New Website: Irishnewspapers.com

Last week, there was an interesting development for Irish genealogy in the U.S – Newspapers.com (owned by Ancestry.com) has partnered with Ireland-based Irish Newspaper Archives (Irishnewsarchive.com) to launch a US version of this website called Irish Newspapers (Irishnewspapers.com). Confused with all that? Well, this all boils down to there now being a U.S. based website where you can do research in local and national newspapers from Ireland and pay in dollars.

Irish Newspaper Archives has been in existence for a number of years and currently has 46 digitized local and national newspapers. Not all of these papers are available on the US site; 37 titles are by my count. Those that have made the migration to the US site are only available up to 1980, with the earliest year of coverage starting in 1738.

The website has the same format and search functionality as the existing Ancestry newspaper site, Newspapers.com. Currently, Irishnewspapers.com lacks some of the bells and whistles of the parent site but these will probably be added in due course. The search functionality allows for keywords, places and dates. There is a useful ‘Papers’ section where you can get to grips with what papers are available and what time period they cover.

The browse format is very user friendly and you can quickly get to a specific county, title, or date of interest using this feature. There is one very significant error in the way the papers have been allocated in the browse function. All of the newspapers that have national coverage have been placed in the ‘County – Dublin’ section. This is particularly unfortunate as, for example, the Irish Independent and Irish Press are available to search for many years from the 20^th century and families from all over Ireland placed death notices in these papers.

I have been surprised over the last couple of years by the lack of knowledge about the existence of Irish Newspaper Archives among the Irish genealogy community in the U.S. It’s rarely mentioned in the same breath as the well-known Rootsireland.ie and National Archives of Ireland website (genealogy.nationalarchives.ie). I don’t believe that’s the fault of folks on this site of the Atlantic as it’s not heavily advertised or promoted on the ‘starter’ websites, such as the Irish government’s Irishgenealogy.ie.  It will be interesting to see if this will change now that commercial behemoth Ancestry.com is involved. If you plan on doing research on the new site there are two subscription pricing options, $19.99 per month and $99.99 for one year.

Below, you will find a table of all the newspapers that are available on both Irishnewspapers.com (US) and Irishnewsarchive.com (Ireland). Titles in bold are only available on the Ireland-based website and you’ll have to subscribe to that site if you want access to them.

