Kildare County Council’s Decade of Commemorations Committee, in association with Ireland’s Military Story, Merrion Press and June Fest, will host the inaugural Irish Military Seminar, 9-11 June, Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

Co. Kildare’s association with the military spans many centuries and continues to the present time. The aim of the seminar is to look at all aspects of Irish military history, drawing chiefly on events and personnel from within our nation’s past.

SEMINAR PROGRAMME

FRIDAY

15.15 -17.30 FILM – Congo – An Irish Affair – a special showing.

 17.45 p.m. Reception in foyer of Riverbank.

Opening of the Seminar by Mayor of Co. Kildare, Cllr. Ivan Keatley.

Book launch by Brig. General Joe Mulligan, GOC, Curragh – The War Memoirs of Lieut. Col. Clements, M.C., compiled and edited by James Durney and Hugh Crawford

18.30 – 19.15 p.m. Thomas Ashe – A life given for Ireland (the 100th anniversary of his death) – Maurice O’Keeffe and Dr. Helene O’Keeffe, Irish Life and Lore (Oral History Projects)

19.30 p.m. – 20.30 p.m. – Blue Caps and Bulls Wool – The Congo and beyond! Declan Power, Dan Harvey and Maurice O’Keeffe.

SATURDAY

8.45 a.m. – 9.15 a.m. Registration Tea & Coffee

9.20 – 9.25 a.m. Opening Remarks – Wesley Bourke and Conor Graham

9.25 a.m. – 10.10 a.m. The Sea was Red with Irish Blood! – Gallipoli 1915 – Lar Joye

10.10 a.m. – 10.55 a.m. The Fenian Rising – Bloodlines! – Helen Litton

10.55 – 11.25 a.m. Break Tea/Coffee

11.30 -12.15 p.m. A very uncivil affair! War in Dublin 1922-1923 – John Dorney

12 .15 -13.00 p.m. Michael Kelly Lawler, American Civil War General – Wesley Bourke

13.00 – 13.55 p.m. LUNCH (at own expense)

14.00 -14.45 p.m. Full Metal Shamrocks – Irishmen and the Vietnam War, James Durney and guest(s)

14.50 p.m. – 15.35 p.m. A Belfast Jacobin – Samuel Neilson and 1798 Rebellion – Kenneth Dawson

 15.35 p.m. – 15.50 p.m. Refresher Break

 15.55 p.m. – 16.40 p.m. Luftwaffe Eagles over Ireland – Justin Horgan

16.40 p.m. – 17.00 p.m. Close of Seminar Q and A

SATURDAY

11 a.m. – 18.00 p.m. McKenna Gallery Riverbank, Weapons Display and workshop – Irish Military Vehicles Group

SUNDAY

FIELD TRIP TO THE RATH OF MULLAGHMAST

10.00 a.m. Bus departs Newbridge

Massacre at Mullaghmast – A Game of Thrones! – a note by Mario Corrigan and James Durney

The lost Medieval Village – Noel Dunne, Archaeologist

Performance – Griese Youth Theatre

12.30 p.m. Refreshments at Burtown House

14.00 p.m. Arrive back in Newbridge

Free Admission (minimal cost for field trip): booking essential: boxoffice@riverbank.ie/045 448327

Contact: cilldara2016@gmail.com or localhistory@kildarecoco.ie or phone 045 448350 or 087 9871046

Seminar is part of Kildare County Council’s, Decade of Commemorations programme and a Creative Ireland initiative ― Creative Kildare 2017, in association with Ireland’s Military Story, Merrion Press and June Fest.

Want to discover your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors?

Many people believe that researching Irish ancestors is impossible because of the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922. While many records were destroyed, others survived and large collections have come online in recent years.

Join Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation during their forthcoming Australia and New Zealand lecture tour to learn how to get the most out of Irish resources and records, gain strategies for breaking down brick walls, and grasp important historical context that may help fill in gaps in your research.

Whether you are just beginning your Irish research or have been at it for years, you won’t want to miss these workshops.

Gillian and Fintan will be taking part in the New Zealand Society of Genealogists 50^th anniversary conference, which runs from 3–5 May, if you are attending that event, they will be happy to meet you in person.

