On 8 May, the National Archives made a substantial addition to its online genealogical resources with the Calendars of Wills and Administrations, 1858–1920. For the first time, users can search by the name of the deceased person and also by name of executor/beneficiary. The Calendars give details of principal family relationships, and assets of which the person died possessed. The indexes are linked to digital images of the original calendars.

The Archives Portal Europe network of excellence (APEx) – in which the National Archives is an active participant – is organising a major international conference “Building infrastructures for archives in a digital world” in Trinity College Dublin on 26–28 June. The EU-funded APEx project operates the Archives Portal Europe and is hosting this conference to discuss the challenges and opportunities archives face on their path into the digital world.

The conference is free of charge and registration is now open at http://dublinconferences2013.eu/registration.

The May Document of the Month consists of a lithograph by L Souther of Clifden Castle, county Galway, from the Incumbered Estates Courts collection, 1850.

From 2 January, the prices we charge for copies and related services, including certified copies, have been increased – please consult the National Archives (Fees) Regulations 2012 for the full list and the Summary of fees for further information.

On 8 November last, Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, launched the NAI’s new genealogy website. From this site, you can access the Census records for 1901 and 1911, the Tithe Applotment Books for 1823 to 1837 and the Soldiers’ Wills for 1914 to 1917.

The site will have a large number of other genealogical records added to it over the coming years, including:

1) Calendars of Wills and Administrations (1858– 1922);

2) Nineteenth-century census survivals (1821-1851);

3) Valuation Office House and Field Books (1848–1860);

4) Census Search Forms for the 1841 and 1851 Censuses.

All of these records will be free to access, through searchable databases and linked images of relevant pages. Eventually, we hope that the site will contain all of the important and easily accessible genealogical material in the custody of the National Archives.

Soldiers’ Wills

The National Archives collection of the wills of soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1917) is now available free online. This is the first phase of the project carried out by the National Archives to digitise the 9,000 wills of the soldiers who died. Work is continuing and the remainder of the collection will be released online in 2013.

On 25 October last, Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, launched a range of digitised archival documents relating to the conflict in Northern Ireland on the University of Ulster’s CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) website. The site provides an extensive range of information and source material on the conflict and politics of Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present day – please see http://cain.ulster.ac.uk and CAIN press release for further details.

The Bureau of Military History Collection, 1913-1921 (BMH) project was undertaken by the Military Archives in collaboration with the National Archives and involves the digitisation of over 35,000 pages of witness statements and contemporary documents, 400 photographs and 13 voice recordings from primary sources covering the revolutionary period in Ireland from 1913 to 1921. The website can be accessed at www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie.

The National Archives has digitised the calendars of grants of probate of wills and letters of administration for the years 1922–1982. Please consult the Will calendar introduction for further details on this project, together with the Will calendar search guide.