Geographical Coverage	Title	Years Digitized (Format is day/month/year)	Website Availability
Notes:  •They are gaps in the years of coverage that have been digitized                •Table last updated 24 March 2015                •Some papers listed under county Mayo such as Connaught Telegraph and                    Western People also cover counties Galway, Roscommon, Sligo, and Leitrim
National	Freeman’s Journal	03/01/1763 - 19/12/1924	Irishnewspapers.com
National	Irish Examiner	30/08/1841 - 31/12/1949	Irishnewsarchive.com only
National	Irish Farmer’s Journal	16/03/1957 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
National	Irish Independent	02/01/1905 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
National	Irish Press	05/09/1931 - 25/05/1995	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-1995)
National	Sunday Independent	07/01/1906 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Northern Ireland	Belfast Newsletter	09/01/1738 - 30/08/1890	Irishnewspapers.com
Cavan	Anglo-Celt	06/02/1846 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Cork	Skiberreen Eagle	02/01/1882 - 08/07/1922	Irishnewspapers.com
Cork	Southern Star	13/02/1892 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Donegal	Donegal News	14/03/1903 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Dublin	The Nation	15/10/1842 - 05/06/1897	Irishnewspapers.com
Fermanagh	Fermanagh Herald	09/02/2011 - Current	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Galway	Connacht Sentinel	02/08/1927 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Galway	Connacht Tribune	22/05/1909 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Galway	Galway City Tribune	07/09/1984 - Current	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Galway	Tuam Herald	13/05/1837 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Kerry	Kerryman	20/08/1904 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Kerry	Kerry Independent	28/10/1880 - 10/01/1884	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Kerry	Kerry Star	15/05/1861 - 27/03/1863	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Kerry	Killarney Echo & South Kerry Chronicle	26/08/1899 - 14/08/1920	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Kildare	Kildare Observer	23/10/1880 - 04/05/1935	Irishnewspapers.com
Kilkenny	Finn’s Leinster Journal	01/04/1792 - 31/12/1828	Irishnewspapers.com
Kilkenny	Kilkenny People	01/01/1921 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Leitrim	Leitrim Observer	02/01/1904 -Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Limerick	Limerick Leader	02/01/1905 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Longford	Longford Leader	14/08/1897 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Louth	Dundalk Democrat	20/10/1849 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Mayo	Ballinrobe Chronicle	03/02/1866 - 10/09/1903	Irishnewspapers.com
Mayo	Ballina Herald	06/08/1927 - 28/04/1962	Irishnewspapers.com
Mayo	Connaught Telegraph	22/09/1830 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Mayo	Mayo Examiner	06/07/1868 - 30/12/1876	Irishnewspapers.com
Mayo	Mayo News	07/01/1893 – 29/12/2004	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Mayo	Western Journal	03/06/1977 - 11/03/1983	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-1983)
Mayo	Western People	04/05/1889 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Meath	Meath Chronicle	01/05/1897 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Montana	Butte Independent	22/01/1910 - 27/12/1930	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Offaly	Leinster Express	24/09/1831 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Tipperary	Nenagh Guardian	21/07/1838 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Tipperary	Nenagh News	05/01/1895 - 28/12/1924	Irishnewspapers.com
Tyrone	Gaelic Life	14/01/2011 - Current	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Tyrone	Strabane Chronicle	10/02/2011 - Current	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Tyrone	Tyrone Herald	07/02/2011 - Current	Irishnewsarchive.com only
Tyrone	Ulster Herald	15/08/1901 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Waterford	Munster Express	04/01/1908 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)
Westmeath	Westmeath Examiner	28/09/1882 - Current	Irishnewspapers.com (see Irishnewsarchive.com for 1980-Present)

                          

Finding Grandpa Irish Genealogy Videos

Finding Grandpa is a professional genealogy service based in New Mexico. The owner has created a series of 10 videos on YouTube, Building the Bridge Back to Ireland, that provide a step-by-step process for starting your research in the United States and progressing to research in Ireland.

I must disclose that I have not watched these videos but I imagine they would prove useful for those who are starting out with their family history. Topics covered include: cluster genealogy, American records, genealogy websites, Irish records, Griffith's Valuation, and an instructional video of a live lecture.

You can watch all the videos by clicking here.

The Irish Family History Forum Library

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center (FHC) in Plainview, NY is located at 160 Washington Ave. What makes this library stand out from the FHC crowd is that it is home to the John Rowane Memorial Library of the Irish Family History Forum (IFHF). The sole focus of this library is Irish genealogy.

It houses hundreds of publications, reference material, journals, newsletters, and other items that can help you with your research. Irish Family History Forum members are also available to assist you with your research if you visit. Since the library is at a FHC, you can also order microfilms from the Family History Library and access subscription genealogy websites for free.

The opening hours of the library are the same as the FHC and are listed at the end of this post. A catalog of most of the library's collection is also available on the IFHF website. Click here, or scroll down if on the homepage, to read more about the Irish Family History Forum.

Opening Hours

Tuesday: 10:00am-2:00pm and 7:00pm-9:30pm

Wednesday: 10:00am-2:00pm

Thursday: 10:00am-2:00pm and 7:00pm-9:30pm

Saturday: 11:00am-3:00pm

Link to Plainview, NY FHC operational information and contact details.

The Irish Family History Forum

The three biggest Irish genealogy societies in the United States are The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), based in Boston, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI), and the Irish Family History Forum (IFHF), located on Long Island, New York. I have previously profiled TIARA (here and here) and now it is the turn of IFHF. IGSI will be profiled at a later date.

IFHF was founded in 1991 and since then has grown to be the premier Irish genealogy society in the New York metro region. Meetings are held on the third Saturday of every month, except in July and August. For the first hour of the meeting Kathy McGee, who I can vouch for as an Irish genealogy expert, runs a help session where different topics are discussed, patrons can ask questions,  and provide success stories about their research. A guest speaker comes for the second hour of the meeting. Meetings are held in Bethpage Public Library, starting at 10am.