Fuller contact details with additional information can be found at: https://www.ancestryireland.com/australia-new-zealand-2017/

Thursday, 18 May – Wellington, NZ (1:00pm-3:00pm and 6:00pm-8:00pm)

Location: Loaves & Fishes Hall @ Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, 45 Molesworth St, Thorndon, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.
Entrance to Hall is in Hill Street.
Host: Irish Interest Group Lower North Island
Pre Booking is essential.
Main Contact: Jenny Martin jenmartin@paradise.net.nz
Other Information: $20 per session. There will be two sessions, with two topics each. There is seating for 100 people in the venue.

Sunday, 21 May – Dunedin, NZ (10:00am–5:00pm)

Location: Dunningham Suite, 4th Floor, Dunedin Public Library, 230 Moray Place, Dunedin, 9058, New Zealand
Entrance is through library car park.
Host: Dunedin Branch, New Zealand Society Of Genealogists
Web: http://www.dunedingenealogy.org.nz/
Tel.: 03 473 8503
Contact Address: PO Box 5634, Moray Place, Dunedin 9016
Main Contact: Robyn Thorburn
Other information: £20 per person. Refreshments are included, but you must bring your own lunch.

Tuesday, 23 May – Wanaka, NZ (1:00pm–5:00pm)

Location: Wanaka Presbyterian Community Church Centre, 91 Tenby Street, Wanaka
Host: The Wanaka Genealogy Group
Web: http://wanakagenealogy.weebly.com/
Direct to booking form: http://wanakagenealogy.weebly.com/booking-form.html
Other information: Cost $20 per person (everyone welcome)
Tel./e-mail: 021 266 6975 or wanarelly@xtra.co.nz
Main Contact: Louise Primrose

Thursday, 25 May – Sydney, NSW (10:00am-4:00pm)

Location: Richmond Villa, 120 Kent Street Sydney
Host: Society of Australian Genealogists
Web: www.sag.org.au/learn/current-events/full-list-of-events/cat.listevents/2017/04/21/-.html
Tel./e-mail: (02) 9247 3953 or info@sag.org.au
Other information: Bookings essential: $55 for members, $70 for non-members.
Morning and afternoon tea provided, but you must bring your own lunch.

Saturday, 27 May – Sunshine Coast, QLD (8:00am-3:30pm)

Location: Genealogy Sunshine Coast Resource Centre, Petrie Park Road, Nambour, QLD 4560
Host: Genealogy Sunshine Coast
Web: https://sites.google.com/view/genealogysunshinecoastinc-home
Tel./e-mail: 07 5441 4266 or genealogysc@gmail.com
Other Information: Cost is $40 per person for the full day – morning and afternoon tea are provided. Lunch will be available for $5.00 per person.
Bookings are advisable.

Sunday, 28 May – Perth, WA (1:00pm-7:00pm)

Location: State Library of Western Australia, 25 Francis St, Perth WA 6000, Australia
Host: The Western Australian Genealogical Society Inc. (WAGS)
Web: https://membership.wags.org.au/
Registration: https://membership.wags.org.au/images/stories/documents/sigs/irish/wags_irish_seminar_2017_registration.pdf
Tel./e-mail: 9271 4311 or irish@wags.org.au
Other information: $40 for members of WAGS or Affiliated Societies. $50 for non-members.
Excludes tea, coffee, snacks and meals.

Tuesday, 30 May – (AIGS) Melbourne, VIC (9:30am-4:30pm)

Location: Willis Room, Whitehorse Centre, 397 Whitehorse Rd, Nunawading
Host: Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies Inc
Tel./e-mail: (03) 9877 3789 or info@aigs.org.au
Other information: Booking is essential. $45.00. Payment in full before 23 May.
A box lunch is available for an additional $10. It must be ordered and paid for on the day, or you can bring your own lunch if desired or you have special dietary requirements.

Wednesday, 31 May – (VGS) Melbourne, VIC (9:30am-4:30pm)

Location: 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands VIC 3008
Host: The Irish Ancestry Group of the Genealogical Society of Victoria
Web: www.gsv.org.au
Tel./e-mail: (03) 9662 4455 or gsv@gsv.org.au
Other information: Booking is essential. $45.00. Payment in full before 23 May.
Morning & afternoon tea will be provided, but you must bring your own lunch.

