 Ancestor Network and John Hamrock in the News
Find out about about past and future news events involving genealogy and family history with John Hamrock, Irish Genealogist and Writer. Check this page periodically to find out about upcoming events or announcements. Publications 'The origins and chief locations of the O Gara sept,' Féil-Scríbhin Liam Mhic Alasdair or Essays Presented to Liam Mac Alasdair, Genealogical Society of Ireland, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, December, 2009, pages 50-59. The Genealogical Society of Ireland presented Liam Mac Alasdair, a longstanding member, Fellow and former Director of the Society with 'Feil-Scribhin Liam Mhic Alasdair,' or 'Essays Presented to Liam Mac Alasdair' on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009. This collection of essays by Members and Friends of the Genealogical Society of Ireland covers a range of subjects from genealogy, heraldry, social history, military history, Orders of Chivalry, cultural studies, clan/sept histories, family histories and the Irish abroad. The work was edited by Rory Stanley and contributors include Dr. Noel Cox, Jim Herlihy, Bartoz Kowlowski, Roisin Lafferty, Philip Lecane, Sean Mac Bradaigh, Tony McCarthy, Caroline McCall, Katrijne Merrigan, Michael Merrigan, Seamus Moriarty, Sean Murphy, Barry O'Connor, David O Morchue, Seamus O'Reilly, Jaùes Scannell, and your truly, John Hamrock. John Hamrock's essay on pages 50-59 is entitled, 'The origins and chief locations of the O Gara sept' and is an excerpt from a more extensive history of the O'Gara sept which he hopes to have published in due course. Press Releases Family History and Genealogy Radio Discussion on Dublin's Talking, Dublin's Country Mix 106.8 FM Speaking Events John Hamrock Presents Paper at Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society Annual Conference John Hamrock will present a paper at Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society Annual Conference to be held over two days at University College Dublin on Friday, 4th September and Saturday, 5th September 2009. This year’s conference will be focused on the Penal Laws. This conference is supported by the School of History and Archives, the Humanities institute of Ireland, and the Micheál Ó Cléirigh Institute. John’s paper is entitled, ‘Irish Augustinians in the Penal Times.’ The draft agenda of the conference is supplied here. Please check back on a periodic basis to obtain the latest conference agenda. 
Newspaper Articles Magazines National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 97, No. 1, March 2009, book review by Eileen O Duill Radio John Hamrock will be presenting a family history / genealogy programme on Dublin's Country Mix 106.8fm from Monday morning, May 11th 2009 on a weekly basis. Dublin’s Country Mix is a Country and Western/Easy listening style Radio Station. From time to time the Station features articles on air that are of special interest to listeners. For example Gardening, Wine, Books etc.  John Hamrock will present from the studio once a week to instruct listeners on how to trace their ancestors with hints and tips to help them. This will be of great interest and practical value to Dublin’s Country Mix listeners interested in how to trace their ancestors.
Country Mix's flagship programme has one of the most professional and experienced female presenters in mainstream radio today, Lynsey Dolan. 
