Ancestry releases Tipperary Coroners Inquests index

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added another Irish collection:

Tipperary, Ireland, Coroners' Inquests Index, 1832-1836
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63088/
Source: Ancestry is citing itself as the source, which is remarkable as it didn't exist in the 19th century. It states the collection to be from Tipperary, Ireland, Coroners' Inquests Index, 1832-1836 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025.

This collection may include the following details:

• Name
• Maiden name
• Age
• Occupation
• Inquest date
• Parish
• Barony
• Death information
• Death date and place
• Parents' names 

I always find it a bit arrogant when a records site cites itself as the source - hoew about some clarity Ancestry? 

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

British Newspaper Archive passes 97 million pages - and adds Jackie!

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) has passed 97 million pages of content, with the current total at the time of writing being 97,036,307 pages, making it quite possible, perhaps even likely, that the platform will reach the notable 100 million pages mark at the turn of the year.

The following are the latest Scottish and Irish additions:

Scotland

Montrose Review 
1994-1999

Ayrshire Express 
1879, 1884-1886

Aberdeen Bon-Accord & Northern Pictorial 
1951-1959

Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser 
1995-2004

Musselburgh News 
1989, 1994-2004

Kirkintilloch Herald 
1995-2004

Kilsyth Chronicle 
1938-1943, 1946-1947, 1949-1950, 1994-2004

Helensburgh News 
1887-1891

Forfar Dispatch 
1995-2004

Dundee Weekly News 
1989, 1991

Daily Review (Edinburgh) 
1861, 1865, 1868, 1885

Bellshill Speaker 
1995-2004

Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser 
1986

The Highlander 
1877


Ireland:

Irish Golfer 
1899-1900

Irish Church Advocate 
1886-1889, 1891

Illustrograph (Dublin) 
1894-1899

Belfast News-Letter 
1749, 1826

Longford Leader 
1916-1917

And for readers of a certain era, there's also a new title that I am sure will go down well - Jackie, the weekly girls paper launched in 1964, with coverage available from 1964-1993! You can read a free edition of this at https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/titles/jackie.

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

New permanent Shinty's Story exhibition opens in Inverness

A new permanent exhibition has opened in Inverness telling the story of one of Scotland's national sports, shinty (known in Gaelic as iomain or camanachd). The exhibition, entitled 'Shinty's Story - Sgeul na Camanachd', is based at the Bught Park Pavilion, Inverness (the home of Inverness Shinity Club), and was part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with a grant of £544,000.

'Shinty's Story' builds on four key pillars - Foundation, Community, Competition and Future, wih the exhibition featuring medals and other shinty memorabilia, digital displays and stories from players - both past and present. 

The exhibition is free to attend and open from Friday to Tuesday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. 

A BBC article in Gaelic about the opening is available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/naidheachdan/sgeulachdan/c0jdzj15v0no. The project has its own dedicated Facebook page in English at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582280150903. 

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Scottish Indexes 30th anniversary conference

The 30th Scottish Indexes Conference will take place on Saturday 22 November 2025, with the following speakers and talks lined up for the event:

• Introducing the Ordnance Survey Name Books and historical tax rolls on Scotland's People by Tessa Spencer, Head of Learning at the National Records of Scotland
• An Arran Jigsaw: some records relating to people and places between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries by Robert Urquhart of Abbotshall Palaeography
• 5th Duke of Buccleuch: a forward thinking landed aristocrat by Craig Thomas, Assistant Archivist at Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust
• The Doctor will see your ancestors now by Fiona Musk NHS Grampian Archivist
• Weaving the threads of time: exploring the lives of Dundee textile workers by Caroline Brown, University Archivist and an Assistant Director in the Library Academic and Cultural Services at the University of Dundee
• Scottish Genealogy Q&A hosted by Graham and Emma Maxwell  

Congratulations to Graham and Emma on reaching this milestone event. The conference is free to attend, and you can find out more details on how to do so at their conferences page at https://www.scottishindexes.com/conference.aspx.

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

National Archives of Ireland prepares the 1926 census for release

The National Archives of Ireland (https://nationalarchives.ie) has released a short video giving a tantalising glimpse of the work currently underway to prepare the 1926 Irish census for release on 18 April 2026.

You can view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQn7dxNAgzk, or below, where it is embedded for your convenience.

