Summer is the season for road trips, conferences, and educational offerings. If you have Celtic connections–Scottish, Irish, or Welsh, here’s a conference you won’t want to miss. And it will be held in Newton, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, so you can easily add a visit to Boston’s repositories and/or scenic New England seashores, lakes, and mountains while you’re there.
It’s the Celtic Connections Conference, “Pathways to our Past”, to be held on August 10-11 at the Boston Newton Marriott Hotel. This is the 3rd biennial conference co-sponsored by TIARA (The Irish Ancestral Research Association) and IGSI (the Irish Genealogical Society International). Registration is now open.
An impressive slate of speakers from Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada and the U.S. will present lectures about Irish, Scots-Irish, Scottish and Welsh genealogy, DNA, and culture. You’ll learn about exciting new ways to discover and interpret your family history and ancestral roots. (Full disclosure: I had the privilege of serving on the program committee and helping to select the speakers and topics. I am very excited about the variety and quality of this program, and I think you will be too.)
The August conference features internationally-known genealogists Audrey Collins, Dr. Bruce Durie, Fiona Fitzsimons, Maurice Gleeson, John Grenham, and Christine Woodcock. Along with Boston-area and national family history experts, they will introduce you to sources and research methods. Offerings outside the classroom highlight Celtic traditions in music, storytelling and conviviality.
Early bird registration is discounted until June 4, 2018. Lodging is available at a special conference rate at the Boston Newton Marriott Hotel, Newton, MA. The 2014 and 2016 conferences drew attendees from across the U.S. and Canada and received rave reviews. No other conference offers this focus on Celtic ancestry and heritage, or such a stellar list of international presenters! Early registration is advised.
For complete conference information, hurry over to www.celtic-connections.org and register. You’ll be glad you did!
