Fiona Fitzsimons from Eneclann talks in-depth to Mike Feerick where he shares his views on the Irish Diaspora, his personal journey and the project ‘Ireland Reaching Out’.

"If there are 70 million people around the world with Irish links, divide that number by 2000, which is roughly the number of parishes in Ireland. That's an average of 35,000 people per parish. Yet if you go to the west of Ireland in particular there's only about 1000 people living in these parishes

If we can find out who these people are and connect them back into the parish, we can awaken and introduce the energies of these people into rural communities across Ireland - and it will be felt."

Excerpt from the interview with Mike Feerick in Irish Lives Remembered

The November/December edition (32nd issue) of Irish Lives Remembered Genealogy e-Magazine is now live and can be read/downloaded FREE of charge via www.irishlivesremembered.com.

Other topics include:

The Irish in WASHINGTON

• Genealogist and lecturer, Joe Buggy looks at tracing the Irish in Washington State
• New Jersey genealogist, Maureen Wlodarczyk takes a look at the life of Teresa Lapin Eldridge from Armagh who settled in Bellingham
• Brid Nowlan interviews Seattle Mayor Ed Murray about his Irish heritage

General News

• Fly Leaf Press are offering a special discount on their title ‘Tracing Your Galway Ancestors’
• Latest records from Findmypast including the release of the 1939 Register for England and Wales
• Lorna Moloney invites you to tune in to The Genealogy Radio Show at Raidio Corcabaiscinn
• Michael Merrigan looks at how Dún Laoghaire plan to remember Sir Roger Casement in 2016
• Jayne Shrimpton dates a photo from the AH Poole Studio collection from December 1929 in Waterford
• Karel Kiely from Roots Ireland (I.F.H.F.) talks us through features on their new website
• U.C.C. ‘Ancestral Connections – Roots to The Rising’ finalize their list of speakers for next year’s annual Irish Genealogy Summer School in Cork
• IARC Limerick 2015 Genealogy graduates ceremony
• Winning articles from the Irish Genealogy Interest Group from New Zealand Society of Genealogists on ‘The Irish who fought in Gallipoli’  1) John Joseph Doogrey from Donegal, Thomas Harvey & Rev. Father John Prendergast from Carlow
• Valuable 19th century archival material rediscovered in Co. Clare
• North of Ireland Family History Society launch a writing competition
• Genealogy Society of Ireland head to the Holiday World Belfast to promote Irish Genealogy

As part of this permanent exhibition, the curators and creative team of EPIC Ireland wish to feature Irish emigrant stories.  They are seeking personal stories about people who left Ireland and went on to do something unique, unexpected or surprising. The story can be told by the emigrant themselves or through the eyes of their Mother/Father/Grandson/Sister etc. They are looking for as diverse a range of gender, ages and accents as possible.

Suitable participants will be asked to partake in media interviews (including photography) that will subsequently be broadcast via one or more media, including print, online and broadcast. A small number may be selected to participate in a promotional video.  It is for this reason that they are looking to hear from people who will be Dublin and available to come to the CHQ building on either the  21st, 22nd or 25th January (to be confirmed). Filming will take no longer than one day.    

If you think this opportunity might be for you, please send an email to info@epicirelandchq.com.  Although it may not be possible to respond individually to each email, your interest in this project is very much appreciated by the Epic Ireland team.

As well as bringing viewers worldwide to parts of Dublin synonymous with the Rising, the interactive Google Street View tour also offers unique access to important historical and cultural resource material. The visitors will stop at city centre locations as they are today, hear what happened there and click to explore photos, stories and witness statements from the Dublin of 2016. The aim of the experience is to enable anyone, anywhere to participate in the 1916 Centenary.

Google’s new virtual experience has been created in partnership with leading Irish cultural institutions, including the National Library of Ireland,  Military Archives, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, the Abbey Theatre, the Royal Irish Academy and Trinity College Dublin Library alongside Century Ireland.

As part of the experience, the NLI has shared two special items from the online collections:

·         Joseph Plunkett's notebook, kept throughout the Easter Rising from his position in the General Post Office. The journal captures the drama and intensity of revolution from the inside;

·         Draft of the notice of the rebel surrender, signed by Patrick Pearse on Saturday, 20 April 1916. The ability to zoom in on the image makes it easier to read the writing, which is pencil on cardboard. 

