Twentieth Annual Irish Migration Studies Lecture, Saturday 5th February 2022 (via Zoom)

Reflections on a life in genealogy and migration history

It is 40 years in June this year since Brian Mitchell took up the post as local history tutor at Derry Youth and Community Workshop and he has been involved in local history, family and emigration research in the wider Derry area ever since. His output and contribution to our understanding of the migration history of the area has been enormous. The database, whose construction he supervised from 1982 to 2007, contains one million records (dating from 1642 to 1922) extracted from the major civil and church registers of County Derry. It can now be accessed at www.derry.rootsireland.ie. Brian is the author of numerous local history and genealogical reference books such as A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, A Guide to Irish Parish Registers, Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871, Genealogy at a glance: Irish Genealogy Research, The Making Of Derry: An Economic History, The Surnames of Derry, Derry: A City Invincible, Derry-Londonderry: Gateway to a New World – The Story of Emigration from the Foyle by Sail and Steam among others.

He is currently contracted to Derry City and Strabane District Council as their Genealogist where family historians are encouraged, at no charge, to forward any queries they may have concerning their family history by email at genealogy@derrystrabane.com.