Chris Paton BA (Hons), PgDip (Genealogical Studies) is a professional genealogist specialising in Scottish and Irish research and the founder of Scotland’s Greatest Story, based in Ayrshire. Originally from Northern Ireland, Chris is a former BBC documentary maker who has worked full-time in family history since 2006, combining rigorous research with clear, engaging storytelling. A prolific author, Chris has written more than twenty books on Scottish, Irish, and British genealogy, and is a regular contributor to leading family history magazines including Who Do You Think You Are?, Family Tree, and Discover Your Ancestors, as well as his Scottish GENES blog. He teaches Scottish research courses for Pharos, has previously tutored on the University of Strathclyde’s postgraduate genealogy programme, and lectures internationally. Chris is a member of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland stakeholder forum and the Association of Professional Genealogists, where he serves as editor of the organisation’s monthly eNews.

Diahan Southard, has been helping people use DNA to find their family for over 25 years. She started her career at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, which created the DNA database that became AncestryDNA. After witnessing the power of DNA for family history–and the difficulties people face in using it effectively–she launched a pioneering career in DNA education where she offers books, courses, and live events to teach anyone who wants to listen how to incorporate DNA into their family history research.

John Grenham was Project Manager with the Irish Genealogical Project from 1991 to 1995 and later went on to develop and market his own genealogical software, 'Grenham’s Irish Recordfinder'. In 2005, he was the first Genealogist-in-Residence at Dublin City Library. He was awarded a fellowship of The Irish Genealogical Research Society in 2007, of the Genealogical Society of Ireland in 2010 and Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) in 2021. He is the author of Tracing your Irish Ancestors (5th ed. Dublin, Baltimore MD, 2019) the standard reference guide for Irish genealogy, The Atlantic Coast of Ireland (2014), Clans and Families of Ireland (1995), and An Illustrated History of Ireland (1997), among other works. He wrote the "Irish Roots" column in The Irish Times from 2009 to 2016, has developed heritage databases with Dublin City Library and Archive and the National Archives of Ireland, and ran the Irish Ancestors website in conjunction with The Irish Times until 2016. In partnership with his son Eoin, he now runs the successor website at www.johngrenham.com. John was an external member of the National Library of Ireland Genealogy and Heraldry Committee from 2011 to 2021. He has been a member of the full NLI board since 2021 and also chairs the Genealogy and Heraldry Committee.

Our August guest will be announced closer to the interview date. This conversation will explore ideas at the edges of current genealogical practice and education, inviting reflection rather than instruction.

Simon is an obsessed genealogist and more general lover of anything relating to history and nostalgia. His ancestry spans the social spectrum from Irish night soilman in Manchester, farmers South Shropshire, watch movement makers in Clerkenwell to a Cornish landowner who drowned crossing the River Camel at Padstow on a dark stormy night in 1814.

His background is in digital product design and tech entrepreneurship. In 2008 he started a business which grew to providing mobile phone Internet access to 42 million people in emerging markets including India, Indonesia and Africa.

Today, he concentrates on developing and operating WeAre.xyz (www.weare.xyz), a collaborative archiving platform for family and local historians. He is also a Trustee of the Shropshire Family History Society.

Dedicated to genealogy since 1986, Daniel was the teacher and the study guide editor of the family history project "Searching for My Roots" in Venezuela for 15 years. He is involved in several crowdsource digitization and transcription projects, and holds a board-level position at The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA). Since 2006 Daniel has been working at MyHeritage liaising with genealogy societies, bloggers, and media, as well as lecturing, and attending conferences around the world.