Post Archive by Year

INSPECTION Clare Doyle MAGI This image was taken near Tuam, Co. Galway and is thought to show an inspection by the Office of Public Works. Michael (Midie) Forry who lived in Tuam was a ganger working on Galway’s roads and had the photo in his possession. It’s thought that Midie is pictured on the left. The National Archives of Ireland holds the archives of the OPW including ledgers, journals and other assorted material relating to island navigation, the building of roads, bridges, piers and harbours, Land Act Loans, Church Fund Loans and other material. A database has been compiled of … Read More

At our recent Annual General Meeting it was announced that AGI Members Máire Mac Conghail and Helen Kelly have been elected Fellows of the Association.  Under its constitution, AGI may award Fellowship in recognition of “invaluable service…to AGI” or a “particularly outstanding contribution to the study of Irish genealogy”. As an 18 year old student Máire Mac Conghail (then called Doran) worked as a freelance researcher for the Genealogical Office and after graduating in the early 1960s she began practicing independently as a professional genealogist. After marriage and a number of years spent rearing her family, she returned to professional … Read More

On Monday 7 December at 7pm (Irish time) the National Library of Ireland is hosting a presentation on Zoom, ‘Rolling back the Road: A Journey In Irish Traveller Family History’.  Tony Hennessy, MAGI, and Michael Collins of Pavee Point will discuss a project carried out over the last few years which was co-ordinated by Tony Hennessy.  It culminated with the construction of large family tree charts.  Three of these were presented to the National Library in December 2019.  To attend this free online talk it is necessary to book here: https://nli.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173606173  

We had our 33rd Annual General Meeting on Tuesday morning. Though we were founded in 1986, in our first two years we had two separate branches: one based in Belfast and the other in Dublin. That is why our first overall AGM took place in 1988. Over the years we have had AGMs in various locations in Belfast and Dublin. This year’s was the first held online. How times have changed!

Having formally retired from professional genealogy, Justin Homan Martin has been elected an Emeritus Member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland in recognition of his many years of committed service to the Association and Irish genealogy. Justin began his career as a professional genealogist in 1984, receiving credentials from AGI in 1992, which was then known as APGI – the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland. In addition to running a very successful practice covering all aspects of genealogical research, but with a specialisation in seventeenth and eighteenth century sources, Justin also undertook probate, adoption and general historical research. His work has … Read More

In October Members of Accredited Genealogists Ireland participated in an online Genealogy Q&A event in collaborarion with Dublin City Council’s (DCC) Culture Company and the National Archives of Ireland. Virtual participation at meetings and lectures, through the process of Zoom, was practically unknown prior to March this year, when the highly contagious coronavirus appeared and took over the way we live our everyday lives. Over the past few months, under the auspices of the Culture Club (part of DCC’s Culture Company) AGI  – via Zoom – has given a number of virtual presentations, one of which was a successful Genealogy … Read More

AGI is pleased to welcome Jillian van Turnhout as the newest Affiliate of Accredited Genealogists Ireland.  Jillian has a national profile outside the sphere of ancestral research, having been a member of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Irish parliament.  As well as being a former Senator, she is a current member of the Board of the Arts Council of Ireland.  Jillian has been involved in family history for nearly two decades and in recent years she has concentrated on developing that interest professionally. Jillian is the 17th person to be admitted as an AGI Affiliate since the Affiliate … Read More

On Thursday, 1st October AGI Members and Affiliates attended a CPD event via Zoom. It was our first such event and we were pleased to be joined by Scottish colleagues, members of ASGRA – Association of Scottish Genealogists and Researchers in Archives. Over the course of an hour, AGI founder member John Grenham spoke about running an Irish genealogy website. He touched on the history of the early, formative years of genealogy on the internet, and the stumbling blocks and hurdles he had faced since in arriving at his current website, www.johngrenham.com, and the current edition of the book no … Read More

This year Back to our Past is not just a month early, but it’s also online. Virtual BTOP takes place over the weekend of 18-20 September 2020. For just €10 anyone, anywhere in the world, will be able to pick and choose from the various talks and online articles on offer. On the BTOP page just click the BOOK EVENT icon to register. Accredited Genealogists Ireland will, as usual, be involved in the event. Six AGI Members have recorded a series of introductory talks, helping people to navigate the main online sources for Irish genealogy, concentrating primarily on free databases. … Read More

It was with deep sadness that we learned of the death of our colleague Gerry Kennedy, MAGI.  Gerry had been part of the AGI ‘family’ for a decade.  He was admitted to membership in August 2010 and his was a familiar face at almost all of our gatherings ever since.  He died on Wednesday, 19th August. Gerry had a lifelong interest in family and local history.  In 2005 he obtained an MA in the History of the Family from the University of Limerick.  In his first professional career Gerry worked in the Department of Employment and Social Protection, in the … Read More