The IFHF also produces an award-winning quarterly newsletter. This publication is a fantastic resource to get in your mailbox every few months. In-depth articles, the latest Irish genealogy news, and people’s experiences with their research are just some of the excellent features that one can read. Even if you live nowhere near Long Island, it is worth being a member just for the newsletter.

You can consult their website for more information about the Irish Family History Forum. You can also interact with them on Facebook.

Note: I must disclose that I have been a member of this organization, on and off, since I first moved to the United States. They have also, very kindly, had me speak a number of times at their meeting in the last few years. 

Finding The Irish in Ohio

The March/April edition of Irish Lives Remembered genealogy magazine is out and in this edition I've written about genealogy research in Ohio. As usual, the article discusses general genealogy resources and records/repositories that can specifically aid Irish research.

Click here for access.

Talks At DC Area Conference

Later this month, on Friday 27^th and Saturday 28^th, I will be pontificating about Irish genealogy at the Fairfax County Genealogical Society Spring Conference. My main contribution will be four lectures that I will give on the Saturday. Full details are available at the end of this post. On the Friday, beginning at 5:30pm, I will be available for one-on-one expert sessions, each lasting 30 minutes.

You can find all the details and how to book tickets at the conference website. 

9:00-10:00am Finding Your Irish Townland of Origin: Research in the U.S. and Ireland 

9:00-10:00am Advanced Irish Genealogy: Delving Further into Irish Sources

1:15-2:15pm Cemetery and Headstone Research in Ireland

2:45-3:45pm Planning a Genealogy Trip to Ireland, 

Venue: Fairfax Marriott Hotel, 11787 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway,Fairfax, VA 22033.

Opinion: Ireland's Diaspora Policy And Genealogy

The Irish government released their first diaspora policy document last week. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy reads for almost sixty pages and outlines a number of aims and objectives under five broad thematic areas: support, connect, facilitate, recognize, and evolve. I've read through the document and offer observations on how using genealogy in the U.S. to help Irish Americans find their ancestors' place of origin can contribute to some of these areas.

Connect

Connect: in an inclusive way with those, of all ages, around the world who are Irish, of Irish descent or have a tangible connection to Ireland, and wish to maintain a connection with Ireland and with each other[1]

To put it simply, it's as if genealogy and this statement should go hand in hand. Probably the greatest way that this connection can happen for many such people in the U.S is through discovering where their ancestors came from in Ireland. For me, this involves a two-strand approach. Recent Irish government policy has fully recognized one strand and has made strides in the last few years to make it happen: digitizing genealogy records and putting them online. This was first seen with the phenomenal success of the 1901 and 1911 Irish census. Further efforts have included the irishgenealogy.ie website and the digitization of Catholic parish records, coming online later this year. However, probably through a lack of understanding, they don't realized the second, and equally important strand: helping people in the U.S.to find where their Irish ancestors came from by finding that information in U.S. based genealogy records. If Irish Americans don't first achieve this, then all the searching in the world through Irish records will not help in the majority of circumstances. I discuss how this can be achieved at the end of this post.

One effort that has not been successful is the Certificate of Irish Heritage. The diaspora policy says as much, "uptake of the Certificates has been disappointing, with fewer than 3,000 having been produced to date. We will continue to work with FEXCO to promote the scheme around the world to drive interest. Before the end of 2015, we will undertake an evaluation of the operation of the Certificate of Irish Heritage scheme, in partnership with FEXCO, to plan effectively for the future."[2] While it might look nice on a wall, I would wager a sizeable amount that members of the Irish diaspora in the U.S. would much rather have a genealogy record that tells them what parish their immigrant Irish ancestor came from.