In October 2013, the NLI was the first cultural institution in Ireland to partner with the Google Cultural Institute, which collaborates with hundreds of museums, art galleries and archives around the world. The Institute aims to make important cultural material available and accessible to everyone, and to digitally preserve this material in order to educate and inspire future generations. Initially, three of the NLI’s photographic exhibitions were hosted - Power and Privilege: The Big House in Ireland; Witness to War; and Dubliners.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Sandra Collins, Director of the NLI, said: “The National Library’s holdings constitute the most comprehensive collection of Irish documentary material in the world, and we are continually collecting and preserving for now and the future. Our existing partnership with the Google Cultural Institute has helped us to share these wonderful treasures with audiences worldwide. The Library recognises the value in partnerships with digital innovators such as Google, in order to enhance global access to our collections. Combining digital innovation with our nation’s cultural and social heritage allows us to share the story of 1916 with the world.”

Paul Shovlin, Chair of the National Library’s Board, added: “At the heart of this wonderful partnership with the Google Cultural Institute, and indeed the National Library’s 2016 programme, is our core mission: collecting and making available and accessible Irish memory and heritage for people everywhere around the world. In 1916, the National Library was an intellectual and social hub at the heart of Ireland and is proud to take its place in the centenary events 100 years later, through a programme built around our unparalleled collections.”

NLI’s 2016 Programme

At the launch of its 2016 Programme, as part of Ireland 2016 with the support of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the NLI recently announced a unique digital repository of personal papers and photographs that tell the story of the momentous events of 1916. 

In addition to the 70,000 digital images already available through the NLI’s online catalogue, the digitised personal papers and photographs of the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation will all be available online by April 2016. The full collection of Ceannt, Clarke and Connolly’s papers are already available to the public, free of charge at catalogue.nli.ie. 

Katherine McSharry, Head of Outreach and the person responsible for the 1916 programme at the National Library, noted: “The National Library plays a fundamental role in helping us to connect and remember our past. Our 2016 programme has been developed to make the stories of 1916 accessible to all and we are delighted to partner with the Google Cultural Institute in highlighting two fascinating items from our collection related to Plunkett and Pearse, revealing the immediacy of history in greater detail than ever before.”

The NLI will hold a series of free events and activities throughout 2016 to mark the centenary commemorations of the Easter Rising.  Highlights of the NLI’s 2016 programme include:

·         ‘Inspiration Proclamation’: a series of public interviews with major figures on themes of the Proclamation and their relevance for Ireland in 2016 and beyond;

·         ‘Readings from the Rising’, a series of performances of literary work accompanied by music and staged throughout our historic buildings;

·         School workshops and talks to help visitors trace their ancestors in this period.

The NLI will also offer a series of curated perspectives on 1916 onsite at the National Library’s buildings on Kildare Street and in Temple Bar, Dublin 2 and online. These include ‘Rising’: a flagship photographic exhibition in the National Photographic Archive, and ‘Signatories’: an exhibition in the NLI’s Kildare Street building, which will present selected documents related to the seven signatories.

Details of the NLI’s full 2016 programme of events, from exhibitions and public events to major digitisation projects, are available on the NLI’s websitewww.nli.ie.  

The Dublin Rising 1916-2016 Tour can be accessed at: https://dublinrising.withgoogle.com.

For more information visit www.nli.ie.

There is no denying the impact of the Irish looms large in Australia; the convicts and political prisoners, the rebels of the Eureka Stockade, the Fenian Catalpa rescue, Ned Kelly, Daniel Mannix's anti-conscription campaign and Paul Keating's Redfern speech.

Through abundant literature, poetry, art, music, dance, and a keen hunger for justice, the Irish spirit has stamped itself on the evolving culture of Australia, where a quarter of the Australian population claim Irish descent.

Celebrate the rich and enduring culture of the Irish in this stirring concert event.

Date: 20th February 2016

Time: 8pm

Venue: Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Australia

For more information and to book tickets, click here.

Community Development Executive

We are looking for a Community Development Executive to join our team. In this temporary, part-time position you will showcase Ireland Reaching Out, creating awareness of our programme and work with key staff to develop and implement a volunteer recruitment, training and management programme.  

We are looking for a professional with an interest in training and working with volunteers, a competent public speaker, experienced using MS Word, Excel & PowerPoint and available to travel throughout Ireland. You must have a clean driver’s licence, at least two years’ experience in an admin/training role and be willing to work hard to build strong volunteer relationships.  

