Wednesday 19 February 2014

WDYTYA?Live: the Irish element

Click for WDYTYA?Live's lecture timetables
In just under 24 hours, the doors of Olympia's National Hall will open on another WDYTYA?Live.

The event, which bills itself as 'the biggest family history event in the World', will run over three days, ending on Saturday. It's the first time it's adopted a Thursday to Saturday format having previously run on a Friday–Sunday schedule, and it remains to be seen how popular (or not) this proves to be.

Those attending the show will be able to find loads of information about what to expect, maps, lecture timetables etc on the organisers website (click logo above), so in this preview I'm just going to provide a handy overview of Irish interest.

First up are the Irish exhibitors (bear in mind that Ancestry (the show sponsors) on Stands 720 & 820; FindMyPast, Stand 830; and Origins, Stand 528, will all have staff available to demonstrate the Irish records on their databases, but I haven't included them in the list):

The Irish Exhibitors
  • Ancestor Network, Stand No 842
  • General Register Office for Northern Ireland, Stand No 332
  • Irish Ancestry Research Centre, Stand No 81
  • Irish Genealogical Research Society, Stand No 844
  • North of Ireland Family History Society, Stand No 44
  • Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, Stand No 436
  • Tourism Ireland, Stand No 438
There is also a very extensive lecture programme running across the three days. Many will be relevant to family history wherever your research takes you, and I'll leave you to wade through the organisers website for the full timetables. But if you're after specifically Irish genealogy lectures, here they are:

The Irish-themed lectures

Thursday 
15:15–16:00 Using census substitutes, family lore and folklore in the search for your Irish Ancestral homestead, with Helen Kelly MAPGI  

Friday  
10:15–11:00 The Poor Laws and the Irish Poor, with Roz McCutcheon FIGRS  
14:15–15:00 PRONI's online resources, with Stephen Scarth
15:15–16:00 Tracing your Irish family history with FindMyPast, with Brian Donovan

Saturday  
12:15–13:00 Starting your Irish family history, with Helen Kelly  
12:15–13:00 Tracing your Irish family history with FindMyPast, with Brian Donovan
15:15–16:00 Researching Irish family history online, with Brian Donovan



UPDATE: Some items have been removed since this page was first published.