Gerry, I spend enough time grumbling about my own government, so perhaps I shouldn't grumble about yours. However , having 15 of my 16 g g grandparents Irish (and the sixteenth, born here, half Irish) I'll do it anyway, though with best intentions. Is there not a 50 year limit on copyright? If British Library can put their set of Dublin Freeman's Journal on free computer access website without Irish lawsuits then surely Irish Government Libraries could do so. . Here in Australia the National Library is digitising our newspapers back to white settlement (1788) and up to the copyright limit of 1955 - all with free computer access to anyone anywhere in the world. See http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home Moreover, the NSW State Government had recently provided $Aus10 million to digitise all State Library card indexes back over a hundred years with a view to free computer access – a boon for genealogists. And NSW Govt Archives provides access to extensive immigration records in the 19C. Ships, names, families, dob, origin, profession etc etc. All free and to anyone anywhere in the world. See http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/. In NSW I have free computer access to State Government website which gives me Births (incl names of parents , location, year, and certificate reference); marriages (full names, year, location and certificate reference); and deaths (name, parents, location , year and certificate reference) from 1788 to early 20 Century. All free and including church records of the period prior to official records. See http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyHistory/searchHistoricalRecords.htm And full detail from certificates is then available for a price much discounted if not required for legal purposes. All free – that is, after we pay our income taxes. And absolutely free to overseas based people.. So it is frustrating for us out here in the Colonies to be billed on the basis of guessing whether the minimal detail is "ours". I recently sought information, based on the minimal initial BDM information on one well known and well promoted site. All wrong calls! And it cost $Aus 70. But I'd happily pay this if the website gave more detail enabling us to go beyond lottery- like bids for information. So, in my view, the Irish Government appears to have ignored its important heritage- and its loyal diaspora. Regards Frank M. 2009/2/23 <aus-pt-jackson-convicts-request@rootsweb.com> > > > The Port Jackson Convicts Mailing List > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Dublin Trial Records (Gerry Kennedy) > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 08:06:34 -0000 > From: "Gerry Kennedy" <gerrynkennedy@eircom.net> > Subject: Re: [PJ] Dublin Trial Records > To: <aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <0B0605A4F64640A1BAAD1F7D72D2A5FD@owner> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Frank, > > This is a commercial enterprise that the newspaper owners (who presumably > own the copyright) have done, not the Irish Government. > > -----Original Message----- > From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frank > Murray > Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 12:10 PM > To: aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com > Subject: [PJ] Dublin Trial Records > > Ron, > > Presumably you have a National Library readers Ticket. (Anyone may apply > from all over Australia. See the NLA website.) Go to NLA webpage and to >