County Fermanagh, Ireland Genealogy

Guide to County Fermanagh ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
The Menapii are the only known Celtic tribe specifically named on Ptolemy’s 150 AD map of Ireland, They later became known as the Fir Manach, and giving their name to Fermanagh and Monaghan. The Annals of Ulster which cover medieval Ireland between AD 431 to AD 1540 were written at Belle Isle on Lough Erne near Lisbellaw. Fermanagh was a stronghold of the Maguire clan and Donn Carrach Maguire who died in died 1302, was the first of the chiefs of the Maguire dynasty. However, on the confiscation of lands relating to Hugh Maguire, Fermanagh was divided in similar manner to the other five counties among the Scottish, English and native Irish. Fermanagh was made into a county by Elizabeth I, but it was not until the time of the Plantation of Ulster that it was finally brought under civil government. Fermanagh was made into a county by statute of Elizabeth I, but it was not until the time of the Plantation of Ulster that it was finally brought under civil government.

By the end of the 11th century, Fermanagh had decisively re-emerged as a sovereign kingdom in the region. The rulers of this kingdom were drawn from the Airgíalla. Towards the end of the 13th century, the Maguire arose to the kingship of Fermanagh and with the exception of some challenges from the Ó Domhnaill of Tyrconnell, this would remain the situation until the end of the kingdom in 1607 with the Flight of the Earls.

The closure of all the lines of Great Northern Railway (Ireland) within County Fermanagh in 1957 left the county as the first non-island county in the UK without a railway service.

The population of County Fermanagh is roughly 61,805 people.

General County Research Information
County Fermanagh (Irish: Contae Fear Manach) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county town is Enniskillen. Further information about County Fermanagh is available at the Fermanagh website.

Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information

 * List of County Fermanagh Civil Parishes
 * List of County Fermanagh Catholic Parishes

Civil Registration

 * 1845-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1845-1958 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Land and Property

 * 1831 - 1856 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Maps

 * 1885 County Map: Courtesy of London Ancestor

Probates
Abstracts of Some Ardagh, Clogher and Kilmore Diocesan Wills, List of Wills proved, years covered 1739-1810, Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.VI.no.2.1974, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2iv5-6.

Websites

 * FHLFavorites.info
 * RootsChat Fermanagh Resources and Help pages. (Free).
 * County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland GenWeb: