Was 2016 a breakthrough year for you in your research? Did you uncover something of huge interest? We here at Central Research have come up with our own personal family history highlights, and over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing some of them with you.

First up, is Maureen:
Early in 2016 I predicted that Irish genealogy was a case of ‘watch this space’.  And so it proved in September when many of the records that had been promised in the preceding years became available free to the internet – civil registration and land records among them. Now is the time to explore these records, particularly the images of the birth, death and marriage records, which were previously available at a cost of €4 each.  Supplemented by the increasing records available in subscription databases, there has never been a better time to crack some of those brick walls.  For more information please check out the following websites and blogs:

It's almost Christmas, and as many of us wind down for a few days, we trust that this year has been a most interesting time for you in your family history endeavours ... maybe some of those impenetrable brick walls were finally smashed to pieces... maybe a new lead opened up... maybe it was just pure frustration and you really do need a break before you head back into the agony and the ecstasy that is family history research.
May you all have a lovely time this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas from the Kintalk team.

For more olde Christmas card goodness, here's a link to the Christmas Card exhibition  online. Enjoy.

And what about this this gorgeous poster from the Tourism Dept (1936) promoting... fishing! It was painted by Railways Department artist, Maurice Poulton (1909-1983). Interestingly, after his retirement in 1955, Poulton developed a very keen interest in fly fishing. (I love that pipe!)





This is a lovely book to browse and admire these wonderful artists and, let's face it, with 'natural' events of late, its always good to remind ourselves just what is good about this truly beautiful, albeit earthquake-prone country. There are several copies of Selling the Dream in Auckland Libraries for you to look at... but I think this is one book that would make a lovely gift for somebody this Christmas.
Joanne - Central Research