IRISH ROOTS: EVENTS EVERYWHERE - HERITAGE NEWS | THE IRISH TIMES - MON, APR 29, 2013

Irish Roots: events everywhere

The very late spring has produced explosions of green

The very late spring has produced explosions of green everywhere. And the events season – conferences, meetings, commemorations – has also arrived with a bang.
Among the most recent additions to the calendar is the National Famine Commemoration. First held only four years ago, it is staged on a Sunday in May in each province in rotation – this year's is to be held in Kilrush on May 12th next. The event is not just a single ceremony, however. For a full 10 days starting from May 3rd, an extraordinary series of talks, concerts, films, guided walks and re-enactments bears witness to the devastating impact of the Famine in south-west Clare. Details are at faminecommemoration2013.ie. One of the organisers, Paddy Waldron, has put together an excellent online guide to relevant genealogical and local history records at tinyurl.com/c55yt9z.
Another recently-born, equally remarkable event is the Fifth Summer Conference of the Sligo Field Club, "A Celebration of Sligo Families", being held in Sligo on from May 10th to 12th. What's so remarkable? The line-up of speakers positively glows: Jim Mallory, Ken Nicholls, Nollaig Ó Muraíle, Gerard Moran, Tom Bartlett, Catríona Crowe . . . Awaiting you is a weekend of rare (and witty) talk on Sligo families, particularly from the 17th century. See facebook.com/ TheSligoFieldClub.
If neither of these suit you, take a meander through The Gathering website, thegatheringireland.com. For next weekend alone, it lists more than 100 events. The variety is bewildering, ranging from the Dún Laoghaire festival of flags and emblems through the Maguire history weekend in Enniskillen to the Lorteo class of 1978 reunion in Mullingar.
If you extend your range to a month, the number of events grows into thousands and the diversity gets positively surreal: The Ballinacoola Murphy Clan, PJ's 70th Birthday Bash and, my favourite, "Come Back Morgan" self-described as " one big fat excuse for you to come back to visit us this Summer!" Front up, Morgan.
We may be broke, but at least we're not staying at home brooding about it.

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JOHN GRENHAM: Origin of our ancestors...

John Grenham : GENEALOGY BRINGS TOURISM... irishgenealogy.ie

John Grenham, in The Irish Times, applauds the revamping of

irishgenealogy.ie

JOHN GRENHAM : Introducing SEAN MURPHY, UNSUNG HERO OF IRISH GENEALOGY

TRINITY LIBRARY'S DIGITAL COLLECTION.

TRINITY LIBRARY'S DIGITAL COLLECTION

JOHN GRENHAM TODAY

Suggested bedtime reading.

Clara Hoyne

Clare Roots Society Secretary

Note: Clara must have a very strong bed, this is a huge volume... ;-)

WILLS IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE

Courtesy of Clara Hoyne...

Another way to look for information regarding wills around the destruction
of records in 1922. A time to thank bureaucracy!

Please click on image to enlarge...

CLARE CHATTER.. Irish Roots

John Grenham's revised views on Dead Money

Please click on image to get full size.

CLARE ROOTS SOCIETY

CLARE CHATTER

Some recommended TV viewing from John Grenham.

Courtesy of

Clara Hoyne

Clare Roots Society Secretary

Please click on image to enlarge.

PETTY SESSION ORDER BOOKS

Following on from the launch of transcripts of Irish Prison Registers, findmypast.ie have now followed this with the first instalment of the Petty Session Order Books. This is the basis of John Grenham's latest article in The Irish Times.

Please click on image to enlarge.

Top 100 Most Popular Genealogy Websites (page 3)

IRISH CHATTER

 CONGRATULATIONS 

to all involved with IGP (Ireland Genealogy Project) ably led by Christina Hunt and supported by a very active and dedicated group of volunteers. They have just been listed in the top 100 Most Popular Genealogy websites... very well deserved.

You will have seen many of the Updates from IGP featured here, with permission of Christina.

 If you haven't explored the whole site, now would be a very good time to do so...  www.igp-web.com

To see the company they keep in the top 100, go here....

http://www.genealogyintime.com/NewsStories/2012/Q1/top 100 most popular genealogy websites page3.html

Once again, your work is very much appreciated.

IRISH RESEARCH

Courtesy of Clara Hoyne, CRS

John Grenham in today's Irish Times.

