Celtic Quest Research Trips to Ireland

Richard Michael Doherty and Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens are once again sponsoring genealogy research trips to Ireland. I have heard that participants on previous trips have enjoyed the experience so I suspect this year's trips will be equally popular. Here is the announcement written by Richard Michael Doherty and Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens:

Genealogy Research Trips to Ireland

Plymouth, Michigan, 11 January 2007-Imagine researching your Irish ancestors on their own turf. Imagine finding solutions to your pesky research dilemmas. Imagine sharing your successes with fellow researchers over a pint in an Irish pub.

Well, imagine no more! Celtic Quest, LLC, has organized two more unique research opportunities for the Irish researcher. You determine which research facilities you want to use and when. Once you have pre-registered and before you take off for Ireland, trip directors will perform a research assessment for up to two of your research objectives. During evening consultations, suggestions for additional research may be discussed to make your research time in Ireland more productive.  Receive instruction on using the repositories from trip directors and Irish professionals who use or work in the repositories. Trip directors Richard Michael Doherty and Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CG, CGL, have each led several trips to the Emerald Isle and will help guide your research while in Ireland.

Celtic Quest, LLC, is offering a one-week research opportunity to Dublin, Ireland, for serious researchers 6-13 October 2007, with the flexibility to extend your stay in Dublin before/after the scheduled dates at reduced hotel rates. Researchers will arrive in Dublin on Saturday, 6 October, will receive introductory classes on the local repositories on Sunday and Monday, and will be free to research at any of the local facilities Monday through Friday. The National Library is also open for 3 hours on Saturdays. Each director will be strategically located at repositories to assist researchers.  The principal repositories are: National Archives of Ireland, National Library of Ireland, General Register Office, Registry of Deeds, and the Valuation Office.  For those attendees with unique requirements, the Representative Church Body Library, Central Catholic Library, and Gilbert Library would also be available for research.

The trip hotel is Buswell's Hotel on Molesworth Street, directly across the street from the National Library of Ireland. Researchers will have seven nights' hotel accommodation with private bath, Irish breakfast daily, Friday evening banquet, and registration for the professional program, which includes the lectures, research assessments, onsite assistance, and evening consultations. For maximum flexibility, participants will be responsible for their own air and ground travel arrangements.

Trip costs and registration information are available online at http://www.celticquest.net/. The trip brochure is available on the website as an Adobe PDF file. Registration can be accomplished though the website (paying with a PayPal account), or by mailing in a check and the registration form from the website. Rates are available for a researcher sharing a room, a researcher with a private room, and for non-researching companions. For those who register by 28 February 2007, a $100 discount is offered; those who register by 31 March 2007 will receive a $50 discount.

Researchers with Northern Ireland ancestry can add-on a trip to Belfast following the Dublin portion of the trip, from 13-18 October 2007. Researchers and directors will travel from Dublin to Belfast on Saturday, 13 October 2007. Researchers will receive introductory classes on the local repositories on Sunday and Monday, and will be free to research at any of the local facilities Monday through Wednesday. The principal repositories in Belfast are the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), the Linen Hall Library, and the Presbyterian Historical Society Library. The Belfast trip hotel is Malone Lodge Hotel on Eglantine Avenue in south Belfast, in between PRONI and the city center. Researchers will have five nights' hotel accommodation with private bath, Irish breakfast daily, and registration for the professional program, which includes the lectures, research assessments, onsite assistance, and evening consultations. The Belfast trip is only offered as an add-on to the Dublin research trip.

Celtic Quest, LLC was formed in 2003. Richard is a professional genealogist and lecturer with more than 30 years of experience and 24 research trips to Ireland. In addition to lecturing in the U.S. and Canada, Dick lectured at two Irish Genealogical Congresses held at Trinity College Dublin, and Maynooth College, Co. Kildare. Liz has been conducting genealogical research since 1982. She is the creator of the software program Clooz and is editor of Digital Genealogist and the NGS NewsMagazine. She lectures on Irish research, organizing records, and effective use of the Internet. She has made 10 research trips to Ireland.

For more information, visit http://www.celticquest.net/ or write the directors at directors@celticquest.net, or write to Celtic Quest, LLC, P.O. Box 6386, Plymouth, MI 48170-8486.