Saturday, 3 June, NZGS Auckland, NZ (9:00am-6:00pm)

Location: Alexandra Park, Greenlane West, Auckland
Host: New Zealand Society of Genealogists
Web: www.genealogy.org.nz/2017-conference_1571
Online registration: www.genealogy.org.nz/shop/online-shop/conference-2017
Form: www.genealogy.org.nz/data/media/documents/Conference%202017/2017Registration.pdf
E-Mail: conference2017@genealogy.org.nz
Main Contact: Vivienne Parker

Sunday, 4 June, Auckland, NZ (evening lecture 7:00pm-9:00pm)

Location: 18 Airpark Dr, Mangere, Auckland 2022, New Zealand
Host: Loyal Orange Institution of New Zealand
Contact: info@orangeorder.org.nz

With sixty years’ experience of serving Irish people everywhere, let the Ulster Historical Foundation help you discover your family’s story.

E-mail enquiries: enquiry@uhf.org.uk

 

Offaly History Blog

This week’s blog is on Clara and the Goodbodys contributed by Michael Goodbody.

New material is added every Saturday. 

We have added an index to over 60,000 names recorded on gravestones in South Mayo to our website. These have been abstracted from the gravestones collection held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre.

The index contains name and graveyard and, in many cases, also contains date of death, address and age of the deceased. The time period covered spans most of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Check Mayo Sources (North & South Mayo)

Photo is of Ballintubber Abbey near Castlebar, Co. Mayo: Ballintubber Abbey is a royal abbey in Co. Mayo, Ireland founded by King Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair in 1216. It is said to be the only church in Ireland founded by an Irish king that is still in regular use.

 

Staff from the Ulster Historical Foundation will be undertaking a lecture tour in Australia and New Zealand from 18 May to 4 June 2017. This has been made possible by the New Zealand Society of Genealogists who have invited them to speak at their 50th anniversary conference which will be held in Auckland from 3-5 June.

Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt will undertake a lecture tour taking in the following locations:

Thursday, 18 May, (Wellington, NZ)
Sunday, 21 May (Dunedin, NZ)
Tuesday, 23 May (Wanaka NZ)
Thursday, 25 May (SAG Sydney NSW)
Saturday, 27 May (Nambour, Sunshine Coast, QLD)
Sunday, 28 May (Perth WA)
Tuesday,30 May (Melbourne VIC (AIGS)
Wednesday, 31 May (Melbourne VIC (GSV)
Fri-Sun, 02-4 June (Auckland NZ (NZ GS 50th anniversary conference)

Full details of the tour programme will be made available soon at https://www.ancestryireland.com/

The Top 300 Surnames of Derry-Londonderry by Brian Mitchell. Maps by Sam Mitchell.

Exploring the history of a surname is a useful first step on a journey to tracing roots in Ireland. Surnames are very much connected to place in Ireland and are, therefore, an integral part of Irish identity and family history. In the case of the Northern Ireland city of Derry (aka Londonderry), naming traditions go back Derry’s founding by the city of London in 1613.

Esteemed genealogist Brian Mitchell, who has published a number of books on Derry family history in recent years, here presents us with an analysis of the most popular surnames for that port city. Mitchell bases his Top 300 Surnames of Derry/Londonderry volume on the 1989 Foyle Community Directory. Each name in this book has at least ten listings in the Foyle directory. The excellent Introduction discusses the main cultural origins of Derry surnames–namely, Gaelic, English/Lowland Scottish, and 20th-century newcomers, notably persons from Italy, Jews fleeing Eastern Europe and later Nazi Germany, and most recently Indian nationals. Derry’s unique historical background, including the impact upon surnames of the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster, also comes into play. The author provides the researcher with a bibliography of about a dozen surname books he consulted in compiling his own list of the Top 300. The bulk of the book consists of Brian Mitchell’s tabular, alphabetical list of surnames. For each name we are given a ranking and a short descriptive history, such as the following:

Olphert. Rank: 269. Scottish. This variant of Oliphant is chiefly found in Counties Antrim and Derry. The Oliphants of Norman origin, who settled in Northamptonshire, England in the late 11th century, acquired lands in Roxburghshire, Scotland in the 12th century. The Londonderry Port Book of 1612 to 1615 records the trading activity of Wibrant Olfert, a Dutch merchant, who made Derry his home in the very early years of the Plantation of Ulster; he was importing timber from Norway and exporting butter and oats.

