We have a fantastic programme of speakers and subjects lined up in the Expert Workshop series.
Some of it has never been seen, or tried before!
Ask me more, in person.
 
Our first workshop in 2016 will be delivered by one of our own regular attendees, Aileen Wynne.
Aileen is known to most, if not all of us, for her good humour, enthusiasm and knowledge.
Now, we've persuaded her to give a workshop on an essential, but often neglected subject - how to prepare and deliver a presentation.
 
 
The Science (and art) of public speaking for Family Historians.
 
Time: 2pm to 3.30pm, Saturday 13th February 2016. Join us afterwards for refreshments in the cafe at Avalon House.
 
Venue: Boardroom, Eneclann Ltd., #5 Whitefriars, Aungier St., Dublin D02 TK24.
 
 
Workshop description.
This month the Expert Workshop series focuses on public speaking. 
The natural environment for genealogists and family historians is a library, study or archive. So how do we prepare when we have to give a presentation: at a society monthly meeting or conference?
In this workshop Toastmaster Aileen Wynne shares winning strategies and handy tips in the art (and science) of public speaking.
 
 
Biography:
Aileen Wynne has worked on her own family history for over 20 years. She formalised what she learned through her own research, completing in 2004 the N.U.I. Dublin Certificate in Genealogy/ Family History; and in 2006 the N.U.I. Diploma in Genealogy. She is a council member of Clare Roots Society and the IGRS. 
Aileen has been a member of AIB Toastmasters for 18 years, and has represented the club at area and division level.   
 
 
Please note the changed venue for the month of February only, as the National Library undertakes some essential maintenance in advance of the Centenary Commemorations in March/ April.
 
All Expert Workshop events are free, but admission is by ticket. 
To book a place
If you book and cannot go please let us know as the workshops are very popular and we maintain a waiting list.
 
I look forward to seeing many of you there,
Fiona Fitzsimons
 

The Old Athlone Society lecture ‘Secrets of the Bog Bodies’ by Eamonn P. Kelly will be held at the
Lough Ree Yacht Club on Wednesday 17th February at 8.00 pm. 


Bog bodies are rare survivals of human remains from earlier times. The properties of bogs are such that, occasionally, bodies are preserved to an exceptional degree with hair, skin, hands, internal organs and other soft tissue intact. The talk will present some of the results of the forensic analysis of the Irish bog bodies to see what insights they provide into the ritual killings. The wider archaeological context of the finds will be examined, including historical, mythological and folklore material, to provide insights into the secrets of the bog bodies.
Eamonn P. Kelly is the former Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland where he worked extensively on diverse aspects of Irish archaeology. His radical theory to explain the phenomena of Irish bog bodies inspired a popular exhibition in the museum entitled ‘Kingship and Sacrifice


Clare Library add to their online records.

RC Marriage Records for O’Callaghan’s Mills Parish, 1835-1881

Type:Marriage Records
Dates:1835 to 1881
Place:RC Parish of O’Callaghan’s Mills
Source:O’Callaghan’s Mills RC Marriage Registers NLI Film 02476/09
Transcriber/Donor:Sharon Carberry, Virginia, USA
Registers by Date:

 1835 - 1881    

A little birdie told me about this sale.  I'm in book heaven.  They are based in Greystones.  Their fb page was set up on the 6th January and it looks likes they are doing well.  
I know nothing about them but I have a good feeling about them and they have some lovely books and Journals.

​Red Cap Book Catalogue
Facebook
or email
[email protected].

And what have they got for sale?  

"A large collection of Irish interest local history books are available for sale. Many of these are long out of print, scarce, or rare, and very valuable. If you want additional details please email [email protected] for an up-to-date list. This is a rare opportunity to pick up a hard-to-find item from a collection that was build up over a quarter of a century. Remember - [email protected]. Demand is high, so it is on a first come first served basis."
​
                                                                                 -o-

News from IGRS
 
The IGRS is pleased to announce full details of a one day conference on 19th March in Cork city, co-hosted with the Cork Genealogical Society at the Clayton Hotel, Silversprings.  

The "Finding your Ancestors" conference will feature 3 lectures, a practical workshop on Irish church records and, travelling outside Dublin for the first time, the Ireland Branch AGM.

The cost of the day is just €20 including lunch and attendees may also avail of a special conference rate if they wish to stay at the hotel.

