Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

Unfortunately I still have not yet had the chance to attend a RootsTech genealogy conference in person, however, 2025 marks the fourth year in a row I've watched virtually since their quick and nimble transition during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. I'm quite thankful for the plethora of videos and keynote presentations FamilySearch has offered online since that point in history, and for FREE, nonetheless! In the handful of presentations I've managed to view or listen to so far this year, there was one put on by Claire Bradley , a Dublin-based genetic genealogist, that helped me strike gold in my research! Her talk was called Irish Genealogy Resources at the Virtual Treasury . It explored the holdings of the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland which has had the goal of recreating an online database of documents lost during the Four Courts Fire of 1922 at the Public Record Office of Ireland.  Obviously, due to the devastating destruction at that archive, many original recor...

I can't begin to explain how much this tour helped grow my research skills! It was a great opportunity to learn how different repositories operate and proper etiquette to use in each. Plus, I had the chance to meet plenty of other family history buffs, and every day I learned something new from our courageous leader, Donna Moughty. Buswells Hotel, Dublin, Ireland DAY 8 Since we had no formal plans as a research group for our final official day in Dublin, one of the last times to mingle with everyone at once was downstairs in Buswell's restaurant for breakfast, and then everyone would be off in their own directions around the city until dinner time. Donna was there, along with Drew, Janet, and Anne while I dined on some eggs and hot chocolate. We all sat in the back cove at a long table where everyone could come and go as they please. We chatted about our finds throughout the week, updates in the world of online genealogy software, and bits about our lives outside of our family ...

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 6 The 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! 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...