Countdown to Back To Our Past

It's just ten days to the doors opening on Ireland's very own genealogy and family history show. Back To Our Past kicks off at the RDS in Dublin at midday on Friday 21st October and continues on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd.

The inaugural event last year was a resounding success, but the organisers say next weekend's show will be even bigger and better.

"Because 2010's event went so well, we allocated more than double the space this time," explains John Lowe of S&L Promotions.

"That's 50-odd stands, and almost all of them have been allocated to exhibitors. We have two left; if anyone is interested, they should contact me immediately."

All the major institutions, commercial companies and genealogy groups will be there, including the National Archives and National Library, PRONI, FindMyPast.ie, Roots Ireland, Ancestry, Eneclann, APGI and societies such as GOONs and the Irish Genealogical Research Society. The exhibitors' list suggests that all family historians, whether just starting out on their research or advanced, are going to find plenty of interest.

The Lecture Programme is also a major draw. This, too, has been beefed up. "Because of the huge demand for speakers to be allocated slots, we have added a second presentation area," says John.

The following examples will whet your appetite, but you can download the full programme from www.backtoourpast.com:

• Murderers, Rebels & Drunkards: Irish ancestors & the Law (Brian Donovan, FMP)
• Beyond the Beginner (Gerry P Cahill, Irish Family History Society)
• The UK National Register: a new source for WW2 (Steven Smyrl, MAPGI)
• The Irish in Argentina (Helen Kelly, MAPGI)
• Researching Ulster Ancestors (Gillian Hunt, Irish Family History Foundation)
• Newspapers as a source for genealogy (Nicola Morris, MAPGI)

There are bound to be a crop of special offers and launches from exhibitors. Among these will be the launch of the Irish Family History and Local History Handbook from Robert Blatchford Publishing and the arrival of a major new resource on FindMyPastIreland.

Back To Our Past forms a distinctive element of The Over 50s Show. "A major advantage of our event is that visitors can avail of all the features of both shows as part of their entrance fee," says John. "Overall, there are nearly 300 exhibitors and, with advance ticket sales up by more than 40% on last year, we are expecting total attendence to top 25,000 over the three days."

If you're planning to come along, make sure to take advantage of a 50% discount kindly offered by the organisers to readers of Irish Genealogy News.

Click here to download and print a voucher that entitles you to reduced admission of just €5. Up to two people per voucher can claim the discount, and it's valid for any of the three days.


Note: Link to voucher is no longer active.