Galway is a bustling bilingual city whose name is a byword for arts and music, festivals and craic. But what does that name mean? Well, there are a few theories. The drowned princess According to an ancient legend, the city was named for a noblewoman who drowned in the river. Gaillimh, often anglicised to Galvia, …
Read more “The mythology and history of how Galway got its name”
Census records are vital for piecing your ancestors’ lives together, and are particularly useful for building a timeline of someone’s life. Ordinarily, a person’s census returns, taken every 10 years or so, helps to build a picture of where they lived, who they lived with, how they made a living, when their children were born, …
Read more “What happened to Ireland’s 19th century census records?”
If your Irish ancestors were in Ireland in the early 20th century, the 1901 and 1911 Census returns are a great place to start your genealogical research. While a census was taken in Ireland every 10 years from 1821 to 1911, the only complete census records which are publicly available are those from 1901 and …
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If you have researched your Irish ancestors from the mid-19th century, chances are you have consulted Griffith’s Valuation. Known as the Primary Valuation of Tenements – in this case, tenements referred to any rented properties – this was a land survey carried out between 1847 and 1864 to determine the tax payable on every property …
Read more “Griffith’s Valuation and Sir Richard Griffith, the man who created it”
The TIthe Applotment Books are a valuable resource to identify where in Ireland your ancestors lived, and who the head of the family was, in the decades prior to the Great Famine. These books are one of the most important Irish census substitutes for the 19th century. However, like other records which stand in for …
Read more “Everything you need to know about the Tithe Applotment Books: A genealogical guide”
Where were your Irish ancestors from? What county did they live in? What barony? Which civil parish, which Poor Law Union? And, most importantly, what townland? For a small country, we have found a bewildering variety of ways to carve up the land for administrative purposes. Some, like baronies and Poor Law Unions, are obsolete …
Read more “What is a townland? A guide to the Irish land divisions used in genealogy records”
If you have spent any time researching your Irish ancestors, you will know that it is only a matter of time before you draw a blank in your research — the dreaded brick wall. In genealogical terms, a brick wall is a seemingly impenetrable barrier that means you can go no further. That barrier is …
When I was younger my mother told me a story of Samuel May, my great great grandfather, who had gone missing while travelling from his native Belfast to New York. He was a successful businessman, so the story went, who regularly travelled to the US. Though no one knew exactly what happened to him, it …
Read more “Why you should talk to relatives when researching your family tree”
I have spent a lot of time over the last decade researching my family history, and it has been a fascinating journey. I’ve discovered a lot about relatives I knew little or nothing about, and I’ve also found many, many people I didn’t know existed. If you have been thinking about learning more about your …
Read more “A beginner’s guide to tracing your Irish ancestors”