Kilmacteige, Sligo, Ireland Ancestry HOSTS MANY ORIGINAL IRISH AND UK RECORDS COPIED FROM THE ACTUAL SOURCE RECORDS IN SLIGO, DUBLIN, KEW and ELSEWHERE !
SOMETIMES IT TAKES TIME TO LOAD, SO PLEASE BE PATIENT wait a few seconds, (sometimes 10-20-30)!
Irish Ancestry Research Sources, Strategies – Part 1- done in 2018: Overview for 2020!
Kilmactigue (Cill Mhic Thaidh) “The church of Teige’s son” is the ancient name of the present parish of Kilmactigue (few Km from Tourlestrane). Below is a working link to Maps , weather, and other present day information, and a few links, of the area. Updated 11-16-2020. Enjoy!
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/EI/25/Kilmacteige.html
http://www.kilmactigueparish.com/
https://books.google.com/books?id=DdhC3eVIdHgC&pg=PA311&lpg=PA311&dq=The+church+of+Teige%E2%80%99s+son&source=bl&ots=JtpALvnunH&sig=ACfU3U1591oPSNT6RI9bi28TxO4Q4cKgzg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-29Py_pDnAhXGW80KHTOzCUAQ6AEwAnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=The%20church%20of%20Teige%E2%80%99s%20son&f=false
(ABOVE) Annals of the Four Masters (The Annals of Ireland [from A.D. 1171 to A.D. 1616]. Translated from the Original Irish of the Four Masters by O’Connellan, with Annotations by P. MacDermott and the Translator)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annals_of_the_Four_Masters
And yes, we realize the spelling difference, it is intentional (as many different spellings exist).
So lets BEGIN….
Irish Ancestry Research Sources-SOUTH SLIGO, IRELAND and MAYO (with most of the ancient Killedan Barony). This is -roughly – from present day Aclare, South Sligo to Kiltimagh, Mayo.
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~irlmayo2/killedan_cp_characteristics.html
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=202
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~irlmayo2/killedan_cp_gahagans_griffiths.html
Overview South Sligo records and sources:
Part 1: Search Your Irish Ancestors correctly, accurately, quickly, and inexpensively!
No need to pay much (or anything). BE FRUGAL LIKE IRISH ANCESTORS WERE. THIS IS A MARATHON, not a Sprint. Keep at it!
Overview::
1. BY 2017 MOST IRISH "VITAL RECORDS" ARE ONLINE AND FREELY ACCESSIBLE. WE HAVE COLLECTED MOST OF THOSE RECORDS OR LINKS TO THEM-MANY ARE HOSTED RIGHT HERE. SO, THE FIRST "BASE" OF MODERN IRELAND ANCESTRY RESEARCH IS THE 1901/1911 IRISH CENSUS - REFER TO IT OFTEN (EVEN IF YOUR ANCESTORS HAD LONG SINCE PASSED BY THEN) AS SOMEONE -COUSINS, SIBLINGS AND OTHER FAMILIES SHOULD BE STILL AROUND BY THE TIME THE 1901 CENSUS WAS DONE (and then again a DECADE LATER March/April, 1911). NEVER OMIT THIS STEP AS IT SHOULD REVEAL YOUR SURNAMES.
2. RESEARCHING YOUR IRISH ANCESTORS WITHOUT PAYING MUCH IS COMPLETELY ACHIEVABLE. DO NOT PAY ANCESTRY EVERY MONTH (WE DO ONE MONTH EVERY YEAR AND CANCEL TILL THE FOLLOWING YEAR, see below). YOU CAN REACH BACK IN TIME TO ABOUT THE FAMINE/POST-FAMINE (1845-1855) TIMES - SOME MUCH EARLIER (1780s "ish") WITH HIGH-CONFIDENCE. BUT YOU MUST BE VERY CAREFUL TO CHECK AND VERIFY NAMES, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE SPELLING, DATES, and LOCATIONS. BE SURE TO CHECK THE NAMES WITH BAPTISM DATES {EXPLICITLY} AS MAKING SURE YOU START WITH THE RIGHT FAMILY IS CRITICAL (WE HAVE SEEN PPL RESEARCH OTHER NON-RELATED FAMILIES FOR YEARS, ONLY TO REALIZE THE GRAVE ERROR MUCH LATER--DO NOT BE THAT PERSON). REMEMBER, IN IRELAND (ALMOST) NO ONE WAS CALLED BY THEIR GIVEN NAME - "nicknames" were very, very common (mainly due to 800 years of British oppression and Irish nicknaming traditions). Errors do happen in transcription - so keep an eye for details. Be on the lookout for simple and complex errors! Most are easy to indentify, others no so much. It is critical to know general lifetime events and the average life-span was much shorter in the 1800s than it is today, even in Ireland.
3. THE SECOND PART OF IRISH GENEALOGY RESEARCH (AND OFTEN THE MOST CRITICAL PART) AFTER FINDING THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE RECORDS (INDEXES MAINLY) -- IS TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE SOURCE DOCUMENTS AND THEN IF CONFIDENT, SPENDING THE MONEY TO ORDER THE "BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death) CERTIFICATES" OR "CERTS". THIS IS ONLY FROM ONE (1) OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT SOURCE THE "GRO" (or General Register Office). THE FEEs THEY CHARGE ARE OUTRAGEOUS FOR A PIECE OF PAPE (A TRUE CASH COW FOR THEM) BUT WE ARE STUCK WITH IT - BE AS SURE AS POSSIBLE BEFORE ORDERING THE "CERTS".
4. THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE OR G.R.O. / GRO: For Irish Births, check the local Church’s PARISH Baptismal records FIRST.
as they are free and most are online now (see below). Baptismal records from Church is different than, but “stand in” for “Birth Certificates”. In early “British Isles” records (prior to 1922) the Family “registered” a Birth, obtained a Marriage Cert. (or license). Locating and obtaining ALL RECORDS for a Person or Family should be done in every instance. Pre-1890s no formal Census with individual records exist, we use “substitute” for most of the Irish Population. The Irish Census, and Roman Catholic (if Catholic) Church Records are the pages you want to compare side-by-side (if you’re sure about their Religion, as most of the Population was Catholic, even today). You might later want to check other Church records as some changed, or Married into the Protestant Church as significant benefits were given for doing so (do this after finishing your Ancestors known Religion search, for records).
Remember the “Irish Free State” came into existence on 6 December 1922 -to– 29 December 1937 (a New Constitution was enacted after this, see below) — all, or most Gov. records before then were created and kept by the UK. Afterward, it can be a mess, but finding EACH RECORD is critical and mainly kept by the State (and the Church).
Below is the link to the GRO and explained in later pages:
WE STARTED INITIALLY WANTING TO KNOW OUR PAST TEN (10) GENERATIONS BACK (250 YEARS +/-, ROUGHLY), OF OUR IRISH ANCESTORS.
5. SO IF YOU HAVE KNOWN ANCESTORS, BORN IN IRELAND (1898 and BEFORE) THIS IS THE PATH YOU WANT TO FOLLOW (But make sure you scour papers or anything to make sure you know the Surname, Religion, and Location – as these three things are essentially the “keys to the kingdom” searching in Ireland. If they moved, it is the base we start from and move forward from the known information to finding unknown information.
6. Now, let’s START on the steps to finding your Ancestors’ and the records they left during their Life – and staying safe online (and on your computer) when doing this research (as this is always a critical consideration – for the least amount of time and treasure)! Since it is such a critical situation, We added some “keep safe, and keep your records sections below – don’t pay someone else (Ancestry) to keep your records- see below).
7. WITHOUT GOING INTO DETAIL, YOU ALWAYS WANT RUNNNING ON YOUR COMPUTER: i) a working firewall, and ii) a working and updated Anti-Virus program. And for advanced users iii) Encryption software. At a minimum, verify your Firewall, and Anti-Virus, are updated (click “update”) and working properly when online. If not stop AND SHUT DOWN!
8. Second, never EVER believe any email, chat, or ANY messages (or ANY calls) even if your caller-ID says “Microsoft”, “Google” or “Comcast”) saying your “computer is compromised, unsafe, or infected” – and online, not even if you see web pages saying this same thing — (BUT if it is YOUR Firewall or Anti-Virus warning you – believe it). NEVER let anyone remotely connect to your computer when online — NEVER!
9. If you ever suspect a problem your best bet is to shut it down, unhook your internet connection, and take it to your local IT or Computer repair person. RE-READ THE ABOVE ABOUT GOOD FIREWALLS AND ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS MUST ALWAYS BE RUNNING. Without them it is akin to leaving the front door to your house open when your sleeping !!
10 : — THE START OF THE IRISH ANCESTRY RESEARCH (FOR NOVICE OR EXPERIENCED):
Disregard anything you know about USA, Scottish, or English records – Irish records are quite different and difficult but they can be found and mastered. To start, We need to at least two vital details,
(a) Religious denomination (If Roman Catholic or Protestant);
and
(b) the specific location they resided (start with County and work down to Townland to Farm/Residence).
11. Parish Records are not all neatly online and indexed, searchable like Scotland’s — quite a number of Ireland’s Roman Catholic Parish records can only be BROWSED (page-by-page) today (2017 soon to be 2018) from the microfilm. This is time consuming task, but when and if you Identify your Ancestor, it might be the only option – and it gives an idea of the Neighbors.
Many records specific to South Sligo exist as most were not at the Four Courts fire. Other records never were sent there. Most are, however, scattered about and We spent years online, and in person, finding them – and in Mayo as the ancient Barony of Killedan covered both what is now (Swinford) Mayo and (Aclare) Sligo –and in the surrounding areas many one of a kind records exist – and are available here with more uploaded in 2018.
12. Do not always trust indexes — sometimes you have to spend the time actually looking at the actual pages of the records of People – (you often find something)! We have many times tried to “walk down the street” record-wise, in an area our Ancestors lived. Indexes are fine to start with (many comments added are for well-established searching of those records- and the basics are noted at the start). Expierenced Ireland researchers can save you much time and effort – sometimes using them for specific issues is best.
13. IRISH CIVIL WAR LOSSES: Much was lost in the Four Courts Fire during the Irish Civil War Battle of Dublin 28 June to 5 July 1922, but not everything. We still have many other records, and “census substitutes.” Many Tax (Cess) Records exist the records mostly revolved around Land (Property) Taxes or some variation. We will go into these, and others, on the following pages.
14. DNA: But First- some Basics about DNA testing and Genealogy:
DNA testing then Matching to others who also DNA tested is quite popular (2016 was a large year for people doing DNA tests). It is becoming one of the biggest advances in Genealogy in decades and you should use it – the results can be amazing (but the learning curve is steep – almost vertical – so put on your “thinking cap” and educate yourself on the major parts for the Family Researcher!
