The British Newspaper Archive is offering a 30% discount on a 12-month subscription. See link for details..... http://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2018/01/british-newspaper-archive-sub-30.html

Due to adverse weather, tonight's meeting has been cancelled.

NAFHS meeting is postponed tonight due to weather conditions. Our next meeting is Wed 21st Feb with Plunkett Campbell on the Development of the Linen Industry in the Upper Bann Valley. We will arrange another date for tonight's meeting.

We will be holding our first meeting of 2018 tomorrow evening (weather permitting). Tom Mason, a former lecturer at Queens University, will entertain us with an account of the TAVENER family who came to Ireland as soldiers with Sir Henry Docwra in the early 1600's. The Tavener family can trace their roots back to 1272. Venue: Bleary Business & Community Centre Date: 17th January 2018 Time: 7:30pm All Welcome :-)

"Back To Our Past" will be in Belfast next month for the first time and they have just released the family history talks schedule. See post below for details......

'The Dry Village' - another gem regarding the history of Bessbrook and neighbouring Camlough. Description: "The village of the crooked lake brags six pubs for 98 people but the model village boasts neither pawn shop nor police station. Which will you choose? Enjoy James Boyce’s cautionary tale of two villages, one with no pub the other with no newsagents. Hear what the residents of Bessbrook think of their founder John Grubb Richardson’s social experiment. He believed that the absence of a pub would remove the need for both the police and pawn brokers. But are the beautiful surroundings compensation enough for the lack of drink? And would the residents of Camlough be willing to give up their six pubs to find out? " Notes: " Bessbrook is one of many Quaker model villages, it was founded more than 30 years before Bournville, the well-known model town founded by the Cadbury family. Despite Grubb's philosophy of the “three P’s” there is now a police station in Bessbrook however you will still not find any pubs or pawn shops. The reporter James Boyce was a French teacher by trade and his teaching methods were as unconventional as his broadcasts. He rarely failed to entertain viewers by becoming immersed in the subjects he covered and often poking fun at himself in the process. His reports are a treasure trove of the eccentric and strange aspects of Northern Ireland’s people and history. This material is Courtesy of the UTV Archive." https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/the-dry-village-1909

Did your ancestors hail from the Bessbrook area? https://www.ringofgullion.org/bessbrook-project/ New content has been added :-)

'Back To Our Past', the genealogy family/social history show, is coming to the award-winning Titanic, Belfast :-) :-) From beginner level to advanced, there's something for everyone at the Back To Our Past show in Belfast next month. Attend talks, chat to exhibitors and get your DNA tested. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-genealogy-conference-delves-into-our-dna-36465807.html If you're a Game of Thrones fan you are in for a treat ;-) One of the highlights will be a talk which takes the audience on a genetic romp into the world of Game of Thrones, revealing the surprises that DNA testing of the various characters would expose. So if you are a Game of Thrones fan, this is not to be missed ! http://seniortimes.ie/dna-game-thrones-characters-revealed-major-titanic-event/ Whether using traditional genealogy or DNA to trace your roots, NIFHS meetings and classes can help with your research so please stop at our stand and find out more! http://www.nifhs.org/ Check out their facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/backtoourpastshow/