Facilitate

Facilitate: a wide range of activity at local, national and international level designed to build on and develop two-way diaspora engagement[3]

Within Ireland, successful genealogy events such as those organized during the 2013 Gathering (e.g. Relatives of Ned Kelly gather in Tipperary, May 2013) and by the Ireland Reaching Out organization show the positive impact on local communities when people are able to find where their ancestors are from in Ireland. This benefits all involved: the diaspora member through a closer connection to the part of Ireland their ancestor emigrated from, the local community and its inhabitants through increased visits to the area, and the county as a whole through genealogy-driven tourism.

Recognize

Recognize: the wide variety of people who make up our diaspora and the important ongoing contribution that they have made, both individually and collectively, in shaping our development and our identity[4]

Without trying to get up on too much of a high horse, a moral argument can be made for helping the diaspora to find out where their ancestors came from due to the sheer economic return they have provided to Ireland. From the remittances in the 19th and 20th centuries through to the millions of tourist visits to Ireland, the economic capital that has returned to Ireland is in the billions.

A much more down-to-earth economic argument can be made too. Irish Americans who have ideas and capital to invest in Ireland are probably more likely to do so if they know where their ancestors are from. From the report: "Henry Ford’s father, William Ford, was born in Ballinascarthy, West Cork, in 1826 and emigrated, initially to Canada and then to the United States. On a trip to Ireland in 1912, Henry Ford visited the area to reconnect with his roots. In 1917, Henry Ford established a factory manufacturing tractors in Cork. This was to become the first Ford plant in Europe, which at its peak employed 1,800 people. The plant, which ceased production in 1984, had an enormous impact on the life of Cork city and county both economically and socially."[5] Chuck Feeney, too, springs to mind. A descendant of a Fermanagh emigrant who ended up in New Jersey, he has donated over $1 billion to universities in Ireland, of which a large portion went to my alma mater, University of Limerick.[6]

Funding

Where can the money come from to provide funding for such genealogy efforts in the U.S? Luckily, there is money earmarked for such ventures, it just needs to end up with the right organizations. The Irish government's Department of Foreign Affairs administers funding each year through the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP). Almost $13 million will be allocated in 2015 and any organization who thinks they qualify can apply.

Table 1: 2013-2015 Emigrant Support Programme Funding
Year	Total Funding	Allocation to U.S. organizations
2015	€12,595,000[7]	Money not yet allocated
2014	€11,595,000[8]	Figures not yet published
2013	€10,539,850[9]	€1,571,726[10]

The main focus of the ESP is the welfare of Irish emigrants abroad and the majority of funding goes to a broad coalition of emigrant support organizations. However, a sizable portion is also allocated to organizations that focus on Irish culture and heritage  The following funding was provided to cultural and heritage organizations in the U.S. in 2013, the year for which the most recent figures are available.

Table 2: U.S. Cultural/Heritage Organizations Who Received Funding in 2013[11]
Organization	Location	Amount Received
American Irish Historical Society	New York, NY	€55,535
Glucksman Ireland House, New York University	New York, NY	€24,421
Hudson Valley Irish Festival	Peekskill, NY	€6,800
Irish American Heritage Museum	Albany, NY	€7,347
Irish Cultural Center of New England	Canton, MA	€82,863
Mission of our Lady of the Holy Rosary Heritage Project at Watson House	New York, NY	€18,737
Society of Commodore John Barry	Philadelphia, PA	€6,759
The University of Montana	Missoula, MT	€28,852
TOTAL		€231,314

Very few of these organizations engage in genealogy activity, but two excellent examples stand out. The Irish American Heritage Museum has a resident genealogist who is available to assist people with their research.[12] The Mission of our Lady of the Holy Rosary Heritage Project in New York City digitized ledgers that are very useful for Irish genealogy research in 1880-1920 New York City and made them freely available online (see my blog post from this time last year). Between them, they received just 11.3% of the funding.

One can think of many exciting Irish genealogy projects and organizations here in the U.S. that could put such funding to fantastic use: the Troy Irish Genealogy Society's database creation efforts, the Irish Family History Forum's parish register indexing efforts, grants to Irish genealogy groups for subscriptions to commercial genealogy websites, grants to Irish cultural centers for genealogy programs and consultation, etc., etc., etc.

