Developing research skills in Irish Family History: Intermediate to advanced.
08 December 2017On Thursday 7th Dec. Blanchardstown Library held a reception to mark the completion of this course. 31 students completed the Eight-week course taught by Fiona Fitzsimons in Autumn-Winter 2017. Blanchardstown Library provided light refreshments on the evening. Our guest speaker was author Jim Lacey, who spoke on the history of...
In praise of the Petty Sessions registers
24 November 2017The Petty Sessions court registers records available on findmypast.ie are a great resource for genealogical research and those interested in the social history of Ireland. Petty Sessions dealt with trying lesser offences both civil and criminal, licence applications, etc. The Sessions were presided over by Justices of the Peace, later...
Expert Workshop: Conserving Your Personal Archive with Zoë Reid
24 November 2017Listening to a senior paper conservator from the National Archives of Ireland, one might worry that this specialist’s advice would go over their heads. Zoe Reid set those fears to rest at the very beginning of her lively and entertaining talk: this would be a practical introduction and not a...
Behind the Scenes: A Visitor Reveals a Surprise Connection Between my Husband and Work Colleague!
24 November 2017In early October 2017, I brought a lovely couple to the Irish Family History Centre (IFHC), Brenda and Pete, who live in Cape Town (South Africa) but who were born in Zimbabwe. Pete is my husband’s second cousin, and he and his wife were ‘up’ in the northern hemisphere visiting...
Some Genealogy Advice: Use your Legs; Share your Tree with Close Family
24 November 2017With genealogy, it’s important to realise that only a small percentage of records are online, despite the large volume of records that have been digitised in the last ten years. Some databases have a “Browse image only” facility where indexing of the images has not yet been completed: these will...
Road Blocks in Identifying a Birth
10 November 2017Even when we are quite confident of our information on the person sought, as to their year of birth and likely registration district, there can be still be roadblocks in identifying a birth. For many years I have searched unsuccessfully, for the birth Margaret Kelly in Dublin in 1902. Yes,...
Searching Irish Military Records
10 November 2017When researching your Irish genealogy, an ancestor’s military service can reveal valuable information about your family tree. Records of their contribution to the country can offer unique insights into the lives they led and help you uncover more of your family’s story. Keep reading for an overview of the different...
How 19th Century Emigrants Carried their Money
10 November 2017When emigrants left their homeland, they most often left for their new home with little more than what they could carry. Among their possessions they would carry whatever money they had. However, as a very illuminating article from the Drogheda Conservative newspaper of 14 February 1891 shows, migrants from different...
Behind the Scenes: Sometimes We Find Nothing – But Not Because Nothing Can Be Found
10 November 2017Thankfully it does not occur too often, but every once in a while, we genealogists at the Irish Family History Centre (Dublin) just cannot find anything new for a client who comes to visit us. And there can be many reasons for this. This story is one of those reasons....
Fiona Fitzsimons re-elected to the APG Board
10 November 2017The IFHC’s own Fiona Fitzsimons has been re-elected to the APG Board this month, for her third consecutive term. In September, she received a certificate of appreciation for her advocacy to grow and strengthen the APG in Ireland. Fiona’s core interests are in outreach and education, and she has been busy...
New Records Released
20 October 2017Today is a red-letter day! A substantial census substitute for 19th Century Ireland is now published online for the first time. Between 1830 and 1850, government officials enumerated records for the population of Pobble O’Keefe [sic], a district synonymous with the former Gaelic Lordship of the O’Keefe Clan situated along...
Expert Workshop: Shedding Light on ESB Archives
20 October 2017Friday the 13th was a lucky day for the audience attending the October expert workshop in the RIA, Dawson St. Deirdre McParland, senior archivist of the ESB, gave a spirited introduction to the resources in the ESB archives, newly accessible to researchers. It contains manuscript and printed documents, photos, and...
