Regular readers of my blog will know that I’m an enthusiast for Shamrock in the Bush, held annually at St Clement’s Retreat Centre, Galong, about two hours west of Canberra. It’s not a traditional family history conference but if you have an interest in all things Irish you will be bound to have a great … More Shamrock in the Bush 2012 is OPEN
I am participating in the A to Z 2012 blog challenge throughout April. My theme is a genealogical travelogue or a travel genealogue (I’m not sure which). Since we got our Nissan X-Trail about four years ago, it’s taken us on some long adventures, though to be honest its 4WD facility hasn’t had much of … More X is for X-Trailing into the distance
If you have Irish ancestry in Australia, there’s a good chance that at some point you’ve referred to an index of Irish Assisted Immigrants to New South Wales (NSW) 1848-1870, available in most family history libraries around Australia. I doubt I was alone in thinking, when I first used the index, that this was another … More Thoughts on “Farewell My Children” by Dr Richard Reid: Irish migration to Australia 1848-1870
One of Richard Reid’s comments during Shamrock was to the effect that family historians search for meaning and information on their ancestors among the documents held in various repositories but ignore the things or objects that may tell us more about their lives. In his paper presented to the 2009 Irish Conference, hosted by the Irish … More An Object-ive view of family history: It’s not just “stuff” or junk
Shamrock in the Bush 2011 has once again come and gone. This was the 19th Shamrock but while I have only been to three, the entire weekend has been as exciting and stimulating as in other years. One of the things I like most about Shamrock is the atmosphere of collegiality among all the … More Shamrock in the Bush 2011: a grand event to be sure!
This week I have been lucky enough to have two visits to the Not Just Ned exhibition in the National Museum of Australia, one on my own and one with Shamrock in the Bush. The supplementary title of the exhibition is A true story of the Irish in Australia and it is a reasonable claim: … More A true story of the Irish in Australia aka Not Just Ned
Attendance at Shamrock in the Bush at Galong is a highly competitive affair. Irish family historians descend on St Clement’s Retreat and Conference House, the old homestead of former-convict-made-good, Ned Ryan, for three days of talks, music, historical delights and good old Irish craic or fun. Shamrock 2011 has been eagerly awaited by former attendees as co-organiser of Shamrock, … More All green for Galong: Shamrock in the Bush 2011
Family history across the seas 