North-West Connemara

Connemara is a region located on Ireland’s west coast. It occupies the part of County Galway to the west of the city. Much of the area is located within an ghaeltacht. North-West Connemara encompasses the area that surrounds the town of Clifden. It is made up of four parishes, Ballynakill (Letterfrack), Omey (Clifden/Claddaghduff), Ballindoon (Ballyconneely) and Moyrus (Roundstone). It stretches from Leenane in the north to Kilkerrin in the south, and east to Maam Cross. It is bordered to the North by the Twelve Bens and the Maamturk mountains, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south and east by greater Connemara.

About The Region

The region is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and isolated areas in Ireland. In recent times Connemara has become a popular tourist destination. People are attracted to Connemara by the picturesque landscape and rugged isolation. The town of Clifden is at the heart of the region and acts as a centre of commerce for the area.
Up until the creation of the town in the early part of the nineteenth century the region existed in relative isolation from the rest of the country. The establishment of the time thought it “a barren and lawless landscape worth taming”. This process was aided with the construction of road and rail links with Galway. These links may have brought the region closer to the rest of the country, but they also facilitated the mass emigration that has been an aspect of life in the area to this day. The reasons for this mass departure are multi-faceted, but the most prominent are the lack of suitable farmland and the subsistence nature of life in the area.

The Purpose of this Publication

This resource is intended to serve as a repository of sources, and a guide to those who wish to trace their family history in the region. Sources vary from easily accessible online records, to more specialized local sources and national archival resources.
Genealogical research is becoming easier and more popular because of the range of resources available to the researcher. The central aim of this booklet is to provide guidance to the researcher as to which of these sources have records relating to the region and are best fit for purpose. The localized sources listed within will help the researcher in finding a tangible link to their ancestor.