Village of Clydagh in the area of Headford.

Thank you for your interest in Ireland Reaching Out. The first place to start your search is in your own home - talk to elders in the family - find out abouttheir parents, grandparents etc. Perhaps they have a story of one of your ancestors? Things to enquire about include: occupations, places of residence, who they were living with(people often stayed with others from their home villages after emigration), siblings & other familymembers, first names (important -as usually past from father to son/mother to daughter) ages attime of emigration, possible dates of birth/death, religious denominations. Also ask if there are anysurviving photographs, old documents or letters - record all the information you can find.The next thing you could do is find the counties and places in Ireland your family names are mostprevalent. Look at the website http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/ and perhapssomething will match some other clue you may have found elsewhere? If nothing turnsup ? it is advisable to try different variations of the spellings of the names. If you have a possiblefirst name you could try the Irish Census 1901, 1911 at www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ or the landvaluation record called Griffiths Valuationhttp://askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

Hello Mary Ellen,

I just joined IrelandXO and see your message from nearly 6 years ago. I live beside Clydagh and know that the Hart family has been in the village for a few hundred years. The last remaining Hart is still there. Many emigrated over the generations - some to Delaware, USA (see www.lalley.com).

I can't find a church record for a Thomas Hart, whose mother was Burke, though there are many Harte records and Burke records (from neighbouring villages in Killursa).

Tim

Tim, my wife's great-great grandmother, Bridget O'Dea, was from Clydagh. We believe her parents were Luke O'Dea and Bridget Griffin and was born in 1850. Luke's family had been in Clydagh since ethe early 1800's after his father, James Deey (from Killbroughlan) married Mary Connor from Clydagh. Luke's family ended up moving to Tooreeny by 1853 and then Kentfield before emigrating to America. Do you know anything about the O'Dea's from Clydagh?
 

Hi Citman,

I searched records for Clydagh and other townlands in Killursa but can't find records for O'Dea or Griffin.

Maybe your wife's family are from the other Clydagh on the west side of Lough Corrib - near Moycullen. The surnames O'Dea and Griffin were/are common in that area.

Tim.