TGP 16 Fiona Fitzsimons – Irish Research
Featured Guest
Fiona Fitzsimons
Fiona is a founder and Director of Eneclann, a Trinity College Campus Company established in 1998, that specialises in history and heritage services.
As Eneclann’s Research director, she plays a key role in developing and ensuring quality in the company’s digital publications and the online resources at findmypast.ie and www.irishorigins.com
In family history, Fiona is probably best known for tracing President Obama’s Irish family history. In 2013 Fiona gave a private presentation on the President’s Irish roots to Michelle Obama and her daughters on the occasion of their visit to Trinity College Dublin.
Fiona and her team have also brought you the Irish research for Who Do You Think You Are?, PBS’s Faces of America and Finding Your Roots, RTE’s Ancestors During the Famine, and others.
Fiona and her research team have also completed some of the largest historical research projects ever undertaken in Ireland, developing new methodologies to be tested and used by other resarchers. Work includes an audit of the accuracy of the Irish Genealogical Project’s database of church records, and the Irish Battlefields Project for the Department of the Environment.
In 2013 Fiona was elected to the Board of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Contact Links
One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now
“Familiarize themselves with Irish genealogy websites. “
Recommended Book
Anything by Jorge Luis Borges, the former Director of the National Library of Argentina
Productivity Tool
Drop Box – Tool for sharing large files
Advice
“Keep detailed research notes. Stay on top of your own records. Build up your own research library.”
Action Item
This week we focus on Fiona’s suggestion to build up our own research library. There are certain books that all of us need to have at arm’s reach at a moments notice. For every researcher this will be different based on where you live and what your research specialties are. You may not own all of the books right now but you can strive to get them later.
ACTION: Make a list of the top 10 books that would appear in your genealogy reference library. You might have some now and others might be on your wish list. What is crucial for you to have at moments notice? Share your list in the comments below!
Here are six that are on my list:
Professional Genealogy edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills
Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills
The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood
Red Book by Ancestry
Land & Property Research in the United States by E. Wade Hone
The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual
Direct Link to this post: http://www.TheGenealogyProfessional.com/fiona-fitzsimons
For anyone interested in Irish family history, John Grenham’s is a must!
and also Ryan’s Irish Records and Genealogical Atlas of Ireland