Calendar

Oct 20 @ 19:30 – 20:30

Speaker: Anne Johnston, NIFHS

Anne is a DNA Project Administrator in the North of Ireland Family History Society, where her lead project is the Islandmagee DNA Project. She has recruited over 250 DNA testers with at least one grandparent from Islandmagee, a peninsula and parish on the east coast of County Antrim. She and her team are analysing the DNA matches from autosomal, Y and mitochondrial DNA to build up a picture of the ancestry of the area going back in time. She is also involved in the overarching North of Ireland DNA Project and other local Projects being taken forward by the Society, such as the Belfast City Cemetery and Ballycarry DNA Projects. Anne is also the Data Protection Officer for the Society which includes monitoring compliance with data protection legislation, an important aspect of processing personal information in the DNA Projects. Anne has been researching her own family tree, on and off, for over 60 years but nowadays spends most of her time helping others with their family history research.

In her presentation Anne will outline the objectives of the Islandmagee DNA Project and her approach to it. The project is still ongoing but she will report on progress, the benefits of a project-based approach and some of the issues faced.

Attendance for members is free, just mail info@ifhs.ie to register, non-members can buy tickets in the Shop.

Oct

2026

IFHS Members’ Interests Meet-Ups

Oct 24 all-day

There will be 2 sessions during the day to try and suit as many of of members as possible re time zones.

Session 1: 10am Dublin time

Session 2: 4pm Dublin time

The purpose of the meet ups is to discuss members’ queries regarding their research so do please send in any queries in advance so we can prep some answers to help get the discussion started.

Nov

2026

IFHS: Conference: The Story Of The Irish Diaspora – Emigration and Immigration

Nov 21 all-day

The theme of this year’s conference is Emigration. We will hosted at The Fumbally in Dublin. The day will include 5 talks plus lunch and will be available to attend both in person or via Zoom.

9.30am Registration

10 am Mel Howes, Chairperson Opening Remarks
10.10 Raymond Keogh
11.15 Brian Donovan
12.30 Mel Howes
1-2 Lunch
2pm Gerard Moran
3.15 Cathy Scuffil
4.30 Mel Howes Conclusion

Cathy Scuffil: Reverse Emigration – Residents of Dublin’s South Circular Road before the First World War

Cathy Scuffil’s work on the South Circular Road is one of the most detailed social histories of the area. Her book, The South Circular Road, Dublin, on the Eve of the First World War, is based primarily on the 1911 census, which combined street directories, parish records, valuation records and other archival sources to reconstruct who lived along the road and how the neighbourhood functioned. One of the most interesting findings was that the South Circular Road was far less “local” than many people assume, the road attracted migrants from across Ireland and much further afield. Among the many Dublin-born residents, large sections of the population had been born elsewhere. The road acted as a transition zone between the city centre and the suburbs, attracting people who had moved to Dublin for work and education purposes reflecting the city’s role as the country’s administrative and commercial centre in the decades before independence.

Brian Donovan: Title: Finding the Irish in Australia and New Zealand

Brian Donovan is an academic historian and digital heritage leader with more than 25 years’ experience in family history, archives and historical publishing. He has worked with local and national cultural institutions to initiate and manage major digitisation projects that helped bring millions of Irish records and newspaper pages online. He is currently Strategic Growth Lead for the History division of DC Thomson (owners of Findmypast). He holds a PhD in History and is passionate about creating user-focused, sustainable historical products and resources.

Talk description: Discover how Irish migrants settled in Australia and New Zealand, and how different records can help you rebuild their stories across generations.

Mel Howes: UK records and Irish immigration

Mel is Chairperson of the IFHS and works with technology in her day job. She first became interested in genealogy 20 years ago and has been compiling an ever-growing family tree with roots spread across England, Ireland and Scotland. More recently she has completed the Intermediate and Advanced Family History Skills and Strategies certificates from Pharos Tutors and the Society of Genealogists.

Talk description: This short talk will provide a quick overview of key resources in England & Wales and Scotland that are of use to the Irish researcher following families who emigrated from Ireland.

Gerard Moran: ‘In Search of the Promised Land’: Family Emigration to North America in the Nineteenth Century.

