Talks Programme & Events:
2025
January
Saturday January 18th:
The historic sailing families of Lough Erne. Conor Louden-Brown.
February
Saturday February 15th:
‘Old Aghavea graveyard’. Linda Swindle.
March
Saturday March 22nd:
John Gregsten and the Impartial Reporter. Jack Johnston.
April
Saturday April 12th:
Locating Ulster Scots records, with Fermanagh in focus.*Deirdre Speer Whyte.
May
Saturday May 17th:
AGM & Annual Show and Tell. Members’ event.
June
Saturday June: Annual Members’ trip – Details TBA.
* Final title on Deirdre Speer Whytes’ talk has yet to be confirmed.
All talks are held on a Saturday in Fermanagh House, Enniskillen, with doors open from 1.15pm. Business begins at 2.00pm with presentations starting no later than 2.15pm.
Please bear in mind that meetings are not held when there is a public holiday weekend.
2024
January
Saturday January 20th: Fermanagh’s townlands. Seamas MacAnnaidh.
Available to view in the members section.
– Seamas MacAnnaidh is a hugely talented linguist and collector of all things Fermanagh. He is a broadcaster, writer and teacher with great involvement in the cultural life of his home county. Modest about his own achievements, it can be said that he is a true Fermanagh treasure.
February
Saturday February 17th: ‘A History in Stones: Aghalurcher old graveyard.’ Linda Swindle.
Available to view in the members section.
– Linda Swindle is an active member of Lisnaskea Historical Society and a long-time member of FGC. She has published material on the south Fermanagh area and has given tours of the old Aghalurcher graveyard, one of Fermanagh’s oldest and most interesting sites.
March
Saturday March 23rd: Enniskillen’s new historical wall markers. Catherine Scott.
Available to view in the members section
– Catherine Scott is the education officer for Enniskillen Castle Museum. She is a regular contributor to BBC’s ‘Your Place and Mine’. Catherine is the inspiration behind saving Enniskillen’s old Workhouse and gives tours on it and the town.
April
Saturday April 20th: An interview with Father Brian D’Arcy.
Available to view in the members section
– Father Brian D’Arcy is a popular local priest and is a well-known broadcaster not only in Ireland but further afield too. He is engaging, reflective and hugely entertaining. We are very pleased to get him to speak to FGC.
May
Saturday May 18th: AGM + Annual Show and Tell – members event
Available to view in the members section
– AGM & Show and Tell. Our Show and Tell is an annual event and one of the highlights of FGC’s programme. We invite members, whether in Fermanagh House or via Zoom to show some item or share some memory that is precious or memorable to them.
September
Saturday September 21st: Tribute to pioneer, Dr Denis Burkitt – a talk from the Director of the film Burkitt Éanna Mac anna.
Available to view in the members section.
October
Saturday October 19th: Fermanagh & its border landscapes; visits to known and unknown places. Barney Devine.
Available to view in the members section.
November
Saturday November 23rd:
Using DNA to assist you with your family history research. Frank McHugh.
Available to view in the members section.
2023
January
Saturday January 21 st : Fermanagh Reiving families – Mervyn Hall & Frankie Roofe.
Available to view in the members section.
Frankie Roofe is FGC’s Chairman and is probably the best known public face when it comes to visitors enquiring about their family origins here in Fermanagh. His years working at the town hall and museum, meeting and greeting visitors, has given him a vast reservoir of knowledge on his beloved county. He again, is a sought after speaker.
Mervyn Hall is a retired History teacher and is Secretary of FGC, of which he is a co-founder. He has given many presentations on a range of Fermanagh related topics. He is a co-editor of Fermanagh Roots Journal and also sends out monthly bulletins to FGC members.
February
Saturday February 18th : ‘The Maguires, Fermanagh’s leading family’ – Vicky Herbert.
Available to view in the members section.
Vicky Herbert is a very well-known local historian in South Fermanagh and is an expert on Lisnaskea’s history, having produced a number of publications on her adopted locale. She is very active in the Lisnaskea History Society and has also given tours of areas such as the Crom estate and Aghalurcher, to name a few.
March
Saturday March 25 th : Using military records as a family history source – Case study on
‘Fermanagh and the Crimea War 1854-1856.’ Mervyn Hall.
