The genetic genealogy community is well represented at this year’s Genetic Genealogy Ireland. The good news is that this year every possible speaker slot has been used up and the packed lecture schedule promises to be both informative and exhilarating.
Returning speakers include some very familiar names:
- Katherine Borges (US), director of ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy)
- Gerard Corcoran (IRL), ISOGG Ireland regional representative
- Debbie Kennett (UK), author, blogger, project administrator, & Honorary Clinical Research Associate at University College London
- Cynthia Wells (US), project administrator, Assistant Director of the Reedy Creek Family History Centre
- Tyrone Bowes (IRL), director of IrishOrigenes
- Maurice Gleeson (IRL), project administrator and coordinator of Genetic Genealogy Ireland
New speakers from our genetic genealogy community include:
- Paul Burns (US), administrator of the Byrne DNA Project
- Emily Aulicino (US), project administrator, and blogger
- Brad Larkin (US), administrator of the Larkin DNA Project, and editor of the SurnameDNA Journal
In addition there will be at least five academic speakers to complete the full presentation schedule, which will be announced in several weeks. All in all, the line up of international speakers promises to make this a very engaging conference with topics of wide appeal to the general Irish public and indeed to anyone with Irish ancestry. Like last year, many of the DNA Lectures will be recorded and can be viewed for free on the Genetic Genealogy Ireland YouTube Channel. You can expect exciting revelations, the latest scientific discoveries, and genealogy news “hot off the press”.
The DNA Lectures are run in conjunction with Back to Our Past (BTOP), Ireland’s national genealogical exhibition, and there will be something for everyone at the event, whether you are an advanced genetic genealogist or only just starting out with your family tree research.
- A host of genealogical companies display their products & services and offer hands-on demonstrations and free use of their websites and software programmes.
- There are two sets of traditional genealogy lectures that nicely compliment the DNA Lectures and provide excellent practical information about researching your Irish genealogy.
- Last year saw the introduction of free consultation sessions with professional genealogists from APGI (Association of Professional Genealogists of Ireland) so expert individual advice is on hand to help with your specific queries and questions.
- In addition, BTOP is a great place to socialise, make new friends, and network with genealogy colleagues – there is no better way to spur on your own research.
- There will be a special Social Programme for ISOGG members, and this will be announced in a subsequent post.
- And DNA testing will be available at the FamilyTreeDNA stand with free DNA tests available for some lucky people - check out the Free DNA Tests page on the ISOGG wiki to see if you qualify.
And if you needed another reason to come to this year’s event, Dublin is a great place to consult primary sources, many of which are not available outside of Dublin. All the main repositories are not that far from each other, making it easy to access them:
- National Archives of Ireland
- National Library of Ireland
- Dublin City Library & Archive
- The Valuation Office
- Royal Irish Academy
- Glasnevin Cemetery
- Mount Jerome Cemetery
- Representative Church Body Library
- and many others
What would you like to visit?
There is no better time to give your Irish genealogical research a real boost, and no better place than Back to Our Past in Dublin this October.
See you there!
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