This role will also involve creating content for the relevant section of the IrelandXO website (volunteer) and therefore good IT skills are required, although full training will be provided. Regular meetings will be held in Co. Galway so you must be available to travel.

Ability to work on own initiative, project manage and creativity are key to this role. 

Deadline for applications to info@irelandxo.com (by CV and Cover Letter) is January 29th 2016. 

Marketing Assistant

With a potential audience of over 70 million people of Irish heritage worldwide, Ireland Reaching Out is looking for someone to assist them in it's online marketing activiites.  Their goal will be to create awareness about the programme and to engage with this global audience through innovative use of social media and also through the Ireland XO website and email communications' platform.

We are looking for someone with an eye for detail and a good grasp of digital marketing tools and trends.  Good writing skills, creative thinking  and IT familiarity are essential to this role.  

This is a part-time, temporary position and will include managing our social media, helping to create content for the Ireland XO website, our weekly mailings and to manage day to day general enquires about our programme.

This role is based in Galway.

Deadline for applications to info@irelandxo.com (by CV and Cover Letter) is January 29th 2016. 

Drupal Software expert

We are looking for someone to assist the programme from an IT point of view and in particular to be a problem solver for any day-to-day issues with the drupal platform.  The ideal person will be able to work independently and be highly competent in all the latest Drupal developments.

This is a contractual role, home-office based role. 

Deadline for applications to info@irelandxo.com (by CV and Cover Letter) is January 29th 2016. 

Ireland Family History is one of the largest and most inspiring facebook pages dedicated to Irish genealogy and engaging with people of Irish ancestry all over the world.  We are delighted to be "taking over" their community page from 1pm to 5pm Irish time next Friday 29th to answer as many genealogical queries as we can during that time.

Please drop by if you have a moment - we'd love any suggestions that you have to make.  We have learned from experience that it is often a nugget of local knowledge that locks the mystery of many an Irish family history.

See you there!

Ireland Family History Facebook

The position of the ads has been designed to interfere as little as possible with the experience of using the website and certain restrictions have been put in place to manage the nature of the ads themselves. 

Google has been a long-standing supporter of Ireland Reaching Out and have donated valuable technological resources to the programme. Ireland Reaching Out also has access to high end Google consultants throught their non-profit support structure and has benefited from their technical expertise in a multitude of areas. Ireland Reaching Out are delighted to have Google as their partner in this, their first global fund-raising effort. We look forward to our members and partners supporting this initiative.

As always, Ireland Reaching Out is a non-profit organisation, and we hope that our users will embrace this forward-thinking development as a valuable form of fund-raising. We are excited to be growing our programme with the help of this additional revenue to continue connecting people of Irish descent all around the world with their local community of origin.

This year we are very excited at the opportunity to meet with Irish diaspora living in the UK at the world’s largest family history show - Who Do You Think You Are? Live.  

This is the popular event's 10^th anniversary and promises to be the biggest and best one yet and we are very pleased to be there to help connect people of Irish heritgage to their communities of origin in Ireland.

So why not come along and visit us there? Whether you’re a seasoned family historian looking to explore your Irish ancestry further, or just about to take your first steps to uncovering your family’s history, you’re sure to find all the expert advice, tips and guidance you need at the show.  You can find us at Stand 270.

This year's show will include everything from specialist exhibitors, workshops and experts from the biggest names in the business to the Heirloom detectives, museums and access to billions of FREE records. There is also of course the chance to be entertained and inspired by previous celebrities from the popular TV series Who Do You Think You Are? The show is a great family day out and has activities suited to all the family including treasure hunts for children, a replica Spitfire plane from WW2 with ground crew and props and a specialist military area to commemorate our ancestors involved in conflict. What’s more children under 16 go FREE! 

The show will be returning to the NEC in Birmingham from Thursday 7^th to Saturday 9^th April 2016. Getting to the NEC couldn’t be easier with rail access to all major UK stations only a few steps away from the hall and hundreds of dedicated parking spaces. More information about the show and can be found at www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com.

Ticket offer for all Ireland Reaching Out members

As Ireland Reaching Out will be attending the show and would love to see you there we can offer you a fantastic ticket offer for 2 tickets for only £26! Which is a 40% saving! To book tickets and to make the most of this fantastic offer please click on the link below or call 0844 873 7330 and quote code EX16. Workshops can then be added to this order without paying another transaction fee, we recommend booking workshop tickets in advance as these will all be charged at £3 on the day (£2 in advance). 

