To make time for essential maintenance and upgrades to our server, the Roots Ireland website will not be accessible between 8 pm and 9 pm (Irish time) on Thursday 26th November. We apologise for this short inconvenience.

Get a 12-month subscription for RootsIreland with 25% off from 23 November to 10 December 2020!

• RootsIreland have the most complete and most accurate set of Roman Catholic church records online. Our index is easily searchable and has features such as standardised surname and forename searches which make your searches even more user-friendly.
• We hold over 23 million records, and our database is being added to continually. In 2020 so far, we have added over 500,000 records to our database from Limerick, Sligo, Kerry, Wicklow, Westmeath, Kilkenny, South Dublin, Armagh, North Mayo and Cork. New records are continually being added to our database throughout the year, and we expect to see new records from Kilkenny and Clare uploaded shortly.
• Together, our 34 genealogy centres have an unparalleled amount of local knowledge which can be invaluable to those tracing their ancestors, a service which no other website or company can provide to such a high standard. By taking out a subscription with RootsIreland, you are helping these centres to continue to provide a world-class service and securing many Irish jobs.

If you have any questions please check our Help section and if this does not provide an answer, then you may contact us or one of the county centres. You can check what is available on our site for each county here.

*Offer applies from 23 November 2020 to 12 midnight Irish time on 10 December 2020 only. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

We are pleased to announce that Limerick Genealogy has added over 11,000 records to its database at www.limerick.rootsireland.ie including the following records;

• Presbyterian marriage records from Limerick 1813-1841: 42 records
• Knocklong Roman Catholic marriage records 1830 & 1855-1860: 137 records
• Knocklong Roman Catholic baptismal records 1817-1819 & 1854: 312 records
• Caherconlish Roman Catholic marriage records 1843-1846: 117 records
• Caherconlish Roman Catholic baptismal records 1841-1845: 528 records
• 1821, 1841 & 1851 Census abstracts: 639 records
• Transcribed parish census from Pallasgrean in 1834: 213 records
• Titaldoes of Limerick from Pender’s Census, 1659: 808 records
• Biographical notices of births, deaths and marriages from the Limerick Chronicle newspaper, 1823-1855: 7106 records
• References to residents and subscribers from Limerick in Samuel Lewis’ A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837: 726 records
• Teachers in Limerick in 1824 listed in the Second Report from Commissioners of Irish Education Inquiry, 1826: 505 records.

In addition to the above, where available, Limerick Genealogy has extended non-Catholic baptismal records up to 1919, non-Catholic church and civil marriages up to 1919 and death/burial records up to 1919. Updates and corrections to the database have also been made.

The full list of available sources for Limerick Genealogy can be viewed here. If you have any questions about these sources or researching your family history in Limerick, please contact Limerick Genealogy

Fitzpatrick Society Scholar $500.00 prize

The Fitzpatrick – Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society was founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1993 and has since grown to be a worldwide community of individuals who are interested in all things Fitzpatrick.  Communication is mainly online, and we have possibly the largest family name community on the Internet – https://fitzpatricksociety.com/

The Society recognises a scholar based on an outstanding recently written contribution submitted in competition.  The purpose of this recognition is to encourage the study of four themes – the history, heritage, culture and tradition of the Fitzpatrick nation.  Each year the recognised scholar will be referred to as the Fitzpatrick Society Scholar or simply the Fitzpatrick Scholar and will receive a purse of $500.00. 

The rules:

1. Entries must be received by 31 March in year of competition and the scholar’s name will be announced 11 June each year.
2. The competition will be adjudicated by Senator David Norris acting as single judge supported by a panel selected by the Committee.
3. An entry should consist of no less than 2000 typed words on any of the four themes which demonstrates scholarly research, reporting and understanding and must not have been previously published.  Entries should be of a publishable standard and fully cited and referenced.
4. The competition is open to all members and membership is simple and free.  See joining instructions below.
5. A minimum of three (3) entries is required for the competition to take place.
6. The committee will retain discretion to determine if the standard is acceptable and may decide, as circumstances dictate, to announce no scholar.
7. An unsuccessful submission may be resubmitted for competition in the first year following its initial submission.
8. A condition of the competition is the right of the Society to publish any of the entries in the Society publications with due acknowledgement.  All entries will remain the intellectual property of the author.
9. Separate from the competition for the Fitzpatrick Scholar, should a meritorious contribution be submitted by a scholar aged under 18 on 31 March in year of competition, the panel may recommend that a special award be made in recognition of a Fitzpatrick Junior Scholar.

Entries should be submitted to: The Fitzpatrick – Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society

email fitzpatrickscholar@gmail.com

To join the Fitzpatrick – Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society mailing list, send an email to: listserv@listserv.heanet.ie with the message:

subscribe fitzpatrick-clan your_firstname your_lastname

Leave the Subject Line blank.   Sign-up is free and can be unsubscribed at any time.

