Amidst the celebration of St Patrick’s Day, I’ve been reflecting how big a deal this was when I was a child, thanks in part to the religious divide. We would wear green ribbons to school (like the modern charity-fundraisers), little shamrock buttons, and have St Patrick’s Day concerts with all the old Irish songs. On … More Proud of my Irish roots
I suppose it’s not surprising that Murphy and his law have a particular fondness for researchers of Irish genealogy. While it’s far more accessible than was the case for many years, thanks to all those recently digitised records, stumbling blocks still abound to challenge our research confidence. Such is the case with my Callaghans (aka … More Courtown Callaghans revisited
In the coming weeks I’ll be thinking out loud on this blog about my research plans for an upcoming trip to Ireland. One of my key objectives is to get to understand the confusion of Callaghans from Courtown, Parish of Ballygarrett, County Wexford. When I wrote about this family previously (here and here), the digitised … More A confusion of Callaghans
This is a story of a success, a surprise discovery and the hazards of not paying enough attention or making assumptions. Oh to be in Ireland where it’s possible to check the primary records! THE SUCCESS I’m a great fan of ensuring I have family certificates and I used birthdays etc to gain a good … More Oh to be in Courtown, Ireland
Family history across the seas 