March 4th Date for Genealogy Workshop

At the Genealogy Workshop at the River Island Hotel in November were: Catriona Dunlea, Jackie Dwyer, Mary and Maeve Howard, Pat Mitchell and Jennifer O'Sullivan-Coffey. ©Photograph: John Reidy
At the Genealogy Workshop at the River Island Hotel in November were: Catriona Dunlea, Jackie Dwyer, Mary and Maeve Howard, Pat Mitchell and Jennifer O’Sullivan-Coffey. ©Photograph: John Reidy

NEWKD and East Kerry Roots have joined forces to present a genealogy show at the River Island Hotel in Castleisland on Friday, March 4th.at 7-30pm.
This is a follow-up to a taster they provided at the same venue last November – but on the same night as the packed Bank of Ireland Expo at the nearby Castleisland Community Centre. They said they’d be back when the time was right – and here they are.
“The March 4th event will display family trees and it will also provide information on how to start compiling one,” said Maura O’Leary from the NEWKD office.

Preparing for Exhibition

Event co-organisers, Jennifer O’Sullivan-Coffey and Pat Mitchell have been preparing for this exhibition over the past few months. While they will be delighted to facilitate people wishing to dip a toe in the sea of genealogy for the first time, they will also be looking at where the roots of all the different family trees lead to.

There is an increasing collection of old Kerry newspapers now on the Irish Newspaper Archive.
There is an increasing collection of old Kerry newspapers now on the Irish Newspaper Archive website.

“We are particularly interested in talking to people who have done their own family research so that we can match it with the many we have done. By comparison we may well be able to link new discoveries to more established research and throw another light and link into the mix, “said Pat Mitchell.

“If you want to produce a family tree, start with yourself. Then talk to your parents and all older relatives.” This was the key point made by a panel of experts at the November 13th. workshop.

Nuggets of Advice

The organisers of that event sent the following nuggets of advice to anyone wishing to start the rooting process ahead of the March 4th gathering.
To start a family tree use familyecho.com to provide a structure. It’s a great resource with a simple family tree builder included. For information going back further than that available from the living sources there are further online resources. The census records of 1901 and 1911 are a wonderful source.
Irishgenealogy.ie has official records going back to 1840 for state records and 1820 for church records.
“There were three reasons for our workshops: To display a selection of local family trees; to compare family trees and find links and to assist people in starting a family tree,” said Mr. Mitchell.

Irish Newspaper Archive

If you want more information of the topic of family research you can contact: Pat Mitchell on 087 28 40 528 or Jennifer on 087 94 93 45.
You can also log into the recommended website with a click on the link here: www.familyecho.com

And there is at least a dozen old and current Kerry newspapers now on line in the Irish Newspaper Archive website.