Dear Friend of Cavan,

It has been one month since we celebrated the first-ever Cavan Day together, and now that the dust has settled, I want to thank everyone for helping to make it such a spectacular success.

2020 has been a trying time for many, and for people from Cavan, those with Cavan ancestry, and those with an affinity for the county, Cavan Day represented a source of great comfort – a communal expression of pride and love for this great county that transcended all borders and boundaries.

A great deal of planning went into the Cavan Day initiative, from our own team here in Cavan County Council, to the hugely talented local filmmakers Alan Bradley and Padraig Conaty, and host Louise O’Reilly McGuinness, who produced the fantastic ‘Cavan Day Live’ broadcast. However, our efforts would count for little if the global Cavan family did not take the event to their hearts, and they did that with great enthusiasm and passion, propelling Cavan onto a global stage on 26^th September.

Whether you provided content for the programme, shared a video message, posted a photo, liked or shared others’ posts, or tuned into Cavan Day Live, you helped us turn the Internet into a sea of positivity, creating a wave of enthusiasm for Cavan and its people, the effects of which will be felt far beyond September 26^th.

By 10am on Saturday, the #CavanDay hashtag was the already number one trending topic in Ireland, only dropping out of the top ten trending topics by 3pm the following day.

In total, the #CavanDay hashtag garnered over 10 million impressions, with the number of unique users to have seen posts containing #CavanDay, numbering over 3,500,000 people, a truly staggering figure.

Posts from New York, Philadelphia, London, Dublin, and County Cavan itself, of course, abounded. But #CavanDay was also celebrated in locales as diverse as Morocco, China, Russia, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, France, Canada, Malaysia, Japan, and Guam. Cavan Day t-shirts, ordered direct from a family-owned business on Church Street in Cavan Town, were proudly worn in photos and videos posted from North Carolina and New Jersey.

Together we have managed to raise the profile of our county, and helped bring members of the global Cavan family closer together. It is my fervent hope and firm belief that we can now continue to build on this positivity, and further develop links and friendships between County Cavan and the many thousands of people around the world who hold the Breffni County dear in their hearts.

You can keep abreast of ongoing Diaspora activities by following @cavancalling on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and by tuning into our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzwLrgm48JKT3l4oAhXY-rg), where you can catch-up with the fantastic Cavan Day special, if you haven’t already seen it. And of course, keep sharing any photos or Cavan-related stories or memories with us – every day can be Cavan Day if we keep flying the blue flag and keep Cavan close to our hearts.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Tommy Ryan

Chief Executive,

Cavan County Council

We are delighted to announce the addition of 21,939 records to research and view on Sligo’s database at  http://sligo.rootsireland.ie/  These records include 6,380 miscellaneous baptisms, births, marriages and deaths, occurring in many of the county’s parishes, across various dates and time frames.

The Quays in Sligo

Also included in this release are 15,559 Gravestone & Memorial Inscriptions from Graveyards and Cemeteries in the following parishes:

 

Aghanagh (RC)
Ahamlish (RC)
Drumcliffe (RC)
Keelogues (RC)
Skreen & Dromard (RC)
Templeboy (RC)
Aghanagh (Civil)
Sligo Town (Civil)
Templeboy (Civil)

For an up to date list of sources for County Sligo and to search these view these records, go to http://sligo.rootsireland.ie/  and login or subscribe as required.

 Colonial Ulster: The Settlement of East Ulster 1600–1641

 

Ulster Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of a new edition of Raymond Gillespie’s Colonial Ulster: The Settlement of East Ulster 1600–1641 and would like to invite you to subscribe to this groundbreaking publication.

First published in 1985 by Cork University Press this landmark volume by Raymond Gillespie reconstructs the society of 17^th century east Ulster – particularly the counties of Antrim and Down – and explores in remarkable detail the economic, social, political and cultural developments of the region during a period of rapid change.

This new edition will reproduce the original work in facsimile, case-bound with dustjacket, and with a new Preface by the author. It will be a companion volume to The Londonderry Plantation 1609–41 by T. W. Moody, republished by the Foundation in 2019.

Subscription Offer – Ends 31 October 2020

Support this new edition of a modern classic Irish historical title, have your name included in a special list in the book; and be the first to have their copies dispatched on day of publication by becoming a Patron, Donor or Subscriber.

Click here to support this project (www.ancestryireland.com/colonial-ulster/)

Place names in Ulster by Jonathan Bardon

Originally published as Investigating Place Names in Ulster (1991) this excellent small guide is a practical research tool and a superb introduction and essential reading for anyone making a foray into the origins of the place names of Ulster.

This book provides a guide to the interpretation of place names in Ulster, gives historical background and explains the origins of many of our place names. Place Names in Ulster is a doorway into a hugely interesting subject exploring the richness of our heritage of place names and how these reveal so much about our landscape, people, flora and fauna, and so much else.

