Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genealogist specialising in Irish ancestry
I’m excited to announce that I’ve been appointed Director of Irish Studies at the International Institute for Genealogical Studies. The Institute has an enormous array of courses for genealogy enthusiasts. I’ll be working to update their Irish content and also help tutor students with Irish ancestry. Their new website is coming at the beginning of…
A few weeks ago, I recorded a podcast with Andrew Martin of the Family Histories show. It’s been released today and you can listen to it below or wherever you get your podcasts. Let me know you what you think! I had Covid whilst recording hence the croaky voice – fully recovered now, thank goodness.…
It seems here to stay on this side of the Atlantic, so why not avail? I’ve collected a few of the best offers going. They range from DNA tests to newspaper archives & general subscriptions to commercial sites. Some of these offers run out soon so don’t wait if you’re interested. Ancestry DNA tests are…
It was an ordinary November day. Then came an announcement from Minister Catherine Martin that she was making €5m available to digitise the 1926 census and it will be available online, for free, in April 2026. You can read the full press release here! I’m really hoping they’ll redesign the whole census/genealogy site, which are…
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ll be aware that poor Twitter is in chaos right now. I’ve always loved the medium and it’s been my much-favoured social medium of choice for many years now. It’s where I put most content and first. However, we have to move with the times, and while I’m still…
It’s been a while since I did a book review so as we enter into the unmentionable season when people buy presents, I thought it was time. Nathan Dylan Goodwin has just released the eagerly-awaited second book in his investigative genetic genealogy mysteries. The Sawtooth Slayer picks up right after the Chester Creek Murders but…
So it’s October already. Halloween is coming. In Irish, October is mí Dheireadh Fómhair, which literally means the end of autumn. However, there’s still a lot of leaves on the ground, and being a genealogist, leaves make me think of trees, and well, you get the picture. In between working on other people’s family history, I…
My great aunt Joyce died this week. She was my grandmother’s sister and the last of all my grandparents’ generation. Joyce married very young. Her parents were reportedly uneasy, but happily they were proved wrong. Andy’s US army career took them to many places. Joyce & Andy were married for over 70 years before he…
How often have we followed a hint in someone else’s tree to see they’ve got some additional information? It’s exciting, right? The potential for new cousins, new discoveries and maybe some photos. But how do we determine if the other person’s tree is accurate? I’m always reminding my students that you have to do your…
I’ve launched a YouTube channel. The plan is to have videos on Irish genealogy and DNA testing. I have a few taster videos up already but more will come over the weeks and months. If you have any ideas for content, please do leave a comment. If you enjoy, please do like, share and subscribe!