From Department of the Taoiseach

The purpose of the funding is to promote diaspora engagement at a county, local and community level.  This is in line with the objectives of Global Irish:  Ireland’s Diaspora Policy which was published in March, 2015 and acknowledges the importance of a sense of place to the members of the Irish diaspora and the potential for communities and counties in Ireland to reach out to their own diaspora and build relationships for mutual benefit.   The aim is to provide support to local and community projects and initiatives that are focused on developing strong diaspora links within the community. Please see a copy of the policy here. 

Priority will be given to projects which fall under the following categories:

1. Culture and Heritage

2. Genealogy

3. Communications

4. Building Networks

Qualification and evaluation criteria

In order to qualify for consideration, applicants will have to confirm compliance with the conditions of the scheme as to funding and timescale for delivery.  The evaluation criteria will include:

• the quality and relevance of the proposal;

• the likely impact of the project relative to the size of the grant sought;

• the nature of the activities planned.

Budget and grants available:

There is a total of €350,000 available under this grant scheme.  The maximum amount of an individual grant to be awarded to a project is €20,000 and no more than 75% of the overall cost of any project will be funded.

Application process

The Local Diaspora Toolkit may be a useful resource for applicants wishing to devise diaspora engagement projects.

The closing date for funding applications is 12 noon on Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Please return your completed application via email to localdiasporafund@taoiseach.gov.ie.

Alternatively, if you would like to return this via post, please send your application to:  Peter McHugh, Department of the Taoiseach, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.

You can also contact us via localdiasporafund@taoiseach.gov.ie if you have any queries.

Funding decisions will be made in late April – early May and applicants will be notified accordingly.

Link to Application Form

The Presidential Distinguished Service Awards were established by the Irish Government in 2012, to provide a system of state recognition for those living abroad.  They allow the state to formally recognise the achievements of the Irish "global Family". Nominees may be Irish citizens, entitled to Irish citizenship or from an Irish background. This award seeks to recognise the hard work, energy and dedication of these individuals who make such a valuable contribution to other people’s lives, around the world. 

For 2016, an additional category has been introduced  - Science, Technology & Innovation  - giving a total of six categories under which individuals can be nominated.

Over the last 4 years, forty remarkable recipients have received the Award, chosen from pools of high quality nominees.   The nomination process for the 2016 award is now underway, and should you know of someone who fits the criteria, please consider nominating them using the links to the nomination forms below.

Award categories

• Irish Community Support
• Arts, Culture and Sport
• Charitable Works
• Business and Education
• Peace, Reconciliation and Development
• Science, Technology and Innovation (additional category introduced in 2016)

Who is eligible for Nomination?

Whether they are Irish citizens, entitled to Irish citizenship or from an Irish background, the hard work, energy and dedication of nominees make a valuable contribution to people’s lives and are deserving of the Irish state's thanks and respect.

In order to be eligible for consideration, nominees must be habitually resident outside the island of Ireland and are required to satisfy the following additional requirements:

1. Have rendered distinguished service to the nation and/or its reputation abroad;

2. Have actively and demonstrably contributed to Ireland and/or its international reputation and/or Irish communities abroad in at least one of the categories listed above;

3. Have a track record of sustained support and engagement with Ireland and/or its international reputation and/or Irish communities abroad over a period of not less than 5 years.

2016 Nomination and Deadline

The nomination process for the 2016 Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad (PDSA) is currently open and will close on Wednesday 20^th April 2016.  

Nominations can be made by any member of the public, but are submitted through the Irish Embassy in the country of residence of the nominee.   If you know someone who meets the criteria above, please complete the 2016 Nomination Form and forward it to the Irish Embassy for the country the nominee is resident in before Wednesday, 20th April, 2016.

For more information on eligibility and the nomination process, as well as to read about past recipients, please visit the official Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade page here.

Contacting the Embassy

See here a full list of Irish Embassies and their contact details.

The Award

The award itself is made from Irish hardwoods and other locally-sourced materials. It is made using a mix of modern and traditional technologies at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Letterfrack which specialises in furniture design.  It is designed by Spear Product Design, an award-winning, multidisciplinary design studio based in Dublin.