Rounding out this compact yet vital work are a series of maps designed to help the reader follow the migration of surnames to Derry. Everyone who owns Mr. Mitchell’s earlier books for tracing Derry ancestors or understanding the place names of County Derry will want this volume for their personal or institutional library.

Available from www.genealogical.com OR in Ireland and UK through Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+top+300+surnames+of+derry+londonderry).

Further records have been added to our site at www.westmeath.rootsireland.ie

The Dún na Sí Heritage Centre’s genealogy service has added:

Castlepollard Roman Catholic baptism, marriage and death/burial registers as follows:
Baptisms 1763-1790
Marriages 1763-1790
Death/burials 1764-1818

Gravestone Inscriptions
Walshestown Cemetery, Mullingar: 2,000 headstone transcriptions
Kilbeggan Cemetery, Kilbeggan: 1,200 headstone transcriptions
Quaker Cemetery, Cartronkeel, Moate: 60 headstones.
Please note that photographs of many of these headstones are held at Dún na Sí. Please contact the centre for further details.

Free Admission (Small charge for bus to Mullaghmast on Sunday)
Pre-booking is essential.
TO BOOK:
Email: boxoffice@riverbank.ie
Phone: 045 448327
Online booking:
www.riverbank.ie

Each year, during the last week of August, many national and hundreds of local community organisations participate by organising events throughout Ireland. Many of the events that take place during the week are free and the programme highlights the abundance of great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage.

National Heritage Week is part of European Heritage Days. These are a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union in which over forty countries participate each year. The main aim of European Heritage Days are to promote awareness of our built, natural and cultural heritage and to promote Europe’s common cultural heritage. Every year millions of Europeans visit historical monuments and sites throughout Europe on European Heritage Days. In Ireland we celebrate European Heritage Days with a full week of events throughout National Heritage Week.

Find out more at www.heritageweek.ie

On 6 April at Offaly History Centre, Tullamore at 2.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m.

Ireland, 1858. Two brothers were wrongfully hanged for the murder of a local land agent, setting in motion events 50 years on as Ireland fought for independence. This is an emotional telling of the true story of the Cormack brothers, from Loughmore in Ireland, who were hanged in Nenagh jail in 1858. 50 years on their bodies were exhumed and reburied in their home parish of Loughmore where they remain today.

Filmed in Ireland, this is the second film from Blue Socks Entertainment from their ‘Stories from the Famine’ series.  See www.bluesocksentertainment.com

On 27 April at Offaly History Centre, Tullamore at 8.00 p.m.

Book launch of new book by Professor Jeff Kildea on Hugh Mahon: Patriot, Pressman, Politician, Vol. 1, the years from 1857 to 1901

Jeff Kildea is an adjunct professor in Irish Studies at the University of New South Wales. Professor Kildea will give an address on Hugh Mahon. Refreshments will be served.

As a political agitator, journalist, businessman and politician, Hugh Mahon had a varied and fascinating life. Born at Killurin, Offaly, he and his family migrated to America in 1869, but returned to Ireland in 1880 after their American dream failed. He was active in the Land League in County Wexford which led to his arrest and imprisonment with Parnell in 1881, and exile to Australia. As a crusading journalist he exposed corruption and became a thorn in the side of the Forrest government in Western Australia during the 1890s. He was elected to the first Commonwealth parliament in 1901 and served in four Labor ministries, rising to Minister for External Affairs during the First World War. He has the distinction of being the only person expelled from the Commonwealth parliament.

This book, the first part of a two-volume biography of Mahon, spans the period from his birth in 1857 to his election to parliament. Pulling together the many facets of Mahon’s life, it reveals the forces which drove this complex man who was reviled by many for denouncing the British Empire while remaining a hero to those who supported self-determination for Ireland.

Professor Jeff Kildea is an adjunct professor in Irish Studies at the University of New South Wales. In 2014 he held the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History at University College Dublin. He is the author of Tearing the Fabric: Sectarianism in Australia 1910-1925 (2002); Anzacs and Ireland (2007); and Wartime Australians: Billy Hughes (2008), as well as numerous articles and papers on the Irish in Australia. He is the director of the Irish Anzacs Project at UNSW.