Forthcoming talks at PRONI in Belfast

Forthomcing talks at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni):

Year of food and drink Lecture Series.

As 2016 is the Northern Ireland year of food and drink, PRONI are pleased to announce a lecture series taking place in September to mark the occasion.

Dates, titles and speaker for these talks are.

2nd September – Flax growing and linen production – by Liam Corry
9th September- ‘Our daily bread’ – by James Davidson
12th September – ‘Tea’ – by Pamela Emerson
16th September – ‘Rationing’ – by Ciaran Doran
26th September – ‘Temperance’ – by Valerie Adams
7th October – ‘A history of eating and drinking’ – by Kim Mawhinney

These lectures will commence at 1pm.


Foras Na Gaelige Lecture Series. The Irish Language today and yesterday.

PRONI are pleased to announce another joint lecture series with Foras Na Gaelige in the autumn. We will hold a series of lunchtime lectures throughout September and October 2016. These lectures will commence at 1pm.

Dates, titles and speakers for these talks are:

13th September The Origin of “the fáinne” by Professor Liam Mac Mathúna,
20th September The Influence of “the fáinne” on Belfast by Dr. Liam Andrews,
27th September Music & the Irish Language by Fergus Ó hÍr
4th October Irish-Medium Education by Diarmaid Ua Bruadair,
11th October Irish-Language Media by Tomaí Ó Conghaile
18th October Developing an Irish-Language Community by Niall Ó Catháin.


County Armagh talks series

Following on from the very successful series of county talks on Antrim and Down, PRONI has now arranged a set of tempting lectures to address topics in the history of County Armagh - such as the Newry Canal, the architectural works of the county, 18th century agrarian crime, Iron Age votive deposits in the River Blackwater, the work of the Armagh Coroner in the late 19th century and the story of a townland near Portadown. The speakers listed below scheduled to talk.


September talks:

7th September - Dr Desmond McCabe – Mysteries of Life and Death: the work of the Armagh Coroner, 1888-1889
14th September - Prof Raymond Gillespie – Knocknamuckly: the story of an Armagh townland
21st September - Geraldine Foley – The making of the Newry Canal, 1728 to 1740
28th September - Dr Greer Ramsey – Iron Age Votive deposits in the River Blackwater


October talks:

5th October - Dr. Kevin Mulligan – The Architecture of South Armagh
12th October - Dr Eoin Magennis – Steelboys, Oakboys and Bad Boys: the troubled County of Armagh, 1750 to 1800


Our Maritime Heritage – Research, Resources and Restoration

PRONI is please to host an all-day conference entitled 'Our Maritime Heritage – Research, Resources and Restoration' on Thursday 20 October 2016.

This conference explores national, local and individual responses to how we protect our maritime heritage.


(With thanks to the PRONI Express)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Exhibition - Lifting the Lid: 400 years of food and drink in Scotland

News of a new exhibition from the National Library of Scotland (www.nls.uk):

Lifting the Lid: 400 years of food and drink in Scotland

Using the Library’s rich collections of manuscript and printed recipe books, our new exhibition explores Scotland’s changing relationship with food and drink over the centuries, as part of the Year of Food and Drink 2015.

Lifting the Lid has been designed like the chapters of a modern day cook book with separate sections on soups, oatmeal and bread, fish, meat, vegetables, desserts and baking, jams and preserves.

Each section has a kitchen counter with items displayed and memorable quotes about food and diet appear on chopping boards.

Admission free.
George IV Bridge, Edinburgh

(With thanks to the NLS)

Chris

The latest British GENES podcast is available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/podcasts.html. For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

320 year old culinary recipe book project

An interesting story is in today's Irish Independent about a family recipe book currently being studied by Westminster City Archives in London, compiled between 1690 and 1820, entitled The Cookbook of Unknown Ladies. The recipes in the book provide an idea of the eating habits of an upper middle-class Georgian family in the period. There's even a blog following attempts to recreate some of the recipes, available at www.lostcookbook.wordpress.com

For the full story visit www.independent.ie/lifestyle/one-family-one-recipe-book-and-over-300-years-of-culinary-history-29434818.html

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

25 foods we've forgotten

There's an interesting piece from the Beeb detailing 25 food stuffs that the Brits have forgotten about - see if you recognise any at www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17337689.

One thing I wish I could get here in Largs was something I used to eat as a boy in Carrickfergus in bag loads - dulse, a form of edible seaweed. I used to buy it in wee 10p bags each week, healthy stuff, packed with iodine and really tasty. Last time I tried it was when somebody bought me a small pre-packaged supermarket manufactured box of the stuff in Kilkenny - it was absolutely vile, God only knows how much salt and how many e-numbers they'd added to it!

I also note the desire for crubeens in the piece, basically pigs trotters. My father brought some home in Carrick one day for our dinner. "Right boys," says he, "pigs trotters for dinner tonight, and I want it all eaten." What he didn't know in his Carrick Masterchef mode was that it takes slightly longer to cook the things than one solitary hour. There's nothing worse as a nine year old than trying to eat a mostly raw, but slightly warmed up parboiled pig's foot - I mean just getting through the skin was a nightmare.

Spuds were nice though...! :)

Chris

British GENES on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES and Twitter @chrismpaton

Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ScottishGenealogyResearch