"...to seek and to find the past, a lineage, a history, a family built on a flesh and bone foundation."

Friday, June 24, 2011

Genealogy: a prime topic, especially in Ireland

Perhaps I have donned my rose-coloured glasses yet again, but honestly I cannot think of another country in the world in which the subject of genealogy would be a topic for discussion on the floor of the houses of government, but that is exactly what took place in the Dáil Éireann, earlier this week, on Wednesday, 22 June 2011.

Directly quoting from the Houses of the Oireachtas debate:

Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht:

"if he will set up a central genealogy service to capitalise on the recent visit by President Obama in view of the fact that it would provide a comprehensive research facility to the Irish diaspora worldwide and contribute greatly to attract these persons to Ireland."

Jimmy Deenihan, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht replied:

"My approach to genealogical services is to assist the two main national institutions involved in this area which are under the aegis of my Department, the National Archives and the National Library, to make available to the public the records of genealogical interest in their collections, online and free of charge, to gain the highest usage domestically and around the world."

Deputy Deenihan goes on to describe the other initiatives underway to ensure the greatest access of materials to the greatest number of people. He includes mention of http://www.irishgenealogy.ie/index.html, not currently my favourite site, given the snail's pace at which it is updated, but clearly a site which will be of great value once the work is complete.

Further, he makes reference to the fact that the release of the 1926 Census remains in legal limbo, but again, at least they are working on it. There is also discussion of creating a main web portal in order to draw together Irish genealogical web resources currently in use.

To read the entire debate visit The Houses of Oireachtas website debates page.

The significance of all of this is that the Irish government continues to recognize the importance of genealogy. Given the fact that it is good business to give people what they want, some will no doubt see this as a money grab, with the sole purpose of boosting tourism; however, as a researcher, I can only view it as a good thing.

Cheers to all, and Happy Hunting.

Jennifer

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

What does it mean to say "I am an Irish Citizen."?

Father: Irish Born, Irish Citizen
Mother: Irish Born, Irish Citizen
Brother: Irish Born, Irish Citizen
Me: Canadian Born, Irish Citizen?

Under Irish law, because it is the case that my mother and my father are Irish born, and were Irish citizens at the time of my birth, I am automatically an Irish citizen.

BUT...

What does it truly mean to say, "I am an Irish citizen"?

Strictly speaking, to be an Irish citizen means that I am a member of a political community, specifically the nation of the Republic of Ireland. With Irish citizenship come certain legal rights; for example, I am allowed to travel on an Irish passport. Ireland is a member of the European Union (EU); therefore, as an Irish citizen I am free to live and work in any member country of the EU. No residence or work permits are necessary for me. It all sounds very nice and uncomplicated; however, with rights come responsibilities, so what is required of me as an Irish citizen?

As an Irish citizen living outside of Ireland there is little required of me, at least in legal terms. I am not allowed to vote in Irish elections, nor am I allowed to be a jury member. I am an Irish citizen, but I am on the outside looking in. In some respects it appears as though the legal designation is a meaningless one; however, for me being a citizen of Ireland is more than just a legal or political designation. To be a citizen is to represent the country of Ireland in the best possible way. Perhaps this explains my tendency to "get my knickers in a knot" when I feel as though Irish research is being misrepresented.

A few years ago when I attended an Irish women's history conference, I had a discussion with a couple of Irish academics about the way in which Ireland is viewed by citizens living outside the country. In the case of my parents, and some other family members who had emigrated out of Ireland, it seemed to me as though their idea of Ireland was frozen in time, as if the country remained exactly as it was when they left it. It also appeared that over time their view of Ireland had changed. In their estimation it now seemed as though the country was a sort of dream-like place, a place without hardship or conflict, a place to look upon with only fond memories. I asked the academics if they thought that ex-patriot Irish could really understand what Ireland was like today. They said that they thought there might be a tendency to view the country through rose-coloured glasses. This certainly makes sense to me.

It seems to me as though to 'lose' a country, by emigrating, is almost like losing a loved one. When we look back over the life we shared with a now deceased family member, the troubles between us lose their edge and fade into the background. The happy times, and all that was good about that individual, come marching into the fore. Perhaps the same holds true for the immigrant when they are no longer "legally responsible" for the country of which they are a citizen. Perhaps an immigrant wants to remember, and to bring to their new country, only all the best of what they knew in their homeland.

