Post Archive by Month

A recent article in the Irish Echo, a New York Irish-American newspaper, extolled the contribution of one of Accredited Genealogists Ireland’s (AGI) former presidents to the world of Irish genealogy and to wider civil society. Steven Smyrl has been a member of AGI for over thirty years, and during that time has achieved significant success not only in improving the data recorded in Irish civil registration records, but also in gaining public access to records of great use to genealogists. Steven’s work in probate genealogy made him all too aware of the shortcomings in data recorded in death registrations in … Read More

The popular collaboration between City Colleges and Accredited Genealogists Ireland will run the Certificate in Family History Foundation Course during the summer term. The aim is to deliver comprehensive courses in family history research for the dedicated amateur and budding professional alike. The “Professional Certificate in Family History Research” takes place online every Thursday evening from 27th April 2023, over the course of ten weeks.  Lectures are given by AGI members who are recognised experts in their field. Students are introduced to the building blocks of genealogy: Civil records Church records Census records In addition they then guided through exciting resources, … Read More

PAYING THE RENT Aidan Feerick B.A., M.A.G.I & Tony Hennessy M.A.G.I. Our farming ancestors paid their rents twice a year on what were known as Gale Days. One was Lady Day (25 March) and the other was Michaelmas (29 September). This practice of the periodic payment of rents varied between estates. Payment could be in cash or in kind; turf, oats, barley, or animals were sometimes accepted in lieu of rent. Sometimes, tenants paid a part or all their rent by working for the landlord. At other times, agents traveled around the estate collecting the rent; in some places, the … Read More

Gillian Johnson, having utilised the Association’s Affiliate Programme, has now been admitted into Membership of Accredited Genealogists Ireland. Over the years Gill Johnson has developed her approach to genealogical research by extensively investigating and documenting her own family history. She has been fascinated with genealogy from an early age, evident in the many interviews she conducted with older family members, recording family lore for future generations. In her professional life, for almost a decade Gill has been working with Timeline, a Dublin-based genealogical research company run by fellow AGI Member, Nicola Morris. As an employee of Timeline, Gill has undertaken … Read More

On Saturday 18th March, AGI Member Sandra Doble gave an online lecture entitled ‘Researching Your Church of Ireland Ancestors’ to the New York based genealogy society, The Irish Family History Forum (IFHF). Her talk particularly examined Church of Ireland parish registers and the challenges of using these resources given so many were destroyed in 1922 in the fire which consumed the Public Record Office of Ireland. Despite the destruction, there survives many transcripts and abstracts which help to plug the gaps. Sandra also covered a myriad of other resources pertaining to Church of Ireland families, including vestry minutes books, marriage … Read More