In July of 2015, one of the most important developments in Irish genealogical research saw the online release of the historical RC Church Records by the National Library of Ireland. The digitised register images were made available online for the first time and form one of the most important record collections for Irish family history. By creating a new micro-site dedicated to these records, the NLI have made them permanently available to everyone.

The records available to view on the NLI micro-site are high resolution digital scans of the original micro-films originally created in the 1930s. The images can be searched by parish, event and year but not by name or any other genealogical filters, such as parents' names. Until now,  additional background knowledge was required when researching family history in order to find where and when to look. According to John Grenham’s Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, some parishes not included are Rathlin Island, Co, Antrim; Rathocore and Rathmolyon, Co. Meath; Killorglin, Co. Kerry; Dublin parishes of Clontarf, Naul and Santry as well as Kilmeena, Co. Mayo. The NLI suggests that anyone who finds an error on their site should contact them through their contact form:  NLI contact form

Both Ancestry and Findmypast have undertaken massive transcription projects to allow these registers to be searched - allowing people to successfully search these precious resources. This is particularly important given the difficulty in reading some of the handwriting on the originals.

This March, both are offering free access to their Irish collection records - Findmypast until the 7th of March and Ancestry for the whole month.  We have summarised the particulars of these offers below.

Findmypast 

Free access to indexed Catholic Parish Registers and their entire Irish collection of records until the 7th of March 2016

The site allows a search of the records by name, year, parish, diocese, father's/mother's name and county. The result of a search is a transcript of the information found in the NLI registers as well as an image of the original record itself. Find My Past have reported that access to the indexed Parish Register will remain free for good! Whereas you can consult ALL of their Irish records free of charge until Monday night. 

If you don't have an account, simply register for free today!

Ancestry

Free access to indexed Catholic Parish Registers and entire Irish collection of records for the whole month of March

You must be registered with Ancestry to view the records and if you are not, you can simply create an account and a password - you won't be asked for any financial information. 

It is hoped to engage drama, poetry, music, language, sport, theatre, dance, heritage, cultural and community organisations in County Galway and surrounding counties to help us with this event. It is envisaged a number of plays and small reenactment as well as other forms of entertainment will be on display at the event. Ireland Reaching Out will also be there during the two days in June and look forward to seeing you. 

In order to  provide a great visiting experiencing for all, the organising committee are asking you or your group for some support and help. In order to allow groups to come and help develop ideas a meeting will be held in the Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry at 8pm on Thursday 10^th March 2016. If you are interested in attending please contact Michael Somers michael.somers@teagasc.ie

There is no better way to engage with Ireland and get a real feel for our culture than by meeting and talking with people local to the area. If you are planning a trip to Ireland, even if the dates have not been decided, make sure that you let us know so that we can help connect you with the local communities of your ancestors. You can let us know by posting a message in the parish you are descendent from or simply send us an email by clicking here. 

At Ireland Reaching Out, we are regularly asked for practical advice about planning a trip to Ireland - especially if the person has never been before and hopes to discover more about their Irish family history while here. We asked travel expert and genealogy enthusiast Ginger Aarons to share with us her recommendations when planning a trip to Ireland.  

"When I’m asked how much time should be allowed in holidaying and researching in Ireland, I always say as much time as you can afford! Basing yourself in two or three central areas when researching allows you time to have those serendipitous experiences that you need when breaking down brick walls in family history research, which is why so many come to Ireland after years of researching online. Allowing time to breath and not having a detailed itinerary every day is paramount both to enjoyment and ease of travel as well as giving yourself the time of discovering where your ancestors lived. It also allows for chance meetings and in eliminating possibilities in the family tree as well as finding that elusive ancestor.  It’s important to get out of the library when researching. If you give yourself that gap in the itinerary or give yourself the opportunity to change your itinerary (by not being tied down every minute of every day) it allows for great things to happen. 

Traveling to Ireland is for some, a once in a lifetime experience. For others a yearly pilgrimage to the ‘auld sod” to explore more of the island. In 18 years of traveling in Ireland with clients and on my own research, I’ve never found a place I didn’t like to explore.  Every part of the country is rich in culture and offers so much in local traditions as well as things to see and do. There are no wrong answers as to where to go and what to see when choosing your own special itinerary. "

A guideline to help you streamline your own travel for research

4 Days in Dublin / Belfast area for research and repositories.  

This allows for time to research, see sites in the city or further afield (40 miles circumference). This can be split into two time slots to ease the post flight jetlag (especially if you’re on a self drive) and the pre-flight jitters of making your flight on time upon departure. Don’t forget records for all 32 counties can be found in records offices in both Dublin and Belfast.