Conclusion

There needs to be a greater effort by those in charge of diaspora policy to make the ESP better know to genealogy organizations and those very organizations also have to take it on themselves to apply for funding. Ultimately, such efforts would help Irish Americans to find where their ancestors came from in Ireland and add to three of the thematic areas of focus in the policy document - connect, facilitate, recognize.

Overall the document strikes quite a positive tone for those who make up part of the diaspora due to ancestors who emigrated for Ireland, stating that "for many, the linkages to Ireland are a significant element of their personal identity, regardless of how many generations of their family have lived outside Ireland."[13] The proof, of course, is always in the actions that come following the issuance of such a policy document. I believe that the points mentioned above show the vital role that genealogy can play in achieving the goals of the Irish government's diaspora policy.

---

[1] Department of Foreign Affairs. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy. 2015. Available online at https://www.dfa.ie/media/globalirish/global-irish-irelands-diaspora-policy.pdf: accessed 4 March 2015. p. 4.

[2] Department of Foreign Affairs. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy. 2015. p. 50

[3] Department of Foreign Affairs. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy. 2015. p.4

[4] Ibid.

[5] Department of Foreign Affairs. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy. 2015. p. 20.

[6] Dwyer, Jim. Out of Sight, Till Now, and Giving Away Billions. New York Times. September 26, 2007.

[7] Department of Foreign Affairs. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy. 2015. p. 26.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Dept.of Foreign Affairs. 2013 Emigrant Grant Summary. 2014. https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/alldfawebsitemedia/ourrolesandpolicies/ESP-Funding-2013.pdf: accessed 4March 2015.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Disclosure: this genealogist is Lisa Walsh Dougherty. She has written posts for this blog.

[13] Department of Foreign Affairs. Global Irish: Irish Diaspora Policy. 2015. p. 11.

Genealogy Radio Show Interview

The Genealogy Radio Show is broadcast on Thursdays on the county Clare based community radio station, Radió Corca Baiscinn. Host and genealogist, Lorna Maloney, interviews other genealogist about various topics of interest.

The show has been on air since last year and has already had a stellar line-up of Irish genealogy experts, such as Brian Donovan, Fiona Fitzsimons, and Dr. Paul MacCotter.

I was recently interviewed and it is now available to listed on podcast. Click here to listen.

Each week, you can listen live to the show at 4pm Irish time/11am Eastern. Click the "Listen Live" button, on the right hand side of station's webpage. You can also listen back to all previous episodes via podcast.

March Talks In New York & New Jersey

I will be giving three lectures this month in New York and New Jersey. This Saturday (7th), I'll be out on Long Island at the public library in Holbrook for my Finding Your Irish Townland of Origin: Research in the U.S. and Ireland talk. On the 21st, I'll be at Bay Shore-Brightwaters Public Library, also on Long Island. There I will be speaking about Getting Started on Your Irish Family History. The next day, I'll be appearing at the Savor the Arts of Ireland festival in Middleton, New Jersey, to speak again about Finding Your Irish Townland of Origin: Research in the U.S. and Ireland. It would be great to see some blog readers, do come up and say hello!

Saturday, 7 March: Finding Your Irish Townland of Origin: Research in the U.S. and Ireland, with Joe Buggy. Host: Sachem Public Library. Venue:  Sachem Public Library, 150 Holbrook Road, Holbrook, NY 11741. 1-3pm, free to all. For more details, contact

AnneMarie.Tognella@sachemlibrary.org.

Saturday, 21 March: Getting Started on Your Irish Family History, with Joe Buggy. Host: Bay Shore-Brightwaters Public Library. Venue, Bay Shore-Brightwaters Public Library, 1 South Country Road, Brightwaters, NY 11718. 12-2pm, free to all. For more details, contact afitzgerald@bsbwlibrary.org.

Sunday, 22 March: Finding Your Irish Townland of Origin: Research in the U.S. and Ireland, with Joe Buggy. Host: Savor the Arts of Ireland Festival. Venue: Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748. 1-3pm, tickets $5. Contact jpacker@middletownnj.org for more information.