Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genetic genealogist specialising in ancestry from Ireland
One of the great things about genetic genealogy is how fast the field is growing. It’s changing and improving all the time. We can do all kinds of things now that 5 years ago were impossible. There’s so much to learn. I’ve written previously about clusters on my blog and I’m still periodically reviewing my…
Following their recent announcement that they were now accepting people who have achieved or are for studying for a Masters in History of the Family from the University of Limerick, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve joined the Register of Qualified Genealogists. I’d been aware of the RQG for a while and wrote to them…
I am very excited to share the news that my first article in Family Tree Magazine is published in the current edition (May 2023). The article concerns my great-grandfather’s first cousin, Richard Kent. In attempting to trace his family, he disappeared from the records, and then I found multiple candidates for him in different record sets. Were…
The New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy by Brian Mitchell is neither that new nor does it fit in your pocket, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. This is the 4th edition (2020) of a guide first produced 30 years ago by the renowned Derry-based Irish genealogist, Brian Mitchell. I already have…
It’s #WorldBookDay so naturally I want to talk about two of my favourite things: genealogy and reading. This is necessarily a longer review than I normally favour because I’m so enthusiastic about the topic & there’s a lot to discuss. If you are at all interested in genetic genealogy, you will likely already know that…
It’s #SqueezeInARead day in Ireland, so I thought why not also post a book review. As a genetic genealogist, I’m fascinated by this new genre of DNA discovery memoir. From the opening lines of Inheritance by Dani Shapiro, we learn that she took a DNA test and discovered that the man who raised & loved…
I’ve been using newspapers a lot recently to look for death notices and obituaries. There are two main types of notice to look for: This is an example of the former. It’s my 3x great-grandmother, Mary Lawless, née Swan, who died on the leap day in 1936. I wrote about her previously here. This is typical…
This year for Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d take a look at how often Irish people were called Valentine in February. St Valentine was a 3rd century CE Roman martyred clergyman who is also the patron saint of beekeepers and asthma. I didn’t know illnesses could have saints, but there you go! He has an…
I’m excited to announce that I’ve been appointed Director of Irish Studies at the International Institute for Genealogical Studies. The Institute has an enormous array of courses for genealogy enthusiasts. I’ll be working to update their Irish content and also help tutor students with Irish ancestry. Their new website is coming at the beginning of…
A few weeks ago, I recorded a podcast with Andrew Martin of the Family Histories show. It’s been released today and you can listen to it below or wherever you get your podcasts. Let me know you what you think! I had Covid whilst recording hence the croaky voice – fully recovered now, thank goodness.…