GRO reading room to move

pinkypinky

Via Claire Santry's blog:

http://irish-genealogy-news.blogspot.ie/2013/07/gros-dublin-research-room-to-move-in.html

Shocked and appalled doesn't come close to it!

Time to lobby the minister.

ETA: didn't see the other thread but perhaps it deserves its own! We'll have to edit the stickies and all if this actually goes ahead.

jos28

Words fail me
At at time when the rest of the civilised world has recognised the financial benefits of genealogy our government fails to invest and condemns researchers to out dated procedures and now that will be delivered in a dingy building. Welcoming home the diaspora me a***

Hermy

Not been here for a while - can't believe this!

Jellybaby1

And I can't believe its 'temporary' either. Although if they move to Werburgh Street and stay there for 20 years, and then move again, then they will say it was 'temporary' all right. The government owns a heap of buildings in the city, there has to be better than this!

Could they consider a crazy idea, that is building a home for our records now and boost the economy a bit? Think of all the unemployed men and women in the building industry who would appreciate a job. Also Bishop Street is running out of space, combine the two or even more? And here's a thought, include car parking!! Bazinga!!

Jellybaby1

According to Claire Santry's blog the GRO Research Room will be opening on Monday next 16th September in Werburgh Street. Who will be the first in the door I wonder? I'm feeling depressed about it , but fingers crossed it will be ok.

CassieManson

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

According to Claire Santry's blog the GRO Research Room will be opening on Monday next 16th September in Werburgh Street. Who will be the first in the door I wonder? I'm feeling depressed about it , but fingers crossed it will be ok.

I thought it was in Roscommon? Was not aware there was a GRO research centre in Dublin. Can you find/view birth and death certs in this research centre?

L1011

CassieManson wrote: »

I thought it was in Roscommon? Was not aware there was a GRO research centre in Dublin. Can you find/view birth and death certs in this research centre?

There has been for about a decade, it is (until tomorrow) in the Irish Life Mall. You can view the index books for birth/death/marriages and purchase research copies of certs.

Waitsian

http://irish-genealogy-news.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/gro-research-room-staying-put-until-end.html

Move seems to be delayed; watch this space.

L1011

Staff appear to think it's off for next week too (I'm in here awaiting certs right now)

shanew

adverts in today's paper on this - Research Room @ Irish Life Centre closed Wed. 25th Sept. to to Fri 27th. Service resumes at Werburgh St. office Mon. 30th Sept.

Jellybaby1

shanew wrote: »

adverts in today's paper on this - Research Room @ Irish Life Centre closed Wed. 25th Sept. to to Fri 27th. Service resumes at Werburgh St. office Mon. 30th Sept.

I checked the GRO website yesterday and couldn't find any news as I wanted to go in soon. Thanks for posting shanew.

pedroeibar1

Grenham in his Irish Times blog piece describes his visit in rather acerbic tones. The move makes a farce of 'The Gathering' PR - imagine what the overseas visitors must think. I've yet to go there....

jos28

I trekked up there last week and couldn't agree more. It's a dismal spot with little or no facilities. It cost me a bloody fortune too. I went in armed with index details taken from familysearch.org. Unfortunately they don't include the year quarter details so I had to pay to look at the books to get the necessary details. Like everyone else there I had to pay €4 for each cert without being able to verify it first (none of the ones I ordered were relevant to my search). Add to that the restrictions on the number of certs per person and the entire experience was a waste of time and money.
When oh when will the powers that be realise that this could be a very lucrative business. Stick everyone up online, charge a fee and watch the cash rolling in. I think the main problem is that the GRO comes under the remit of Dept of Social Protection. It should come under Arts/Heritage and then we might see some improvements. After all. lots of the Irish diaspora who find their roots might come to visit and boost the economy. Sorry folks, rant over !

pinkypinky

jos28 wrote: »

I trekked up there last week and couldn't agree more. It's a dismal spot with little or no facilities. It cost me a bloody fortune too. I went in armed with index details taken from familysearch.org. Unfortunately they don't include the year quarter details so I had to pay to look at the books to get the necessary details.

