Heritage Walks of Ballymoney Town
Come and join Ballymoney Museum staff as they lead a guided walk around the town centre. Hear the fascinating history of this ancient settlement and look at buildings of historic interest.
Contrary to what has been previously been published, the first scheduled walk will not take place on Thursday 3rd July. However the other dates will take place as scheduled: 17th July, 31st July, 14th August, and 4th September.
All walks are free of charge and will take place from 11.45am – 12.30pm, starting from Ballymoney Town Hall.
These walks are organised by Ballymoney Borough Council Cultural Services. For further details contact Tourist Information on tel: 028 2766 0230.
Balnamore Mill Tour Cancelled
Ballymoney Borough Arts Committee and Ballymoney Museum regretfully announce that the tour of Balnamore Mill, scheduled to take place on Tuesday 24th June has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
It is hoped that the tour will be rescheduled for later in the year. Watch press for further details.
The next tour in the series will take place as planned on Thursday 24 July and features buildings and sites of historic interest in the Kilraughts area. This will be followed on 19 August with a visit to places of historic interest in the Dunloy area. Both of these tours will be led by local historian S Alex Blair.
For both of these tours, the bus will depart from Townhead Street Car Park, Ballymoney at 6.30pm returning between 9.00 and 9.30pm. Tickets are £5 and include refreshments, which will be served at the end of the tour in Ballymoney Town Hall. Numbers are limited to 30 so booking is advisable. Tickets are available from Tourist Information, Ballymoney Town Hall Telephone 028 2766 0230.
Genealogy Researcher Database now uploaded
As promised ballymoneyancestry.com now includes a database of suitably qualified and experienced researchers who can provide a bespoke research service for those requiring significant and detailed research to be carried out. The details of those listed can be viewed at www.ballymoneyancestry.com/ancestry-links.aspx.
As explained below ballymoneyancestry.com is neither commending or recommending these researchers; their details are being provided for information purposes only.
However it is expected that many users may be considering contracting the services of such researchers and the site would be interested to hear of your experiences and the successes achieved from using professional researchers to source information for you. Comments can be forwarded to feedback@ballymoneyancestry.com.
*Latest e-zine published*
Ancestry e-zine, edition 08/01 has just been published and forwarded to all registered users of ballymoneyancestry.com. If you are not yet a registered user but would like to receive a copy of this latest electronic newsletter please contact us on feedback@ballymoneyancestry.com
Genealogy Researcher database
Ballymoneyancestry.com is considering establishing a database of suitably qualified researchers who would provide an research service to those users of the site who require additional significant and detailed research to be carried out on their behalf. Unfortunately neither ballymoneyancestry.com nor Council are not in a position to carry out this research.
There are an absolute myriad of hobby and professional genealogy researchers throughout Ireland who would only be too happy to take on commissions from interested parties to conduct research on their behalf. However we have no way of being able to assess the competence or skills of many of these.
Consequently we have consulted the National Library of Ireland’s commissioning website and have drawn up a list of potential researchers which we have invited to consider being listed on ballymoneyancestry.com.
So if you are interested in having some further and perhaps more detailed research carried out on your behalf and information provided which cannot be sourced through either Ancestry Forum or the BLOG, then watch this space for further details on who to contact and how they might be able to help you.
By way of trying to get some idea of the likely uptake of such a service we are keen to find out from users if this is the type of additional research facility which they could make use of. Consequently we would be interested to hear from you if you have already have, or would, consider using this service once it becomes available. We would be delighted if you would, without obligation, let us know by e-mailing us on feedback@ballymoneyancestry.com or responding via the Ancestry BLOG.
Please note however: www.ballymoneyancestry.com would wish users to note that we are not recommending or commending any of the individuals which may be listed, rather the names are provided for information purposes only. Likewise ballymoneyancestry.com cannot become involved in any way with whatever arrangements may be entered into between the user and the researcher.
Local History Talks Continue at Museum
This New Year sees a continuation of local historian Alex Blair’s fascinating talks on The Nineteenth Century Experience. Come along to the Town Hall on Thursday 17th January and find out about an important event from that time. Check out details on Ballymoney Museum section at http://www.ballymoneyancestry.com/ballymoney-museum.aspx
Technical Problems with using ballymoneyancestry.com?
