Friday, April 16, 2021

2021 #AtoZChallenge N is for ...Not just Ned : a true history of the Irish in Australia

  I've been researching my family history for over thirty years. Along this genealogy journey I have been supported by hundreds of books, many of which I have listed on my Librarything page. 

During the 2021 #AtoZChallenge I will be writing about two of my passions, books and family history. I'll be taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of those books that have enriched my genealogy experience.



Ten years ago when in Canberra I visited an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia, Not just Ned : a true history of the Irish in Australia. I blogged about that visit on this blog.

While I am not in the habit of buying souvenirs from events I sometimes make an exception for a book and, on this occasion, I splashed out and purchased the catalogue from the exhibition, Not just Ned : a true history of the Irish in Australia is an attractive and informative book that helps me recollect the things I learnt at the exhibition. To be sure, to be sure it was a wise investment.

Housed between two sturdy soft covers on nice thick paper, is a work generously illustrated with images of images and objects from the collection. This book is another example of creative and effective design that I am pleased to have on my bookshelf. 

The book commences with messages from the Irish Ambassador and the Director of the Museum followed by a multipage explanatory report from the Senior Curator, Richard Reid. 

And then its on to the main event, a reprisal of  many stories from the exhibition of Irish people and their influence in Australia. The object descriptions and stories are each limited to one page of text with one or more glorious large images on the opposite page. It is a beautiful book. If you have Irish ancestry or are just curious you will enjoy this book.

You can read about and see items from the exhibition here, https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/not-just-ned. I found several copies of the book for sale here on the Abe Books site.

6 comments:

Dara said...

To be sure, to be sure ;-)

Jennifer Jones said...

This book sounds wonderful Jill

Jennifer Jones said...

This book sounds wonderful Jill

Jennifer Jones said...

This book sounds wonderful Jill

Cassmob (Pauleen) said...

I also have this book and loved the exhibition. I wrote a blog post about it at the time. https://cassmobfamilyhistory.com/2011/07/10/a-true-story-of-the-irish-in-australia-aka-not-just-ned/

GeniAus said...

I'll read your blog post now, thanks for the link Pauleen.

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