Post Archive by Year

THE DEATH NOTICE OF MARY GLYNN 1838-1923 Clare Doyle MAGI Mary Discan married into the Glynn family on 7 February 1859 when she became the wife of John Glynn, of Kilbannon, Tuam, Co. Galway. It isn’t known when or how the Glynn family came to Kilbannon, or for how long they were living there at the time of the marriage, perhaps they have always been there. Certainly, early maps from the pre-Famine period show a dwelling on the same site as the current house. Locally, it is said that the present two-storey house was once a small, thatched cottage and … Read More

Stevenson Family Home: From Farm House to Bomb Site Brian Mitchell This photograph of the Stevenson family home, Bannview House, at Derrytrasna, near Lurgan, County Armagh was published in a report of historic buildings of Craigavon by Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (1970). The photograph of Bannview House which appeared in this survey shows that the house incorporated a shop and sub-post office. This house, built in 1850s for John Stevenson (my great-great-grandfather), was at one time a linen receiving centre in the age of the cottage weaving industry, where weavers picked up yarn and deposited finished cloth. Bannview was also … Read More

PLOT 9 BALLYGALLY TOWNLAND, INCH PARISH, COUNTY DOWN Beverly Brown. Back in the 1950s, while my grandmother was still alive, she used to talk about the townland of Ballygally, between Killyleagh and Downpatrick. Although her grandparents came from there, it was visiting an elderly aunt in the area that seemed to evoke her strongest memories. She talked about having to clamber over dry stone walls and ditches to reach the cottage. It was many years later before I started to research the family history and even then, it was other branches of the family that held my attention. For a … Read More

On Wednesday 27 October 2021 at 11.00 am, Paul MacCotter, a member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, will give a lecture on ‘Irish Surnames’, as part of the Dublin City Culture Club Ask the Genealogist session with the National Archives. Further details follow this link.  

BAILEBÁN – NOT QUITE WHITEWASHED FROM OUR MEMORY Anne Rodda M.A.G.I. Inscribed on a wall plaque in the parish of Kilbannon, Co. Galway is the name Bailebán.  Local historian Ted Steede, who arranged for the inscription a few years ago, says of the name, which is commonly anglicized as Ballybane: “There are quite a few Ballybane placenames in Ireland. The origins of the name go back to when the labouring classes living in clusters ….. used wetted lime to whitewash their cottages.  The lime was produced in the local limekiln by burning limestone from a local quarry.  Hence the name … Read More

AGI member Tony Hennessy, master of the bespoke family tree, will be revealing his secrets in a talk entitled ‘How to create your family tree’ at the National Archives of Ireland on Culture Night, September 17 next. More details at the National Archives website (https://www.nationalarchives.ie/news/event-culture-night-17-september-2021/).

SAD TRAGEDY NEAR RAHENY Anne-Marie Smith, MAGI Farm Labourer’s Death Unfounded Rumour Disposed of at Inquest. When I was researching my mother’s side of the family tree many years ago, I came across some old newspaper clippings from March 1914, kept in a very old small suitcase wedged inside the back of a wardrobe in my grandparents’ house.   The article appeared in the Dublin Saturday Post on 21st March 1914 and covered the inquest into my granduncle James Kinnane’s (Kennan) sudden death aged 26 years. Apparently James had been out of work for about 6 months due to farm labour … Read More

Veteran AGI member John Grenham has been appointed to the board of the National Library of Ireland. The board’s term runs until 2026. The full list of the new board is at https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/faad6-appointment-of-chair-and-new-members-to-the-board-of-the-national-library-of-ireland/

It is with deep regret that we learned of the peaceful death of our retired Emeritus member, Joan Pettigrew on 11 August 2021 in Co. Down. Joan was one of the founder members of AGI when it was established in Belfast in 1986 and known then as the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI). Her family has notified AGI that a Service of Thanksgiving for Joan’s life will take place on Saturday 14 August at 10.00am in St. Paul’s Parish Centre in Lisburn, followed by interment in Drumee Cemetery, Castlewellan, Co. Down. May she rest in peace. Joan Sharkey, … Read More

Michael Walsh, a member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, will be giving the next online presentation in the series of ‘Ask the Genealogist’ in collaboration with Dublin City Council (DCC) Culture Club and the National Archives of Ireland on Tuesday, 24 August at 11.00am. The lecture will be on Griffith’s Primary Valuation. Full details on the website:- https://cultureclubdublin.ticketsolve.com/shows/873620499