One problem most do not know about is the three “Big Three” DNA testing companies (Family TreeDNA, AncestryDNA, and 23andMe) do NOT share their DNA match data with each other! Let me say that again as it is important — they do NOT share their Matches with other DNA testing company matches.
So if you test with FTDNA.COM, they do not match you to 23andMe.com nor any matches in AncestryDNA — and vice-versa. Some workarounds have been done such a GEDmatch.com (below).
15. At FTDNA.com, an option — if you tested elsewhere –, you CAN upload your DNA “RAW DATA” file from them to FTDNA.com and then this match and DNA data will be processed (matched) to FTDNA DNA data (matches) and it will slowly (at first), populate up and show up in Your of DNA matches — but it is an extra cost if you did not test with FTDNA and give the computers time to “chew on it.”
Another way is GEDMatch.com:
But none of these methods combine all DNA testing matches, nor companies matching data together. So if you want to be through and can fund it, testing DNA at all three DNA testing “Big3” companies is recommended. This way you have a quality check, and you will be matched with all others who did a DNA test at each of these Companies.
16. LARGEST DATABASES. In 2018 consensus that AncestryDNA .com is the best to start with (if you never did DNA testing before). They have leveraged their other well-known site, Ancestry.com, to build up faster than other DNA testing companies – but the DNA testing competition is building in 2018, so keep an eye on the prices, COUPONS, and be a good consumer and get the best price and services you can for the least price.
17. We know FTDNA has published their database size since they started, so it would be hard to fudge. AncestryDNA.com.
18. ANCESTRYDNA.COM–has or had the Terms and Conditions issue (where they essentially tried to steal). So, I do not believe anything AncestryDNA.com says (and their response to the uproar about their Terms and Conditions was and is VERY deceptive). Read those terms before you blindly go check-clicking. The bottom line is IF you license your DNA to AncestryDNA.com, you’re stuck with that choice. People who simply wanted to have their DNA tested and Matched to others, “licensing” is not needed and is, in fact, wrong – testing is testing.
——————–
19. Another DNA testing Company called FTDNA (short for Family Tree DNA) has autosomal (at) DNA testing they call: “Family Finder”, that works at going back Decades and Centuries. We finally have a way to get past, over or through missing, or no, records –with an even more accurate method, DNA testing and matching. Make sure a good Email address is used. However, DNA testing is not free ($59.00 at FTDNA Family Finder (also known as atDNA Test) as of December 2017, (with Coupons that are available reducing the prices usually charged even more).
SECTION TWO (2) – ONLINE SERVICES:
So, some basics or baselines of ANCESTRY online subscriptions you need to be aware of:
- Do not get trapped into paying Annual Subscription on Ancestry.com, or ANY site! You can do it monthly as it is only a couple more dollars — then unsubscribe, and sign back up next month (or 12 months) later. You can keep your data and information on their sites — but why would you — as anyone who has their own computer, should download all documents/images they want or are important, on your own computer’s Hard Drive –
- Would YOU store your important papers (WIlls, Deeds, Titles) on another persons (or businesses) computer? Would you? No, Never (I hope you would sa). So why would you if you subscribe to Ancestry.com? So, change the settings at sign up and use the MONTHLY option (which means you have to change the default settings from AnnualNo One searches every day for a Year unless your a Professional getting paid to research (like for Probate cases). Fact is no one keeps up daily searching for an entire year (365 days) as after the initial excitement wears off it is work just like anything else – believe Us as we did search back 10 Generations and it takes a lot more than Ancestry has! So, do yourself a favor and only go Month-to-Month, and re-subscribe when your ready to do more. We have everything at Home (with several backups on DVDs) computers.
2. You can STILL sign in to Ancestry.com without any paid subscription, to the Message Boards (It will TRY to get you to pay again – and annoy the heck out of you (by not letting you see things without paying). DO NOT fall for it – your Tree stays up without any paid subscription, AND you can post and read the ancestry.com message boards without a paid subscription. Their so-called “Leafs” also try to fool you into giving them your Money – then you find nothing new (or a duplicate). Do ONE MONTH every 6 or 12 months and unsubscribe. KNOW THEY AUTOMATICALLY RENEW, SO CALL THEM AND TELL THEM ONLY ONE MONTH.
3. As the most well-known site genealogy, Ancestry is both a PAID sites (and unPAID as noted above)- we urge you to use FREE sites and only pay in a limited way like noted above (as genealogy is a marathon, not a sprint ). One generally reduces the time working on this to once a month – so make darn sure your not paying Ancestry.com every day when your only using it once a month when your not doing any work.
Many people pay thinking their Tree will disappear if they do not — THIS IS NOT TRUE — (but you should have your Tree on your computer anyway and if you want it up, get a Weebly free web site).
4. Working One’s Family Tree or Ancestry is a long-term project and advances are made every year, so doing a week a year, or a week every 6 months is smart — if only to check into posts you made (as for many this is a life-long hobby and others come and go). Do not blow tons of money wastefully – this is important.
Some go online and never again. Do NOT be that person, check in if you made posts online you may find some long lost cousin or more distant relative!!
5.Ancestry.com HOST SOME AMAZING DATABASES. HOWEVER, THE HAVE AN EXPENSIVE PAY-WALL ($39.95 to $49.95 month) and the Annual is $149.99 to $199.00. MONTHLY AND MAKEING THEM CHARGE NO RECURRING IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO.
