The Shamrocks Delivered!
by Sharon Bowles
Indeed, our Irish visitors gifted us with a pot of genealogical gold at the 2025 Spring Seminar held on March 15. The Ulster Historical Foundation team of Gillian Hunt and Fintan Mullan proved to be both extremely knowledgeable and charming.
Over one hundred people were treated to a well-organized journey through the complex Irish dual system of church and civil records. In an unexpected bonus, seminar attendees were given access to a wealth of additional resources not covered by the lectures.
Fintan and Gillian also brought an array of interesting books on Northern Irish genealogy which were quickly snapped up by the in-person attendees (these books and many others are available to purchase on the UHF website.)
Following the seminar, the UHF team and the DGS seminar volunteers enjoyed a lively dinner at Dallas staple restaurant Celebration.
On Sunday, Fintan and Gillian returned to the Dallas Public Library to hold sixteen one-on-one research in the McDermott Room. DGS staff kept the coffee and chocolates coming throughout the day.
All the consultees emerged with a smile on their face, expressing what a positive experience they had. They felt they reached great starting points to continue their Irish history search.
DGS member Ken J says of his brick wall issue; “This advice to focus on church records instead of civil made my research more likely successful, instead of frustrating. It narrowed the numerous Irish records I might have been needlessly exploring.” Kim E learned that her ancestor’s county records are just now being digitized, which helped explain why she could not find them thus far. I appreciated the email Fintan sent me with a list of every resource we discussed. This helped me to pay more attention to him in the consultation, instead of furiously scratching down illegible notes.
During the two-day event, we learned that our new Northern Irish friends were huge fans of the TV show Dallas! While there was not time to visit Southfork Ranch, we did help them end this leg of their fast-paced US tour with a trip to the 6th Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza. This visit made a significant impression on them, and they thanked us for making the opportunity available. Gillian and Fintan also expressed thanks to DGS for running a smooth operation, with excellent tech support. They felt that they could relax and concentrate on their work of helping us to tear down our Irish and Scots Irish brick walls.
The UHF tour has ended, and the team returned to Belfast today, Wed. March 19. The recordings of the lectures are now available. If you missed the seminar, you can still register to get access to the recordings, which will be open through April 8.