In many ways I have taken on my parents' ideal of what Ireland is. It is only when I travel to do research, and meet with family members who still live in Ireland, that I get a very small taste of exactly how things are politically and economically. Despite that, I have always loved the country of Ireland, and it is still my dream to one day live there in the person of a 'real' citizen. Although I may be viewing it through rose-coloured glasses, I am proud to say I am a citizen of Ireland.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Tuesday's Tip: Irish Records Updates on 'Finding Family: Research Aids' page

On this Tuesday's Tip I am passing along updates for sites I have listed on my page "Finding Family: Research Aids", as well as additions to the page itself. I add to this page anytime I find a site that proves to be helpful.

Cheers and Happy Hunting to you!

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New portal website for finding search accessible archival collections:

The Irish Archives Resource (IAR) is a web portal that enables researchers to search for publicly accessible archival collections that are located in Ireland. The IAR is funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland and is supported by the Archives and Records Association (Ireland). This portal is useful now, depending on your research interests, and with the possibility of future institutional partnerships, it holds the promise of growing into a far reaching and valuable resource.

They describe it as follows:

"The IAR consists of an online database which provides searchable archival descriptions that are created in accordance with national archival guidelines and international archival standards. Web links from each descriptive entry lead to repository home pages, detailed item level finding aids, databases, or digital objects.

The purpose of the IAR Portal is to:
  • Allow users to locate archival collections that are relevant to their research.
  • Stimulate the increased use of archival collections across the whole of Ireland by directing researchers to the relevant repositories/archives services.
  • Encourage the development and publication of comprehensive, standardised archival descriptions.
  • Facilitate access to documents/items by linking to detailed finding aids/descriptive lists, web pages, or digital objects, that are held, for example, on the web site of each repository/archives service."

Link to the site here: http://www.iar.ie/AboutUs.html

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Irish Family History Foundation: Wicklow Church Marriage Records

The IFHF is pleased to announce the online addition of 95,000 church marriage records from the Wicklow Family History Centre for Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes in Co. Wicklow. See the Wicklow Sources List for full details.

Use this link and login using your existing IFHF login details.
http://wicklow.rootsireland.ie

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Ancestry Ireland (Ulster Historical Foundation)"Explore Ulster's History and Genealogy":

These records are not just limited to the modern day state of Northern Ireland, but cover the Province of Ulster, including areas which are not part of Northern Ireland.

Here is a full listing of all that they have in their database, including newly added records:
http://www.ancestryireland.com/database.php

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Cemeteries

I've added a link to the Irish cemetery pages at Interment.net. Despite the fact that it's a bit of an eyesore, I've also added a 'Find A Grave' customized search box for graves in Ireland.

Interment.net: Ireland and Northern Ireland pages:

http://www.interment.net/ireland/index.htm

Find A Grave: Irish Cemeteries:

See 'Find A Grave' customized search box on 'Finding Family: Research Aids' page.

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The National Library of Ireland Digital Photographic: You don't have to pay Ancestry.com in order to view photographs from the National Library Digital Photographic Archive. Just click on the link below, which I've added to my research page, and you will be able to access over 33,000 digital images, including those from the collections of Lawrence, the Keogh Brothers, and the Irish Independent newspaper.

National Library of Ireland Digital Photographic Archive

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Copyright© J.Geraghty-Gorman 2011.
Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the great graphic.

Friday, June 10, 2011

New page for this blog: Faces of Genealogy

Last week Thomas MacEntee alerted us to the publication, by an L.A. newspaper (which shall remain nameless), of an offensive image within the body of an article about the SCGS Jamboree. At that time Thomas asked us to publish images on our blogs which feature the faces of those people who represent the face of genealogy for us.

When I saw the outpouring of photographs and articles on this topic, I felt so very proud of all of us who are members of the GeneaBloggers community. Personally, this exercise was very meaningful, because it meant I took the time to go through all of the images I have in order to look for that defining one which is, for me, "The Face of Genealogy". Ultimately I ended up publishing a grouping of photographs which I thought fit the bill.

In light of the fact that doing this meant so much to me, I have decided to create another page for this blog. On this page, which is entitled "Faces of Genealogy", I have published photographs which are especially meaningful to me. I hope that you will enjoy viewing them as much as I do. As I have stated at the top of the new page, "These are the faces of some of my family members. These are the faces of some of those who have inspired me, driven me to do research, and haunted my dreams. These are the faces of my family history and genealogy."
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