It's not the full Dublin experience without a stroll through St. Stephen's Green, the historic park seated in the middle of the bustling city. The main attraction, the geese, easily caught my eye on their graceful glide under the bridge.
St. Stephen's Green Park
DAY 6The morning was my own, so I took the chance to be a real tourist and made my way over to Grafton Street for some Disney Store window shopping (okay, I actually did walk through all 3 stories) and a comfort from home -- Starbucks!
Then it was back to the lobby of the hotel to meet up with my research group. We all strolled back down the street to jump on the Luas Tram and take it up to the North Side. This was my first time utilizing the tram which I already had my Dublin Leap Card to pay for (of course, you don't see any of the locals actually paying since it's on the honor system). I was a bit nervous in figuring out which stops I needed, but found the circuit to be quite easy to understand!
Registry of Deeds
The Luas stops just across the street from the Registry of Deeds, which made it super convenient. As we walked the grounds, it was quite apparent that students studying city surveying were practicing across the lawn, all with their tape measures out and oversized compass machines. It was pretty neat and reminded me that we were at a government building that focused on city planning and deeds. It made perfect sense.
So what was on the day's agenda? A behind-the-scenes tour of the vault and an orientation to their records -- just another in-depth experience I wouldn't have managed without being on Donna Moughty's research trip. In fact, it was even Donna's first time in the vault!
Registry of Deeds
Although I had already found the records I was interested in online, I was curious how the entire process of researching in person on prem would go, so I was very thankful for the introduction to their memorial index room.
Registry of Deeds
Deirdre showed us the ropes, explaining there are two different sets of indexes; 1 set is indexed by Townland and 1 set is indexed by Grantor on the deed. Each giant book you can spy in the above photo is part of the townland indexes, grouped by years. Typically, most people search by Townland where their ancestor was residing and then by years of their residence in that place.
The indexes are then grouped by Baronies and alphabetized townlands within them (honestly, it can get quite confusing as you reference one index to find another index to reference a call number for a memorial of a deed). Phew! And if your Irish ancestors are anything like mine, they were poor Catholic farmers who actually didn't own any land at all. Instead, what I was looking for were deeds belonging to the family who owned the land my ancestors farmed on!
Registry of Deeds
In addition to knowing the townland your ancestor lived in, I actually think it's imperative you study the local area well enough to know all of the nearby townland and sub-townland names. In addition to finding my ancestor's townland, Farahy, in the deed books, I also saw deeds filed under all of Farahy's spelling variations: Pharighy, Farigy, Farihy, Pharihee, you name it! (Spelling didn't count, remember?) Plus, there were deeds filed under names of farms and estates that do not exist on modern maps -- such as Rahard and Bowenscourt! Bowen's Court was the name of the actual estate that the Bowen family lived on in Farahy. Basically, keep an open mind about how a person back then might be thinking about their land or describing it when writing up a deed.
After our orientation, I asked Deirdre if she had any recommendations for local eateries where a few of us could grab lunch. She mentioned that she and her coworkers frequent Blas Cafe about 2 blocks south. Janet, Kelsey, and I made our way down there, and wow -- I loved it!
Blas Cafe, Dublin
The place had a very New York loft vibe, and I ordered a traditional cheesy toasty. The only bad idea about this trip was that we actually didn't have any time to eat! I hadn't noticed the time, and that our orientation had gone long. I had a 2pm appointment back at the Registry to conduct actual research, so I had to scarf down the sandwich and hike back up the street!
Registry of Deeds
Like I said, I had already found what I needed online (basically any of the deeds surrounding Bowen's Court), so I didn't need to spend much time at my appointment.
Registry of Deeds
But I really just wanted to personally man-handle the gigantic books. They're called tombstone memorials because they're so large! If you're satisfied with just looking at the microfilm, you can check them out on FamilySearch.org.
I have to make mention of the lovely security guard downstairs at the Registry of Deeds -- Pat! He was a hoot, and welcomed us to return in the future. Most importantly, he shared an old Irish saying with me:
"An empty sack will not stand,
and a sack that's too full will not bend."
Make of that what you will! I'm only upset I didn't write down all of his words of wisdom. Perhaps I will have the pleasure of his company again one day.
A fellow researcher, Anne, and I then took the Luas back to around our hotel. There was still a little time left in the day, so I popped back over to the National Library of Ireland to finally check out the Family History Room.
National Library of Ireland
I really didn't have long, but found it a great opportunity to see what articles might come up on their computers with their Irish newspaper subscriptions, which I don't have at home. I was pleasantly surprised to find some articles related to my research instantly come up!
"In the case of the assignees of Stephen and James Roche against Mary O'Keeffe and Arthur Francis O'Keeffe, tried at Cork on Saturday, the Jury brought in a verdict for the plaintiffs for the sum of nine thousand six hundred and eight pounds five shillings and seven-pence." - Freemans Journal 1763-1924, Wednesday, April 07, 1824 Page 4
CORK ASSIZES - AUGUST 18.
TRIAL OF ARTHUR KEEFFE AND THOMAS
BOURKE FOR THE MURDER OF THE FRANKS
FAMILY.
- Freemans Journal 1763-1924, Monday, August 22, 1825 Page 1
MURDER OF THE FRANKS FAMILY
- Freemans Journal 1763-1924, Monday, August 22, 1825
It was hard to not just read all of the articles right then and there, but of course I knew I'd lose the chance to find so many others. My goal was just to capture the citations to know which online subscriptions I'd be interested in paying for when I got back home. I think I got my answer!
I squeezed out every minute until the clock struck 5pm and they kicked us out of the library. I walked across the street back to our hotel, and a group of us took off for an intimate dinner at Isabella's, a swanky pizza joint. I couldn't resist ordering my usual salmon, and it was such a good choice, despite them specializing in wood-fired pizza!
Isabella's, Dublin
I got to know some of my fellow researchers a little bit better -- brothers Drew & Jeff, Kathy and Mary! They're all such a lovely bunch. I hope I can call some of them lifelong friends or at least lifelong genealogy buff friends! Every genealogist needs some of those in their life so they can always talk genealogy all day long without weird or bored looks.
The day came to a close, and I discovered the new season of Big Brother UK had just begun back in my hotel room. I was thrilled!
Day 7 (Friday) will see a return trip to the Valuation Office and my all-time favorite stop again -- the National Library of Ireland Manuscripts Room!
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