Sir, – I see two flaws in the argument put forward by Jude Flynn, the secretary of Longford Roots Centre (July 11th) against the Government and the National Library of Ireland making church records freely available. First, the world of genealogy has changed completely since the local county centres were set up in the 1980s. Now original records from multiple sources are available to researchers online, though unfortunately many are behind paywalls. The National Archives of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland are due enormous credit for making the censuses and the church records available to all, abroad and at home, without charge.
Second, the local genealogy centres have had 30 years to benefit from a £1 million grant, jealously guarding the transcriptions of the church records which were made using that grant. To say that they made a “nominal” charge to the overseas visitor for their genealogical service is the understatement of the year. In the meantime, the church records were always available free of charge in the National Library to anyone with the time to go through the microfilms – and many did, including overseas visitors.
There will remain a role for a professional genealogy service alongside those who wish to do the research themselves. We can all benefit from making these records available, records that are, after all, of our own lives. – Yours, etc,
LUCILLE ELLIS,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.