ANCESTRAL ROOTS IN IRELAND'S WEST?

FOR YOUR INTEREST...

Did your ancestors come from the west of Ireland? We have the most complete database of records of Irish Catholic parish records in the world; our databases were compiled from the original parish registers by local people. Our databases also contain many other local sources. Connacht is one of the provinces of Ireland and is situated in the west of the country. The name Connacht comes from the medieval ruling dynasty, the Connacht, later Connachta, whose name means 'descendants of Conn', from the mythical King Conn of the Hundred Battles. It is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland and is comprised of the counties of Mayo, Galway, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo. Connacht has the greatest number of native Irish speakers at between 5–10% (40,000–55,000) of the population. The highest point of Connacht is Mweelrea (814 m), in County Mayo. The largest island in Connacht (and Ireland) is Achill. The biggest lake is Lough Corrib. Much of the west coast (e.g. Connemara and Erris) is ruggedly inhospitable and not conducive for agriculture. It contains the main mountainous areas in Connacht, including the Twelve Bens, Maumturks, Mweelrea, Croagh Patrick,Nephin Beg, Ox Mountains, and Dartry Mountains. Killary Harbour, one of only three fjords in Ireland, is located at the foot of Mweelrea. Connemara National Park is in County Galway. The Aran Islands, featuring prehistoric forts such as Dún Aonghasa, have been a regular tourist destination since the 19th century. Inland areas such as east Galway, Roscommon and Sligo have enjoyed greater historical population density due to better agricultural land and infrastructure. There are seven county genealogy centres based in Connacht. The centres are community based family history centres that have been compiling local sources since the 1980s. Mayo North Family History Centre, Enniscoe, Castlehill, Ballina, Co. Mayo. Email: northmayo@gmail.com Web: www.northmayogenealogy.com and www.mayo.rootsireland.ie Mayo South Family History Centre, Main St., Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. Email: soumayo@iol.ie Web: www.mayoancestors.com/default.aspx and www.mayo.rootsireland.ie Galway Family History Society West, St. Joseph's Community Centre, Shantalla, Co. Galway. Email:galwayfshwest@eircom.net Web: www.galwayroots.com and www.galwaywest.rootsireland.ie East Galway Family History Society, Woodford Heritage Centre, Woodford, Loughrea, Co. Galway. Email: galwayroots@eircom.net Web: www.galwayroots.com and www.galwayeast.rootsireland.ie Co. Sligo Heritage and Genealogy Society, Aras Reddan, Temple St., Sligo. Email: heritagesligo@eircom.net Web: www.sligoroots.com and www.sligo.rootsireland.ie Leitrim Genealogy Centre, Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim. Email: leitrimgenealogy@eircom.net Web: www.leitrimroots.com and www.leitrim.rootsireland.ie Roscommon Heritage & Genealogy Company, Church Street, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon. Email: info@roscommonroots.com Web: www.roscommonroots.com and www.roscommon.rootsireland.ie All of the above centres will undertake commissioned family history research. The researchers in the centres have worked in their counties for many years and have detailed knowledge of the local sources, places and people. They will be able to assist you with any questions you may have about locating ancestors in their counties. You can also search the each county's database on rootsireland.ie by purchasing a subscription. A list of the SOURCES currently online for each is available at www.rootsireland.ie/ifhf/generic.php?filename=sources.tpl&selectedMenu=sources