so-well-known family historians.

In the first episode, Paul interviewed Nichola Morris MAGI, one of Ireland’s most hard-working genealogists. You may recognise her name from many of the best-known ancestor hunt TV shows produced on both sides of the Atlantic, or from presenting lectures and teaching classes, or from her column in Irish Roots magazine.

When she’s not meeting the likes of Jeremy Irons and Judi Dench, she manages to run her own genealogy research company and is currently in her first of a three-year-term as President of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, the accrediting and representative body for professional genealogists across the island.

This week is was Dr Brendan Scott’s turn to share the mike with Paul. Brendan is another hard-worker… it seems to be a required personality trait for those who successfully develop a full-time career in genealogy. He is an academic, historian and lecturer, the manager of RootsIreland.ie (the not-for-profit database of records gathered and transcribed by genealogists working in the Irish Family History Foundation’s network of genealogy centres), a writer and editor of history books and local/family history journals – he is currently sharing the research and writing for the Irish Historical Towns Atlas of Cavan – and is Cavan County Council’s historian-in-residence, coordinating and supporting the local Decade of Centenaries Programme.

Each of the interviews runs to around 35 minutes and, although the conversations are suitably relaxed, they are quite densely packed with detail. Among the mix of topics discussed, you’ll hear some behind-the-scenes observations on the manners (or lack of them) of celebrities and receive advance notice of imminent record releases!

You’ll find the Irish GenPod series on the SoundCloud platform, where it is hosted by Senior Times, the magazine produced by the organisers of the Back To Our Past show. Here’s the link: soundcloud.com/user-682413562-561358898