The Berkeley Yacht Club was the perfect setting for "A Day of Irish Information" on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. The waterfront location served up cool breezes on a hot East Bay day. And what better place to discuss the Emerald Isle then at the water's edge?
President Jane Lindsey started things off with a few society announcements, including an overview of upcoming speakers and workshops. Many of the 116 in attendance were not members of the California Genealogical Society but by day's end eight attendees took advantage of a $5 discount offered by Jane, and joined CGS.
Nora Keohane Hickey presented four entertaining lectures on several aspects of Irish genealogical research in her lilting Irish accent. A natural storyteller, Nora often included colorful anecdotes which added interest and humor to a subject which can be dry and overwhelming. Ms. Hickey talks fast so the full day of information was a bit challenging for some of the beginners in the audience.
Nora's first talk was "Debunking Some of the Myths of Irish Genealogy" - a humorous and informative list of common fallacies including "All the records were burnt" and "I found the location on a Surname Map." Using her own KEOHANE as an example, Ms. Hickey explored the "Of course I know how to spell my surname!" myth with some surprising variants, including COHAN and COHEN. (The famous "Yankee Doodle Dandy" George M. COHAN is a cousin.) Nora told of once reading a ship passenger record that listed eight COHENs – one came from Germany but the other seven were from Ireland. She summarized this first part of the day in two words: "Question EVERYTHING!"
One interesting inside story from Nora concerned the loss of the 19th century Irish census records (some surviving snippets are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.) The 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 records were destroyed in the Dublin Four Courts Fire of 1922 and the 1861 - 1891 records were pulped (recycled to make paper) during WWI. Nora explained that the order to pulp was meant only for the second, duplicate sets that existed for the countries of Great Britain, preserving the original records. Unfortunately, the fact that Ireland had only one set somehow escaped notice (!) and the sole source was lost for 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891.
Nora got right into fundamentals with her second session, "Extracting All the Important Information from Griffith's Valuation." This was a thorough discussion of the 1848-1864 tax valuation records whose significance to Irish researchers is elevated due to the loss of nineteenth century census records. Griffith's lists every house and land holding in every townland and includes the names of landowners and tenants alike. Nora explained the meaning behind the map reference numbers in the first column of the property listings and stressed that the real value of Griffiths is that it serves as a guidepost to further avenues of research. Nora presented a case study demonstrating how knowing the surnames of a couple can often help to narrow the search for a parish of origin using the surname distribution data from the valuations. She ended the morning session by providing information about the Valuation Maps, the House, Field and Tenure Books and the Valuation Cancellation Books.
After the lunch break (the box lunches got great reviews!), Nora launched into "Little-known and Under-used Irish Genealogical Sources" which she prefaced by noting that she defines a genealogical source as "any document containing a name and a date." Her handout contained scores of publications, arranged by century, that focused primarily on her own family counties of Kildare and Cork. The general message of this talk was that you never know where you will find valuable information, especially since many records were removed from Ireland, taken to England and may be available in Irish, British and American repositories.
The final session of the day, entitled "A Discussion About Common Problems in Irish Genealogy," asked two key questions: 1.) "Are you looking for the correct surname?" and 2.) "Are you looking in the right location?" Due to time constrains, Nora referred the audience to three pages of her handout which summarizes the development and evolution of Irish surnames and gives clues to help the researcher find possible variations. She spent considerable time defining the administrative divisions of Ireland which are complicated because of the way they overlap. Nora explained how the various ecclesiastical and civil divisions developed and why it is imperative to know the divisional category that describes each record type.
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A Day of Irish Information - July 9, 2008
A Day of Irish Information - four talks to help with your Irish research.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Yacht Club.
Ms. Hickey, a native of Cork, Ireland, is the founder and director of the Irish Genealogical Project. She visits the U.S. several times each year to lecture.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Lectures start promptly at 10:00 a.m.
The program:
10:00 Debunking some of the myths of Irish genealogy
11:15 Extracting all the important information from Griffith's Valuation
12:15 Break for lunch and book sales
1:15 Little-known and under-used Irish genealogical sources
2:15 A discussion about common problems in Irish genealogy
Ms. Hickey will also provide Personal Consultations on Thursday, July 10, 2008, at the CGS Library. The fee is $15.00 for fifteen minutes.
Registrants can opt to bring their own lunch or pre-pay for a boxed lunch which includes a sandwich, salad, drink and cookie for $10. For further information about this event or to schedule a Personal Consultation with Nora Hickey, download the event flier and reservation form.
The deadlline is approching so please send your registration form today!
Nora M. Hickey was educated at Loreto College, Manchester, England. After returning to Ireland in 1974, she studied history and philosophy at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, a constituent college of the National University of Ireland. Her B.A. thesis was genealogical: a study of the Norman family, the de Berminghams of Leinster. As a founder member of the Federation of Local History Societies, she was Honorary Editor of Local History Review for many years. An early member of the Irish Family History Society, Nora also acted for some years as the Honorary Editor of Irish Family History.
Her publications include: Going to Ireland: A Genealogical Researcher's Guide; Kinsale Historical Journals; Kinsale: Glimpses of a Town through the Years and The Battle of Kinsale. She has also writen many articles, historical and genealogical, published in many journals in two continents.
17 March 2008
Irish Research Seminar - July 9, 2008
Happy St. Patrick's Day! CGS President, Jane Lindsey has been cooking up a treat straight from Ireland that's sure to excite Irish researchers and have them dancing a jig.
Noted Irish author, researcher and lecturer, Nora M. Hickey, will present A Day of Irish Information, Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at the Berkeley Yacht Club, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Ms. Hickey will give four talks of interest to researchers of all skill levels. She has also agreed to schedule the next day at the CGS Library to do private, one-on-one consultations.
For additional details, download the flier and registration form.
Nora M. Hickey was born in Cork, Ireland, and educated at Loreto College, Manchester, England. After returning to Ireland in 1974, she studied history and philosophy at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, a constituent college of the National University of Ireland. Her B.A. thesis was genealogical; a study of the Norman family, the de Berminghams of Leinster. As a founder member of the Federation of Local History Societies, she was Honorary Editor of Local History Review for many years. An early member of the Irish Family History Society, Nora also acted for some years as the Honorary Editor of Irish Family History.
Ms. Hickey was a founder director of the Irish Genealogical Project until she resigned in 1991 to develop her own Irish genealogical research service. This includes visiting the USA several times yearly to give lectures and seminars, together with a personal genealogical research
service. In the past Nora has hosted County Cork Summer Schools and organised Dublin based Research Weeks with personal guidance in the Irish archives.
Her publications include: Going to Ireland: A Genealogical Researcher's Guide, Kinsale Historical Journals, Kinsale: Glimpses of a town through the years and The Battle of Kinsale, together with many articles, both historical and genealogical, published in many journals in two continents. In 2005, Nora edited her 98 year-old father's memoirs - My Barryroe Childhood and was very much involved with his centenary celebrations in September 2007 – in two countries, with an international attendance.