Available to view in the members section.
Mervyn would admit that his lock-down project brought him down the road of researching Fermanagh’s military heritage. Noticing that nothing was written specifically on its role in the Crimea War, he set himself the task of rectifying this gap in our local history. He will publish the names and Fermanagh origins of nearly 300 ‘Crimea’ men at this talk.
April
Saturday April 15 th: Using shipping records, with a focus on Fermanagh – Brian Mitchell.
Brian Mitchell is a name best known in the area of Ireland’s, or more specifically Derry’s shipping records. Internationally recognised, he has written a number of books, many of which consist of compilations of emigration shipping records – genealogical gold dust! We are very excited to welcome Brian back.
Available to view in the members section.
May
Saturday May 20th: AGM + Annual Show and Tell – members exhibit mementos.
AGM & Show and Tell. We trialled this live last year on Zoom and believe it was a great success. This is an annual event and one of our highlights of the year.
Available to view in the members section.
September
Saturday September 16th: Tracing an Enniskillen Work House family. Frankie Roofe.
– Frankie Roofe is FGC’s chairman and is most often the first point of contact for visitors enquiring about their family origins here in Fermanagh. His years working at the town hall and Enniskillen Castle museum, meeting and greeting visitors, has given him a vast reservoir of knowledge which is generously shares. He is a much sought after speaker.
Available to view in the members section.
October
Saturday October 21st: Fermanagh links & stories from Canadian archives. Shelly Lunney.
– Shelley Lunney is from Canada but has roots in Enniskillen (Beatty). She is our most prolific responder to email enquiries and has dedicated many hours to assisting people online with their Fermanagh family requests. Shelley has also amassed a huge data collection from Canadian newspapers which make reference to Fermanagh immigrants.
Available to view in the members section.
November
Saturday November 18th: Fermanagh doctors across the world. Dr Dave McNulty.
Available to view in the members section.
– Dr Dave McNulty boarded at Portora Royal School as a boy and has made Enniskillen his home. His love of Fermanagh has led him to produce extraordinary, original research. He is one of our most active committee members.
2022
January
Saturday January 22nd: 19th century Catholic Church and Registry records in Enniskillen -Seamas Macannaidh.
Available to view in the members section.
February
Saturday February 19th: The Enniskillen workhouse – Catherine Scott
Available to view in the members section.
March
Saturday March 19th: Patronymic Waves. (“How did we get here”?). – Dr Dave McNulty
Available to view in the members section.
April
Saturday April 23rd: Early Irish Christian missionaries with a focus on Fermanagh – Enzo Farinella
Available to view in the members section.
May
Saturday May 21st: AGM and Annual Show and Tell
Available to view in the members section.
September
This talk was rescheduled to Saturday October 1st due to the national period of mourning for our late Queen and will be held at Fermanagh House:
Fermanagh records held in the Public Records Office, Northern Ireland (PRONI) on site and online – Frank McHugh.
Available to view in the members section.
Frank McHugh is a former drama teacher and one of Fermanagh’s pre-eminent genealogists. He is a co-founder of Fermanagh Genealogy Centre. Frank has given many presentations across Northern Ireland on Fermanagh/genealogy and is a regular visitor to PRONI. He is also the chief editor of the Fermanagh Roots Journal.
October
Saturday October 15th: Report on ‘Dardanelles, Back Streets Memory Map Project’.
Held at Fermanagh House:
‘Dardanelles Back-Streets’ report. The project group comprises of Mary-Anne Grant, Mervyn Hall, Frank McHugh, Dave McNulty, Jim Quinn and Frankie Roofe. James Bamford of North Mapping Services is our Memory Map online creator. This unique free online project is FGC’s biggest project to date and will be placed online in the following months.
To view this presentation click here
November
Saturday November 19 th : ‘Enniskillen Main Street business owners from 1862-1931.
An illustrated talk with streetscapes and maps’ – Gaby Burns.
Available to view in the members section.
We are very excited to invite one of Fermanagh’s foremost experts on its archaeological past. Gaby comes from a well-known Enniskillen business family and is an expert mapper, genealogist and technological whizz! His talks are very engaging and highly sought after.
