Venue: Western Gateway Building, room 304, UCC

This course aims to equip attendees with the skills and information necessary to set out confidently on the ancestor trail. There are three strands to the course. Firstly, twelve important genealogical sources will be described in detail, with a focus on how to locate and use them to get information on your own ancestry. Secondly, a methodical approach to family history research will be outlined, advising how to tackle a mass of documentary material, and also suggesting how to produce a finished family tree document. Thirdly, the historical and social context necessary for a deeper understanding of our ancestors and our genealogical records will form a continuous backdrop to the course.
The three strands will be intertwined to form a practical, informative and entertaining experience.

1. General Introduction: Source: Census Returns, Project Plan. History: First People in Ireland
2. Source: State Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages, start research with the live ones. History: The Bronze Age to the Celts
3. Sources: Catholic and Church of Ireland Parish Records, Administrative Divisions. History: St Patrick to the Vikings
4. Source: Valuation and Poor Law Records, the Easy Options. History: The Norman/British Conquest of Ireland
5. Sources: Wills and Administrations, Records of the Graveyard, the Matheson Report. History: The Plantations
6. Source: Estate Records, Parliamentary Papers. History: The 1641 Rebellion to the Battle of the Boyne
7. Source: The Registry of Deeds, Intensive Investigations. History: The Ascendancy
8. Sources: Tithe Applotment Books and the Land Commission, Finishing the Job. History: O’Connell’s Ireland
9. Sources: Hearth Money Rolls and the Religious Census; Assessment of Material. History: Parnell’s Ireland
10. Source: Miscellaneous other sources, The Final Document; History: de Valera’s Ireland

The course consists of ten two hour lectures (7-9pm). To derive full benefit from the course, participants are expected to use their new knowledge and skills to carry out their own research, both on-line and in various archives and to produce a finished family history document suitable for distribution among their extended families. This work is expected to be carried out both during the course and after the course has finished.

Short courses are non assessed 

The course is taught by Tony McCarthy MA who has lectured widely on Genealogy in Ireland and the United States. He is the author of The Irish Roots Guide (Lilliput), The Ancestor Album (Lilliput), Tracing Your Cork Ancestors [with Tim Cadogan] (Flyleaf), The Facts of Death (Belgrave). With his wife, Angela, he founded Irish Roots, a magazine which he edited for 16 years. He is a Fellow and former President of the Genealogical Society of Ireland.

Regina Sexton, Course co-ordinator :  r.sexton@ucc.ie

Marian O’Keeffe, Course administrator :  marian.okeeffe@ucc.ie

Tel:  021 4904700

Students register and pay fees before course commencement. The closing date for applications is Monday 18 September 2017. Application fees are listed in each course description. Students can apply in a number of ways:

1. Students may register and pay online by clicking the Apply Now button below.  Course commencement is subject to sufficient enrolment. In the event of a course not commencing applicants will be informed and their fees will be returned.
2. Payment may also be made by cheque, postal order or bank draft made payable to UCC and these should be returned together with a completed application form to Short Courses, Adult Continuing Education, UCC. Application forms are available from the office or they may be downloaded from the link below.
3. Students may also hand in completed application form to the office at ACE between 9:15am and 5pm each day prior to the closing date.