St. Patrick's Day and the StLGS FHC

Céad mile fáilte!

This traditional Irish greeting, meaning a hundred thousand welcomes, seems a good way to wish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day. Did you know that according to the U.S. census bureau, there are more than 34 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry? That number is more than seven times the population of Ireland, which only has 4.6 million inhabitants! Want to see a map with current U.S. Irish population statistics? Try this: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/pdf/cb14-ff02_st_patricks.pdf?eml=gd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery.

This seems like a particularly good time to remind everyone of our upcoming Family History Conference featuring David Rencher, Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch and an expert in Irish genealogy. In addition to presenting two talks on technology in the morning, David will talk about online resources for doing Irish research in two talks in the afternoon. Joining David will be an impressive array of speakers from repositories and local societies speaking on a variety of topics from "Getting Genealogical Websites to Work for You" to "Let Your Computer Help Organize Your Data." Of course, there will be vendors, raffles, and door prizes! You can buy a delicious box lunch for $10 or visit one of the many restaurants in the area for lunch. You may want to stay around, however, to meet Charlie Brennan, local author and radio personality, as he presents a special treat during the noon hour.

This year's conference is at the Maryland Heights Centre on Saturday, 26 April. You can register online and download a copy of the conference program on the StLGS website www.stlgs.org. Hope to see you there!