Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genetic genealogist specialising in ancestry from Ireland
The Secrets of our DNA – how genetics has changed the world is a new book by Professor Turi King. She is best known for leading the identification of Richard III’s skeleton in Leicester. She also presented the show DNA Family Secrets on BBC with Stacey Dooley. I also know Turi a little and we’ve…
The Story of Us is a companion book released on Monday to tie in with the launch of the 1926 census. It’s edited by Orlaith McBride (Director of the National Archives) and John Gibney of the Royal Irish Academy. The book is comprised of 29 short chapters, divided into 4 sections: The chapters are authored…
It’s time for another book review. Regular readers of my blog will know that I’m keen on people getting the fundamentals of how to research your family tree right. This isn’t a topic that fills us with excitement but it’s important. Dr Karen Cummings (owner of Pharos Tutors) is someone I know professionally and I…
I’ve been remiss with my book reviewing schedule. So I took the time to read Researching Farming Ancestors in Ireland by William J. Roulston. Originally published via the Ulster Historical Foundation in 2021, I only bought a copy before Christmas. I picked it up intending to make a start but found it so accessible and…
I enjoy a good genealogical mystery book and have kept up with M. J. Lee’s Jayne Sinclair series. I was surprised to find The Salford Sioux is the 11th in the series – I’ve read them all but I haven’t done a review in a while. Jayne Sinclair is a solitary Manchester-based genealogist who hasn’t…
In my DNA work, I often need to trace living members of families to ask them to take target tests. So when Cheri Hudson Passey’s new book Genealogy in Reverse: Finding the Living, A practical guide for all genealogists appeared in my letterbox, I was interested. Genealogical Publishing sent me this book for free and…
As a young genealogist, Megan Smolenyak was one of the first “famous” genealogists I ever heard of. She was involved with the discovery of former US President Barack Obama’s Irish ancestry (now commemorated in that most Irish of ways by a motorway service station!) and the discovery of the real identity of Annie Moore, the…
As a European, the concept of a lineage society was only vaguely familiar to me, so I was surprised when Genealogical sent me a free copy of The Complete Guide to Lineage Societies by Kimberly Ormsby Nagy for review purposes. I remember an episode of the Golden Girls where Blanche has to hide a Jewish…
The moment I saw that Robert Estes had written a new book on Family Tree DNA, I knew I wanted to read it. So I was particularly delighted that Genealogical gave me a review copy for free. Roberta Estes is a well-known DNA blogger. I’ve actually met her briefly a couple of times but I’ve…
I’ve a nice quick read for you. The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin is a crime thriller involving investigative genetic genealogy to find the bad guy. This one has a romance angle so if that’s not your thing, fair warning! It also features sexual assault but not in any great detail. It doesn’t go…