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Irish Genealogical Society International
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Fáilte!  (Welcome!)
 

Minnesota Genealogy Center hours change

The library is now open Mondays!
MONDAY 10 AM – 4 PM
WEDNESDAY 10 AM – 4 PM
THURSDAY 10 AM – 8 PM
SATURDAY 10 AM – 4 PM
Check the Minnesota Genealogical Society website before your visit, to confirm the library is open:   www.mngs.org.

Not a member yet?

 


June Podcast available for viewing

Cover image for "This month at the IGSI" - our monthy podcastIn the June edition (episode 11) of the “This month at the IGSI” podcast, genealogist Dave Miller interviews Lois Mackin and Tom Rice regarding the upcoming webinar called Challenges in Irish Family Research…. A Brick Wall Panel Discussion. This will also feature Mary Wickersham. The webinar will be a discussion on dealing with brick walls in your family research and ways to get around them.
 
Dave also provides the dates for the June “Irish Saturday” event and will talk to a Gaelic Harpist who has been playing for many years and how he got started. These stories and previous podcast episodes are available on the IGSI YouTube channel.
 
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Past podcasts: May 2023  April 2023 March 2023  February 2023 January 2023  December 2022  November 2022  October 2022  September 2022  August 2022    July 2022
 
You can visit IGSI's YouTube channel at any time by clicking the YouTube link above right or at the lower right side of our main page (below the upcoming activities).


Research with John Grenham’s Help

Screen image of the Irish Ancestors website's main page
It’s March and time to think about all things Irish.  IGSI recently contracted with John Grenham to offer free access to his website, IrishAncestors (JohnGrenham.com), on three of the computers in the Hoffman Research Library (HRL). This will complement FindMyPast access on every patron computer, which also provides resources for Irish researchers. It will be a significant enhancement for Irish researchers, and for our volunteers who assist patrons on Irish Saturdays (2nd Sat each month), but is only available in the library.
 
John Grenham has been a ‘name’ and fixture in Irish genealogy since the 1990s.  He is the author of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, now in its 5th revision, and the creator of the IrishAncestors website. You can learn more about the new HRL workstations for accessing the Grenham website to use it in your Library research at this link, which includes some learning resources.
 
In celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, in tandem with this new development, IGSI making a past webinar available freely on the website to make best use of this resource. IGSI’s own Tom Rice and Mary Wickersham gave a detailed presentation on both the Grenham book and website. This 50-minute recording is a great introduction and preview of the resource.
 
You may choose to have your own subscription, which can be for a day ($5.99), a month ($9.99), or annual ($69.99): JohnGrenham.com/subscribe

Upcoming 2023 Webinars

The words "be inspired" in a graphic
Saturday, June 17
Challenges in Irish Family Research:  Brick Wall Panel Discussion  (Webinars)  with a recording available to all registants
 
Presented by a panel of IGSI research professionals:
- Lois Mackin, PhD
- Tom Rice, PhD, CG
- Mary Wickersham
$15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code); $25 for non-members
 
The annual session is an IGSI member favorite. Brick wall queries have been submitted by members in advance and will be used by the panelists to offer specific research suggestions. This is one of those precious opportunities to "look over the shoulders" of an experienced research team as they tackle ancestral mysteries
 
Need the member discount code?  Log in and visit Member Discounts.


Need help researching your Irish ancestors?

 IGSI is offering Irish family history research assistance. Just click on Research Services, fill out the IGSI Research Form,  click on 'Research Payment' to pay the assessment fee and get started! 


Member perk: access to webinar recordings

If you missed any of IGSI’s excellent educational webinars, there’s still time to view many of them!
Available to members only!
   
Recordings of about two dozen IGSI webinars – with their class handouts - are available through our website.  Log in, then click the Webinar recordings link, below Past Webinars
 
Several webinar recordings are currently available to members free of charge. For-fee viewings can be purchased (by members only) for $15 using the webinar’s “Buy Now” button.
 
Check out the list soon, as some of our earliest webinars will be removed from the list at the contractual time limit (usually two years).


Learn! Celebrates One Year

By Donna Jones and Eileen Kelly
 
Learning about Irish history and about the records of our ancestors can help us learn about the context of their lives.  The Irish Genealogical Society International is excited to roll out a new section in our website called “Learn.”  Learn provides a roadmap for learning about our Irish heritage and family history.graphic with "visit out new Learn pages"
 
Start with the video; it provides an overview of this new section.  Each of the four parts introduces methodology in a logical step-by-step approach so we can benefit wherever we are in our research. 
 
Start Here gets us started and organized; the Introduction to Genealogy article introduces the methodology of genealogy.
New Home provides key sources for the country where our ancestors settled after leaving Ireland.  We need to know this to research and identify the Irish place our ancestors originated.
Search in Ireland provides in-depth information and resources specific to Ireland or Scotland.
More Help provides specialized information to expand our knowledge, such as DNA, maps, newspapers, etc. 
 
The design and implementation of the Learn section has been a collaboration spearheaded by Donna Jones, with contributions from the technical and education committees, Kathleen Foley, Mike Flynn, Mary Wickersham, Dave Miller, Jane Kennedy, Lois Mackin, and Eileen Kelly.
 
We invite you to check out the new section on the website and learn more about the skills of family research!  Click here to connect to Learn.


Minnesota Genealogy Center
1385 Mendota Heights Rd, Suite 100
Mendota Heights, Minnesota 55120
 
Questions?  Contact us at questions@irishgenealogical.org

June 10
Irish Saturday
Stop by the library for Irish research help. Check  www.mngs.org on the day you plan to visit, to make sure the library is open.  ...
June 17
Challenges in Irish Family Research:
Brick Wall Panel Discussion
10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6) Presented by a panel of IGSI research professionals: - Lois Mackin, PhD - Tom Rice, PhD, CG - Mary ...
July 8
Irish Saturday
Stop by the library for Irish research help. Check  www.mngs.org on the day you plan to visit, to make sure the library is open.  ...
July 22
Using Surprising Databases in Your Family Tree Searches
GoToWebinar with a recording available to all registrants 10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6) Instructor: Lisa Walsh Dougherty $15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code); ...
August 11
Irish Fair of Minnesota
Stop by the IGSI booth to meet other members and introduce your friends and family to IGSI.  Look up your family surnames on our surname ...