Subscription Offer – Ends 31 October 2020

Support this project and help Ulster Historical Foundation realise the objective of ensuring Dr Jonathan Bardon’s work can continue to educate and benefit future generations of researchers.

Have your name included in a special list in the book and be the first to have your copy dispatched on day of publication by becoming a Patron, Donor or Subscriber.

To support this project and to pre-order a copy of Place Names in Ulster click here (www.ancestryireland.com/placenames-subscriptions)

About the author

Dr Jonathan Bardon passed away in April 2020. This was a sad loss for everyone on the island of Ireland and much further afield with an interest in Irish history. Jonathan was one of the most respected, admired and capable of Irish historians. 

 

 

 

A new book by Dr John Flood has been written about Kilcash Castle, County Tipperary and the Butler family. Published by Geography Publications, it will be released later this year. Click the link below for more details.

Kilcash Promotional Letter A4 (V1) (00000002)

Ulster Historical Foundation is pleased to announce that Researching Presbyterian Ancestors in Ireland has been delivered to the Foundation’s offices and pre-orders have been despatched.

Written by Dr William Roulston, author of the best-selling Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors and Research Director of Ulster Historical Foundation, Researching Presbyterian Ancestors in Ireland is a new genealogical guide to help you find your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors.

Millions of people around the world have Presbyterian ancestors from Ireland. The aim of this book is to help those with Irish Presbyterian roots find out more about their forebears. It considers the different strands of Presbyterianism in Ireland and explores the range of records generated by these religious denominations and where this material can be accessed by researchers. Much attention is focused on the documentation created by individual congregations, though consideration is also given to the records created by the higher courts of Presbyterianism and other bodies, as well as the personal papers of Presbyterian ministers.

Whether your ancestors were Covenanters, Seceders or Non-Subscribers, whether they were devout or merely nominal, whether they lived and died in Ireland or departed from these shores, this publication will assist you in understanding more about Presbyterians and Presbyterianism in Ireland.

Click here to order your copy now! (LINK – https://www.booksireland.org.uk/store/all-departments/presbyterian-ancestors)

The first-ever Cavan Day – Saturday, 26^th September – is fast approaching and already messages are flooding in from all over the globe, with Cavan people and friends of the county from all corners of the globe sending well wishes to the worldwide Cavan family.

‘Cavan Day’ is an online celebration of Cavan, its people, its heritage, its friends and its global cultural imprint. Taking place in lieu of the planned ‘Cavan Calling’ festival, which will now take place in 2021, Cavan Day will see Cavan people, their descendants, and those with a fondness for the county, celebrate their connection to Cavan, maybe you can wear the Cavan colours of blue and white, fly the flag, make a short video and take to the world wide web to share messages, photos or treasured memories of what Cavan means to you.

A highlight of the day will be a special ‘Cavan Day’ live show which will broadcast live on Cavan TV and on YouTube (See bit.ly/cavanday) at 5pm Irish time; 1pm, New York; 3am on 27^th in Sydney) with interviews with some of the Breffni County’s best-known figures across the world of sport, arts, food, and business, along with messages from Cavan people around the globe. 

Stars such as actor Chris Noth (‘Mr Big’, Sex and the City), chef Neven Maguire, comedian and TV presenter Kevin McGahern, footballer Leanne Kiernan, handball world champion Paul Brady, writer Michael Harding, and actors Aaron Monaghan and Derbhle Crotty will all feature in this magazine-style show, presented by Louise O’Reilly (IrishTV) and directed by renowned filmmaker Alan Bradley, the man behind RTÉ’s Virginia Show and Seán Boylan documentaries.

The many Cavan associations and societies and friends of Cavan around the world have also been sending messages of support, with greetings from New York, London, Philadelphia, Toronto, Auckland, Sydney, Kürnach in Germany, Jaunay-Marigny in France, and Cavan-Monaghan in Canada emphasising the truly global spread of the Cavan family.

We hope that this event can give friends of Cavan at home and abroad a lift following what has been an incredibly difficult year, and help set the scene for a brighter future, where we can all meet in person at Cavan Calling 2021!

Get Involved in #CavanDay!

There are many ways to get involved:

• Watch the Cavan Day Live broadcast at ly/cavanday, or on Cavan TV. (5pm Irish time; 1pm New York, Philadelphia, Toronto; 3am Sunday 27^th in Sydney)
• Post a picture of a favourite Cavan place, memory, or connection to the #CavanDay hashtag on your preferred social network
• If you are overseas, put on the Cavan colours (blue and white) or fly the flag and post a picture of yourself at home or at a local landmark, to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, using the #CavanDay hashtag
• Post a video greeting to family, friends, or the Cavan diaspora, and post to social media, using the #CavanDay hashtag
• Share a treasured memory of visits home, your connection to Cavan or Cavan ancestry, using the #CavanDay hashtag

To stay informed about Cavan Day, follow @cavancalling and the #CavanDay hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.