We are delighted to announce, that thanks to contributions of the IrelandXO community, more than 10,000 ancestors have been added to the XO Chronicles!
The Ireland XO Chronicles bring to life the heritage of a community by documenting the people, the buildings and the events that existed at any time in the history of the parish. As part of this custom-built platform, IrelandXO has dedicated an individual space for chronicling every person that ever lived or was associated with a parish. Their stories and connections are an integral part of the heritage of a parish and can be preserved and built upon for today’s generation and those of the future.
Chronicles Editor Valerie Kelly says: "Since the Covid-19 pandemic began and countries started to go into lockdown, we have all found ourselves seeking new and innovative ways to work, connect, and pass the time. A huge change for us at Ireland Reaching Out was no longer being able to meet with you in the community. Prior to the lockdown in Ireland, we had just begun to roll out a series of workshops focused on telling our ancestors’ stories through the XO Chronicles. With travel and social distancing restrictions in place, it became impossible for these workshops to go ahead. As a solution we started our online webinar series. So far we have had wonderful experiences meeting all of you virtually and connecting with members of the Irish diaspora from all over the world, and through the XO Chronicles which you created, we have learned more about our ancestors and our global community.
Here are just a few examples of some of the remarkable stories that have come through from our online XO Chronicles Workshops."
Valerie adds: "As the tide turns on the current crisis and countries begin to reopen, let us look back on these weeks as a time when the Irish diaspora came together to celebrate the stories of the ancestors who came before us."
IrelandXO Volunteer Coordinator Jane Halloran Ryan says: "The XO Ancestor Chronicles are a great way for members to collaborate and share information about ancestors that they have mutual connections with. Very often, our members find others who are researching the same ancestor but with a different branch of the family. The profiles are a valuable resource for this purpose - making connections not only with Ireland but with other families around the world who are descended from the same place."
Connecting Montana with Killursa
Have you thought of adding your Ancestor to the Chronicles but are not sure how? Follow our step-by-step video to adding an ancestors here:
We hope you have found the information we have shared helpful. While you are here, we have a small favour to ask. Ireland Reaching Out is a non-profit organisation that relies on public funding and donations to ensure a completely free family history advisory service to anyone of Irish heritage who needs help connecting with their Irish place of origin. If you would like to support our mission, please click on the donate button and make a contribution. Any amount, big or small, is appreciated and makes a difference.