6 Days in ancestral area.

If you are unsure of where your ancestors are from, but you have a general idea, base yourself in the largest city (where records may be located for that county) and then out in the country. Not only does this ease your driving in Ireland (for many, on the wrong side of the road) but gives you the opportunity of perhaps a bed and breakfast or farm stay to experience all aspects of Irish hospitality.  

 If you can afford to stay longer than the average 10 day holiday, then add your days around the island that are on your bucket list of things to do and see. 

Wishing you luck and success in your travels to Ireland! You never know who you might meet!"

There is no better way to engage with Ireland and get a real feel for our culture than be meeting and talking with people local to the area. If you are planning a trip to Ireland, even if the dates have not been decided upon, make sure that you let us know so that we can help connect you with the local communities of your ancestors.  You can let us know by posting a message in the parish you are descendent from or simply send us an email by clicking here. 

The Garden was officially opened in 1966 on the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising. It is located on the site of the pleasure gardens of the Rotunda Hospital, where the leaders of 1916 were held before being transferred to Kilmainham Jail. Éamon de Valera was one of those leaders, but he survived to open the memorial garden as the reigning president of the Republic of Ireland. The Garden surrounds a sunken cruciform pool, with a statue depicting the Children of Lir at its top. Seats and flower pots line the pool, which is tiled in mosaics featuring broken weapons. It was the tradition in Celtic customs to break up weapons after a battle had ended and to throw them into a river or stream. 

Dáithí Hanly won the competition to design the Garden. He was the City Architect in the 1960s, and saved the façade of the Abbey Theatre by dismantling each block individually, numbering them and storing them in case they could be used again. He resigned from his post shortly after tenement houses collapsed in Fenian Street, killing two children that were walking past. Hanly also designed the basilica at Knock.The Children of Lir statue was only added in 1971. It was created by Oisin Kelly, who also designed the Jim Larkin statue on O’Connell St. Kelly’s statue commemorates the legend of Lir’s three sons and only daughter, who were turned into swans for 900 years by their jealous stepmother. On the semi-circular wall behind the swans, a poem by Liam Mac Uistín called ‘We Saw a Vision’ has been engraved in Irish, English and French. Its closing lines read:“Winter became summer. Bondage became freedom and this we left to you as your inheritance. O generations of freedom remember us, the generations of the vision.”

Despite its city centre location, the Garden is usually almost deserted. It is a very peaceful site, perhaps because of its sunken nature. Perhaps, as is said about the Famine statues on the quays of the Liffey, the atmosphere of the memorial affects people too deeply to allow for any disrespect. Instead, it is now common for protests to have their starting point beside the Garden of Remembrance, and to usually follow a route down O’Connell Street and past Trinity College to the headquarters of the Irish Government in Leinster House on Kildare Street. Perhaps there are more protests than the various sitting  governments may have liked but, as they say, with freedom comes responsibility.

Browse thousands of Press photos from Ireland's past at the Irish Photo Archives

Picture above: St Patrick's Day 17th March 1961 N.A.I.D.A. Queen of the Plough, Mary Shanahan parades through Dublin

The St Patrick’s Day parade has changed a lot over the years. In the 1950s, tractors and trailors were a common sight, and the Queen of the Land was a major part of the parade. The Queen is the female champion of the annual Ploughing Championships, but sadly she doesn’t feature as strongly in modern-day Dublin parades

The move to a more performance-based parade has been gradual, but perhaps its beginnings can be traced back to the inclusion of marching groups from the US, with their jaunty steps and twirling batons. These days, the Irish children are just as confident as they pass by the columns of the GPO – and nobody can say that that is a bad thing.

Shamrock is still widely worn in Ireland on St Patrick’s Day, though the blessing of the shamrock is not a major feature of the parade any more either. The President of the United States will once again be presented with a crystal bowl by the Taoiseach during the ceremonies in the White House, though the shamrock has to be destroyed for security reasons.

Anyone for a badge or spray of shamrock? Young Girl selling Shamrock at the GPO, General Post Office, O'Connell Street Lower, Dublin, Ireland. 17.03.1961.

