CB Genealogy

09/09/2025

Looking forward to giving genealogy advice on Culture Night at Fingal Libraries Local Studies & Archives in Swords.

08/09/2025

Here's my latest DNA presentation for International Institute of Genealogical Studies, with some context in the comments.

The Romanovs as a case study for the historical context. Learn how we now know who they are and that the Princess Anastasia mystery was solved. Tune in for a...

08/09/2025

A little bit later, I'm posting my latest newsletter with details of upcoming talks.

I’m a little late with my newsletter this month as I took some much needed time off at end of August and into the beginning of September.

06/09/2025

Lovely new review!

03/09/2025

Catch my talk on using DNA to find your Irish ancestors on Saturday 13th September! So looking forward to it.

📸 A snapshot of just some of the people and activities shaping our September programme at the Society of Genealogists!

From expert talks and workshops with:

Richard Holt — Holt's Family History Research

Cyndi Ingle — Cyndi's List

Dr. Nicholas Dixon — Dr Nicholas Dixon

Nathan Dylan Goodwin — Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Claire Bradley — CB Genealogy

Karen Cummings — Karen Cummings - Genealogist

… plus many more speakers including John Hanson, Jennifer Aston, Dai Davies, Mia Bennett, Debbie Kennett, Kathy Kirkpatrick, our Genealogist Else Churchill, Paul Baker, Caroline Adams, Jenni Phillips — and, of course, our book club, special visits, and community events. There’s always something exciting happening for family historians!

👉 Explore what’s coming up and get involved this month: https://portal.sog.org.uk/event/list

03/09/2025

Surprised & delighted to find my very niche topic of Irish Quakers made the Top 10 for August!

There were a bunch of must watch webinars in August! Here's the Top 10. How many did you see?

https://legacyfamilytree.com/blog/2025/09/top-10-webinars-of-august-2025/

01/09/2025

Fascinating!

ORIGINS OF SOME MALAHIDE RESIDENTIAL ESTATE NAMES

With so much new development going on in Malahide and surrounding area, it is worth looking at the naming of housing developments.

According to Fingal Co. Co. planning guidelines, Councils can advise residents and developers of requirements for naming and numbering housing estates and approve the final proposals.

The naming of mixed residential and mixed-use schemes should reflect local history, folklore and/or place names in accordance with Objectives of the Fingal Development Plan 2017-2023.

Names can refer to historical buildings or structures, archaeological monuments or features, the local landscape, or an association with a significant local historical individual, custom or event. Local historical societies or Fingal Libraries may be able to offer advice. In particular, the use and promotion of historical and current townland and parish names in the urban and rural environment should be promoted.

Here are the origins of some of Malahide’s residential estates. Clearly, names such as Sonesta, Chalfont and Biscayne pre-date these requirements.

Barrack Bridge - Colonel Richard Talbot built a barracks as a base for his regiment of fencibles- a sort of home guard. It was demolished to make way for Milford.

The Bawn - stems from an Irish word to describe a protective enclosure for cattle often associated with a castle.

Biscayne - may take its name from the island of Biscayne Key in south east Florida.

Carlisle Terrace - named after the lord lieutenant at the time it was built (c. late 1850) George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle KG, PC Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1855 to 1858 and again from 1859 to 1864.

Chamley Park - named for the Chamleys who lived in Gaybrook House in the early 19th century. Reverend Chamley was a prominent Anglican churchman.

Galtrim - Maud Plunkett, whose effigy tomb may be seen in Malahide Abbey beside Malahide Castle, took as her first of three husbands Thomas Hussey, Baron of Galtrim, a townland near Trim in Co. Meath. He was killed in battle on their wedding day.

Gainsborough – named after the brig of that name that was wrecked in a storm off Portmarnock in 1838 with the loss of three lives and for which a memorial cross was erected in grounds of The Band Room on Sea Road, still to be seen.

Gaybrook - built adjacent to the Gaybrook Stream formed by the confluence of steams flowing down from Feltrim and Drynam.

Killeen - after John Killeen, the railway engineer, who built Killeen Terrace opposite St. Sylvester's Church as a potential dowry for his daughter.

Milford - many hundreds of years ago where the nearby Gaybrook Stream enters the Broadmeadows Estuary there stood a ford and a cornmill worked by the ebb and flow of the tide. Later in 1782 a cotton mill was erected nearby.

Millview - built on the site of Millview House, in turn probably named for the view of Feltrim windmill or the cotton mill at Barrack Hill.

The Moorings - Malahide inlet was always regarded as offering safe mooring for boats.

Muldowney - a corruption of Maoil Domhnainn, an ancient name for a topographical feature in that part of the inlet, in turn named after an ancient people the Fir Domhnainn.

Seapark - The area down near the Coast Road was known as Seapark or Seapark Farm whilst Seapark House was situated to the left at the top of Grove Road.

Sonesta - a beach on Biscayne Key in Florida.

Talbot - the various development names are derived from the Talbot family and estate

Texas Lane – nothing to do with the U.S. state but originally Taxes Lane as customs duties were collected there from boats coming up the estuary from the sea long before the railway viaduct was built in 1840s.

Yellow Walls - the name predates the cotton industry established in this area in 1782 but is probably derived from earlier times when linen was woven from flax fibres and hung on local walls to bleach, staining the stone in the process.

(Pictured: Richard Talbot's yeomanry Barracks at Barrack Bridge demolished 1993 now Milford housing estate on Old Yellow Walls Road).

31/08/2025

Still some places in my class!

ENROLMENT for our ADULT EDUCATION AUTUMN TERM 2025 Courses in Malahide Community School is now OPEN!
For full details and to enrol please visit our website
www.malahidecsadulted.ie
Experience the joy of learning with over 90 courses to choose from including Hiking skills, Care of the Older Person QQI Level 5, Lámh, SNA QQI Level 5 & 6, CPR, Ukulele, Astronomy, Knitting, Photography, Make up Artistry, MS Excel, Guitar, Keyboard Piano, Dance, Sports , Fitness, Languages, Legal, Radio Broadcasting, Mindfulness, Irish Genealogy, Nail Styling with BIAB, & many more! Courses starting from Mon 15th of September so don't hesitate and book your place today!

30/08/2025

In today's The Irish Times, Ronan McGreevy is discussing Eamon deValera's paternity. My former UCD genealogy lecturer, Seán J. Murphy wrote a paper on this topic. I'll post the link in the comments.

My feeling is that DNA testing could still be employed to work on this mystery. I'm not sure if there's a Y descendant living (though he did have male grandchildren and I haven't traced them), but there's certainly several autosomal candidates floating around.

Dev’s mother appears to have filled out separate versions of his birth certificate herself, new documentary reveals

18/08/2025

It is that time of year! My bi-annual beginner's genealogy class starts on 15th September in Malahide Community School Adult Education

Full details on how to book here:
https://cbgenealogy.ie/new-term-in-malahide-community-school/

15/08/2025

Great to see this! Wishing Brian & Frank all the best. They're both very knowledgeable.

We are MALAHIDE HISTORICAL TOURS, a new business dedicated to providing heritage walking tours of Malahide. Join our tours and have fun while learning about the 1,000 year old well which had eels to keep it clean, the perennial battles between the Malahide customs agents and the smugglers, the "dowr...

07/08/2025

My latest session for IIGS is on Irish County Archives.

Join Claire Bradley as she shares how to search the Irish County Archives for genealogists, presented by the International Institute of Genealogical Studies....