Upcoming Events - Irish Ancestry Discussion Circle (IADC)

Are you tracing your family from Ireland? Join us at the Genealogical Society of Victoria for a dedicated in-person Irish Library Day. So many Australians have Irish roots — but tracking down exactly where your ancestors came from can be one of the trickiest challenges in family history. Are you just beginning to search for your immigrant ancestor's county or parish, or are you trying to break through a long-standing "brick wall" caused by Ireland's notoriously fragmented historical records? Come along to get a taste of the GSV's specialised resources. 

What We Will Cover

• Navigating the GSV Catalogue: Learn how to find Irish family histories and indexes unique to our collection.
• Irish-Australian Records: Explore shipping lists, assisted immigration records, naturalisation records and church indexes relevant to Irish arrivals in Victoria — many of whom came during or after the Great Famine.
• Finding the Townland: Get hands-on help using maps to pinpoint the county, barony and parish your ancestors called home before they emigrated.
• Expert Research Tips: Tackle the unique challenges of Irish research — from surviving record losses to deciphering Griffith's Valuation, civil registration, and Catholic parish registers.

Submit Your Questions Once you have registered, to help our volunteers provide the most relevant guidance, please submit an outline of your query to irish.ancestry@gsv.org.au (e.g. the O'Grady family of Wexford pre 1860). This allows us to identify helpful resources in the GSV collection prior to your arrival. Limited to 6 people at each session.

GSV Members only, free of charge. Bookings are essential, please log in to access the registration form.
Location: Level 1, 10 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Are you tracing your family from Ireland? Join us at the Genealogical Society of Victoria for a dedicated in-person Irish Library Day. So many Australians have Irish roots — but tracking down exactly where your ancestors came from can be one of the trickiest challenges in family history. Are you just beginning to search for your immigrant ancestor's county or parish, or are you trying to break through a long-standing "brick wall" caused by Ireland's notoriously fragmented historical records? Come along to get a taste of the GSV's specialised resources. 

What We Will Cover

• Navigating the GSV Catalogue: Learn how to find Irish family histories and indexes unique to our collection.
• Irish-Australian Records: Explore shipping lists, assisted immigration records, naturalisation records and church indexes relevant to Irish arrivals in Victoria — many of whom came during or after the Great Famine.
• Finding the Townland: Get hands-on help using maps to pinpoint the county, barony and parish your ancestors called home before they emigrated.
• Expert Research Tips: Tackle the unique challenges of Irish research — from surviving record losses to deciphering Griffith's Valuation, civil registration, and Catholic parish registers.

Submit Your Questions Once you have registered, to help our volunteers provide the most relevant guidance, please submit an outline of your query to irish.ancestry@gsv.org.au (e.g. the O'Grady family of Wexford pre 1860). This allows us to identify helpful resources in the GSV collection prior to your arrival. Limited to 6 people at each session.

GSV Members only, free of charge. Bookings are essential, please log in to access the registration form.
Location: Level 1, 10 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

This is a face-to-face meeting at the Kathleen Syme Library, Carlton. Our speaker is James Nicolas, who will present on the Victorian history of the Irish National Foresters Friendly Society, which was established in 1886 and provided Irish-focused dance, sport and entertainment, as well as income benefits and medical support.  James' talk will be followed by afternoon tea and socialising.

Even though this event will not be on Zoom, we do need members to register for it in the same way that they would register for a Zoom event.

More information about the Irish Ancestry Group can be found at https://www.gsv.org.au/irish-ancestry-discussion-circle

For GSV members only. Free of charge. Please log in to register. Note, bookings open 3 months before the event.