North of Ireland Family History Society

Current publications listed below are all available from the Society.

NEW: Publications can now be ordered by using the online Publications order form, paying by PayPal or UK Sterling cheque.
Prices for each item are given on the Publications order form and you can select the relevant postal rate.

[A few items are also available from the Branches which published them. In such cases details are given below. However, the Branches may not have a PayPal facility.]

North Irish Roots

North Irish Roots is the journal of the Society; it is published twice a year in the spring and autumn. Binders and back issues are for sale:

• Journal binder - an attractive binder with the Society logo is available, specially designed to hold 12 journals.

Journal back issues which are still in print can be purchased in bundles:
• Bundle A = 12 journals (Vols: 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 2.6, 2.8, 5.2, 7.2, 9.2, 11.1, 11.2, 12.1 and 12.2);
• Bundle B = 12 journals (Vols: 13.1, 13.2, 14.1, 14.2, 15.1, 15.2, 16.1, 16.2, 17.1, 17.2, 18.1 and 18.2).
• Bundles A and B = 24 journals (Vols: as above).

[ Single issues may be available. Also, an article from an out of print journal can be ordered as a scan or photocopy. Payment can be made via the online form and in addition, after choosing your payment method, please also specify details (of issue or article wanted):
either on the 'Pay by Cheque' form which appears,
or in the PayPal "Special Instructions to Merchant" - for an enlarged example click on image:  
or by email to membership@nifhs.org ]

For further details about the journal, binders and back issues click here.

Top of page

Books

 

The following books are available:

• The McIlrath Letters

The McIlrath letters to their family home near Balloo, Killinchy, from Australia and New Zealand over 55 years form the basis of a new book, published by the Killyleagh Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society. The book was launched on 8th December 2009, 149 years to the day after the McIlrath brothers set sail for a new life on the other side of the world. The 64 letters, which make up the book, have been carefully preserved by the McIlrath family, the descendants of which still live in the house which James and Hamilton left behind. The book has been put together by John Bassett and this launch saw the culmination of 20 years of his dedication to the project. The letters chart the progress and achievements of the McIlrath brothers, as well as personal events, marriages, births, illness and deaths. The relaxed, familiar style gives these letters an immediacy not to be found in history books, bringing their lives and troubles very close to the reader despite the 150 year gap. The writers also make frequent reference to other emigrants from the local area whom they meet in their new home, passing on news and greetings, which makes the book a valuable resource for local historians and genealogists. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above book is also available from:
John Bassett, 83 Killyleagh Road, Downpatrick, BT30 9UD. Tel. 028 4482 8329.
Annette McKee, 8 Whiterock Road, Killinchy, BT23 6PR. Tel. 028 9754 1647.
Cecil Hawthorne, 34 Bayview Road, Killinchy, BT23 6TW. Tel. 028 9754 1739.
Bertie Forsythe, 20 Catherine St, Killyleagh, BT30 9QQ. Tel. 028 4482 1409.
The Post Office, Balloo, Killinchy.]

Top of page

• The Hidden Graveyard - Carnmoney Parish Church

The Newtownabbey Branch has, after a number of years of dedicated research, produced a new book entitled “The Hidden Graveyard”. This 144 page book records gravestone inscriptions from Graveyard No. 1 at Carnmoney Parish Church, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim. This section of the graveyard is across Church Road and ‘hidden’ down a lane. A form of mapping for each section of the graveyard is included, making it easy to locate a particular grave. Photographs, both black and white and colour add further interest. The memorials span more than 100 years from the 1860s to the 1960s, and include mention of folk who died overseas. Also recorded are Memorials inside the church, Commonwealth War Graves, and the Garden of Remembrance. The book contains an index of all surnames appearing on headstones and an index of place names mentioned. It has been noticed that some inscriptions, read with some difficulty at the time of recording, have now completely disappeared due to weathering. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

Top of page

• These Hallowed Grounds Vol 1 - Lisburn, Kilrush and St Patricks

Over the last 25 years, prompted by the growing interest in genealogy, many people, working individually and in groups, have made a permanent record of the gravestone inscriptions in the older burying grounds in Lisburn. Lisburn Branch has collated all this information, and published two volumes dealing with the gravestone inscriptions in all three burying grounds. This, the first volume, deals with Kilrush, or Millbrook Burial Ground, Millbrook Road, and St. Patrick's Chapel Burying Ground, Chapel Hill, Lisburn. Where available, we have augmented the text with interesting photographs and biographical notes. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above book is also available from Lisburn Branch]

• These Hallowed Grounds Vol 2 - Lisburn, Kilrush and St Patricks

A companion to volume 1 above, this volume records the surviving gravestone inscriptions for Christ Church Cathedral, Lisburn, County Antrim, and Friends’ Burying Ground, in the city’s Railway Street. There is also a list of names from Quaker burial records of all the people buried in Friends’ Burying Ground as well as a background history of Lisburn Cathedral and Huguenots’ and Friends’ Meeting House. Also included are the memorials in the Cathedral and a list of burials recorded as being inside as well as lists of rectors, curates and churchwardens. There are also maps of both burying grounds, with a key, along with death notices and brief information on the wills of some of the people buried in the two grounds. Also included are short biographies of 53 families connected with the grounds, as well as 16 family trees and extra information with the names of some late 18th and early 19th century Lisburn people. The 310 pages include four in colour, with 50 black and white photographs, three maps and an index. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above book is also available from Lisburn Branch]