The census covers the 26 counties that formed the Irish Free State at the time, now the republic that is Ireland - the equivalent records for the Northern Irish census, taken on the same night as its southern equivalent, have sadly not survived.

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

FindmyPast adds Battle of Trafalgar Royal Naval records

The drought on new Scottish records continues with FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk), but they have released a new collection which may contain some Scots and Irish names:

British Royal Navy, Battle of Trafalgar Prize Book
In partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, we've digitised one of only two surviving copies of the 1805 Trafalgar Prize Book, which contains the names of sailors who received payments after the battle. If your ancestor was involved in the Battle of Trafalgar, their name may appear within these 17,050 extraordinary new records.

British Royal Navy, Battle of Trafalgar 1805
The Prize Book isn't the only way to trace your family's ties to the Battle of Trafalgar - you can also explore 18,115 naval records within this new collection. 

Further details at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/battle-of-trafalgar-photo-collection

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Two-year Heritage Buddies project seeks volunteers in Renfrewshire

A new 2-year project entitled Heritage Buddies (www.heritagebuddies.uk) is being launched by Stephen Clancy to record and research the heritage graveyards of Renfrewshire. From Stephen's post on LinkedIn: 

Where Buddies Rest: Stories Rise brings together archaeology, local history and genealogy into one project. research groups will survey and record Graveyards and then research the stories of those buried with. Talks and tours of the Graveyards will also be delivered between January 2026 and December 2027.

The first of several consultant/ recruitment sessions will be held at Paisley Arts Centre, formerly the Laigh Kirk on the 8th November between 10am and 1pm, where people are invited to learn more about the project, discuss the uses of the sites as heritage destinations and volunteer to participate in the resesrch groups.

The project is supported by Renfrewshire Council's Cultiure, Heritage and Events Fund, and is seeking volunteers to help survey various sites in the county and to uncover dstories of people who shaped the county's communities. Further details are available on the project website.

(With thanks to Stephen, via LinkedIn) 

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Recommendation for Scottish Register of Tartans fees to be substantially increased

The National Records of Scotland has published an analysis of responses to a consultation it held with regards to raising fees for the Scottish Register of Tartans (www.tartanregister.gov.uk), which it manages. The consultation closed on 29 June, and received 30 responses. 

The proposed fee increases include the following, as detailed in Annex A of the analysis:

• Inspection of Tartan Register documents or other physical objects - to rise from £6 to £12.80.
• Copies of any Tartan Register document - per 5 sheets - to rise from £2.50 to £5.40.
• Carrying out research in relation to the Register - to rise from £40/hour to £85/hour.
• Application to register a tartan - to rise from £70 to £150.
• Provision of copy of certificate of registration by the Keeper - to rise from £15 to £32.
• Provision of framed certificate, framed copy of certificate or framed amended certificate by the Keeper - currently £30, but to be deleted from the fees order (i.e. service discontinued) 

Under 'Next Steps', the NRS states "Now that we have analysed all the responses to our consultation, the Keeper has recommended that Scottish Ministers increase the fees as set out in the table in Annex A. We have also recommended that NRS discontinue providing framed certificates." No timetable for these changes to be implemented has as yet been announced.

Further details from the analysis are available at https://nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/the-scottish-register-of-tartans-fees-review-consultation-analysis/

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Behind the scenes of new University of Glasgow Library foyer display

The University of Glasgow Library has blogged about a new exhibition display in its foyer showcasing items from its heritage collections. The post describes the care taken to put an exhibition of this nature together, going behind the scenes to reveal some of the challenges its faces when creating such displays.

You can read about the new display at https://universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2025/10/17/behind-the-scenes-of-a-new-display/.

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.

Fort William based West Highland Museum seeks volunteers

West Highland Museum (www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk) in Fort William is seeking volunteers to help with its activities: 

** Do you have a few hours to spare? ** You can support your local museum in so many ways by beginning to volunteer with us!

It's not just about offering a warm welcome to visitors on reception, there is so much more you can do behind the scenes to lend a hand, and we would love to welcome more of our community into our museum team.

Whether you can only offer time at a weekend, give a few hours over the winter as a seasonal volunteer, or you can come along more often, we would love to hear from you.

Get in touch soon for more information or submit the form ... 

The form is available via this link.

Chris 

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. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.