County Galway, Ireland Genealogy

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Ireland County Galway

General County Research Information
Further information about County Galway is available at the GenUKI site.

Archives and Libraries

 * The National Library of Ireland
 * National Archives of Ireland

Online resources:


 * Irish Times, also lists all county Heritage Centres' addresses

Cemeteries
A nation-wide compilation of headstones was created some years ago. Visit the Family History Library Catalog (online) under "Ireland" and Cemetery records - Indexes" for availability.

Church of Ireland
The Representative Church Body Library has just about all surviving Church of Ireland registers from the 1922 Four Courts, Dublin fire. Some transcript copies are held at:


 * the local parish
 * local archives and libraries
 * FHL (Family History Library)

Presbyterians
The vast majority of Presbyterian chapel registers have never been centrally archived, and thus are found in various locations. [Regretably, preservation of these precious records and the rich Presbyterian heritage of local Presbyterians as well as descendants of same, at large whose roots originate from Ireland, are at risk unless and until such time as when these registers are all copied into at least microform or, better--a digitized format.]

You must conduct exhaustive, thorough studies to determine to which Presbyterian denomination your ancestor belonged; and to then, determine the whereabouts of surviving registers--if any. The following most likely places to find and search Presbyterian registers starts with checking the following locations:


 * the local Presbyterian congregation/church (if still in use)
 * distant Presbyterian chapels (if the local chapel closed)
 * town libraries
 * county archives/libraries
 * PRONI (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland)
 * The National Archives, Dublin
 * The National Library of Ireland

Other:


 * 1) The excellent rootsireland web site for County Galway has some Presbyterian data now available online for different chapels; some from as early as 1819.
 * 2) The FHL (Family History Library) has but few transcription copies of Presbyterian chapels

Methodist
The rootsireland web sitefor County Galway has some Methodist data now available online for about 5 different chapels in the county from as early as 1829.

Roman Catholic
The FHL (Family History Library) has copies of some of the original Roman Catholic parish registers of County Galway parishes in its collection. You can identify these listed online at FamilySearch.org. If you know the name of the civil parish in which your Catholic ancestor resided, or was from, click "Catalog" and type in the name of the parish and then highlight/click on "Church Records". The National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin, is the custodian of all available Roman Catholic parish registers from throughout the country--including County Galway.

The rootsireland.ie web sitehas data from numerous Roman Catholic parishes now online for searching. There are fees attached (about $7 for each entry).

Useful Church Records Web Sites

 * 1) GenWeb Ireland - has numerous online links to data-rich lists of Galway County families
 * 2) John Grenham's web site has several helpful links for Galway names
 * 3) Galway County Surname Query board is here
 * 4) CMCRP Project (Galway) - has a few records for the county
 * 5) Civil Registration of births marriages and deaths for County Galway, online, 1864, on

Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information
A map of the Civil Parishes of County Galway is available at Irish Times site.

Place-Names
Here are two important place-name aids/tools for locating your Irish place and its parish jurisdiction[s]:


 * 1) List of All Townlands, Towns and Townships in County Galway. - click county "Galway"; then click "Submit" to view a complete alphabetical listing of all townlands, towns and townships and the parishes in which they reside
 * 2) Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel A. Lewis; at LibraryIreland.com - provides a rich 1837 historical perspective of each Ireland parish and large township; great for determining which churches existed in each parish--Church of Ireland or Nonconformist

Probates
no contributor listed. Abstracts From Some Skerrett Wills covering 1670-1820 in Co. Galway. The Irish Ancestor vo.V.no.2.1973, pages 100-104. Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v.5-6

Societies
Family history societies often publish helpful journals, transcripts, compiled genealogies and host helpful websites. They may have ongoing projects to transcribe records and create indexes. Most societies publish queries in their journals and maintain lists of members’ research interests that may be helpful to you. You may want to join one of these societies, reap the benefits of their expertise and resources or support its efforts.

Web Sites
To view a list of Galway web sites, visit FHLFavorites.info for some great sites.