Published by the Irish Tourist Association as part of the See Ireland First Series, Galway and Mayo is a small but extremely pretty publication. Included in the 37 pages are 10 pages of photographs of some of the most picturesque and beautiful sites of Galway and Mayo. The text itself covers many of the areas which would be of interest to tourists visiting the region. Beginning in Galway City and covering aspects of the city's history and places to visit the university the book moves out to the surrounding areas such as Slathill and Barna and beyond covering areas such as Cong, the Aran Islands, Connemara, Clifden, Roundstone, Leenane, Loughrea and Kilmaduagh.
The second part of the book deals with Mayo, again covering areas like Westport, Croagh Patrick, Achill Island, Belmullet, Foxford and Castlebar. There are useful tips regarding transportation, areas to fish and particular sights to see. Despite this being a small publication is it a very attractive one covering a very picturesque part of Ireland.
This biography of The "Great Earl", Gerald, 8th earl of Kildare by Donough Bryan is an important landmark in the scholarship of late mediaeval Ireland. Bryan's research was excellent and typified the emerging commitment to evidence based history. Tragically Bryan died before he could complete his research aged only 28, but his mentor, Professor Edmund Curtis of Trinity College, ensured that the work was completed and published in 1933.
Gerald Fitzgerald, 8th earl of Kildare (1456-1513) was a towering political figure. Often referred to as the "uncrowned King of Ireland" he was both the King's representative in Ireland and often the greatest threat to royal authority. By allying himself with the powerful O'Neills in Ulster, and other Gaelic and Anglo-Norman lineages, he created an imposing bloc of mutually dependent interest groups. His success in achieving this authority, and maintaining it, is the principal theme of Bryan's work.
Bryan covers all aspects of the history of this time with skill and evident knowledge. The book is a must for all scholars of this period.
Printed for the Parish Register Society of Dublin by William Pollard & Co., and first published in 1908 is volume V of the Parish Register Society of Dublin, the Registers of St. Catherine, Dublin, 1636-1715. Republished here on fully-searchable CD-Rom the registers for St. Catherine are amongst the oldest surviving parish records in Ireland.
By Act of Parliament on 1875 the parish registers of the Established Church of Ireland were placed under the Control of the Master of the Rolls. However, by the time of the publication of volume I of the Parish Register Society in 1906, one of the main conditions of the Act, namely the concentration, collection and depositing of the parish registers of the former Established Church in the Public Record Office of Ireland in Dublin, had not taken place. In a sense and with hindsight this transpired to be fortuitous as many of the parochial records that did find their way to the Public Record Office were destroyed in the infamous 1922 fire. In line with the formation of a number of Parish Register Societies in England, it was deemed necessary by the founding members of the Parish Register Society of Dublin to make publicly available the older and more important surviving parish registers of the Established Church of Ireland, beginning with the oldest in the country, those of Dublin City, for the valuable work undertaken by genealogists and local and family historians.
There would appear to have been no obligation to keep parish registers in Ireland until the Canon of 1634, although there had been an abortive attempt to introduce a form of public registration as early as 1617. However, this was discontinued in 1620 in a row over fees, the year after the commencement of the St. John's registers, the oldest surviving parish registers in Ireland. The Canon of 1634 required every parish and chapel in Ireland to keep a book wherein must be written the day and year of every Christening, marriage and burial. The Canon does no appear to have been strictly enforced as no registers in Ireland begin immediately after the date of instruction. Only two registers in Ireland pre-date the Canon, that of St. John's and St. Brigid, Dublin and in only five other instances are registers known to pre-date 1642, amongst these are the registers for St. Catherine extracts for which date from 1636.
Although the earliest known parish register for St. Catherine dates from 1636, the first register that has survived in its entirety dates from 1679 to 1744. The earlier periods published by the Parish Register Society of Dublin were extracted from a manuscript held at Trinity College, Dublin, which contained entries for the parishes of Saints Catherine and James dating from 1636 and was supposed that a register had once existed for the parish that was begun in compliance with the Canon of 1634. Unfortunately, the entries taken from the Trinity College manuscript pertaining to St. Catherine constitute only a handful of pages of the Society's publication although they cover the considerable time period of 1636 to 1679. Until 1707 the parish of St. Catherine was united with those of St. James and St. John, Kilmainham, but was separated due to the unwieldy size of this parish. Among the many street and alley situated in the parish are Thomas Street, Patrick Street, Marrowbone Lane, Meath Street, Dolphin's Barn and Cornmarket. The parish was never a fashionable district, but because due to the nature of the patrons of the parish and the landlords that owned it many personages of high rank and status can be found in the parish registers.
Included in this publication are extracts taken from the Subsidy Roll of the City of Dublin pertaining to the parish of St. Catherine taken in 1637 and the Hearth Money Roll for the City for the years 1666-7. Included are extensive lists of persons and places appearing in the published register, which contains just over 300 printed pages republished here on fully-searchable CD-Rom. The republication of the Parish Registers for St. Catherine, Dublin, must remain as relevant to the genealogist and family historian today as they were when the registers were first published.
