September 20 - Irish Schools Collection - with Jill Williams

Name: September 20 - Irish Schools Collection - with Jill Williams
Start: 2025-09-20T10:45:00-04:00
Location: Freeport Memorial Library

Schedule

Sat, 20 Sep, 2025 at 10:45 am

UTC-04:00

Location

Freeport Memorial Library | Freeport, NY

September 20 - Irish Schools Collection - with Jill Williams
This presentation will be held in-person at the Freeport Memorial Library, 144 West Merrick Road, Freeport, NY 11520, and virtually for members via Zoom.
*Always check for last-minute meeting day changes due to weather or technical issues. We will send you emails and post updated information on our website, IFHF.org, and Facebook.
The Irish Family History Forum offers nine world-class Irish Genealogy lectures, both in person and on ZOOM. Handouts and most of our presentations are recorded and available to our MEMBERS for viewing on our website for a limited time after the original presentation.

If you would like to join the Irish Family History Forum, go to: https://ifhf.org/index.php/plans/join-ifhf/
Individual: $30 a year.
Family: two people (one address) - $40 a year
Student (with a student ID) - $15 a year

*Upcoming Presentations
September 20
Irish Schools Collection - with Jill Williams
In the late 1930s, more than 50,000 children in 5,000 primary schools in the Irish Free State were enlisted to collect folklore in their home districts. This included oral history, topographical information, folktales and legends, riddles and proverbs, games and pastimes, as well as trades and crafts. The children recorded this material from their parents, grandparents, and neighbors, and it can now be found and searched in the Irish Schools’ Collection at www.duchas.ie. Jill Williams will discuss this underutilized resource and encourage our members to explore it further.

Jill Williams has been teaching family history courses for over two decades. She was a longtime volunteer at the Irish Genealogical Research Society library in London and is a fellow of the society.

October 18
The Great Hunger - with Elizabeth Stack
Between 1846 and 1851, approximately one million people in Ireland died due to famine-related causes. Most deaths were due to diseases like typhus rather than starvation per se, although diseases like dysentery and scurvy are related to lack of food.

Elizabeth Stack will discuss the conditions that led to the failure of the potato crop and the devastating consequences for Ireland's population. She will examine the response of the British government and the landlords, as well as testimonies from eyewitnesses. American charity in Ireland and the mass migration, including life on board the so-called coffin ships, will also be covered.

Elizabeth Stack, Ph.D., who is the executive director of the American Irish Historical Society in New York City, was previously executive director of the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, New York. At Fordham University, she taught Irish and Irish American history and was associate director of Fordham’s Institute of Irish Studies. She is a frequent guest on podcasts and radio shows about Irish America.

November 15
Old Irish Surnames - with Irene Morgan
Your brick wall could be a modern-day blind spot in surname pronunciation or spelling. Old Irish surnames are living, breathing entities that have shape-shifted and evolved across generations. Discover how to navigate mysterious spelling variants and aliases to trace elusive family names back to Ireland.
Irene Morgan, a native Irish speaker, is the resident genealogy writer for Ireland Reaching Out and the founder of Irish Quest. In January, she spoke to the Forum about Irish forenames and nicknames.
December 14 - At the Irish Coffee Pub
Christmas Party, save the date

January 17
Researching with Census Records - with Kerri Tannenbaum
Information to come

February 21
Information to come -
March 21
The Orphan Train - with Frank McKenna
Information to come

Members, thank you for your support, 30+ years and counting!
Members with email addresses on file will receive a MailChimp Zoom Invitation email about one week before the presentation. If you do not receive your invitation, contact [email protected] to ensure your correct email address is on file.
Members, if you can’t find your MailChimp Zoom Invitation email, don't worry. You can access an invitation by visiting the ifhf.org website, clicking "Member Resources," and then selecting "Monthly Meeting Link." When you do, you will see an "Invitation Link" to register for the Zoom Webinar.