Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genetic genealogist specialising in ancestry from Ireland
I was over in the Representative Church Body Library* last week in Churchtown. This is the main library for the Anglican church in Ireland and it’s where we go to look at original Church of Ireland parish records for the 26 counties in the Republic. Surviving digitised records for Dublin are online at Irishgenealogy.ie and…
Hot on the heels of the changes to the National Archives website, the other main state portal for genealogical research has had a refresh. ETA: 27/2 – several of the issues that I noted below are now fixed! Hence, I’ve removed or edited my comments. Last week, I was in touch with IrishGenealogy to ask…
Secondly, it’s almost time for Rootstech again: the biggest genealogical conference in the world. It takes place in Salt Lake City on 6-8 March and has both in-person and online content available. I’m delighted to be attending for the second time. If you’re not already booked to attend either in-person or virutally, there’s still time. Here’s a…
T-minus 41 days to 18 April 2026. On that day, professionals, family historians, hobbyists and regular historians will be sitting at their desks hitting refresh while we await the first Irish census release in more than 50 years (if we count the microfilm release of the previous two in the 1960s!) The Dept of Culture,…
I’ve been looking at Christmas traditions in Ireland, both old and new. One of my favourite places to look at old stories is the Schools Collection hosted by Duchas. Did you know that animals have the power of speech on Christmas night? It was news to me but is mentioned in several stories in the…
A second season of the BBC radio programme/podcast The Gift has just come out. Presented and researched by journalist Jenny Kleeman, it’s a show about at home DNA testing and the stories it uncovers. I hoovered up the first season last year and no doubt will do the same with the second. It was well-researched,…
I’m really thrilled to announce that I’ll be back at Rootstech in March 2025 to deliver three in-person talks on Irish subjects including the Virtual Treasury and Obituaries & Death notices. More details in due course! Registration opens on 25th September. Hopefully I’ll get some time at the FamilySearch library too.
Friday 20th September is Culture Night! Culture Night started in 2006 in Dublin but has since grown to a nationwide and international event. The idea is that museums, galleries and other buildings open for the evening and let people visit, often for free. There’s always a great buzz in the city on the evening. Check…
Delighted to see that MyHeritage is increasing its Irish record databases. They’ve uploaded the civil birth registers (1864-1921 for the whole island, and up to 1958 for what is now the Republic of Ireland). Yes, these indexes are already on Ancestry, Findmypast & Irishgenealogy.ie but it’s good to see MH adding to the Irish collection,…
As I write this, I’m still in a snowy Salt Lake City. It’s the day after Rootstech 2024. This was my first visit to the world’s largest genealogy conference, but definitely not the last. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Rootstech is part trade show (a full Expo Hall of stands…