Full details of the event and how to book are on our website.

This event forms part of the IGRS's 80th anniversary celebrations.  We hope to see you in Cork on 19th March.

Kind regards,
 
IGRS Council

Check out this wonderful heartwarming story about a Dublin doorman.

​The short animated film ‘After You’ by director Damien O’Connor has received overwhelming praise since it was posted on YouTube last week.
Funded by the Irish Film Board under its ‘Frameworks’ scheme, the seven minute film took two years to create and tells the tale of a Dublin doorman who watches the city he loves change around him.
The film, which was finished in 2013, was bought by a Japanese distribution company and had to stay offline for three years as part of the agreement.
Once the agreement expired, director O’Connor, who works for renowned Dublin based studio Brown Bag Films as an Episodic Director on the number one US preschool show Doc McStuffins for Disney Junior and has previously written and directed other award winning shorts, put the film online.


Damien says the idea for the film was to tell the tale of a Dublin doorman over 60 years.
“The storyline allowed me an opportunity to show off the great buildings of Dublin and as anyone who lives here will know, I was spoilt for choice.
“The first decision was to bypass the better known buildings. As lovely as the GPO, Trinity and College Green are, I wanted to show the less recognisable greats, Newman House on St. Stephen’s Green; 46 Fitzwilliam Square, the sweeping curve of Harcourt Street; Grattan Bridge with the Sunlight Chambers building opposite; and last but not least, my favourite building in Dublin: The National Library of Ireland on Kildare Street."
To watch the short

The big news of the week was the announcement of 8 million to be spent on the National Archives of Ireland.

"........ to improve facilities at the National Archives, work will commence in September."

Ms Humphreys, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht officially launched the design and construction phases for the works at the National Archives building in Dublin’s south inner city yesterday. Once completed, the new facility will provide accommodation for 137,000 archival boxes of four million records, containing an estimated 100 million pages.
The National Archives stores a huge range of public material, including government papers, census records and files dating from the revolutionary period, including secret police files and compensation claims made after the 1916 Rising. Much of its material is stacked on pallets in a warehouse on the site of the old Jacob’s biscuit factory on Bishop Street. The warehouse has no climate control.
Speaking at the launch, Ms Humphreys said she envisaged that the investment would help facilitate the Government’s proposed move from a 30-year to a 20-year rule for the release of State papers.

I note that we will be converting a warehouse at the rear of the building.  The old French Peters graveyard will probably be disturbed again.

See the full article in the Irish Times
​

Findmypast has some offers this week

​This weekend (22nd- 25th January Findmypast is free, opening billions of records for everyone to explore their family history for free. The 1939 Register along with the electrol roll are not included in the offer...... 

However from the 16th February 2016, they are giving unlimited access to the 1939 Register to their 12 month World and Britain subscription packages.

Also to be noted are this two quotes ftom their press release.
"Findmypast now offers access to over eight billion records and we are committed to adding thousands of new records every week."

"And there is more good news for our subscribers. We are freezing the price of their next renewal on our 12 month subscription packages as we increase the price of new subscriptions by 20% on February 16th"


PBS (The American public broadcaster of Who do you think you are?)  
" That breaks my heart"  The emotional moment Maya Rudolph broke down after learning that her ancestors were slaves including one who bravely fought for and won is freedom.  The 43-year-old actress and comedian appears on the latest episode of PBS show Finding Your Roots

• The genealogy team is able to trace back to the early 1800s through her mom, African-American singer Minnie Riperton
• Maya, who is biracial, finds the slave census record of one of her ancestors, who was registered as a slave at age five
• Another ancestor was freed in his owner's will - but had to fight for those rights against the owner's grandson

Read more from  Carly Stern for Dailymail.com 

This follows on from last weeks episode where according to an Irish America Article
"Bill O’Reilly, Soledad O’Brien, and Bill Maher’s Irish roots were uncovered in this week’s episode of Finding Your Roots, Jr. on PBS, and it turns out, O’Reilly and Maher are related. O’Brien is also related to another of the show’s previous guests – Stephen Colbert.
The episode, “The Irish Factor,” used a combination of archival research and DNA testing to explore the commentators’ shared Irish heritage, despite their disparate backgrounds and varied political beliefs.
But the big reveal on the show was when researchers told O’Reilly that he was related to another famed talking head. The show’s host, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. instructed O’Reilly to turn the page in the genealogy book the shows researchers assembled for him, and when he did it revealed a photo of Maher. "

The most intesting claim is that "Both are descendant from Niall of the Nine Hostages."  Well Holy God.
Videos from this American show are not available in Ireland due to right restrictions.

