merrion street

Friday 18th October 2013—Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, was in the RDS at noon today to launch the Back to Our Past 2013 genealogy lecture series.

Back to Our Past is an annual Irish heritage event which focuses primarily on genealogy and family history. This year’s show, the fourth since the event was established in 2010, will run from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th in the RDS, Angelsea Road. Twelve lectures and presentations a day will be delivered in two separate presentation areas, covering a variety of historical and genealogical topics of interest to the amateur and the professional.

Two panel discussions entitled ‘Who Do the Irish Think They Are?’ and ‘16 Lives – Leaders of the Easter Rising’ will be held after the presentations on Friday and Sunday respectively. There is also a significant military history theme to this year’s programme: a presentation on Saturday afternoon will discuss the Irishmen who served in the American forces in Korea and Vietnam, and other presentations will deal with various types of British Army sources.

Speaking at the event today, Minister Deenihan said: “This exhibition demonstrates the breadth and depth of the Irish genealogy world, and it has many attractions for history buffs too. As the year of the Gathering 2013 draws to a close it is wonderful to welcome so many contributors from Ireland and abroad who will be presenting on such an interesting range of topics.

“I'm pleased that my Department has a presence at this event also. Earlier this year I launched the revamped www.irishgenealogy.ie portal, giving members of the public easier access to a range of online records. Our aim is to make it quicker, easier and less complicated for any member of the public – at home or abroad – to find out about their ancestors.”

The presentation series is sponsored by www.RootsIreland.ie, the website of the Irish Family History Foundation. The Back to Our Past event will run alongside the Over 50s Show and the Coin & Stamps Fair in the RDS’s Industries Hall and Main Hall, and visitors will be able to experience all three shows at their leisure.