I usually arrive about five days before the group comes in to double check and finalize arrangements. The flight from New York was uneventful and I arrived about 8:15 this morning, breezed through immigration, got my luggage quickly and was on the bus to Dublin by 9:00. From baggage claim, go straight across the bridge and turn left after the Currency Exchange to the elevators. When you come down the elevator to the ground level (0) turn right and look for the AirCoach stand.You can purchase a one-way ticket for €8 and it’s about a 45 minute ride at that time of morning from the airport to the hotel in downtown Dublin.
No luck with the hotel this morning…my room wasn’t ready...remember that check in time is 3:00 but sometimes you're lucky and a room is available. I enjoyed a cup of tea and headed off to the National Archives where I needed to order some probate records. If you use the Calendar of Wills online database from the National Archives, and are going to be in Ireland, you can order the probate package. The indexes at the National Archives go into the 1950s whereas the online database ends in 1920. There are, however, some caveats. The probate typically has to be after 1900 because most probates files prior to 1900 were destroyed in the fire at the Public Records Office in 1922. Probate records have to be requested from the Four Courts, so it takes two days for the Archives to receive them (hence my trip today). They will be available when we’re scheduled to be at the National Archives next Tuesday. The National Archives is open from 10 am - 5 pm but closes from 1:00 - 2:00 pm.
The second stop was at the General Register Office which now is open Tuesday - Thursday from 10:00 - 12:30 and 2:30 - 4:30. Although in the past this required multiple visits (you were only allowed 5 copies each day), the availability of an index and images at IrishGenealogy.ie limits the need for multiple visits. For me, the missing death images from 1864-1870 are the biggest issue. I asked today when they thought those would be added and the answer was, “who knows.”
Since COVID, the National Archives, GRO, Valuation Office and Registry of Deeds are all closing for 1 - 2 hours at lunch time. When you’re only here for a week, it’s frustrating to lose that time in the middle of the day.
It’s been a long two days for me, so I’m off to bed.
Happy Hunting!
You can follow the activities of the Ireland Research Trip either here or on my Facebook Page.
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