Claire Bradley is a Dublin-based genealogist specialising in Irish ancestry
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.…
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…
This month’s book review might seem a little out of place on a genealogy blog, but I promise you it’s not. My Name is Philippa by Philippa Ryder is largely a book about family – modern family. Philippa is Transgender and this memoir is her story of becoming the woman she wanted to be from…
I was in Paris recently and had the great pleasure of going to dinner chez my 1C1R and his husband. My friends and I were made very welcome, treated to a delicious meal and great conversation. Early in the evening, I was told there was a surprise for me later. I don’t really like surprises…
Ancestry has released a new ethnicity feature which separates your DNA by parent. I’ve just looked at mine and, well, it’s not what I expected. So what is surprising me is that I have known Scottish and Welsh ancestry on my mother’s side, and no known from either on my father’s side, which due to…
For International Women’s Day 2022, I’ve written up the life of Annie Mahony, one of my great-great grandmothers. Sadly, I don’t have a photograph of her, but she had at least 186 descendants. I’m hoping to share this amongst as many of them living as I can find & perhaps someone will have one that…
It may be Nollaig na mBán in Ireland today but it’s genealogy Christmas in England and Wales. The 1921 census has been exclusively released on Findmypast. It was taken in June of that year. This census was the first after World War I and saw some slight changes to format notably: Employer’s name and place…
UNESCO designates 8th September every year as International Literacy Day. It promotes the importance of literacy as a human right. Who among us doesn’t love getting caught up in a great novel? In this modern world, very few activities still require your full attention, we’re always on our phones or something, but reading is still…
This week I’m discussing how to break down a DNA match who has not responded to your messages. I had great success with this technique on a DNA match on MyHeritage recently. If you haven’t already taken a test with them or uploaded your results from another database to My Heritage, then it is worth your while.…