Want to hear about an inspirational community heritage project? This is a case-study of a fascinating project in Moycullen, Ireland, which funded DNA testing and used historic records to help the local community and diaspora stitch together their family history.
Joyce Kamsler (far right) of Medway Massachusetts USA, visits Moycullen and meets her previously unknown DNA cousins identified through the Moycullen DNA Project
Project Summary
The Moycullen Heritage DNA project uses DNA testing in conjunction with historical documents to create a more complete record of Moycullen’s social history over the last 250 years. The project has three main elements:
1. DNA Testing and Family Trees for Local People
Through fundraising that has garnered contributions from around the world, Moycullen Heritage has been able to offer free Ancestry DNA tests to representatives of long-established Moycullen families.
2. Moycullen Area Genealogy Group
Using Facebook as host, Moycullen Heritage created an online group to share family trees, DNA matches and related information. The primary benefit of this group has been to facilitate the comparison of DNA results from Moycullen people with descendants of the Moycullen Diaspora. Through the group, lost family links have been re-established which in turn has brought new knowledge of the history of migration from Moycullen.
3. Parish Family Tree
Each DNA test participant is provided with a family tree based on available historical records. Moycullen Heritage now has consolidated the various available trees and created a Moycullen Parish tree. As of March 2023, the Parish Tree includes more than 13,000 people who lived in Moycullen or are their descendants.
Project Purpose
The Moycullen DNA Project was launched in 2021, with the purpose of adding to the store of knowledge of Moycullen social history, and to re-link modern day Moycullen with its diaspora using the families recorded in the Blake Census (a local census of men in the parish conducted between 1792 and 1825) as a focal point and anchor for the project.
Fr Blake Census graphic
Resourcing
Project co-administrators, Brian O’Halloran from California and Noel Murphy from Galway, meet in their only face to face meeting July 2022.
The project has two admins who operate virtually: one is located in County Galway and the other in California. DNA testing is coordinated with the admins who work with a handful of members in Moycullen to identify testing candidates and deliver and process test materials. The admins also manage the Facebook group which currently includes 750 members, most of whom are in Ireland and the United States.
Funding for the DNA testing comes from donations solicited from members of the Facebook group. To date, €4300 has been contributed and spent for DNA testing kits.
Delivery
Development of the family trees involved genealogical research carried out by volunteers who were proficient in identifying and using parish and civil records. In creating the Moycullen Parish Family Tree based on the 1901 Census, additional volunteers were solicited through the Facebook group and were trained in one-on-one online meetings.
Facebook group graphic
Challenges
The creation of a comprehensive parish family tree is largely dependent on the availability of suitable birth, marriage and death records. Civil registration for Roman Catholics began in 1864. Records prior to that would have been held by local parishes. Moycullen is fortunate that its parish records go back to the 1780s. Our project included townlands in the adjacent Killannin parish, but unfortunately parish records there begin only in 1880 and then only for a few years.
Collaboration and engagement
The initial phase of the project culminated with a Genealogy Fair held in the village in August 2023. At the fair volunteers presented representative family trees and histories, explained genetic genealogy and DNA testing and made people aware of the Parish Family tree. Through this engagement additional candidates for DNA testing were identified.
One of several family tree boards presented at the 2023 Genealogy Fair representing families found in Blake’s Census
Our achievements
Kathleen Griffin of Moycullen attends the 2023 Genealogy Fair with her grandson Oran Sofeer of London showing him the Griffin family tree board.
Our goal was to link Moycullen residents of today to names included in the Blake Census (1792-1825). We surpassed our initial expectations by linking virtually everyone in the Moycullen 1901 Census to the earlier Blake Census. An unanticipated success was incorporating DNA test results from members of our Facebook group who had done their own DNA testing. Many of these were from representatives of our Diaspora families and their inclusion has made the Parish Family Tree much more comprehensive and valuable as a genealogical resource.
See Testimonials for Moycullen DNA Project compiled for the 2023 Genealogy Fair (.pdf)
Lessons we learned …
- Collaboration through social media has been essential for information sharing and fundraising.
- The availability of parish records will determine the size and extent of the parish family tree that can be created.
- Family tree research is time consuming and requires skilled and committed volunteers.
Next steps
Volunteers are currently evaluating underrepresented townlands in the Parish Family Tree, and we intend to focus on finding candidates from those townlands for DNA testing. We currently have 15 DNA kits available for testing and intend to use them all in 2024.
We also intend to use our iCAN-provided resources, notably our Moycullen Heritage website, to “flesh out” the names contained in the Parish Family Tree with stories of individuals, families and social history.
Background
Moycullen Facebook Graphic
Moycullen Heritage (MH) was founded as Moycullen Historical Society/ Cumann Staire Ruairi Ó Flaheartaigh in 1995, as a subcommittee of Moycullen Community Development Association, later, Forbairt Phobail Maigh Cuilinn.
Currently, we have eighteen working members, two of whom are based overseas. Our collections are both physical and digital. Our digital collection is available on our website as a member of iCAN. We do not have a building to house our physical collection but have access to space in the local community centre. One of our goals is to establish a cultural/heritage centre within the community.
Our funding in the past has been ad hoc and we have availed of grants from Galway County Council, grants from other groups e.g. Heritage Council, donations from community. For the DNA project, in particular, a GoFundMe page was established.
Moycullen Heritage does not have any paid positions but is hoping to address this in the near future. MH is governed by a constitution.
Our Vision & Mission
Moycullen Heritage aims:
- To foster an interest in the visual, written, genealogy, and aural heritage of Moycullen district and parish.
- To collect, classify and preserve any item, visual or aural recording, book, record, photograph, paper, or other document pertaining to the built and natural heritage of Moycullen parish and its people.
- To obtain and maintain facilities for the purpose of storage of and display of the property, and collection of Moycullen Heritage.
- To maintain a website and to compile and upload information on local history and heritage.
How this project helps us to meet our strategic goals
The Moycullen DNA Project fosters an interest in the genealogy of local families and thereby in the social history of the local community. Through the use of DNA testing historical family ties and are confirmed and strengthened. By creating a Parish Family Tree, documentation of births, marriages and records combined with oral histories are presented in a coherent manner. The research gained through this project allows us to present additional information of interest on our website.
Further information
- Blake Census: Blake Census of Moycullen – Moycullen Heritage
- DNA Project Launch: Moycullen Heritage DNA Project – Moycullen Heritage
- GoFundMe: Fundraiser by Moycullen Heritage : Moycullen Heritage DNA project
- Moycullen Genealogy Facebook: Moycullen Area Genealogy | Facebook
Connecting with others
- Contact: moycullenheritage@gmail.com
- Website: Moycullen Heritage – Maigh Cuilinn – ón am atá caite go dtí an lá inniu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoycullenHeritage/
- Instagram: Moycullen Heritage (@moycullenheritage) • images and videos
- CAHG: Moycullen Heritage | | Community Archives and Heritage Group
- iCAN: More about the Irish Community Archive Network
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