Gerard lectured in the History Department at NUI Galway and Maynooth University. He has published extensively on 19th-century Ireland, including Sending Out Ireland’s Poor: Assisted Emigration to North America in the Nineteenth Century (Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2004), Fleeing from Famine in Connemara: James Hack Tuke and his Assisted Emigration Scheme in the 1880s (Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2018) and joint editor of Mayo: History and Society (Dublin, Geography Publication, 2015); and the Famine Heroes of Ireland’s Great Hunger series with Christine Kinealy. His most recent publication is Children in the Workhouse: Following the footsteps of Mary Fielding (Galway County Council, 2026).

Talk description: Throughout the nineteenth century Ireland’s greatest export was her people with an estimated eight million leaving the country between 1815 and 1914. The majority leaving during this period were young and single, primarily aged between 16 and 24 years emigrating in search of a better life for economic and societal reasons. Between 1847 and 1848, 45 per cent of those leaving were in this age cohort and in 1881 the figure was 57 per cent. North America was the main destination for the Irish emigrant with 5.3 million leaving between 1845 and 1914. Families who wanted to leave found it difficult pay for the passage fares across the Atlantic and large numbers depended on friends and relations already settled in North America to provide the money. However, there was another group who did not have this option and were assisted by the government, the Poor Law, landlords and philanthropists. There is a great contrast between those assisted by landlords and the families helped by philanthropists. Landowners saw families with small holdings as a deadweight and while they paid for their passage, made little or no provision for when the families arrived in North America. Those assisted by philanthropists like James Hack Tuke and Fr. John Nugent planned and provided help from the time they left Ireland till they reached their destinations in North America. These tended to have a better life in their new homes.

Raymond M. Keogh: Cognidem & Complementarity of Men & Women in Emigration.

Raymond is the director of Our Own Identity. His approach to family history combines his scientific background with decades of work in international forestry and developmental organisations. He has engaged with family history and identity research societies and spent more than 50 years researching his own complex family story. He is author of Shelter & Shadows (2016).
Talk description: In his presentation, he dives into the relationship between cognition and identity (i.e., ‘Cognidem’) through the ground-breaking Southeast Ireland & Newfoundland Identity Project (SINIP), which uses Big Y-DNA-700 testing to uncover remarkable links between families in southeast Ireland and Newfoundland.

Timeslots to be confirmed. Both members and non-members must buy tickets for this event in the Shop.

Jan

Fri

IFHS Workshop: How To Use your DNA Results – Session 1

Jan 15 all-day

Facilitator: Claire Bradley, assisted by Frances Daly

Claire Bradley is a professional Irish genealogist working with both paper records and genetic genealogy. She holds a Certificate in Genealogy from University College Dublin and a Masters in History of the Family from the University of Limerick. Claire is passionate about teaching people how to research their own ancestry. She teaches a beginners’ adult education course now running for over 15 years covering all the Irish major sources in Malahide and regularly lectures both in person and online to a wide range of family history and historical societies in Ireland and countries with Irish diasporas. Her website is www.cbgenealogy.ie

Frances Daly is a professional Irish genealogist who founded The Irish Genie. Frances is based in Dublin and specialises in Irish Genealogy. She has been researching her own family tree for over 18 years. Using traditional methodologies including civic records, church records, census substitutes, travel records and newspaper archives her family tree has 2,500 verified relatives and continues to grow. She has also incorporated DNA methodologies that have enhanced research opportunities. Frances completed her Certificate in Genealogy from University College Dublin in 2013 and in 2021, graduated from University of Limerick with an MA in History of the Family.

This day will cover:

1. An overview of DNA tests, the difference between the various testing companies pros and cons.

2. How to use your test results to maximize your family history research.

3. Hands on guidance through your own results.

This is day 1 of 2 separate days, in-person only, in Dublin. The sessions will be hands-on and limited in numbers.

The time between the 2 days is to allow for you to get familiar with the basic tools before progressing to the more advanced tools.

Registration and pre-payment is essential.

This is a Members Only event but please register by mailing info@ifhs.ie, and paying in the Shop. There are payment options for in full or in 2 installments.

Jan

Tue

IFHS Talk: Use cases for AI in genealogy

Jan 19 @ 19:30 – 20:30

Speaker: Mel Howes

Mel is Chairperson of the IFHS and works with technology in her day job. She first became interested in genealogy 20 years ago and has been compiling an ever-growing family tree with roots spread across England, Ireland and Scotland. More recently she has been instrumental in launching an AI Genealogy Assistant for IFHS members to use.

This talk will range widely to include types of AI, what they are really good at undertaking and where they spectacularly fail.

As with all talks, it will be delivered over Zoom and is free to all members, but please drop us a message to info@ifhs.ie to register.

Jan

IFHS Members’ Interests Meet Ups

Jan 23 all-day

There will be 2 sessions during the day to try and suit as many of of members as possible re time zones.

Session 1: 10am Dublin time

Session 2: 4pm Dublin time

The purpose of the meet ups is to discuss members’ queries regarding their research so do please send in any queries in advance so we can prep some answers to help get the discussion started.

Feb

ClannQuest: The Irish Family History Show

Feb 6 all-day

Ireland’s new family history show

Discover your Irish roots at ClannQuest 2027 – the inaugural Irish Family History Show, taking place on 6 February 2027 at The Fumbally Stables, in the heart of historic Dublin 8.

Join us for a day of inspiration, discovery, expert advice and family-history connections, all under one roof. Meet commercial exhibitors, family history societies, archives and specialist organisations from across Ireland and the UK, and discover the resources, expertise and services that can help take your research further.

Throughout the day, enjoy a programme of free talks from leading experts, covering a range of topics designed to inform, inspire and perhaps even reveal a few new avenues for your research.

And there’s more! With spot prizes and giveaways throughout the day, ClannQuest promises to be as enjoyable as it is informative.

Set close to St Patrick’s Cathedral, The Fumbally Stables provides a unique and welcoming setting for this exciting new event.

Whether you’re tracing a family tree, investigating your Irish heritage or simply fascinated by the stories of those who came before us, ClannQuest 2027 is the place to connect, learn and discover.

Join us on 6 February 2027 for a memorable day of Irish family history.

ClannQuest 2027 – sponsored by the Irish Family History Society and MyHeritage.

Feb

Tue

IFHS Talk: The Custom House Fire Brigade

Feb 16 @ 19:30 – 20:30

Speaker: Liz Gillis

On 25 May 1921, the IRA launched one of its largest and most audacious operations when it attacked Dublin’s Custom House, the heart of the British administration in Ireland. Many still view this as a military failure that destroyed the Dublin Brigade of the IRA. But, historian and author Liz Gillis, based on extensive research, challenges this view. Liz will tell this story in detail, including the planning of the attack and its consequences, using much information that is new, while also incorporating the recollections of those who were there.

Historian and author Liz Gillis is from the Liberties. She is the author of six books about the Irish Revolution including, ‘The Fall of Dublin’, ‘Women of the Irish Revolution’, ‘The Hales Brothers and the Irish Revolution’ and ‘May 25: The Burning of the Custom House 1921’. Liz has worked as a researcher on numerous publications, television and radio documentaries covering the revolutionary period.
Liz is the South Dublin County Council Historian in Residence for Schools and runs Revolution in Dublin Walking Tours. She was the Researcher for the History Show on RTE Radio. Liz was a Historical Consultant for the Hyatt Centric: The Liberties Hotel and the Custom House Visitor Centre and was a Curatorial Assistant in RTE, specialising in researching the Easter Rising. Liz is a recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Award and the Donore Credit Union Community Award for her contribution to history.

Attendance for members is free, just mail info@ifhs.ie to register, non-members can buy tickets in the Shop.

Feb

Fri

IFHS: Visit to the RCBL

Feb 26 @ 14:00 – 16:00

A visit to the Representative Church Body Library (RCBL), hosted by Susan Hood, Librarian and Archivist.

Address: 14 Braemor Road, Churchtown, Dublin, D14N735

The Digitization process of the surviving Church of Ireland records in possession of the Representative Church Body will be explained and demonstrated by Dr. Mike O’Neil, the library’s digital archivist and afterwards we can use the search engine as it stands through the OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogue) in the reading room.

Numbers will be limited to 20 attendees so please register early by emailing Louise info@ifhs.ie

Mar

Fri

IFHS Workshop: How To Use your DNA Results – Session 2