Hello Linde and all Sounds like some great ideas here. But have I missed something? I hadn't heard that PRONI was closing. You say it will be closed 'from this autumn' - does that mean closed for ever? Susan Wann -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of DIB Sent: Wednesday, 7 April 2010 5:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Ballymena research trips and other genealogical tourism Dear Anne and others I think N.I. is beginning to wake up to the possibility of genealogy tourism; I think gradually archives and libraries are noticing that their role has changed; that they are not just protecting material but should be actively involved in letting people access it; and all worldwide people and not just NI taxpayers, as has sometimes been the mindset. I think your idea is very useful; for people coming from abroad back to Ulster, to help descendants connect in a meaningful way with ancestors and an ancestral place; I am sure that everyone on this list, in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc, will see that potential in a research trip, rather than just concentrating on hoovering up birthdates to put into a database on the laptop. However, I think in one sense people coming to co. Antrim, is only half of what really needs to be done; Ulster people need to understand the value to them in a personal and historical way, not just financially, of genealogy tourism. I am continually trying to promote this idea (see my article in the latest Familia). Ulster lost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Ulster people; that was our loss; our families were pulled apart. Who knows what the traumas were; and the losses and traumas have been largely scarred over and forgotten. If descendants from America, Canada... make the effort to do historical research, and the even bigger effort to come back to Ballymoney or Ballymena, that can help people in NI, even if not themselves very interested in genealogy, begin to understand/ remember. So I would say, don't just promote this idea to the international community; make sure that you get the message out to NI media, so that a very wide audience in the province can begin to see that genealogy is not just an American/ Canadian/ etc hobby, but that it could enable connections to be made that can acknowledge Ulster's loss over the centuries. It would be worth contacting the ULster Scots Agency; for suggestions and moral support and help with promotion, if not for a grant. Remember PRONI is going to be closed from this autumn Keep us informed! I'll be glad to help if I can, though I'm not from Ballymena, and not especially well acquent there Linde Lunney ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Closed from Sept to May because they are moving to a new building.   Anne Shier Klintworth Check out my genealogy blog at http://genealogygirl.wordpress.com/ ----- Original Message ---- > From: Susan Wann <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wed, April 7, 2010 9:06:46 AM > Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Ballymena research trips and other genealogical tourism > > Hello Linde and all Sounds like some great ideas here. But have I missed > something? I hadn't heard that PRONI was closing. You say it will be closed > 'from this autumn' - does that mean closed for ever? Susan Wann > -----Original Message----- From: > ymailto="mailto:[email protected]" > href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected] [mailto:> ymailto="mailto:[email protected]" > href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]] > On Behalf Of DIB Sent: Wednesday, 7 April 2010 5:42 PM To: > ymailto="mailto:[email protected]" > href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected] Subject: > Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Ballymena research trips and other > genealogical tourism Dear Anne and others I think N.I. is > beginning to wake up to the possibility of genealogy tourism; I think > gradually archives and libraries are  noticing that their role has > changed; that they are not just protecting material but should be actively > involved in letting people access it; and all worldwide people and not just > NI taxpayers, as has sometimes been the mindset. I think your idea is > very useful; for people coming from abroad back to Ulster, to help > descendants connect in a meaningful way with ancestors and an ancestral > place; I am sure that everyone on this list, in America, Canada, Australia, > New Zealand, etc, will see that potential in a research trip, rather than > just concentrating on hoovering up birthdates to put into a database on the > laptop. However, I think in one sense people coming to co. Antrim, is > only half of what really needs to be done; Ulster people need to > understand the value to  them in a personal and historical way, not > just financially, of genealogy tourism. I am continually trying to > promote this idea (see my article in the latest Familia). Ulster lost > hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Ulster people; that was our > loss; our families were pulled apart. Who knows what the traumas were; > and the losses and traumas have been largely scarred over and forgotten. If > descendants from America, Canada... make the effort to do historical > research, and the even bigger effort to come back to Ballymoney or > Ballymena, that can help people in NI, even if not themselves very > interested in genealogy, begin to understand/ remember. So I would > say, don't just promote this idea to the international community; make sure > that you get the message out to NI media, so that a very wide audience in > the province can begin to see that genealogy is not just an American/ > Canadian/ etc hobby, but that it could enable connections to be made that > can acknowledge Ulster's loss over the centuries. It would be worth > contacting the ULster Scots Agency; for suggestions and moral support and > help with promotion, if not for a grant. Remember PRONI is going to be > closed from this autumn Keep us informed! I'll be glad to help if I can, > though I'm not from Ballymena, and not especially well acquent > there Linde Lunney ------------------------------- To > unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ymailto="mailto:[email protected]" > href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected] > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of > the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from > the list, please send an email to > ymailto="mailto:[email protected]" > href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected] > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of > the message