Start Your Family Tree Week 2011

For many of us, Christmas is the only time of the year when the whole family gets together. But how much do we really know about our families?

This Stephen’s Day we want to help you find out more about your ancestors with the launch of the second year of ‘Start Your Family Tree Week’. From the 26th December through to New Year’s Day we'll giving you all the help and advice you need to help you make a start on your Irish family history research.

Start Your Family Tree Week aims to encourage people to find out more about their family history and to hand down stories and memories to the next generation. Christmas is the perfect time to do this as it may be the one opportunity in the year we get to interview our older relatives and gain a much better understanding of our family history.

Each day we'll be providing a handy tip, including free downloads and interview guides to help you along the way. They’ll also be offering a 10% discount on all subscriptions making it easier for you to access their almost 10 million Irish family history records.

In addition to help and advice, we're running a 'festive family history challenge,' which will take place during Start Your Family Tree Week. Each day via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, findmypast.ie will post a question for people to answer. At the end of the week people can send all their answers via email to be in with a chance of winning a 12-month subscription to findmypast.ie and a €200 voucher for Amazon.

There will also be spot prizes for those who get involved via Facebook, Google+and Twitter.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast, has said: “Start Your Family Tree Week is an ideal time to start exploring your family history, whether it’s tracing great-grandparents’ names, searching military records or even discovering that you have a famous inventor in the family. The internet has made it so much easier to trace your family tree and learn about your family’s own unique story, full of colourful, real-life characters from the past. Every family has its intrigues, well-kept secrets and heart-warming tales."