My grandparents and great grandparents lived in the Brockagh/Drumgar/Aughagowla/Gortnaclassa, Kilmeena/Fahy Parish, Kilmaclasser. As a child I used to visit my grandparents at Drumgar quite regularly, so know a little about the area.
My grandfather, Patrick Conroy1 (sometimes spelt Conry) was born on 18th April, 1889 in Brockagh, Islandeady District. His parents were Patrick Conroy2 (Conroy) and Sarah Walsh. Patrick2, 25, (of Aughagowla) and Sarah, 21, (of Gortnaclassa) were married 7 October 1877 Islandeady District. This gives birth dates of about 1852 for Patrick2 and 1856 for Sarah. Their fathers were given as Patrick3 Conroy, Landholder and Anthony Walsh, Landholder. I would like to trace the births of Patrick2 and Sarah, their mothers’ names and the names of any siblings, but do not know where to look for any surviving records.
The 1857 Griffiths Valuation in Drumgar gives the tenant as Patrick Conway. I believe this is probably Patrick3 but at present have no way of validating this assumption.
Any help in this direction would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Jan Lewis
jan4lew
Monday 8th Apr 2013, 10:27PMMessage Board Replies
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Hi Jan,
Thank you for your message.
In order to trace Patrick and Sarah?s births you will have to look in church records. If you can find their baptismal record it will also list their mothers? names.
Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. Kilmaclaser civil parish belongs to Kilmeena Catholic parish.For Kilmeena parish, follow this link:
Unfortunately, as you can see records here do not start until 1870. However, in the19th century new Catholic parishes were created so starting dates can sometimes be misleading. Many parishes changed their geographical spread so you may find earlier records relating to your family in the records of adjoining parishes, particularly Aughagower where records start in 1828:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/mayorc.htm
Most surviving Church of Ireland records are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42
Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.
It may also be an idea to contact the South Mayo Family Research Centre for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email address: soumayo@iol.ie
I hope that this is helpful. Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Wednesday 22nd May 2013, 11:10AM