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Monday) said that her Department is focusing on a range of sectors and initiatives to help boost job creation as part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2016, including investment in major cultural infrastructure projects; expanding the film and TV sector; supporting employment in the Gaeltacht; and the development of a range of heritage tourism initiatives.

“Investing in our culture, language and heritage is not just good for society, is it good for the economy. My Department will make a significant contribution to job creation in the year ahead by boosting tourism, generating employment in the construction and heritage sectors, supporting artists and arts organisations and investing in our audio visual sector.”
We can look forward to:

• Cultural infrastructure projects at the National Archives, the National Gallery and the National Library
• Enhancing genealogy tourism through ongoing development of cultural digitisation initiatives
• The roll out of the Built Heritage Investment Scheme to support local heritage projects

APJ 2016

Last week Findmypast sent out a link to an old blog (Dec 2011). The information was outdated and whilst some readers used the comment field to point this out, others took to facebook and shared the outdated information, Why?
The blog was about reading illegible headstone inscriptions. Current thinking on this is that you can ONLY use water and a soft brush. People visit graveyards/cemeteries for lots of different reasons but if you are there to see and read a few headstones for yourself, perhaps this will be of help.

Check if you need permission to visit.  I take the view that If it is locked you will need permission and a key, if open then permission is not needed.  If there is a rectory or presbytery attached - email in advance as a courtesy. 
The reason the dead have a headstone is to ensure that the wouldn’t be forgotten so  the inscriptions are meant to be read.   Show respect,  try to avoid stepping on the graves themselves and don’t lean against or sit on the headstones.
Make sure you are suitably dressed. Legs covered to avoid nettle stings and stout boots.  Old graveyards tend to have uneven grounds and even on a summers day can be shaded and cold.

You will need to take the following along:-

Mirror and torch
Kneeler
Gloves
Soft brush
Water and spray bottle
Notebook and pen/pencil
Camera
​
Remember the ONLY thing you can use on a headstone is water and a soft brush.    Do not rub, use chalk, charcoal, flour, grass or other organic material.   Take plenty of photographs and sketch a map of where the graves are in relation to other static objects and take some photographs outside the graveyard and of any signage.    And if you are transcribing a whole graveyard… well that is a post for another day.

ACCREDITED GENEALOGISTS IRELAND: Report on 2015
​2015 was a busy year for AGI – Accredited Genealogists Ireland (formerly APGI – the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland), including a change of name.

AGI welcomed five new Members in 2015 – Anne Rodda, Joanna Cicely Fennell, Elaine Hannon, Sandra Doble and Beverly Brown. Both Elaine and Sandra graduated to full membership from Affiliate status. AGI also welcomed three new Affiliates – Jane Halloran Ryan, Marie Cahill and Kit Smyrl.

Subsequent to a presentation at the last AGM in relation to a proposed change of name for APGI, and after much lively discussion by members on our website, six names were put to an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 27 May 2015. After a further discussion and ballot, Accredited Genealogists Ireland became our new name.
Continue reading

POSTED BY: DANLIBPAT JANUARY 14, 2016
I found these recently in a Genealogy discussion group – not only did they make me laugh, but I could relate very closely to all of them! Hope you enjoy these as much as I did:
​
1. If you guys can just stop using the same name for son-father-grandfather-etc, that would great.

2. On a similar note, there’s more girls’ names to choose from than just Mary, Ann, Elizabeth or Sarah. No, Mary ann and Sarah Ann don’t count.

4. What’s with the death stare? You don’t have to smile on photos but try not to look like you’re about to be shot.

5. Cursive Script (joined up writing to you and me). It’s stylish and all I admit, but maybe you can spare a passing thought for those poor souls who have to read it? Seriously, my doctor’s prescriptions are more legible than your marriage banns.

6. Finally, thanks for giving me a hobby that simultaneously makes me the family geek and the family archivist.  I especially enjoy being told I must be wrong about Uncle Whatever being an illegitimate convict and adulterer, despite 5 scan-supported citations.

​Keep it classy guys.