6. THE “PLUS” SUBSCRIPTION IS REQUIRED AS IRELAND WAS THE BRITISH ISLES UP TO 1922. SO THIS IS ONE REASON WE ADVISE BEGINNING OR INTERMEDIATE RESEARCHERS **ONLY** SUBSCRIBE TO A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION (AND SEARCH EVERY DAY OF THAT MONTH)!
The Good news (many do not know) is that these exact same records are free on other sites like familysearch.com, as the Missionaries from LDS recorded them several times ! More free sites pop up all the time, so this is just another reason to keep charging sites to the bare minimum (but they will gladly take all the money you want to give them….(only to discover another site had the exact same records online for fee)!
SECTION THREE (3) SAFETY AND SECURITY:
SOME COMPUTER BASICS FOR GENEALOGY (we include this after many reports from People on other sites of problems and most of it comes down to a lack of basics on computer operations :
1. COMPUTER BASICS –make sure your Computer’s Operating System is fully Up-to-Date (click”update” all the time) as Windows 10 (Home or Pro) is the most common in 2018. Windows XP is unsafe (so please read above about the cost of new computers, as no one should buy just the software in most circumstances).
If you do not have these security measures (Firewall and Anti-Virus) someone might have taken over your computer, and you do NOT even know it. DO NOT LET someone do this by sticking to some basic rules – Firewall, Anti-Virus, never click unknown emails !
BEING SAFE ONLINE IS THE NUMBER ONE BASICS as you surely do not want someone watching you through your own Camera (cover it with post it note, Tape over your Mic hole- the really small hole in the plastic). AGAIN, Your camera staring at you should be covered when not in use with a post-it note — (as even the Billion dollar owner of Facebook does it)!
2. Next –let’s make sure you have a working and up-to-date next-generation firewalls if you can spend $50-$100. So let us say that again — NEXT GENERATION FIREWALLS ARE REQUIRED NOW AS THE OLDER TYPE, AND FREE ONES ARE OBSOLETE.
SPEND THE MONEY ON NEXT GENERATION FIREWALL — do not skimp on that and an updating subscription is required too. It is like having a strong front door (see the videos online of thugs giving doors three to five good Kicks — if your Door cannot withstand FIVE GOOD KICKS by a 200 Ilb Man, — get a new door, reinforce the door frame, and get new locks that cannot be “bumped”.
JUST LIKE PHYSICAL SECURITY, ONLINE SECURITY IS WHERE YOU DO NOT BE A CHEAPOO –IT IS BEST TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY-
*BE SAFE PEOPLE — stuff happens. Don’t be the person who for a few bucks, was and is unsafe. THE NUMBER ONE RULE IS PROTECTION AND SAFETY*
PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU TURN ON YOUR COMPUTER, IF IT BLINKS SOMETHING TOO FAST TO SEE HAVE AN IT GUY CHECK IT OUT. — make sure your paid firewall and anti-virus it is working at all times (if it goes off for some reason, make sure you figure out why AND TURN IT BACK ON IMMEDIATELY). REBOOTING (TURN OFF AND ON) YOUR COMPUTER IS NEEDED FOR MANY PROGRAMS TO “TAKE HOLD” SO THESE ARE CRITICAL BASICS MANY NEGLECT TO THEIR PERIL ! FIX IT NOW IF YOUR NOT SURE.
3. Next, We urge you to ALWAYS download your Records (or print them WITH THE CITATION INTACT every time you find something). However, in downloading anything, scan it with the above programs, before even consider opening it. It is critical to make sure it contains no malware, and it is not corrupted.
BACK UPS OF YOUR DATA IS CRITICAL: 3, 2, 1 rule:
3A– remember the 3-2-1 rule for any and all computers you own – the data. And you can use cloud accounts but they are in ADDITION TO THE BELOW. Basically, it goes that the 3-2-1 rule us that you keep at all times three (3) copies of your data, on three different hard drives or thumb drives (we not have 256GB Thumb Drives for less than $100 each).
two (2) of the Backups are “local” (near, but unplugged from your Computer as you update them every day wswitching between one pluged in, one not pluged in and Hit “UPDATE” before you shut down computer). This saves all the work you just did. Unplug it and use the other one next time you turn on your computer.
THE “1” is one (1) BACKUP HARD DRIVE keept OFF SITE From where your computer is –( at your Child/Parent, Friend, ect…or even in a SafeDeposit Box. THIS IS BROUGHT BACK MONTHLY TO UPDATE THE PRIOR MONTHS DATA AND THEN BACK OFFSITE. This is in case of fire or other catostrophic disasters.
When it comes to cloud data, you still should have at least three copies, it’s okay to have a second copy at another cloud provider, but make sure you have a local copy as well. Making sure this works by OPENING THE FILE is critical, as we have seen many rely on seeing the file has downloaded — but not spending one second to open it.BACKUP 3-2-1.
4. Do NOT leave any files on Ancestry.com’s servers — as you need to get into the habit of downloading everything to YOUR COMPUTER and not leaving it in Ancestry (as this chains you to paying them for the foreseeable future — do not get in that mode — keep everything on your own computer, with appropriate backups and copies of every important file (if you do not want to lose it with a hard drive crash, have all data on a second hard drive).
5. As noted, It is not only a good idea (generally) to have everything backed up on your home computer, but to have everything copied to a thumb drive every day (or week) but then the more you copy to a thumb drive, the more complete your backups will be). Backup daily then remove the drive from the Computer! THIS PART IS CRITICAL.
