OXFORD,
Miss. – Do you remember hearing your grandparents talk about a distant
cousin from County Clare? Since a large number of Irish immigrants made
their way into the Mid-South years ago, many local residents can trace
their ancestry back to such Gaelic roots.
Representatives from the Ulster Historical Foundation visit the University of Mississippi Oct. 9 to teach a daylong workshop on Irish genealogy, clans, history and culture. Brian Trainor and William Roulston, experts in Irish diaspora, are slated to discuss the patterns of emigration from Ireland to America and the sources of its study. Participants will learn about civil registration records and records relating to the different churches for Irish and Scots-Irish research.
The workshop runs 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Yerby Conference Center Auditorium. The fee is $40 and the registration deadline is Sept. 25. To register, contact Leteria McDonald McGee at 662-915-7283 or lmcdonal@olemiss.edu.
Roulston, research director of the Ulster Historical Foundation, specializes in genealogical research and heritage consultancy. He holds a doctorate in archaeology from Queen’s University in Belfast. He has written and edited a number of books, including (with Eileen Murphy) “Fermanagh: History and Society” (Dublin, 2004) and “Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors” (Belfast, 2005).
He has worked with the BBC on radio and television programs relating to local and family history and has participated in numerous historical and genealogical conferences. He is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a member of council of both the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland and the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society.
Trainor retired as the Ulster Historical Foundation’s research director in September 2006. He was educated at Queen’s University in Belfast and attended the Institute of Historical Research in London. He returned to Belfast, where he lectured for several years at Queen’s before becoming, in 1956, an archivist in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
He was director of the Public Record Office from 1970 to 1987, when he became director of the Ulster Historical Foundation. He holds an honorary doctorate of law from the National University of Ireland. He has been on more than 30 lecture tours to America and has spoken on Irish history and genealogy in more than 40 states.
For more information and for assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7283.