On Friday 27th April, Grainne Doran, Wexford County Council's archivist, visited the Royal Irish Academy to deliver an engaging workshop on Wexford's archives as a source for local and family historians.

Though these archives are often overlooked, we learned that they offer genealogists and historians a wealth of information, not only records of the existence of individuals buried in Wexford's graveyards, but much more information about how they lived, their cultural environment, the maritime and commercial history of Wexford and its political and social history.

As Grainne spoke, a vivid picture of the past came to life. Wexford was a snapshot of Ireland at this time, as well as boasting unique continental connections in the age of shipping.

The lessons that Grainne taught on the gathering and interpretation of sources could be applied to local history research in any county of Ireland.

We thank her for an enlightening and stimulating talk!

For those who were not able to make it, Grainne's talk is now available as a podcast.

Brian Hollinshead, a regular attendee of the Expert Workshops, kindly sent through a link to a map of graveyards in county Wexford, following the conversation that progressed in the Q&A section of the Workshop. Thank you to Brian for supplying this valuable resourse.