Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

Although I haven't yet had the chance of visiting our own National Archives in the States, on Donna Moughty's Dublin adventure in October 2023, I made it to the National Archives of Ireland (NAI)! National Archives of Ireland, Dublin DAY 4 While this was my fourth day in Dublin, it was only my second day of research and second repository of the trip, so needless to say, I still had some nerves about me when it came to visiting the archives. Luckily, we were walking over there as a group (a healthy 17 minute excursion, as Google Maps would claim -- probably a more realistic 20 minutes, especially with crosswalks and traffic lights). However, we only discovered later that one participant in our group had set off on their own before us, hoping to get a head start and not slow us down. We all got worried when they hadn't beat us to the punch, and instead, were missing! Somewhat terrifyingly, they had been given repeated misdirection from locals, pointing them toward the Registr

I likely would have never stepped foot in the National Library of Ireland (NLI) had it not been for signing up on Donna's tour to Dublin. She managed to ease any of my fears or intimidating feelings of researching within a government building. Monday, October 9th began our first official day of research in Dublin. Main Reading Room at NLI DAY 3 Had to kick off another day with a traditional Irish breakfast at Buswells Hotel! This time, I was not alone. Our tour group had a table set aside for us at the back of the restaurant in a little cove. I got to know Janet a little better and met the second Anne in our bunch for the first time. Our breakfasts were included with our hotel stay, so that helped cut down on daily meal costs. We met up in the lobby at 9:15am and walked as a group across the street to numbers 7/8 Kildare Street, the main entrance to the National Library of Ireland. National Library of Ireland There are two sets of locker rooms in the building to store your oversize

When I learned that Donna Moughty was planning to retire from leading her annual family history research trips to Ireland, I instantly rearranged my schedule to ensure I could participate in that final excursion. She had one spot left on the Dublin leg in October 2023 due to a cancellation, and I made sure it was filled by me! I had never completed an official research trip before, let alone an international one, but of course I was determined to be prepared. Donna made logistics preparation so easy. She held monthly virtual meetings on Zoom, each focused on a different repository we were visiting, or the transportation modes we'd be relying on as a group, or even the recreational activities we could enjoy on our free time. She tried to cover everything and anything we'd encounter during our time in Ireland (or for the folks on the 2nd leg of the journey, Northern Ireland). She recorded each presentation and subsequent Q&A and posted it to an unlisted YouTube link for us to