DUP removes funding from Placenames NI site triggering latest themuns versus usuns spat

Those of us from Northern Ireland won't be surprised at the latest depressing 'themuns versus usuns' spat, with the Democratic Unionist Party Communities Minister Gordon Lyons now removing funding from the popular The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project website at www.placenamesNI.org as he states "is it something that is necessary"? 

The fact that the site is used to help councils with Irish-English street name translations is of course coincidental, and his actions clearly have nothing to do with the DUP's hostility towards the Irish language in Northern Ireland, which one of their foolish representatives once called a "leprechaun language". This is the same party that hijacked the Ulster Scots language for political purposes during the Troubles in exactly the same way that Sinn Féin hijacked the Irish language for its purposes - "themuns have their language, and usuns have ours". The actions of both sides did untold damage to both languages, and like kids in a schoolyard still not getting their way, the arguments continue to this day. 

It's pathetic, because the Irish, English, and Scots languages belong to all of us, and should not be scrapped over by part-time talentless politicians who keep taking a break every few years when they get a bit tired and uncreative, continually failing to agree on the most simple of things because of a pathetic culture war initiated centures ago.

The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project has been active at Queen's University since 1987, and researches placenames across Northern Ireland, irrespective of whether they derive from English, Scots, or Irish backgrounds. There are similar platforms in other parts of these islands, with Logainm (www.logainm.ie) doing similar work in the Irish republic, and Ainmean Àite na h-Alba (www.ainmean-aite.scot) doing similar work in Scotland (specifically for Scottish Gaelic placenames). Their ongoing academic work adds to our understandings of our historic environments, and is priceless in contributing to our sense of ourselves in our respective regions.

The following note is now displaying on the PlacenamesNI website:

The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project has now reached the end of its current funding period. As a result, the project team is in the process of winding down activities. At this time, we regret that we are no longer in a position to respond to new enquiries or requests for information or translations. We appreciate your understanding as the project concludes this phase of its work.

Any update will be shared here should the situation change in the future. 

Northern Ireland deserves so much better, it's been failed by its politicians for far too long, on both sides of a divide that is long past its sell-by date.

For more on the story visit the BBC's coverage at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g5prgq7eeo and The Journal's coverage at https://www.thejournal.ie/-7031294-May2026/. 

Chris

Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Scottish Gypsy Travellers' stolen generations a form of "cultural genocide"

The BBC reports at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8de3ld05yo how the UK Government targeted Scotland's Gypsy Travellers community between the 1940s and 1980s through what was known as the "Tinker Experiment", prior to devolution. Scottish local authorities and the Church of Scotland were also complicit in the initiative.

In 2023 the current Scottish Government commissioned research via the University of St. Andrews based Third Generation Project into the activity, with the conclusion now noting that there was a "forced and systematic initiative to remove Gypsy/traveller children from their families and communities", who were then placed into care institutions, into forced-adoption, or into industrial schools. The policy is stated to have been a form of "cultural genocide" in the report, with demands for compensation now being made.

A podcast discussing the story, entitled "The Cruelty - Stolen Generations", is available on BBC Sounds and via the link above.

A previous report from September 2024 identifies some of the archival work that was employed for research into the scandal - it is available at https://ayeright.scot/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Tinker-Experiments-Report_unedited.pdf.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

New IrishGenealogy.ie website on the way

From the Irish Government, news concerning the IrishGenealogy portal at www.irishgenealogy.ie:

A new Irish Genealogy website is under construction, as a result, some services are currently unavailable. The Civil and Church Records search portals remain available.

You can order birth, marriage and death certificates from the General Register Office via www.gov.ie/en/service/124a70-apply-for-certificates.

If you wish to contact the Irish Genealogy team please email: Genealogy@tcagsm.gov.ie.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Insane UK government plan to destroy post-1858 English and Welsh wills

It looks like the government for England and Wales is seeking to replicate the tragic experience felt by Ireland in 1922, with an utterly insane plan to deliberately destroy its post-1858 wills and admon documents generated after they have gone through the two countries' 'probate' process in the English courts (the equivalent of Scotland's confirmation process), after they have been digitised. The insanity of this is that instead of creating digital surrogates as a back-up, they will instead become the only form of the record to survive - and, you know, nothing digital ever gets lost... The plans are currently out for consultation (see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/easier-access-to-historic-wills-under-new-government-plans).

Whilst this is primarily an issue for those with English and Welsh ancestry, many Scots and Irish folk did end up in the two countries, so there is a potential interest in this for us here also. Scottish and Northern Irish records are administered separately, and are not part of this insanity - but God forbid the archives in Edinburgh and Belfast become 'inspired' by this nonsense.

As can well be imagined, there's been uproar to the suggestion, as documented in the Guardian today at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/18/ministry-of-justice-plan-to-destroy-historical-wills-is-insane-say-experts.

A consultation response from the Society of Genealogists is available at https://www.sog.org.uk/news/moj-will-consultation-response/

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.