6. Make sure to open anything you download right away AFTER THE SCAN IS FINISHED to make sure you got the complete file — after you scan it with anti-malware programs — and then open it after you download it and scan it to make sure each file download opens correctly (and was not corrupted). Sometimes you will have to download it a second (or third) time to have a complete file that contains the document or image you want.
7. PDF Format — The most common file format for documents downloaded, is the PDF format. Many free programs exist to open the PDFs and several are open source. We do not pay for these but sometimes they try to get you to obtain the “trial” instead of the free program — make sure to take time to read the download page and do NOT just click-click-click, you must know exactly what your downloading! Seeking reviews is a way to avoid problems, the PC Magazine, and other long-standing RESPECTED computer sites will often lead you to the right download. Knowing is critical so get advice from fellow users who know what they are doing (as you do not want to have the blind leading the blind, and get files that put advertising or other malware on your computer (IF you start seeing ADS, you have some malware and MUST stop and remove it as it is probably some “free” program that puts ads on your system. REMOVE IT IN PROGRAMS and scan your computer! Scanning for malware is a critical thing to do every day.
8. WE INCLUDE THESE BASICS (THAT USUALLY ARE NOT ON GENEALOGY PAGES BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE DO NOT GET TRAINING, AND THUS ARE NOT TAUGHT THESE BASICS.
9. Finally, You also need to get used to maintaining your records on your computer (as Family trees will or should, remain up on Ancestry if you have it set to public). Some people use a program like Family Tree Maker, which Ancestry syncs with to bring all files onto your computers hard drive (exactly what you want) and it removes the complex things noted above – but — even then, you have to know and check this is happening so learn the program if you get it, and keep up the regular subscription usually provided as they probably include security updates. IF YOU HAVE IN THE PAST LEFT EVERYTHING ON ANCESTRY, IMMEDIATELY START DOWNLOADING YOUR/THE FILES IMMEDIATELY. IT WILL TAKE TIME BUT HAVING YOUR IMPORTANT ANCESTOR’S FILES ON YOUR LOCAL HARD DRIVE/COMPUTER, WILL UNSHACKLE YOU FROM ANCESTRY.COM, AND YOU WILL HAVE EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN COMPUTER (as paying Ancestry to store things is quite expensive a 2TB Hard Drive is less than $100 now in 2017).
REVIEW COMPUTER BASICS: a) DOWNLOAD ALL YOUR FILES AND b) DOUBLE CHECK YOU CAN OPEN THEM ON YOUR COMPUTER ONLY AFTER ANTI-VIRUS SCANS. IF YOU CANNOT OPEN THEM, REDOWNLOAD THEM.
BACKUPS: Make sure to make a copy of ALL the files you have on your computer (or just your Ancestry data), daily to a 128GB or 256GB thumb drive –BUT JUST DO IT — and then do a proper “Backup” to different Hard Drive for your entire computer and check it to make sure it worked — open a couple files and compare them. Then you know it works.
PROGRAMS: Backup Programs exist to do it for you — we do not suggest any name brand, do your Google research skip the first Ten *10* returns – as now they sell the “top” returns so it is not as good as it used to be. Also use Bing too. Consumer Reports and Computer World are long standing reputable firms.
BASICS THE ENGLISH EMPIRE PRE-1922:
– SOME OF THE BASICS OF IRELAND, AND RECORDS CREATED ON BIRTH, MARRIAGE, and DEATH (We all create these records no matter what you think):-)
History:
Ireland was in the British Control from the Norman Invasion in May, 1169, to June, 1922 — Some 800+ Years. Keep that is mind when searching pre-1922 when Michael Collins and the IRA (essentially) won the ability to breakaway from England. According to the OS, the “British Isles” name is “purely a geographical term”.
In 1801, the Act of Union with Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. When the 26 counties of Ireland became a Free State in 1922 the name was changed again to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
To start or finish your research, in Ireland, you will need to first FIND the information you KNOW to find the information THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW presently. It is a step-by-step, as noted here, process. It is important to do it in the right order.
To get to this “unknown” information We use databases and other websites, records, indexes, and search by name, area, then the specific location. Next, the Ancestors your searchings Date of Birth (DOB), then to the Family Name, and finally the Individual. Whew – that is alot. Finally we want when we have a candidate, to make DARN sure We have the right person — as searching for Hours (Weeks or Months) on the Wrong person is a complete waste of time (I have seen it done) and loss – we then obtain the “Cert” – Birth Marriage, Death — essentially the Gov. Registration from the GRO (General Register Office) of that event. It is really necessary to get the DOB and PARENTS NAMES including in thesre “Certs”. Obviously, the Marriage or Death Certs. have different information, but they are USUALLY not needed if We have the right Birth Cert (and you can check such things on Gravestones if need be). For Grand-Parents, and Great Grand Parents doing it all is usually a good idea! Don’t do a half-way Job as if your going to do it, do it right — No?
IRELAND HISTORY:
In Ireland of old, the Baptism was the first thing done on Birth of Child, usually within Days of Birth. So, for the most part in Ireland, you’re after the Baptismal Cert. and the Birth Registration — they will probably be different dates depending on where the birth was as rural farming communities the Birth might not have been “registered” for some time after the actual birth. BUT the Baptism would have been within Days of Birth.
Ordering Certs: Birth, and Marriage and Death Certs. you will be able to confirm, as best as is possible, your Ancestor vital events, and it will give you the Mother’s Name, and the day registered. Some of this is educated guessing but has been followed by Irish researchers for many decades- and for 1800-to-1900 records, it is the only way.