Familysearch's index certainly does include the quarter, except pre-1878 when they did not use quarters.

jos28

pinkypinky wrote: »

Familysearch's index certainly does include the quarter, except pre-1878 when they did not use quarters.

OOPS egg on my face !! I obviously copied and pasted incorrectly. Thanks Pinky

jos28

Still can't see the Q details Pinky, I only see the Volume and page number. This is one of the ones I am tracing

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FBHY-Q2W

Could you kindly show stupid oul me where I am going wrong

shanew

Oct - Dec 1885

this is what I see :

Name: Michael Evans
Event Type: Birth
Event Date: Oct - Dec 1885
Event Place: Dublin North, Ireland
Registration Quarter and Year: Oct - Dec 1885
Registration District: Dublin North
Age:
Birth Year (Estimated):
Mother's Maiden Name:
Volume Number: 2
Page Number: 434
GS Film number: 101060
Digital Folder Number: 004193461
Image Number: 00652

jos28

Shane, If I had taken the time to READ it properly I would have seen what you did. I am currently standing in the corner of the room with my dunce's hat on

shanew

I usually cut the details down to the bare essentials... easier to read that way, and also correspond the the details that the GRO require.

so in my notes for that record I'd have :

Name: Michael Evans
Event Type: Birth
Quarter and Year: Oct-Dec 1885
Registration District: Dublin North
Volume : 2 / Page : 434

CassieManson

shanew wrote: »

I usually cut the details down to the bare essentials... easier to read that way, and also correspond the the details that the GRO require.

so in my notes for that record I'd have :

Name: Michael Evans
Event Type: Birth
Quarter and Year: Oct-Dec 1885
Registration District: Dublin North
Volume : 2 / Page : 434

I have been using the GRO postal service based in Roscommon and its pretty good. As far as I can tell there is no limit per order (I have sent up to 7 in one envelope and it has been ok). It seems to take from 6 days to 2 weeks to get the certs back. They have also recently ammended the forms to include the option to have the certs sent by email which should speed things up a little. (of course I wish I had realised this before I had printed off umpteen copies of the old form!!)

This seems preferable to the set up in Dublin..

jos28

I'm going to give that a try for my next batch Cassie, cheers !

pedroeibar1

jos28 wrote: »

I trekked up there last week and couldn't agree more. It's a dismal spot with little or no facilities. It cost me a bloody fortune too. ...........the restrictions on the number of certs per person and the entire experience was a waste of time and money.
When oh when will the powers that be realise that this could be a very lucrative business. Stick everyone up online, charge a fee and watch the cash rolling in. I think the main problem is that the GRO comes under the remit of Dept of Social Protection. It should come under Arts/Heritage and then we might see some improvements. After all. lots of the Irish diaspora who find their roots might come to visit and boost the economy. Sorry folks, rant over !

Why should the GRO have conveniences like train, bus stations and car parking nearby? Werburgh St. is a great place to store records – the inaccessible, unsavoury location will deter visitors thereby reducing the wear & tear caused by use of the ledgers; only two plug sockets are available so the fire risk is reduced (anyway, why bother with computers in this era, the documents have not – heaven forbid –been scanned.) The state-of-the-art barbed wire fence on the high surrounding walls of a Stalinesque building compound will exclude would-be thieves and the even temperature (slightly above freezing) will prevent mould growing on the records. Perfect!

Anyway, it’s not as if the GRO is important or that genealogical tourists might want to obtain such trivia as their ancestors BMD certificates at €4 a copy. No, no, far more sensible to sell them a certificate of Irishness at €100 along with an original ‘family crest’. That way the politicians can concentrate on telling everyone what a great success ‘The Gathering’ has been!

Jellybaby1

I actually thought the GRO didn't have any original documents on site at all. I always believed when I visited and ordered my certs that a staff member went to a computer, hit a few keys and then ' print', and bingo! out came my certs. Do you mean they actually have the originals there, UNSCANNED??

L1011

The documents are scanned, at least back to a fairly hefty amount of time ago if not 1845 yet. Any certified copy cert produced now is a direct print of the entry on the original register.

This is how they can do the proposed for early 2014 online index - which won't suffer the gaps that the LDS index that everywhere uses does.