Barbara Bingham holds two M.A. degrees in Local Irish Studies and Theology. Her background in Irish Protestant history has shaped her interest in social and family history and in the ecclesiastical archives of Ireland. Known for her enthusiastic call for all Irish emigrant descendants to visit Ireland at least one in their lifetime, she strives to bring Ireland's history alive by writing and speaking publicly on local histories that unite names to places, folklore to farms, and school children to local identity. Barbara is a retired lay minister in the Church of Ireland and served in Limerick city and Adare parishes of County Limerick, Ireland.