"The Last Grasp" -- Ireland in 1584 -- video

IRISH CHATTER... this really fits this blog's concept of As They Were

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150398565571460
The Last Grasp
Ireland, 1584: 'In the aftermath of a cattle-raid into enemy territory two Gaelic-Irish warriors - a light infantry kern and a mailed galloglass - are despatched to comb the woods for stragglers…' The primary thinking behind Claíomh making this short film was to showcase the potential of museum-quality archaeological reproductions when utilised with modern media - in this case relating to 16th century Gaelic-Ireland when native Irish traditions were at their zenith. Set against an environment of what was the most commonly pursued 'sport' at the time i.e. cattle-raiding, and while promoting awareness of an archaeologically accurate portrayal of the visual appearance of Late Medieval Gaelic warriors - the production also lightly touches upon the complicated political situation in Ireland at the time. As a zero-budget pilot `The Last Grasp' was shot within a couple of hours on entirely a voluntary basis with the aim to make vividly assessable this fascinating and rich depository of Irish heritage to a wider audience beyond the conventional confines of academia. Claíomh regards film as a forum into which latest archaeological and historical research can be utilised to harness a realistic graphic to provide a window into Ireland's history and in so doing to create an artistic whole. As short films, 'The Last Grasp' as well as our 1640's themed 'The Flag', represent proto-steps in what is hoped will be a long journey of discovery in the medium. Reconstructed artefacts featured in this film include swords from Co Offaly (Ballylin) and Co Galway (one each from the River Corrib – near Galway City - and the River Suck – near Ballinasloe), and a `sparth' axe from Co Tyrone (River Blackwater, Clonteevy). The sets of clothing worn by the characters are copied from contemporary illustrations such as the anonymous `Drawn on the quick' (c.1544) kept in the Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford and Albrecht Dürer's `Thus go the soldiers of Ireland, beyond England…' (1521) at the Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen in Berlin. The film was shot in Ireland in Autumn 2010 by members of Claíomh with the invaluable assistance of Josh Plunkett, Alan Mac Úa hAlpine, and Rob Hunt. The primeval soundtrack was specially composed and performed by Brian Conniffe. It's first appearance was at the Experimental Cinema of the Hunter Moon Fest in Carrick-on-Shannon in October 2011. Keep the HQ lights on! Sláinte/DS
Length: ‎5:06

CO MONAGHAN ADDITIONAL RECORDS

PRESS RELEASE FROM IRISH GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY.

Your thoughts? Please feel free to comment below...

The Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS)
Press Release
18 November 2011
Archive and library reform moves worry genealogists
The Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) is concerned that a
so-called merger of the National Archives "into" the National Library
could diminish these vital heritage services.
Steven Smyrl, IGRS chairman, says that while the IGRS recognises the
need for savings across the board in Irish public services, it is
concerned that with two bodies under one director, competition for
resources could be fierce.
"The proposed area of control is simply too vast, whether or not, as the
Government proposes, both institutions are to retain their separate
identities. The Government's plan is further complicated by reference to
the possible sharing of services between the National Library and the
National Museum which could dilute the services still further."
Smyrl acknowledges that there are savings to be made through the pooling
of public services resources. "Conservation and administration are just
two such areas that immediately spring to mind, but while libraries and
museums might appear to be similar they are actually very different
service providers.
"Staff trained in the care and control of archive materials require
quite different skills to those working in a library and economies of
scale will not be found by requiring flexibility from staff to work
across borders in the proposed new set-up. It is crucial that specialist
knowledge and training be recognised as essential in service delivery at
national institutions. The historians, academics, researchers and
genealogists using them rely heavily upon the staff's expertise and
knowledge.
"The IGRS welcomes the Government's initiative to see where savings can
be made but advises caution if irreparable damage to public service is
to be avoided. "

GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS CLARE CASTLE/ BALLYEA

We often complain about the lack of records for Irish research, but now there is so much being released due to the work of volunteers, as well as some of the paid sites.

As many of you know, I'm involved with Clare Roots Society and am so pleased to be associated with this hard working group. One of the most recent achievements has been the documenting of around 2,000 records from the Clare Castle/Ballyea  churches... see full details below.

This book looks to be going to it's second print, which is fantastic... it sells for €10 plus postage, and was under €5 to post to Australia...

However, to go ahead with the second print, we really need names of those who genuinely would like a copy of the book. If you are one of those, could you please contact Clara Hoyne, secretary of the CRS (Clare Roots Society) at

 Clara  Hoyne <secretary@clareroots.org>

Clara will be able to help you with further details. Perhaps you could also tell Clara where you heard about this book.

Clare Castle / Ballyea – The Parish Remembers

2 November 2011 saw the launch of a book written and compiled by Eric Shaw entitled Clare Castle / Ballyea – The Parish Remembers. In conjunction with Clare Roots Society, Eric has documented all the readable gravestone inscriptions in Clare Abbey, Clare Hill, Killoo, Killone, and Ballyea & Clare Castle Churches. These amount to about 2,000 records, some dating from the late 1600s. The book will help to preserve the inscriptions and to make them available for family history research. It will also help to draw visitors and fits in with development plans to promote the attractions of the Parish.

                                                                           

"UNLOCKED" PRISON REGISTERS HOLD KEY TO SECRETS