Of course, people always did take a drink on 17 March, but it was more likely to be a slow pint or two of Guinness in the local pub while the bacon and cabbage was being prepared at home.  However it is true to say that for many St Patrick’s Day, and the 'day that's in it' can be a very merry feast indeed.

But 17 March is not the only day associated with St Patrick in Ireland. Another important day involving the saint is "Reek Sunday", the last Sunday in July, when thousands climb Croagh Patrick in County Mayo. Tradition called for people to climb the mountain in their bare feet, but this practice is discouraged in recent times. Croagh Patrick is covered in shale, which makes climbing it quite difficult, especially in wet weather, so wearing good hiking boots is the wisest option. As it is, the authorities are kept going every year responding to heart attacks, hypothermia and broken or sprained limbs without having the extra burden of treating cut feet as well.

29th July 1962 Reek Sunday. Pilgrims make the arduous climb up to the top of Croagh Patrick, Westport, Co. Mayo. 

It is unlikely that this year’s celebrations will match the pomp and ceremony of the Patrician Year in 1961, when the fifteenth centenary of St Patrick’s death was marked. It is a long way to 2061, but it seems a safe bet to assume that there will be fewer clergy involved in the sixteenth centenary celebrations. However, we hope that this year brings good weather, at least for the duration of the parades, and that the day passes by peacefully and safely for everybody involved, at home and abroad. Lá Fhéile Pádraig shona daoibh go leor. 

Browse these and thousands more Press photos from Ireland's past at the Irish Photo Archive

17th March 1961 Patrician Year Ceremonies open Armagh. The Patrician Year, marking the fifteenth centenary of the death of Saint Patrick, opened on St. Patricks Day in Armagh.

Between 1847 and 1864 a detailed, county by county record of tax liable was kept in Ireland.  Today the "Griffith Valuation" is an invaluable resource for anyone researching their Irish family history and if properly used, it can be a fantastic key to uncover family history information prior to the mid 19th century.

Griffith's Valuation and The Cancelled Books

The Griffith's Valuation or the 'Primary Valuation' is a much used  and valuable source in genealogical research. Published between 1847 and 1864 it provides a detailed county by county record of tax liable on land and buildings for the period. The Valuation can 'ground' on ancestor in a place at a given time as well as providing information about the plot leased - the area, the lesser's name and annual valuation. Additional information like the presence of a national school in a parish, for example, can point you to other potential research sources. Perhaps there is school roll still extant or a school register entry about an ancestor who was a teacher. Whatever information you manage to take from it, the Valuation is available here to view for free: Griffith's Valuation

One of the ways to try to find out if an ancestor stayed in a given parish after his or her inclusion on the Griffith's Valuation is through the Cancelled or Revision Books. These are so called because of the colourful revisions or handwritten edits. Each time a change in a landholding took place an edit in a particular colour was recorded on the Books, thus allowing us to track what family name is associated with a particular plot from the 1850s up to the 1960s in some cases. It might be the case for example, that all of the revisions for 1916 were allocated the colour red, while revisions for the following year were blue. A change in family name may mean that a marriage occurred and a new son-in-law has taken over a plot or perhaps the family has emigrated and no longer leave any further trace. It is really important to see the Books in their original colour (the LDS Library provides a copy on microfilm in black and white) as these colours and corresponding years provide important context. 

So how does this work in practice?

Glynn Family, Kilbannon, Tuam, Co. Galway.

The Glynns leased land in the townland of Ballygaddy, just outside Tuam town in 1855. This plot included a house, land and garden and was valued at £1. The Cancelled Books allow us to see the changes in the tenure of the plot from the time of Mary Glynn through to her son-in-law Michael Lowry and later to her grandson Joe Lowry and later his brother John right up to the 1950s. The same family own the land today. Incidentally, a headstone from the local graveyard at Kilbannon confirmed the familial relationship. 

Above: An example of the coloured edits from a Co. Galway Valuation record  

The Revision Books are not yet available online for the Republic of Ireland but can be accessed via the Valuation Office, Abbey Street, Dublin. There are some records available for Northern Ireland and can be seen at the PRONI website here: PRONI Valuation Records

Have you gained valuable family history insight through your study of the Griffith's valuation?  We would love to hear your story and you can email it to us at info@irelandxo.com.