by Dr. Janice MannA recent search of the Ulster Covenant for a family from Ulster led to a surprising discovery.In 1912 Liberal British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, in desperate need of the support of John Redmond’s Irish Parliamentary Party, proposed a third Home Rule Bill – providing self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom
Read MoreTransportation Records for Convicts sent to Australia
Transportation Records: The Ireland Australia Transportation Database In a joint project between the Irish and Australian governments, the Ireland Australia Transportation Database was compiled of surviving transportation records for individuals sent to Australia in the late 18th and early 19th century. Drawn from various sources, the database is the
Read MoreCurrent Access to Irish Libraries and Archives
Between June and September 2020 a number of Irish archives, libraries and repositories were reopened to the public, but with limited access. ** However, since the middle of September, these repositories have been closed again and no date has been set for them to reopen. The following is a list of the major repositories for Irish genealogical research
Read Morewww.irishgenealogy.ie extend available records
The Irish website, www.irishgenealogy.ie has extended the civil registration records available on their free website.Non-Catholic marriages in Ireland were registered from April 1845, while these are largely Church of Ireland and Presbyterian marriages, marriages in registry offices and mixed marriages that took place outside of the Roman Catholic church
Read MoreThe Surname Christmas in Ireland
I was surprised to discover a reference to the surname Christmas in Ireland while searching the early Grantor Indexes in the Registry of Deeds in Dublin, and decided to do a little digging.Origins of the Surname ChristmasThe general consensus from various surname dictionaries is that the name originated as a birth forename for someone born at Christmas,
Read MoreWho Do You Think You Are? Paul Merton
Tracing the Power family for the Paul Merton episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was quite a challenge, not least because Power is one of the most common surnames in Co. Waterford. Paul’s mother’s maiden name was Power. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation), a land survey taken in the 1850s there were over 3000 Power households found in Ireland,
Read MoreTithe Applotment Books Online
The National Archives of Ireland, in partnership with the Genealogical Society of Utah, published a database of the Tithe Applotment Books online on their Genealogy Website. The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) have also released images of the Tithe Applotment Books for Northern Ireland on their website. Find out more about access
Read MoreWho Was Christmas Weeks
Just before the Index of Irish Wills 1484-1858 was published I was working with the editorial team. One of my tasks was to search through the original database for possible errors in the transcription of names. If you order all of the entries alphabetically it is easy to see where anomalous names turn up. In this instance, it was not anomalous, but
Read MoreBradshaw Murder at Philipstown
In the recent episode of Who Do You Think You Are? for Irish television, Pat Shortt discovered an ancestor accused of the murder of his landlord, Mr. Bradshaw of Philipstown House. While some details of the murder were found in the local press, it was the police file of the investigation into the murder that revealed the complex story of the Bradshaws,
Read MoreWho Do You Think You Are? Damien Dempsey
In a recent Irish episode of Who Do You Think You Are? singer and songwriter Damien Dempsey discovered that his maternal ancestor, Frederick Bridgeman, was granted Freedom of the city of Dublin in 1841.Freemen of the City of DublinIn a description on the website of the Dublin City Library and Archives, which hosts a database of records for freemen of
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