Mallow Heritage Centre
On a recent trip to Mallow we checked out the tourist office and Heritage Centre. Two people in front of us at the tourist office were enquiring about genealogy research. The friendly assistant told us that she gets quite a few enquiries each week.
Next we visited the Mallow Heritage Centre which is located in the Parish Centre. It appears to be a FAS training location. The shelves are filled with transcriptions of parish records, both Roman Catholic and COI. The caretaker during our visit was a bossy unwelcoming lady so visitors to our shores be warned!! She commanded us to 'SIT' and then said 'Talk to me'. We asked about the process for making genealogical enquiries whereupon a pre-prepared set of papers was thrust at us. Pament of euro 65 was required whether or not the search was successful. Visitors have no access to either the computers or the records at the centre. They must use the computers at the nearby library or internet cafe. This office is purely for those who, ironically, as part of a government funded scheme, are transcribing all the records.
So researchers in North Cork - be warned! Don't even attempt to visit the Mallow Heritage Centre. It is a waste of time and far from a welcoming experience. If you need their services, apply online and hopefully the online reception will be a great deal friendly than the lousy welcome we received - Perhaps a smile comes to their faces once they get your euro 65 in their little mits.
This visit has inspired us to put as much free genealogical information on our Bandon Genealogy site. Remember without the families, the churches wouldn't have any records so our argument is that genealogy research should be free!! We certainly don't blame the churches for our frosty Mallow reception. I doubt they see a single cent of any of the funds that are collected.
Next we visited the Mallow Heritage Centre which is located in the Parish Centre. It appears to be a FAS training location. The shelves are filled with transcriptions of parish records, both Roman Catholic and COI. The caretaker during our visit was a bossy unwelcoming lady so visitors to our shores be warned!! She commanded us to 'SIT' and then said 'Talk to me'. We asked about the process for making genealogical enquiries whereupon a pre-prepared set of papers was thrust at us. Pament of euro 65 was required whether or not the search was successful. Visitors have no access to either the computers or the records at the centre. They must use the computers at the nearby library or internet cafe. This office is purely for those who, ironically, as part of a government funded scheme, are transcribing all the records.
So researchers in North Cork - be warned! Don't even attempt to visit the Mallow Heritage Centre. It is a waste of time and far from a welcoming experience. If you need their services, apply online and hopefully the online reception will be a great deal friendly than the lousy welcome we received - Perhaps a smile comes to their faces once they get your euro 65 in their little mits.
This visit has inspired us to put as much free genealogical information on our Bandon Genealogy site. Remember without the families, the churches wouldn't have any records so our argument is that genealogy research should be free!! We certainly don't blame the churches for our frosty Mallow reception. I doubt they see a single cent of any of the funds that are collected.
Labels: mallow genealogical research
posted by Catherine FitzMaurice and Patsy O'Shea at
6:48 AM
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