Top of page

• Mallusk Memorials: A record of the gravestone memorials in the ancient graveyard at Mallusk, Newtownabbey Co Antrim, N Ireland

Compiled by the Belfast Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society and published in July 1997. Following the success of their previous publication Carved in Stone: Grave Inscriptions from Carnmoney Parish Church, County Antrim Belfast branch turned their attentions to another burial ground in Newtownabbey, that of Mallusk. Mallusk burying ground has a particular interest, not only for family historians, but also those interested in local and political history. The 1798 Rebellion involving the United Irishmen drew many of its supporters from the Hydepark, Roughfort, Hightown, Lylehill and Mallusk areas, and some people who took a prominent part have been buried in this graveyard. Jemmy Hope, members of his family, and the extensive Bigger/Biggar families have been buried here also, thus giving unique information relating to the United Irishmen. Unlike Carnmoney, there are no visible remains of any church buildings at Mallusk, nor are there any church records relating specifically to this particular graveyard. The grounds are clearly divided into two sections: the old burying plot, and a more modern section which has been properly planned and has graves laid out in a regular manner. The memorials and inscriptions in both sections were recorded. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

Top of page

• The Ballymoney Northern Herald and Ulster General Advertiser

The book contains Birth, Marriage and Death entries from 1860-1863. 80 pages. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

• On Tranquil Land or Stormy Sea

A record of gravestone inscriptions and interments in Islandmagee New Cemetery from 1925 -2002, published by Larne Branch of NIFHS. The book includes maps showing location and townlands and is fully indexed with section maps for ease of reference. There is included a short section on local seafarers and a "Debt of Honour" section reproduced with the permission of The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

Top of page

• Tombstones of the Omey, County Tyrone

This book which was published by Omagh Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society in 1998 and contains inscriptions from tombstones located in 15 church graveyards within the Omagh District from 1688–1900. The work of transcription was undertaken between 1985–1990 by William J. McGrew, a member of the Omagh Branch and as many of the gravestones transcribed are now no longer legible it is the only remaining record source for family historians. The Graveyards included are: Cappagh Church of Ireland, Clanabogan Church of Ireland, Crevenagh (Interdominational) Cemetery, Donaghanie (Interdominational) Cemetery, Drumnakilly Church of Ireland, Drumragh Old and New Section Graveyard, Dunmullan (Interdominational) Graveyard, Edenderry Church of Ireland, Edenderry Presbyterian Church, Lislimnaghan Church of Ireland, Mountjoy Prebyterian Church, St Columba’s Church of Ireland, St Mary’ Roman Catholic Church Killyclogher, St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church Knockmoyle. 184 pages. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above book is also available from Omagh Branch]

• Hatches, Matches and Dispatches

This book researched by William McGrew and published by Omagh Family History Society in 2007 contains almost two thousand entries of birth, marriage, and death notices recorded from older local newspapers including the Tyrone Constitution, Omagh News, and some from Strabane Morning Post, Belfast Newsletter and Derry Journal. The notices relate to people from Omagh and surrounding districts and cover a period from 1815-1873, with a few prior to 1800. The book is formatted in three sections alphabetically indexed for ease of reference and should be of wide interest to genealogists tracing ancestry whose families have resided in the Omagh area in years past. 136 pages. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above book is also available from Omagh Branch]

Top of page

CD-ROM

 

The following CD-ROM are available:

• On The Shining Bann

Available soon for the first time on CD: 1928 book by R. M. Sibbett. A history of the manor of Cashel (the area around Portglenone, County Antrim), giving a great deal of information about the local families. More information will follow soon. You can pre-order this now. (To view the CD contents you will need Adobe Reader which allows viewing and printing of PDF files and is available as a no-charge download from Adobe's web site Adobe reader.) (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

• Carved in Stone

A Record of Memorials in the ancient graveyard around the Church of the Holy Evangelists (Church of Ireland) at Carnmoney, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. Originally published in book form in 1994 by the Belfast Branch of the North of Ireland Family History Society, the Society now makes it available in 2009 for the first time on CD in searchable PDF format. The CD contains inscriptions, a location map, section maps, a list of place names mentioned, several relevant articles, illustrations and photographs. There were burials in this Parish for hundreds of years and the earliest death recorded is 1692 with many other inscriptions from the 18th Century onwards. (To view the CD contents you will need Adobe Reader which allows viewing and printing of PDF files and is available as a no-charge download from Adobe's web site Adobe reader.) (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

• The Coleraine Chronicle

Details from 2 newspapers: The Coleraine Chronicle: Births, Marriages and Deaths 1844-1869 and The Ballymoney Herald: Births, Marriages and Deaths 1860-1863. This was originally available in book form but is now only available on CD-ROM. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above CD-ROM is also available from Coleraine Branch]

• The Londonderry Sentinel

Contains Births, Marriages and Death entries from 1829-1869. (Publications on this webpage can be ordered from NIFHS by using the online Publications order form)

[The above CD-ROM is also available from Coleraine Branch]

Top of page

Order Form

An online Publications order form is available for our current publications available from the Society; also click here. The online form now enables payments to be made either using PayPal or by UK Sterling cheque.

Directions for ordering publications from NIFHS are given on each relevant order form linked to from this page.
[In addition if needed, step-by-step instructions (pdf format) for ordering NIFHS publications are available here (NIFHS ordering from website.pdf)
(To view the instructions you will need Adobe Reader which allows viewing and printing of PDF files and is available as a no-charge download from Adobe's web site Adobe reader.)]

Top of page