Check out the discussion and resolution suggestions listed on the BLOG, on www.ballymoneyancestry.com/genealogy-blog.aspx and the Ancestry Forum by accessing www.ballymoneyancestry.com/VolForum_ForumTopics.aspx?topic_id=606#post_1661
Local History Talks continue at Ballymoney Town Hall
Local Historian Alex Blair’s latest series of talks continues at the Town Hall next Monday night. The new series is titled ‘The Nineteenth Century Experience’ and aims to highlight the many changes that took place in this era. Check out the museum page by clicking on www.ballymoneyancestry.com/ballymoney-museum.aspx for more details
Considering Coming To Ballymoney To Continue Your Research or On Vacation
With such a myriad of things to see and do, whether you are searching for your ancestors or just in search of a good holiday, Ballymoney and the surrounding area can offer you everything that you may need.
As a result of using www.ballymoneyancestry.com to help locate and provide details about their ancestors, many people from all over the world have come to Ballymoney to follow up their desk research with a visit to their ancestral family home.
One recent genealogy visitor to the borough, Peter B. Teets from Colorado Springs, USA commented, “We had a wonderful visit to Northern Ireland, and one highlight was certainly our visit to your Museum to gain insight into my grandfather's heritage. “Your assistance with helping us to find grave-sites is also very much appreciated. “We spent time in the Old Cemetery after we departed your Museum, and located some very likely ancestral graves”.
As a result of this interest Council is considering developing structured visits for groups and individuals who want to visit the borough. Would you be interested in participating in such a visit? If so please e-mail feedback@ballymoneyancestry.com and we will be pleased to contact you to discuss your needs and interests.
Website Update
As you will be aware we have been making some significant changes to ballymoneyancestry.com recently as we endeavor to continually improve the format of, and information contained on, the site. The most recent changes have required the site to be reconstructed and hosted on a new system with the result that, amongst other things, old bookmarks will no longer exist and access pathways have changed slightly.
We appreciate that the new layout and pathways may cause some interim difficulties for regular users of the site and are working to address the issues a number of you have raised with us. In the meantime we would appreciate any help you can give us. If you do come across any errors or features you feel could be improved please email feedback@ballymoneyancestry.com.
As one of the few free genealogy sites available we are continually striving to make our site more accessible and to improve security.
www.ballymoneyancestry.com is proud to announce that since its activation it has been visited by over 154,000 users. This proves, yet again, the remarkable interest in family history research in the North Antrim region. Our "Post a Message" discussion forum has become a very effective signposting service in helping genealogists to discover new resources and establish links with other researchers across the world.
After 145 years, Ballymoney Museum has moved into its new home! The Arts Centre & Museum at Ballymoney Town Hall is an exciting new development by Ballymoney Borough Council which has transformed the original Town Hall, built in 1866, into a modern cultural centre.
For the first time, the museum now has a purpose built venue with facilities to rival any attraction throughout Northern Ireland. Visitors can discover the remarkable history of this ancient region and see artefacts gathered from the 9,000 years of human settlement in the Borough. Ballymoney is world renowned for its motorcycle heritage and on display are bikes and memorabilia from this thrilling sport.
In addition, the museum has a Local & Family History Resource Area. Visitors are able to research genealogy and explore the library of local history books and archives. Genealogists are also encouraged to donate their own research to public access archive, sharing their work with anyone who may visit searching for the same family lineage.
The new museum opened in September 2005. In the 18 months since then, over 8,500 people have enjoyed the wonderful collection of local artefacts and the popular programme of temporary exhibitions.
In addition, Ballymoney Borough Council is in the late stages of designing an amazing new exhibition for the museum galleries. Council hope to secure funding of £288,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for this ambitious project. Once completed, the impressive new exhibition will ensure that Ballymoney Museum becomes one of the 'must see' tourist attractions of the Causeway Coast.
The museum gallery re-development will be completed in late 2008. As a result of this work, the museum may be closed for a brief period during 2008 and visitors are requested to contact the museum to confirm opening hours, Tel: (028) 2766 0230 or museum@ballymoney.gov.uk.
For further information, please contact the Museum Manager at museum@ballymoney.gov.uk
Ballymoney Borough Council would like to thank the European Union Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity for providing the necessary grant aid for the development of www.ballymoneyancestry.com.