MAKE SURE YOUR FIRST FIND OF UNKNOWN ANCESTORS **ARE YOUR ANCESTORS** (till you get the hang of it) NOT SOMEONE WITH THE SAME NAME, IN THE SAME AREA, BORN AROUND THE SAME TIME. THEY MUST HAVE THE CORRECT PARENTS NAMES, WHICH LEADS YOU BACK TO ANOTHER GENERATION. THIS WILL REPEAT SEVERAL TIMES.
A FRIENDLY WARNING: We have seen far too many people doing research who had little experience to begin with, and many, indeed too may (something like 85% +) make a critical error in the first part of their research by making “assumptions” NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE THE BIRTH CERT. – especially in Ireland or the UK as they are completely unique. You MUST know the person with the same name as your Ancestors IS your Ancestor – (We have seen many people tracing the ancestry of another Family sometimes for years before someone realized (or pointed out) that one critical mistake made years earlier usually in the first five “finds” of Ancestors). DO NOT BE THAT PERSON. CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK THE DATE OF BAPTISM IS CORRECT. GET THE BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE. CONFIRM THE NAMES EXACTLY. IF YOU NEED HELP, MAKE SURE THE PERSON YOU GET IT FROM IS QUALIFIED AND KNOWS THESE RECORDS AND HISTORY. We have step by step guides on searching Ireland and UK records, and advanced Research as it is different than other Countries (as the British Empire was HUGE back then) :
AGAIN, WE SUGGEST YOU ONLY SUBSCRIBE TO ANCESTRY.COM FOR A ONE MONTH BASIS and then cancel after one month of daily and determined searching). You can always add another Month if you need to later.
IF your not searching every day, do NOT pay Ancestry ! It is that simple. Why pay for something your not using?
EVEN WITHOUT A PAID SUBSCRIPTION you can still sign into Ancestry, see your tree, and use the Message Boards (which are well over 30 years old) and work the free databases (like the USA Archives hosted on Ancestry). We go a month every year to catch up on new databases.
CITATIONS, CITATIONS, CITATIONS ARE THE RULE:
Keep track of where you search, and the detailed search sources and WHERE these records are stored (even if you print a copy, where it is is most important as sometimes official records are needed. The database and the page are often called “Citations” and they tell others WHERE you (or they) can find the Records again– a record you cannot find again is worthless — and this is how you prove descent from your Ancestors –IT IS THE KEY. So, it is essential to keep the records of where the records ARE !These Citation of where these records are is THE critical part of Ancestry (so save your Kids the trouble and keep detailed records of where the records are). THIS IS HOW PROFESSIONALS DO IT. THEY PROVE AND PROVIDE THE CITATION TO THE RECORDS THEY RELY.
IF You descend from so-and-so, keep your proof (work) on your Home computer, and make sure with a couple backups (just in case)-see below how to do that cheaply without much hassle. And, this should be stored on YOUR computer — not Ancestry.com. Would you leave your Deeds and Titles on someone else’s Computer or House? Heck No.
It is simple as that. Download the records to YOUR computer and thus store them for free on your own computer!!
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Always check the surrounding Counties in the area when your Ancestors lived, as you can find other records as today the borders we have they did not know, nor care, about them — so We have to try to think like our Ancestors did, life was on the edge and they could not care about the Borders we have today, the names of Counties We have today — survival was the name of the game back then and they were always one days lost meals from the end of it all — so get the Borders and names We use today out of your “research Head” and think what it would have been like back then, with a Family, a Wife, a Child to support.
Especially in the 1800s, things in Ireland generally, and certainly NW Ireland (Sligo, Mayo, Lietrim, ect..) were much more sparsely populated and organized (even though the overall population was much larger than today). Sometimes Our Ancestors had to go some many miles — a long distance when you are walking with no shoes, or riding with no saddle — to register a Birth, to get Married, and even for Deaths (registrations)!
The Church was the only constant for much of the times. But during much of this time, the Roman Catholic Church, the “Papists” as they were then called, were persecuted and hunted. Priests had a Bounty on their Heads and could be killed at will by the Protestant ascendancy — so, this was at times a terrorizing place, and life was not worth much back then when one can kill another without any ramifications.
So, as noted above, one must in researching Our Ancestors We must TRY (although it certainly is almost impossible) to get our comfortable living standards out of Our Heads and imagine how hard life was, how physically demanding, and how emotionally trying it must have been knowing someone could come and kill you, and not only get away with it, but be rewarded by the then Government for doing so!
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OUR MAIN FOCUS:
Our main concentration is on Sligo ‘s (41) Civil Parish and Roman Catholic Church Parishes – generally centered around Kilmactigue (Kilmacteige)- South Sligo, Ireland .
The area is quite Large in Land area – essentially from Ballina, Mayo to Foxford, Mayo – to Curry, and Tubbercurry, Sligo. Kilmactigue is but a small part of this land area which has been occupied from Ancient times — the Sligo-Mayo Border crosses this area. All are within Connacht Kilmactigue.
Our interests essentially is the Area next to Aclare, Sligo, Ireland. It is a Wonderful part of the “Auld Sod” and hosted here are as many records from, in, and about this Area of NW Ireland, that We can and have found – and all FREE for Personal, Non-commercial, personal Family research! If you wish to use this site for other than these authorized uses, please contact webmaster at webmaster at kilmacteige dot com.
