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

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

During the current pandemic, when people are advised to stay at home, cultural institutions and record repositories have to look at novel ways of helping the public.  The National Archives of Ireland (NAI) has thought up a way of assisting family history researchers while it remains closed. Since 2003 the NAI has provided its Free Genealogy Advisory Service to visitors to its premises in Bishop Street, Dublin.  The service is run on behalf of the Archives by an external panel of professional genealogists, all holding credentials from Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI).  As people cannot currently avail of the consultation service … Read More

Our next Continuing Professional Development event is open to the public – all welcome! Talk: Using American Records to tear Down Irish Brickwalls When: Friday 17 January, 2.30pm Where: National Library of Ireland   Presented in association with Accredited Genealogists Ireland and the National Library of Ireland, American lecturer and genealogy researcher Kevin Cassidy discusses the collection of collateral records found across the Atlantic. These records may help to solve unanswered Irish research questions.   Kevin Cassidy is an American researcher and lecturer on genealogy topics, with 25 years’ experience. He has also had several pieces published in newsletters and genealogy … Read More

On Friday, 15th February, at the end of the first day of the Back to Our Past family history event / 50-Plus Expo at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, a short presentation was held to mark the election of three retired members of Accredited Genealogists Ireland to the status of Emeritus Members. All three retired members were delighted to be recognised for their contribution over many years to the world of Irish genealogy, particularly in relation to Ulster.  They played no small part in the early development of what is now known as Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI).  Hazel Ervine, Joan Petticrew and … Read More

This coming weekend Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) will be offering free genealogy advice sessions at its stand at Back to Our Past (BTOP) – the annual genealogy and family history experience. BTOP is part of the 50-Plus Expo being held at the Waterfront Hall on Friday and Saturday, 15th & 16th February. Doors open each of the two days at 10am through until 5pm. The Waterfront Hall is found at Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3WH. Convenient car parking can be found at the adjacent Lanyon Car Park. The 50-Plus Expo is Ireland’s only dedicated national consumer event for the over-50s. … Read More

  On Friday, 7th December, at AGI’s 31st Annual General Meeting in Dublin the election was announced of David McElroy as a Fellow of the Association, recognising his decades’ long contribution to the pursuit and study of Irish genealogy. It was in 2004 that Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) established the status of Fellow of the Association to mark significant contributions by members to the world of Irish genealogy. Since then there have only been five elected, with David now being the sixth. Such contributions come in all shapes and sizes: some are very public, while others can be regarded as … Read More