Courses

NIFHS Courses on Zoom – February, March and April 2021

About the Courses and Booking Arrangements

Brief details of the Courses due to be presented on Zoom in February, March and April are set out below.

About the Courses and the Booking Arrangements

The Courses

are designed to offer practical help in furthering your family research using genealogy and DNA and are suitable for members and non-members. No prior knowledge is required. Society members should note that some of the subject matter may have been included in previous courses and talks.

Although courses are scheduled to last for one hour, at most of these courses our speakers will be prepared to stay on for longer to answer some of your questions. You are of course welcome to stay on for extended questions and answers if you choose to do so.

After you book and pay for a course online you will receive a payment receipt from PayPal.  This will be followed by an acknowledgement (normally with 24 hours) to confirm receipt of your booking.

About a week before the booked course the required Zoom Meeting Link will be sent to the email address used for the PayPal payment.  Please do not share this link as admittance to our Zoom courses will only be given to people who have paid to attend the course.

Course Notes

Booklets to accompany the courses
‘Emigration to Australia and New Zealand’,
‘Understanding Heraldry’ and
‘From Family Tree to Family History’
are available to buy at the time of booking. If a”Course + Notes” option is taken the booklet will be despatched in the week before the course.
The Notes will help with the challenge of notetaking during these courses packed with numerous URL references. As some people may have already bought copies, the “No Course Notes” option is available.

Cancellations and Refunds

A refund of the fee paid for a course booking will be made where cancellation of the booking is received at least seven days before the scheduled course date. If a booking is cancelled at shorter notice we are unable to offer a refund of the fee. We may however be able to change your booking to a different course if your cancellation is received within seven days of your scheduled course.

All matters in relation to course bookings should be addressed to Martin McDowell (Education Officer) at Education@nifhs.org.

5 Top Tips for Analysing your DNA – with Anne Johnston

Wednesday 3 March 2021 : 7 pm – 8 pm
Book before 7 pm on Tuesday 2 March

Family Tree Maker Basics and Benefits – with Imelda McVeigh

Friday 5 March 2021 : 2 pm – 3 pm  Note the change of date from Friday 19 February
Book before 2 pm on Thursday 4 March

The Advantages of MT-DNA – with Martin McDowell

Saturday 6 March 2021 : 11 am – 12 noon
Book before 11 am on Friday 5 March

DNA Family Matching Tool – with Martin McDowell

Monday 8 March 2021 : 11 am – 1 pm
Book before 11 am on Sunday 7 March

Tuesday 16 March 2021 : 2 pm – 3 pm

Organised British and Irish emigration to these countries began with the establishment of penal colonies in 1788 in New South Wales and was followed by the establishment of the free colonies of South Australia in 1836 and New Zealand in 1839. The gold rushes of the 1850s in Australia and 1860s in New Zealand boosted the populations considerably. Both countries offered assisted passage schemes to overcome labour shortages. The course covers pointers to many useful records and where they can be found.

Course Notes are included in one of the payment options.

For UK – Book before
2 pm on Monday 8 March

For Non-UK – Book before
2 pm on Monday 1 March

Book before
2 pm on Monday 15 March

Registry of Deeds – with Matthew Gilbert

Friday 19 March 2021 : 7 pm – 8 pm
Book before 7 pm on Thursday 18 March

Understanding Heraldry – with Mike McKeag

Tuesday 23 March 2021 : 11 am – 12 noon

More grants of arms are made today than in the Middle Ages. The course looks at the origins and development of heralds and heraldry and explains the components of an achievement of arms. The official description of a coat of arms is not its image but its written description or blazon, which will be covered.

Course Notes are included in one of the payment options.

For UK – Book before
2 pm on Monday 15 March

For Non-UK – Book before
2 pm on Monday 8 March

Book before
2 pm on Monday 22 March

Using X Matches in your DNA Research – with Anton Rea

Saturday 27 March 2021 :11 am – 12 noon
Book before 11 am on Friday 26 March

We all have DNA matches on our X chromosome. We can access these from our standard (autosomal) DNA tests. Find out how! We can learn different things from brothers’ and sisters’, and cousins’, X-matches. X matches can skip generations. X matches can narrow the focus to specific families. We’ll be discussing what X matches are and how to use them.

From Family Tree to Family History – with Mike McKeag

Tuesday 13 April 2021 : 2 pm – 3 pm

You have a family tree and would like to develop that into a readable family history. But where do you begin? How do you organise your material? How are you going to find enough stories about those people? How are you going to find enough illustrations? These and other questions will be addressed and the course will be based on a real case study.

Course Notes are included in one of the payment options.

For UK – Book before
2 pm on Monday 5 April

For Non-UK – Book before
2 pm on Monday 29 March

Book before
2 pm on Monday 12 April

Researching Military Ancestors –  Cancelled

Between the years of 1914-1918, approximately 210,000 Irishmen served with the British Army in what was to become known as The Great War. This class will suggest where to look for clues, how to get your research started and where to turn to for assistance from some of the ever-growing sources of websites and books to aid you in your research.

Using WikiTree – with Anne Johnston – was held on Wednesday 17 February 2021

The Advantages of Y-DNA – with Martin McDowell – was held on Saturday 20 February 2021