About the Father Clare newspaper cards database
About Father Clare's Newspaper index cards database
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This database is a transformation of Father Clare’s Card Index of Biographical Extracts from Newspapers. The original index cards were compiled in the 1940s. They are a finding aid rather than being copies of articles in the newspapers. The late Roz McCutcheon typed the index cards into a series of Word documents in 2006. The cards are of the form of name followed by the entry and reference usually date and where it was published. Nick Reddan converted the word documents into a database and added all names appearing on the cards to the index fields.
This is a large collection, approximately 21,000 cards, held at the IGRS Library. It was created in the late 1940s by Father Wallace Clare & a small team of helpers. The bulk of the records, up to 1802, are from the Hibernian Chronicle, covering the whole country. From that date onwards, although the main emphasis is on Co Cork events, a considerable number of events are reported from all over Ireland & abroad. There are 35,489 names indexed in the database.
The main newspapers quoted are the Cork Mercantile Chronicle(1802-1817) & the Hibernian Chronicle. The indexes are in various hands & the newspaper is not always quoted, & in such instances, it is probable that the extract is from the Cork Mercantile Chronicle, if 1802 onwards, or the Hibernian Chronicle prior to that date. In any case, it was regular practice for newspapers to copy interesting items from other newspapers. The extracts are from newspapers dated between approx 1776 & 1818, with a few entries from 1744 onwards, & strays up to 1863.
Where a marriage is shown, it is worth while looking at both entries, as each may contain additional information.
As this is transcribed from handwritten cards, the result should be read with caution. In particular, the handwritten abbreviations for January & June often proved difficult to decipher & may be interchangeable. It is also quite possible that some cards may have been lost, - there are indeed obvious gaps at the beginning of “B”. Generally, where there is a marriage, two cards were prepared, one for the bride & one for the groom. Roz did not checked that every card is extant, but if any reader finds an omission, a note should be sent to the Society, so that the index can be updated. I have also added references wherever another related surname is mentioned, e.g brother, son-in-law etc.
Notes added by transcribers are shown in square brackets, thus: […..]
Note: McGuire, M’Guire, MacGuire etc, are all treated identically in the “Mc” section, but Maguire will be found in the main “M” section, - similarly with all such surname variations. Names such as D’Olier, de Renzy, da Costa etc will be filed under “D”. St George will be treated as Saint George, & similarly with other such names. Titled people may be indexed under their title as a family name or under their real family name.
The date quoted at the end of each entry is the publication date of the newspaper.
