Deborah Large Fox leaves no ancestor unturned.
Local lawyer-turned-genealogist Deborah Large Fox has launched a brand new organization for people looking for their Irish ancestors. The new Irish American Family History Society will meet once a month at the Voorhees branch of the Camden County Library System on the first Thursday of each month.
Fox, whom we profiled here, says she formed the group because most general genealogical organizations can’t address the special needs of researchers tracing their Irish roots—that is, to find family members whose records no longer exist thanks to fire, flood, or Ireland’s turbulent history.
“Irish family historians need to connect to each other to share research strategies,” says Fox. That means a lot of mutual aid—and craic.
“So many genealogists spend their days stuck in archives,” said Fox. “Irish family research is a vibrant, people-centered activity. Remember, the Irish tradition was an oral one. Discoveries, and friends, are made each time Irish researchers get together. Rarely does a meeting go by without a member making a major discovery with the help of others.”
Meetings are informal. Beginners and experienced researchers are welcome. For more information, email the IAFHS at deborahlargefox@gmail.com.
Off to Ireland
Mairead Conley with the first of her crowns.
Mairead Conley, both the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic Rose of Tralee, headed off this week to compete with Roses from around the world to bring home the crown in Ireland’s most popular pageant. Mairead is the deputy director of Community Programming at the Irish Immigration Center in Philadelphia. She holds a degree in sociology and spent a year living in poverty with Mercy Volunteer Corps.
She’s also a runner and a singer and harbors a secret desire to work for the FBI. And she’s only 25. (We were never that together at 25.)
If you’d like to see how she does, you can watch her on streaming video at www.rte.ie or join Mairead’s fellow Irish Network-Philly pals at Tir na Nog at 16th and Arch Streets in Philadelphia where manager Ken Merriman will be broadcasting the show live on August 23 and 24 from 3 to 6 PM.