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If you wish to help transcribe the Ireland Land Deeds, contact the Registry of Deeds Index Project Ireland – they surely can use help as an Index of Deeds is probably one of the newest resources available to Irish Researchers !
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Kilmactigue / Kilmacteige
Townland and the Townland Markers:
For Kilmactigue (Kilmacteige) Parish We host as many records of this area in South Sligo as We can find We have sought them out from all over, London, to Dublin, to Sligo Town, to America — wherever they might be We have looked and still find hidden Gems every so often!
Below is the Townland Marker for Kilmactigue, Sligo, Ireland:

Below is a wider photo of the Kilmactigue Townland Marker in the Wall of Holy Rosary Church, Kilmactigue, Sligo, Ireland.

And even Wider Photo showing Holy Rosary Church, Kilmactigue, Sligo, Ireland !

Many Records (except the State and Church) for the area are here, broken into topics BMD -other records are still in private hands and have been for many decades, which presents issues of obtaining them , making copies, and obtaining any permissions needed to display them (such as Copyright). One of the then (1850) Largest LandOwners is the (land rental) Records of Sir Robert Gore-Booth, 4th Baronet (and later the 5th). We are looking for these presently.
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To the NW of Kilmactigue Parish, is Oughaval Townland, Co. Sligo
Townlands is the smallest Administrative Units in Ireland and the most common “name” you are going to hear for an Ancestor’s and where the lived or the place they worked, lived, farmed.
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BEST MAP SITE FOR IRELAND IN 2017
Heritagemaps.ie
The new Ireland
Heritagemaps.ie,
site is our a new Map site–it is the Official “go-to Map application” for Us, for ALL of Ireland — no matter what We are looking for – Castles, check, High Cross-check. Ancestors Land -check (make sure you know your coordinates). Address We want to stand in front of and look-check. It seems to have it all. PLEASE have your fastest connection for this, and We also suggest you keep other tabs, sites, and
If you not there on the “auld Sod” this Mapping App IS the very best, next best thing. It is a good map, but the major power is it is combined with different “database layers” of various thins you can add. And, you can quite literally add anything that has been done mapping wise in the past 100 years !
You can look at old ruins of you Ancestors on these maps (We DO suggest you have the fastest internet connection possible, as it has to download these layers. The next best thing is to give it some time to do so — don’t expect instant results and give the layers a bit to download – and even street view works — so it is as if your standing right there in front of a place, zoom to Satellite view from the top, then back down to Street-view again — quite amazing Tech (or “kit’ as the Ancestors would have called it possibly) !!
http://sources.nli.ie/Record/MS_UR_064331
partly, in the the Church (Dioceses) Records. So the Dioceses of Elphin and Achonry are covered, but also some of Killala and Tuam.
For the purposes of Civil Jurisdiction , it is divided into the baronies of:
(1) Burrishoole, (2) Carra, (3) Clanmorris, (4) Costello, (5) Erris, (6) Gallon, (7) Kilmain, (8) Murrisk, (9) Tyrawley.
DISCLAIMER: It also must be noted, (as with any project), errors can creep into the process, so please check the source if you find something that interests you as We warranty nothing and cannot (even though We try our best) assure that anything herein is accurate as We depend on records made long ago!
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We also host the Records of Families / Residents / Occupiers (as they called them back then) of the South Sligo and Eastern Mayo — this includes the Ancient Baronies of Gallen (Sligo and Mayo),
Luigne (Luighne),
Gailenga ,
and “Lieney” (now Leyny, Sligo) ,
Tirawley (Mayo),
Tireragh (Sligo).
The Anchrony and Elphin Dioceses , and along with a multitude of Townlands, Place-names, DEDs, Sub-Townlands and many other areas of Land. And, over the Centuries many things changed, such as the Names of a place. And, the most concerning is the Spelling.
SPELLING has always been an unique issue when doing Irish research as We have the Irish-to-Anglo and how they were entered into Records. This is especially problematic for Researchers as miss one letter you could miss an entire AREA.
And, many Borders also changed over time (such as Sligo/Mayo border in 1898). So check that where you think the area was called in the past is called the same later (We doubt it as even small spelling changes happened).
We try to reference, and cross-reference the old with the new- but, as always double check yourself as We can, and make no, assurances !
RC Church Registers
MAPPING – LOOK AT SOME (NOT ALL LISTED) OF SOUTH SLIGO’S LOCAL AREA MAPS:
A map of the Civil Parishes of County Sligo is available at the Irish Times web site, many links being checked and updated.
A map of the Roman Catholic (RC) Parishes in County Sligo is available at the Co. Sligo, Ireland, online link to the Library Maps (see below — but they did have issues running, at times).
