Small-leaved Shamrock celebrates Family Tree Magazine's top 40

Go raibh maith agaibh!

A heartfelt thanks (in Irish Gaelic) to all of you for a great honor.  Small-leaved Shamrock, humble birthplace of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture, is proud to reside within Family Tree Magazine's top 5 heritage blogs - a small contingent among their "Fab Forty": Family Tree Magazine's 40 Best Genealogy Blogs (which includes some of my very favorites!).

Maureen Taylor wrote the magazine's announcement and said kindly about Small-leaved Shamrock:

"A lovely photo of the Irish countryside hooks you the moment you land on this blog. The blogger—a self-described Hungarian / Croatian / Irish-ancestored woman named Lisa—offers research tips and compelling stories of Irish life. The Small-leaved Shamrock is home to the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture: Lisa’s links to participants’ posts."

Thank you to Diane Haddad, Maureen Taylor, and all of the Family Tree Magazine staff for the honor; Jordan McClements for the use of his beautiful photograph of the Irish countryside; my creative daughter for the Top 40 logo above; and you, my faithful readers, who placed your vote for Small-leaved Shamrock or have supported this blog in other ways.  I consider you part of my Irish clan! (Although I can't find a way to fit all of you into the pedigree chart.)

When the idea for this blog took root almost three years ago, I had the intent to connect my extended family and help them to rediscover their Irish ancestry. I had no idea where else the journey might take me.  Along the way I have discovered an even deeper appreciation of my heritage, a new collection of friends in genealogy along with some newfound cousins, and some accolades from readers and fans: including this very special recognition from one of my absolute favorite magazines. 

"From quiet homes and first beginning,
Out to the undiscovered ends,
There's nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends."

~ Hilaire Belloc, from "Dedicatory Ode," Verses (1910)

Thanks for visiting this little Irish corner of the web.  Don't forget to join us for the upcoming online St. Patrick's Day parade, whether you have Irish heritage or not.  The deadline to submit your entry is Sunday, March 14.

Please take the time to read Family Tree Magazine's May 2010 issue highlighting the top 40 genealogy blogs.  The list includes some of my very favorites (although many others that I enjoy didn't get a mention this time):


All-Around

• Creative Gene by Jasia Smasha
• footnoteMaven by footnoteMaven
• GeneaBloggers by Thomas MacEntee
• Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver

Cemetery

• The Association of Graveyard Rabbits by several authors
• Granite in My Blood by Midge Frazel

Corporate

• Ancestry.com Blog by various authors

Genetic Genealogy

• The Genetic Genealogist by Blaine Bettinger

Heritage

• George Geder by George Geder
• Scottish Genealogy News and Events by Chris Paton
• Small Leaved Shamrock by Lisa
• Steve’s Genealogy Blog by Stephen Danko
• Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog by Schelly Talalay Dardashti

How-To

• Family Matters by Denise Barrett Olson
• Genealogy Guys by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith
• Genealogy Tip of the Day by Michael John Neill
• The ProGenealogists Blog by various authors

Local and Regional

• California Genealogical Society and Library Blog by Kathryn Doyle
• Sandusky History by the staff of the Sandusky (Ohio) Library Archives Research Center
• Midwestern Microhistory by Harold Henderson

News and Resources

• The Ancestry Insider by the Ancestry Insider
• DearMyrtle by Pat Richley-Erickson
• Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter by Dick Eastman
• GenealogyBlog by Leland Meitzler

Photos and Heirlooms

• The Family Curator by Denise Levenick
• Shades of the Departed by footnoteMaven

Personal and Family

• AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors by Miriam Midkiff
• Apple’s Tree by anonymous
• BeNotForgot by Vickie Everhart
• Educated Genealogist by Sheri Fenley
• Greta’s Genealogy Blog by Greta Koehl
• Heritage Happens by Cheryl Fleming Palmer
• Herstoryan by Herstoryan
• Janet the Researcher by Janet Iles
• Kinexxions by Becky Wiseman
• Little Bytes of Life by Elizabeth
• Our Georgia Roots by Luckie Daniels
• WeTree by Amy Coffin
• West in New England by Bill West
• What’s Past is Prologue by Donna Pointkouski

Blogs mentioned by Family Tree Magazine in addition to their top 40:

The Chart Chick
Elyse’s Genealogy Blog
Everything’s Relative 
Finding the Flock 
The Genealogue
Olive Tree Genealogy Blog
Polly’s Granddaughter
Renee’s Genealogy Blog
Seeking Michigan
Think Genealogy

The You Go Genealogy Girls