The Belfast branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society will host a free virtual presentation, called Tracing Your Irish Ancestors in County Donegal, on Tuesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. BST (2:30 p.m. Eastern time). It will be delivered by Una Matthewson, Donegal Studies Librarian in Letterkenny.
The aim of this talk is to give an overview of the family history resources available to the family history researcher and to introduce some of the gems of the Donegal Studies Collection.
Donegal County Library holds a valuable and diverse collection of family and local history resources relating to the history and heritage of the county.
Irish family history research can be challenging due to the lack of census returns and the relatively late introduction of civil registration. However, there is a wealth of alterative records available that can help piece together your family history, ranging from the very early Muster Rolls of 1630 to Griffith’s Valuation of the mid-1850s and may more. The Donegal Studies Collection holds many of these resources, as well as more general materials relating to the history of the province. Local history books that can often contain information that can round off your dedicated years of research, by situating your family members in a time and place.
If interested in attending, send an email to the Branch Secretary at Belfast@nifhs.org, and they will send you the link. Because of the time difference, it’s probably best to send the email by Monday.
Membership offer
The Belfast Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society has an interesting offer for new members. From now until August 2024, anyone who joins the Belfast Branch for £24 (about CDN$43) will receive a virtual link to the recording of each monthly talk to watch at a later time and date.