The Civil Parish, Barony, Poor Law Union, Catholic Parishes, and Catholic Diocese, and other Land Divisions, in Sligo, are:
Civil Parish – Church of Ireland | Barony | Poor Law Union | Catholic Parish[1] | Catholic Diocese[1] |
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Achonry | Leyny | Tobercurry | Clonacool; Achonary and Curry | Achonry |
Aghanagh | Tirerrill | Boyle | Aghanagh | Elphin |
Ahamlish | Carbury | Sligo | Ahamlish | Elphin |
Ballynakill | Tirerrill | Sligo | Sowey, Riverstown | Elphin |
Ballysadare | Leyny | Sligo | Ballysadare and Kilvarnet | Achonry |
Ballysadare | Tirerrill | Sligo | ||
Ballysadare | Tirerrill | Tobercurry | ||
Ballysumaghan | Tirerrill | Sligo | Sowey, Riverstown | Elpin |
Calry | Carbury | Sligo | Sligo | Elpin |
Castlecomer | Tireragh | Dromore West | Castleconor | Killala |
Castleconor | Tireragh | Ballina | Castleconor | Killala |
Castleconor | Tireragh | Dromore West | ||
Cloonoghil | Corran | Tobercurry | Kilshalvey, Kilturra, and Cloonoghill | Achonry |
Dromard | Tireragh | Dromore West | Skeen and Dromard | Killala |
Drumcliff | Carbury | Sligo | Drumcliff | Elphin |
Drumcolumb | Tirerrill | Boyle | Riverstown | Elphin |
Drumcolumb | Tirerrill | Sligo | ||
Drumrat | Corran | Boyle | Drumrat | Achrony |
Easky | Tireragh | Dromore West | Easky; Kilglass | Killala |
Emlaghfad | Corran | Boyle | Emlefad and Kilmorgan | Achrony |
Emlaghfad | Corran | Sligo | ||
Emlaghfad | Corran | Tobercurry | ||
Kilcolman | Coolavin | Boyle | Castlemore and Kilcolman | Achrony |
Kilfree | Coolavin | Boyle | Kilfree and Killaraught | Achrony |
Kilglass | Tireragh | Dromore West | Kilglass | Killala |
Killadoon | Tirerrill | Boyle | Geevagh | Elphin |
Killaraght | Coolavin | Boyle | Killfree and Killaraught | Achrony |
Killaspugbrone | Carbury | Sligo | Sligo | Elphin |
Killerry | Tirerrill | Sligo | Killenumerry and Ballintogher | Ardagh |
Killoran | Leyny | Sligo | Killoran | Achrony |
Killoran | Leyny | Tobercurry | ||
Kilmacallan | Tirerrill | Boyle | Riverstown | Elphin |
Kilmacallan | Tirerrill | Sligo | ||
Kilmacowen | Carbury | Sligo | Sligo | Elphin |
Kilmacshalgan | Tireragh | Dromore West | Kilmacshalgen | Killala |
Kilmacteige | Leyny | Tobercurry | Kilmacteige | Achrony |
Kilmactranny | Tirerrill | Boyle | Geevagh | Elphin |
Kilmoremoy | Tireragh | Ballina | Killmoremoy | Killala |
Kilmorgan | Corran | Sligo | Emlefad and Kilmorgan | Achrony |
Kilross | Tirerrill | Sligo | Sowey | Elphin |
Kilshalvy | Corran | Boyle | Kilshalvey, Kilturra and Cloonoghill | Achrony |
Kilshalvy | Corran | Tobercurry | ||
Kilturra | Corran | Tobercurry | Kilshalvey, Kilturra and Cloonoghill | Achrony |
Kilvarnet | Leyny | Tobercurry | Balysodare and Kilvarnet | Achrony |
Rossinver | Carbury | Sligo | Rossinver | Kilmore |
Shancough | Tirerrill | Boyle | Geevagh | Elphin |
Skreen | Tireragh | Dromore West | Skreen and Dromard | Killala |
St. Johns | Carbury | Sligo | Sligo | Elphin |
Tawnagh | Tirerrill | Sligo | Riverstown | Elphin |
Templeboy | Tireragh | Dromore West | Templeboy and Kilmacshalgan | Killala |
Toomour | Carran | Sligo | Drumrat, Toomore | Achrony |
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©SMM 2014-2019
And the BEST is saved for Last (on this page at least)
Late 2006 the local Pub was changing Hands — what was the “Trout and Pheasant” was Changing to Flynn’s Aclare Pub. We happened get recorded, for posterity, some of the best people in the World and shared a few pints….so, Here is some of the closing Party with a Well Known Irish song (…all in good Humor of Course…), great Craic, never to be forgotten. And AND OH, It says:”We can’t swear because of the kids !!
Enjoy….
great information , really helpful, im searching my gr grandfather james monds born summerhill house mount Shannon Sligo parish of calry born 1850/3 , died 1908 larne, n I, I need his birth cert, his dad was also james munns b 1805 d 2 //11/ 1889 (book 2 84,,milltown or urlar buried drumcliffe 18 n0 140) lived mount Shannon Sligo married Catherine gowan 19/7/ 1847,in drumcliffe parish.I am looking for their children,
Wonderful help and suggestions particularly about Ancestry.com. The cemeteries we and names were very interesting, but our name Gurrell is a mystery. Irish friends say it is from the Normans, It is and odd Irish name. My sister, through ancestry went back 6 generations, and it is spelt the same throughout. Martin is repeated over and over and I know derived from French origins. So could be Norman originally.
Pat, Hard telling but I am sure if you do FamilyTreeDNA’s “family finder” for $50 or so you probably would find your answer cheaper than digging into the rarely existing paper records (and months on the Archives at the Kew)
https://twitter.com/UkNatArchives?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Unbelievable. Such a great amount of good info, Just a little suggestion. One great help for my sister and I was something called Griffiths Evaluation. My great grandfather and his father we knew vaguely came from County Sligo in the 1800’s. I paid $50.00 for what amounded to a CD with 2 lines od help on it. BUT it confirmed the spelling of our surname and our ancestors lived during the Gorta Mor. Martin GURRELL Ballysadare, St. