Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genetic genealogist specialising in ancestry from Ireland
As reported by various media outlets today, 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection in the USA. Anne Wojcicki has stepped down as CEO but is staying on the board. They’ve also published an open letter to their customers. The current intention is to sell the company. There’s a lot of discussion on social media about…
Hot on the heels of the changes to the National Archives website, the other main state portal for genealogical research has had a refresh. ETA: 27/2 – several of the issues that I noted below are now fixed! Hence, I’ve removed or edited my comments. Last week, I was in touch with IrishGenealogy to ask…
Secondly, it’s almost time for Rootstech again: the biggest genealogical conference in the world. It takes place in Salt Lake City on 6-8 March and has both in-person and online content available. I’m delighted to be attending for the second time. If you’re not already booked to attend either in-person or virutally, there’s still time. Here’s a…
As of 5th February, there’s been a major refresh of the National Archives websites. There are a lot of changes so buckle up! This post will focus on the main genealogy changes, mostly to the census returns and I’ll do another post about the catalogue as time allows. My review is done in a rush…
We have now an official date for its release: 18 April 2026. In just 15 months, professionals, family historians, hobbyists and regular historians will be sitting at their desks hitting refresh while we await the first Irish census release in more than 50 years (if we count the microfilm release of the previous two in…
I’ve been looking at Christmas traditions in Ireland, both old and new. One of my favourite places to look at old stories is the Schools Collection hosted by Duchas. Did you know that animals have the power of speech on Christmas night? It was news to me but is mentioned in several stories in the…
A second season of the BBC radio programme/podcast The Gift has just come out. Presented and researched by journalist Jenny Kleeman, it’s a show about at home DNA testing and the stories it uncovers. I hoovered up the first season last year and no doubt will do the same with the second. It was well-researched,…
I’m really thrilled to announce that I’ll be back at Rootstech in March 2025 to deliver three in-person talks on Irish subjects including the Virtual Treasury and Obituaries & Death notices. More details in due course! Registration opens on 25th September. Hopefully I’ll get some time at the FamilySearch library too.
Friday 20th September is Culture Night! Culture Night started in 2006 in Dublin but has since grown to a nationwide and international event. The idea is that museums, galleries and other buildings open for the evening and let people visit, often for free. There’s always a great buzz in the city on the evening. Check…
Delighted to see that MyHeritage is increasing its Irish record databases. They’ve uploaded the civil birth registers (1864-1921 for the whole island, and up to 1958 for what is now the Republic of Ireland). Yes, these indexes are already on Ancestry, Findmypast & Irishgenealogy.ie but it’s good to see MH adding to the Irish collection,…