Lynsey hosts two hours of chat every morning from 9am - from major topics of the day to what’s what in Entertainment and now genealogy will join the list of those topics of interest to radio listeners. Television 
John Hamrock was interviewed by the NBC Universal's Today Show on Saturday, 7th March for the March 16th and 17th (St. Patrick's Day shows) talking about US Presidents and Vice Presidential candidates such as Barak Obama and Sarah Palin who have Irish roots. The interview was conducted in the Research Room of the Dublin City Library and Archive on Saturday; 7th March by Angela LaGreca, Producer of the Today Show. Unfortunately, John's interview was not aired, however it may be broadcast in the future on a program about Sarah Palin's Irish roots. Stay tuned. Other Genealogy/Family History Websites Association of Professional Genealogists, www.apgen.org Flyleaf Press, www.flyleaf.ie Book Review, Irish Family History Society Digital Genealogist Magazine Leading South African Genealogy Web Site, Ancestor.co.za Other Events The National Library of Ireland is hosting a lecture by Dr. Eric Haywood, Department of Italian, University College Dublin, entitled, 'Imagining Ireland in Renaissance Italy' on Wednesday, 13 May 2009 at 7:00pm. Admission is free. No booking required. The Irish Genealogical Research Society - Ireland Branch is hosting an Open Day at Dublin City Library and Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, on Saturday, 16th May from 10:00 to 16:30. Speakers will include Daire Keogh, Aideen Ireland, Rachel Barrett, and Paul Gorry. There will also be an Ask the Experts Question and Answer Session. Admission free. All welcome. The Society is also hosting a Summer Outing on 20th June visit to Newbridge House and Battle of the Boyne Interpretative Centre, Co. Meath. The Irish Genealogical Research Society - Ireland Branch is hosting its Annual Genealogy Open Day which will take place on Saturday, 16th May 2009 from 10:00am to 4:00pm at Dublin City Library and Archive, 138 - 142 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. There will be a full programme of lectures and a therapy session for genealogical problems. Further details to follow. All are welcome. Miriam Moffitt, author of Soupers and Jumpers - the 19th Century Protestant Missions in Connemara, spoke at Dublin City Library and Archive on Pearse Street, Dublin 2, at 3:15pmn on Satrurday, 4th April 2009. This talk was sponsored by the Irish Genealogical Research Society and followed the Society's AGM at 2:30pm (members only). At the Ireland Branch of the Irish Genealogical Society Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 4th April, 2009 at Dublin City Library and Archive, John Hamrock was elected to the Branch Committee for the 2009/2010 year. The Irish Genealogical Research Society is hosting a Spring Lecture at Buswell's Hotel on Kildare Street, Dublin 2, at 7:00pm, Monday, 30th March 2009. The Speaker is Dr. Ciara Breathnach and her talk is, 'The nature of Wills and the prevalence of Intestacy in modern Ireland.' Admission is free and all are welcome. Dublin City and Archive hosted the annual Family History Day on Saturday, 28th March 2009. Sean Murphy of UCD's talk at 10:00am is 'Know Your Surnames.' This is followed by a talk by John Grenham entitled 'The New Dublin Freemen and Trade Guild Database' at 10:45am. Douglas Appleyard is speaking at 12:00pm on 'Searching the Stoker Family.' At 2:00pm Paul Gorry is speaking 'Can I Trace Emigrants?' and Steven Smyrl is speaking at 2:45p, on 'Ireland's Court Records - What Survived 1922?' It proved to be a an informative and interesting day for family historians. John Hamrock attended the NEHGS and The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) St. Patrick’s Day Seminar in Boston; Massachusetts on
Saturday, March 14, 2009, 9:30 AM—12:30 PM
This second annual jointly sponsored half-day seminar featured two presentations, Irish Archives, Libraries and Genealogy Centres by Robert O'Neill, Ph.D and Public Health Records in Massachusetts: a Resource for Irish Family History by Marie Daly. Robert K. O'Neill is the Burns Librarian at Boston College. He is the editor of Irish Libraries: Archives, Museums & Genealogical Centres. Marie Daly is Director of Library Services at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. She is the past president and co-founder of TIARA (The Irish Ancestral Research Association) and has been researching, lecturing, and writing about Irish genealogy since 1976. Marie Daly kindly introduced John Hamrock and his book to the audience. Marie also provided a tour of NEHGS to the participants. The event was free and open to TIARA and NEHGS members. 
John Hamrock of Ancestor.ie attended the Who Do You Think You Are Live exhibition at the Olympia in London from 29 February 2009 to 1 March 2009. 
John joined the Irish Roots magazine stand to display his book 'TracingYour Roscommon Ancestors' and other Flyleaf Press works and to share Irish genealogical advice with visitors to the stand. There were also several interesting talks which John attended. In addition to Ancestor.ie and Irish Roots, other Irish participants included the National Library of Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Irish Family History Foundation, Eneclann, and many more. Maureen Taylor of www.photodetective.com also provided advice to visitors of the Irish Roots stand. John would like to thank all the visitors to the Irish Roots stand and to thank Julie and Maureen Phibbs for their hospitality and great company. 
Other events will be announced as they materialise. | 
