In a message dated 4/23/01 12:03:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, capncar1@home.com writes: << I am traveling to Northern Ireland from Baton Rouge, LA/USA on May 24th. I am flying into Dublin and catching a bus or train to Belfast the next day. I have a guide book showing the Golden Mile and the area around it but nothing on The PRONI. Where is 66 Balmorel Ave. located? Any information on travel, clothes, weather, sights to see, places to stay would be welcome. Fred Carlile >> Hi Fred, I just returned from a trip to Ireland, N and S and did some family history research there. I do have some suggestions for you. I assume you are planning to research family in Northern Ireland, since you say you are heading straight for Belfast. I also was researching a Northern Ireland line, Gray, in Aghadowey which is just south of Coleraine in Co Derry. My experiences might be of interest. I started in Dublin at the National Library of Ireland (NLI). They were very helpful and have information on people in Northern Ireland that is not at PRONI in Belfast. Much information that is at PRONI is indexed at NLI. There is also information of interest at Trinity College and other locations in Dublin. I felt that since I was flying into Dublin it made more sense to start there and then go to Belfast. I still think this was a good idea, even though I never made it to PRONI. I learned a lot at NLI. They even have an extensive manuscript index that includes PRONI. I didn't go to PRONI because my time was limited and I chose to go to the parrish where my ancestor was married in the 1690's with the time I had left for family history research. This was rewarding not only because I saw the area and stayed there in a B and B, but because the mistress of the B and B showed me a local history book which had a lot of information about the events and emigrations to the US at the time my ancestors emigrated. I also didn't go to Belfast because I was driving and I dreaded another city with it's confusing streets and driving on the left hand side of the road. Driving in Dublin was difficult/frightening after being awake all night on the plane. Also, there is still trouble in N. Ireland. There was a problem in Belfast while I was there and I was stopped by police pointing automatic weapons at me while they checked my identification. Not a pleasant experience. The Dublin airport is N of Dublin, so I assume you are taking public transport into Dublin for the night and then heading to Belfast on the bus/train. I don't know much about the trains in Ireland but they are limited. Renting a car was a good way to travel and not expensive (book from the US), but driving on the left side may be more of a challenge than you want to take on. If you do decide to rent a car, I would recommend you take public transport into Dublin and do without a car until you head elsewhere. Avoid the city driving until you are more used to the left side, also parking in Dublin is VERY expensive. Take transport back to the airport afterwards and rent a car there. The best thing about driving is that you can get out in the countryside on little roads ... Ireland is a very beautiful country. In terms of general touristing advice... Stay at B and B's, they are reasonable, pleasant, and everywhere. No need to reserve ahead if you are driving unless you are in the peak tourist season, you will find something. I bought a B and B guide but it was a waste of money, I threw it away. This doesn't apply to Dublin or, probably, to Belfast. They are expensive and may be booked up. Don't forget that the currency is different in N Ireland. You will need both types. Every resturant and B and B I visited took Visa cards. The people were wonderful and friendly and interesting wherever I went. Go to any pub for a pint and start a conversation. An unforgettable site is Newgrange, N of Dublin. It is a 5,000 year old mound/temple from the Picts .... older than Stonehenge and much more interesting inside. Plan on some cold rainy weather. A waterproof rainjacket with a hood is handy and doubles as a windbreaker. You might want to plan on buying a sweater there. Good luck and enjoy your trip! Hope these random comments will be helpful. David Hamill

PRONI is situated not far outside the city ring. In fact close enough that I walked back one day. When I was there last year, the taxi fare out was about 10 pounds if I remember correctly. There is some parking available within the grounds. It seemed to be on a main bus route as well. The staff are very helpful. There is a very useful card index system, which is a great place to start your search. Have a nice visit! Denis Power. ----- Original Message ----- From: <DNHAMILL@aol.com> To: <NorthernIrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 12:02 PM Subject: Re: [NIRGW] Travel to Northern Ireland > In a message dated 4/23/01 12:03:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > capncar1@home.com writes: > > << I am traveling to Northern Ireland from Baton Rouge, LA/USA on May 24th. > I am flying into Dublin and catching a bus or train to Belfast the next > day. I have a guide book showing the Golden Mile and the area around it > but nothing on The PRONI. Where is 66 Balmorel Ave. located? Any > information on travel, clothes, weather, sights to see, places to stay > would be welcome. Fred Carlile >> > > Hi Fred, > > I just returned from a trip to Ireland, N and S and did some family history > research there. I do have some suggestions for you. > > I assume you are planning to research family in Northern Ireland, since you > say you are heading straight for Belfast. I also was researching a Northern > Ireland line, Gray, in Aghadowey which is just south of Coleraine in Co Derry. > > My experiences might be of interest. I started in Dublin at the National > Library of Ireland (NLI). They were very helpful and have information on > people in Northern Ireland that is not at PRONI in Belfast. Much information > that is at PRONI is indexed at NLI. There is also information of interest at > Trinity College and other locations in Dublin. I felt that since I was > flying into Dublin it made more sense to start there and then go to Belfast. > I still think this was a good idea, even though I never made it to PRONI. I > learned a lot at NLI. They even have an extensive manuscript index that > includes PRONI. > > I didn't go to PRONI because my time was limited and I chose to go to the > parrish where my ancestor was married in the 1690's with the time I had left > for family history research. This was rewarding not only because I saw the > area and stayed there in a B and B, but because the mistress of the B and B > showed me a local history book which had a lot of information about the > events and emigrations to the US at the time my ancestors emigrated. I also > didn't go to Belfast because I was driving and I dreaded another city with > it's confusing streets and driving on the left hand side of the road. > Driving in Dublin was difficult/frightening after being awake all night on > the plane. Also, there is still trouble in N. Ireland. There was a problem > in Belfast while I was there and I was stopped by police pointing automatic > weapons at me while they checked my identification. Not a pleasant > experience. > > The Dublin airport is N of Dublin, so I assume you are taking public > transport into Dublin for the night and then heading to Belfast on the > bus/train. I don't know much about the trains in Ireland but they are > limited. Renting a car was a good way to travel and not expensive (book from > the US), but driving on the left side may be more of a challenge than you > want to take on. If you do decide to rent a car, I would recommend you take > public transport into Dublin and do without a car until you head elsewhere. > Avoid the city driving until you are more used to the left side, also parking > in Dublin is VERY expensive. Take transport back to the airport afterwards > and rent a car there. The best thing about driving is that you can get out > in the countryside on little roads ... Ireland is a very beautiful country. > > In terms of general touristing advice... Stay at B and B's, they are > reasonable, pleasant, and everywhere. No need to reserve ahead if you are > driving unless you are in the peak tourist season, you will find something. > I bought a B and B guide but it was a waste of money, I threw it away. This > doesn't apply to Dublin or, probably, to Belfast. They are expensive and may > be booked up. > > Don't forget that the currency is different in N Ireland. You will need both > types. Every resturant and B and B I visited took Visa cards. > > The people were wonderful and friendly and interesting wherever I went. Go > to any pub for a pint and start a conversation. > > An unforgettable site is Newgrange, N of Dublin. It is a 5,000 year old > mound/temple from the Picts .... older than Stonehenge and much more > interesting inside. > > Plan on some cold rainy weather. A waterproof rainjacket with a hood is > handy and doubles as a windbreaker. You might want to plan on buying a > sweater there. > > Good luck and enjoy your trip! Hope these random comments will be helpful. > > David Hamill > > > ==== NorthernIrelandGenWeb Mailing List ==== > Carol Hepburn, List Admin, chepburn@uswest.net > > ============================== > Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp >