Frequently Asked Questions

Check that you have entered your username or email address correctly.
Your username is your membership number beginning with the letter M. If it contains 0 – this is a number, not a letter.
If you are sure you have entered everything correctly and you still can’t get access, reset your password by clicking on “Lost Password” (just under the Log in panel).

Please note that, for security reasons, the membership team does not have access to your password.

To change your details, Login to your account and from your account dashboard, select “Membership Account” on the left. Click on “Edit Profile” in the “Quick Links” panel on the right of the screen.

If you have forgotten your password, enter your email address and click on “Lost Password” at the bottom of the Login page.

To change your password, Login to your account and from your account dashboard, select “Membership Account” on the left. Click on “Change Password” in the “Quick Links” panel on the right of the screen.

If you join online, you can pay by credit or debit card.

If you wish to join offline and pay by cheque or cash, please contact the Secretary of the Branch you wish to join via our Contact Page.

Virtual Members are not affiliated to a specific Branch.

Any Member can attend the talks given by all Branches but only Branch Members will receive direct notifications of meetings and other activities in their Branch.

Two people who live at the same address may join as Joint Members, paying less than the cost of two individual memberships.

Both Joint Members will be included on one account and will use the Primary Members’ email to login to the Members’ Area. All communications from the Society will be sent to the Primary Member only.

Joint Members will receive all the benefits of individual membership but will receive only one copy of the Society Journal, North Irish Roots between them.

The Primary Member should select Joint Membership on the Join the Society page and follow the prompts.

The Primary Member will add the details for both of the Joint Members. Only a name is required for the Second Member as the Society will use the Primary Member’s details for all communication.

An email address is required to complete your membership application online.

You can easily set up a free email account with Gmail or similar. Create a Gmail account here.

It is preferable that you have an email address so that you receive communication about your membership as well as activities and events. However if you wish to join without an email address, please request a Membership form from the Society by writing to NIFHS, Unit C4 Valley Business Centre, 67 Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, United Kingdom BT36 7LS

Our membership is a yearly membership from 1st September until 31 August.

Anyone joining from 1st May will be enrolled until 31st August the following year.

Yes, your payment and membership details will be confirmed by email.

If you do not receive confirmation of an application made more than 7 days ago, check your Spam/Junk mailbox folders, and if an acknowledgement is not found there, please contact Membership Enquiries via our Contact Page.

Your Display Name is the name that will be used for your profile name. Any emails going out to you from the website will be addressed to your Display Name.

To change your details, Login to your account and from your account dashboard, select “Membership Account” on the left. Click on “Edit Profile” in the “Quick Links” panel on the right of the screen.

Yes!

You can:

• change from a Virtual Member to a Branch Member
• change the Branch you originally signed up to
• remove yourself from a Branch and become a Virtual Member

These changes are limited to one per year.

You can request these changes from your “Membership Account” – click on “Membership Change Request” in the lower green panel on the right.

Please note that a single Member cannot change to a joint membership until the current membership expires.

Please refer to the Contacts page on our website to find the relevant person to get in touch with.

If you are a Branch Member or wish to know more about a particular Branch, please contact the Branch secretary.

As a Member, you will be able to log in to the Members’ Area of our website to access indexes to transcriptions and other records.

Our main collection of publications and records are held at our Research Centre in Newtownabbey and if you cannot get there, you can request a Look Up.

Some Branches also have records related to their local area.

North Irish Roots is usually published in the spring and the autumn and is posted to those Members whose membership is current at the cut-off date for publication.  Joint Members receive one copy between them.

The annual membership fee is set each year by Society Council.

Fees are treated as donations to the Society, and are used to pay ongoing costs such as insurance and rental of the Research Centre.

If you have elected to join a Branch, some of your fee will go to the Branch’s operating costs such as speakers’ fees and room hire.