Roots Revealed

26/04/2026

My next talk is on the subject of the Irish Workhouse and Finding Your Poor Irish Ancestors. It is for the Belfast Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society (NIFHS) and will be delivered via Zoom on Tuesday 28 April at 7.15pm BST. During the talk we will look at the provison for the poor and the different schemes such as indoor relief, outdoor relief and employment schemes. We will include emigration schemes provided by the workhouse and local landlords as well as the Earl Grey Orphan Immigration Scheme. The brutal conditions in the workhouse will be discussed and we will examine how and where we can find more information about our ancestors who may have worked there or been admitted as an inmate or for medical treatment. We will also discover more about the 19th century Poverty Relief Loans. For details on how you can access the talk please see the Belfast Branch webpage at

Irish Workhouse and Finding your Poor Irish Ancestors, talk by Natalie Bodle on the brutal regime in the workhouses and why going into them was a last resort.

26/04/2026

PRONI - new website coming on 30 April.

Exciting Announcement! 🎉

PRONI is delighted to announce that our new website will be launched on Thursday the 30th of April. The redesigned website will offer clearer navigation that makes it easier to explore our collections, plan a visit, and access a wide range of resources!

Stay tuned for more updates! ✨

18/04/2026

Yaaaay!

16/04/2026

Coming this Saturday 18 April.....

The National Archives of Ireland has issued guidance to help the public search the 1926 census, ahead of its release on 18 April.

15/04/2026

I'm delivering a talk for the Ireland Special Interest Group (SIG) of Ontario Ancestors on Thursday 16 April at 1.00pm ET and 6.00pm BST. The subject is Finding Your Ancestors In Irish Land Valuation Records. For more information and to book your place, please visit the website

Upcoming Events No Events     Welcome to the Ireland Special Interest Group of Ontario Ancestors, The Ontario Genealogical Society The purpose of the Ireland Special Interest Group (“SIG”) is group is to help you in your Irish Research by providing links, resource information, as well as timel...

10/04/2026

My 9 week face-to-face Exploring Your Roots Genealogy Course starts on Fri 18 April at The Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. For more details and booking information please see the Language and Culture stream on The Crescent's website.

April – June Courses & Workshops 🌱

Start something new this Spring, or watch your creativity continue to bloom with Crescent Courses and Workshops! 🌼🌷

Discover the beauty behind embroidery 🪡 master the technical skill of the Tango 💃 or craft the perfect short story ✏️

We offer courses and workshops across a variety of art forms: music, languages, writing, dance and much, much more 💬 Why not explore what's on and be part of the fun? 🌙

⭐️ Click here for Courses: https://crescentarts.org/courses
⭐️ Click here for Workshops: https://crescentarts.org/workshops

[asset for review]

08/04/2026

The second session I am delivering this week is in fact a Spring Seminar for the Florida Genealogical Society Tampa where two talks are provided. The first talk is An Introduction to Irish Genealogical Research and the second is Irish Ancestors - The Top 5 websites You Need To Know About. The seminar will commence at 09.00am EST (2.00pm BST) on Saturday 11 April 2026. For tickets and more information, please visit the website at

Events 11 events found. Events Today Upcoming Upcoming Select date. List of events in Photo View Apr 11 Spring Seminar – Researching in Ireland 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Get Tickets $20.00 Apr 22 FGS Book Club – 2026 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm May 2 FGS – Tampa Meeting 10:00 am - 1:00 pm May 7 FGS Discussion G...

08/04/2026

I'm delivering two talks this week. The first is for Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon ABC Family History Association. We will be taking an in-depth look at Roots Ireland and discovering how to get the best out of this online records repository. The talk will be delivered via Zoom at 7.30pm BST on Wednesday 08 April 2026. For more information please contact ABC Family History Association at

ABC Family History Association offers online family history courses to its worldwide members, who all have family who came from Ireland, especially from the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council area of Northern Ireland. Members can also participate in and run family history projects.

27/03/2026

My next face-to-face Genealogy Course will run for 9 weeks from 17 April to 19 June 2026. There will be no course on 22 May. The course is delivered on Fridays from 12.00 to 2.30pm in the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. You can find out more about the course and book directly through The Crescent's website at

More people are becoming interested in genealogy and finding out about their own family history, but they often aren’t sure where or how to star...

26/03/2026

Good news...

Extended Opening Announcement📢

We are delighted to announce that our extended opening hours will continue!📅

The Search Room and Reading Room will be open until 8pm on selected Thursdays, and from 10am to 2pm on selected Saturdays, so that everyone has an opportunity to access our facilities.

Thursday (10am – 8pm):
• Thursday 16 April
• Thursday 21 May
• Thursday 18 June

Saturday (10am – 2pm):
• Saturday 2 May
• Saturday 6 June

26/03/2026

13/03/2026

My next talk is just in time for St Patrick's Day and will be delivered online for Bradford Family History Society. The subject is 'My Ancestors Were Irish, or Were They?'

We examine the origins of the surnames found in Ireland, resources for finding out more about them and the locations they are to be found in throughout the island.

We also look at forenames and naming patterns that can help you to figure out the names of family members.

The talk will be delivered on Monday 16 March at 7.00pm GMT. For more information please see

Since our foundation in 1982, we have aimed to promote Family History by education, mutual assistance, demonstrations, lectures, excursions and any other means conductive to its advancement.