This edition of Kelly's Directory was published in 1898 and is republished here on CD-Rom. Spread over 745 pages this publication is a treasure trove of information for Essex in the late Nineteenth Century. This directory includes every parish in the county and provides a thorough topographical description of every town, parish, village and township, describing the principal buildings and geographical objects of interest in each. Great care is also taken in Kelly's treatment of the ecclesiastical divisions of the county with descriptions of all the churches, cathedrals the value of the livings, parochial incumbents and patrons. The same level of detail is provided for the civil and local administration of the county with full information on county courts, districts fairs, markets, county hunts as well as communications such as rail and post throughout the county.
Beginning with Abberton and ending with Little (or Upper) Yeldham the amount of detail included for each one is enormous. This is then followed by a Private Residential Directory for Essex. Listing the head of household there are over 10,000 names in this section alone. The Trades and Professional directory is spread over 155 pages and contains approximately 20,000 businesses listed alphabetically by profession.
This edition of Kelly's Directory of Essex is prefaced by a topographical and geological description of the county and is concluded with an extensive advertising section. For anyone with even the slightest interest in the residents, topography of descriptions of the county of Essex this fully-searchable 1898 edition of Kelly's Directory is highly recommended.
Published in London and New York in 1930 by Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., and republished here on fully-searchable CD-Rom is the second series of John Roby's Traditions of Lancashire. Originally published in 1831, this second series prove to be an excellent companion to the first series originally published in 1829 and republished in 1928.
Born on Wigan in 1793, John Roby began his career as a banker in Rochdale, but by the early 1820s was consumed by his passion for collecting stories. This led to his publication of the first series of The Traditions of Lancashire, which proved to be extremely influential and a huge hit with the British upper classes. Due to the book's popularity it was quickly followed in 1831 with this publication of a second series of Traditions. Continuing in the same vein as the first series this second series contains another eighteen stories, again accompanied by engravings. As an added bonus the 1930 edition of the second series contained a further three stories which were published in 1853 in "Legendary and Political Remains" after the author's death.
For any one who has a copy of the first series of Roby's Traditions this is an essential follow up.
The Historical Manuscripts Commission was established by royal charter in 1869 with the express purpose of reporting on papers of historical interest in private keeping. The first two reports, dated 1870 and 1871, are republished here. They cover 520 pages, and show that the body was exceptionally active in fulfilling the task assigned to it.
The first report is 13 pages long, with a 133 page appendix. This appendix gives the various separate reports for each collection or location visited. It commences with a detailed look at the records of the House of Lords, and then proceeds to cover a great many aristocratic residences, such as Kimbolton Castle, Blickling Hall, Hatton Collection, Crome Court, Macclesfield, Tabley House, Trelawne, Stanford Court, and many others. Sevceral Cambridge colleges are reported on, as well as some important religious instiutions, like Norwich cathedral. The English report concludes with a look at some town and city corporation records, such as Bridgewater and Coventry.
There is a detailed report for Scotland, with extended treatment for Hamilton Palace, titled aristocrats like Richmond and Lothian, the Catholic Bishop of Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh, and corporations of Glasgow & Edinburgh. A small number of reports are published for Ireland, including the aristocratic collections of Charlemont, Rosse, and Talbot de Malahide, and the corporations of Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford and Cork.
The second is 22 pages with an appendix of 263 pages. This covers many more places, including early reports on collections which were to become hallmark series for the HMC such as Bedford and Ormond. There are 41 English aristocratic collections, 17 for Scotland and 7 for Ireland, along with several colleges and corporations.
The two volume set is then completed with a comprehensive 85-page index. This publication is essential for scholars of early modern and medieval history in Britain or Ireland.
Strathendrick, situated along the shore of Loch Lomond is a particularly beautiful and picturesque part of Scotland. Published in 1896 Strathendrick and its Inhabitants from Early Times was completed after the death of it's author John Guthrie Smith in 1894. Guthrie Smith was a well known Scottish historian and antiquarian who published a similar work on the Parish of Strathblane in 1886. He was also the author of several treatises and digests on the law in Scotland. This edition begins with an extensive memoir of the author himself.
The main body of the publications begins with the ecclesiastical history of the area, covering Fintry, Balfron, Killearn, Drymen, Buchanan, and Kilmaronock separately in individual chapters. This is followed by a history of some of the leading families of Strathendrick and the lands of the area, such as the Grahams of Fintry, the Galbraiths of Culcreuch, the Napiers, the estates of Aucheneck and Dalnair, as well at the Temple Lands of Letter and Balglas.
The final part of the book is made up of the Buchanan genealogies. Much like the previous sections of the book each branch of the family is given its own seperate chapter. Beginning with the Buchanans of Buchanan and the arrival in to Scotland from Ulster, continues with the Buchanans of Leny and Cadets, Drummikill and Cadets, Carbeth and Cadets, Arnpryor, Spittal and finally Auchmar. This part of the publication is enhanced with the inclusion of two extensive family trees.
Spread over 450 pages this is an enormously detailed history of Strathendrick, its lands and its families. Including images, a large map and the family trees, this publication is a must for anyone with an interest in Strathendrick.
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