It's been a whirlwind of a month since I last posted. Not only did I begin the ProGen Study Group (a study group set up to study the classic textbook Professional Genealogy, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills) I also have been madly preparing for my research trip to Ireland. In fact, I am posting this from my Dublin hotel room on the last day of my stay.

It's been genealogy nearly the whole trip, except for a half day Saturday, and all day Sunday when they close all the libraries and archives and force me to enjoy their lovely city! I lived in Dublin for three months in 2012, so it's a bit like returning home. Since I lived in the downtown core, I'm already used to walking to all the repositories, which is also a great way to get some exercise and clear your head after spending the day looking at microfilm or old documents.

This trip, almost as soon as I got off the plane, I hit the General Registry Office to pick up some vital records. Jackpot! They were the right ones! The next day was spent on land records at the Valuation Office. The following few days were spent at the National Library looking at books and newspaper microfilm and also in the manuscript room looking at landed estate records. And finally today I spent a bit of time at the National Archives looking at field, house and tenure books.

When I get home, it will take several days to sort out the photos and transcriptions that I have come away with and analyze what I have, and make a plan for next time based on what I didn't have time to look at this year. I'm very pleased with how much I got through this year! Now for a well-deserved swim, dinner, and early to bed before I get on the plane in the morning!

Sláinte,

Colleen

The attached photo is of the outside of the National Archives of Ireland.