Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genetic genealogist specialising in ancestry from Ireland
I was delighted to be able to graduate in person from the University of Limerick yesterday with an MA in History of the Family. It’s been a fascinating year of study – hard work but worthwhile. It’s really added to my knowledge of Irish history and genealogy. Covid meant that this was our only time…
It may be Nollaig na mBán in Ireland today but it’s genealogy Christmas in England and Wales. The 1921 census has been exclusively released on Findmypast*. It was taken in June of that year. This census was the first after World War I and saw some slight changes to format notably: For those of us…
Following two separate conversations this week, I present a bit of fun.
Despite climate change’s best efforts, the evenings are beginning to draw in.Many people will not be aware that Hallowe’en has its origins in Ireland. It’s changed quite a bit since I was a child in the 1980s but some facets still remain the same. Back then, we dressed up and went to our neighbours’ doors…
UNESCO designates 8th September every year as International Literacy Day. It promotes the importance of literacy as a human right. Who among us doesn’t love getting caught up in a great novel? In this modern world, very few activities still require your full attention, we’re always on our phones or something, but reading is still…
As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ends, I wanted to look back at an early Irish Olympian, who just happens to be a distant cousin. This story starts with two Welsh sisters who married two (unrelated) Irish soldiers. My great-great-grandmother, Margaret Morgan, and her sister Alice, came from a farming family in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. Though we’ll…
There’s been a distinct lack of updates & news from me for the last few months. I was finishing a year back in college doing a Masters in the History of the Family at the University of Limerick. It will be a few months before I get results, so it’s time to get back to…
This week I’m discussing how to break down a DNA match who has not responded to your messages. I had great success with this technique on a DNA match on MyHeritage recently. If you haven’t already taken a test with them or uploaded your results from another database to My Heritage, then it is worth your while.…
As we approach a second St Patrick’s day still beset by a terrible pandemic, albeit with light on the horizon, I wanted to focus on a collection of records that are relevant for our large diaspora. 80 million people around the world claim Irish heritage and half of that number are in the USA. I’ve…
The Irish Genealogist for 2020 has been published this week. It goes out to all members of the Irish Genealogical Research Society. I’m delighted to see my own article in it. My One-Name Study of the Ure families of Ireland represents more than a decade of research into this surname, which is more commonly found…