Act your age, not your shoe size!
01 March 2019You may have read news reports about Emile Ratelband, back in November/December 2018. Mr. Ratelband, aged 69, was applying to have his age legally changed to 49, as he felt this more accurately reflected his age. The Dutch court rejected his request, but it put in my mind the numerous...
EXPERT WORKSHOP: Child Incarceration in 19th Century Dublin by Aoife O’Connor
01 March 2019On 9th November 2018, Aoife O’Connor gave an enlightening talk on the ‘human eco-system’ of 19th Century Dublin. She discusses whether the Police Act, by criminalising behaviours which could be thought of as mere high jinks, created the criminal class so feared by mid-century commentators? Between 1860 and 1891, over twelve...
POSTCARD FROM IRELAND: Carmel’s Adventures on Dublin Bay
01 March 2019Welcome to our ‘Postcard from Ireland’ where we try to give you a flavour of some of the new or lesser known exhibitions and attractions in Dublin and further afield. Our team in the Irish Family History Centre get to meet lots of you coming to Ireland to trace your family history. The...
Thank you to the Royal Irish Academy
01 March 2019Fiona Fitzsimons, and the team behind the Expert Workshops series, would like to extend our most sincere thanks to the Royal Irish Academy for hosting us for the past two years. We have worked together to be able to provide free access to our workshops, which have covered a...
Date your Ancestors
15 February 2019Given the penchant of Irish families to use the same names across the generations, it is very easy to get muddled up between great grandfather John, and uncle John. So, any family tree you draw up should include the lifespan of each ancestor. Even if the specific dates are not...
POSTCARD FROM IRELAND: Wicklow Gaol
15 February 2019Welcome to our second ‘Postcard from Ireland’ where the Irish Family History Centre try and give you a flavour of some of the new or lesser known museums / exhibitions and attractions in Dublin and further afield in Ireland. We hope you enjoyed our literary trip last time to the...
New Data-base seeking information on Belgian refugees in the U.K. and Ireland during WWI
15 February 2019Belgian refugees in Antwerp, 1914. Copyright © Peter Bareau 1914 Leeds University is collating evidence for a new data-base on Belgian refugees in the U.K. and Ireland during WWI. The database is now live and ready for researchers to start inputting data on Belgian refugees of the First World War....
Researching with House Books
24 January 2019While the majority of the work we do involves researching family histories, we are also often commissioned to undertake house histories. I’ve always enjoyed this work as it can involve looking at early Ordnance Survey maps, estate accounts, Griffith’s Valuation and the like. I am always delighted if the house...
POSTCARD FROM IRELAND: Seamus Heaney ‘Listen Now Again’
24 January 2019The month of January is long and for many people their thoughts turn to holidays. Cold winter nights are perfect for research, not only genealogical, but also where to vacation and what sites to visit when there. It is always a great pleasure for us to play a part in people’s trips...
Documents + DNA = Discovery
24 January 2019Maureen was a student at the 2017 British Institute. She recently got in touch with Fiona, to thank her for the work they had done, and how it has helped her break down a brick wall that had stumped her family for more than two decades. * ...
Breaking down brick-walls.
24 January 2019Recently, a student from the 2017 British Institute got in touch, to say that the work we had done facilitated her in breaking down a brick-wall within her family history research – an answer that had eluded them for more than two generations! Maureen Reed sent a message of pure gratitude, and...
Tidying Up your Research Files
11 January 2019The start to 2019 has been challenging on a personal level – this week I began to organise my research-files. As anyone who has recently re-arranged their study knows, it has been a gruelling few days. Not the heavy lifting, although who would have thought cardboard boxes were so heavy? The...
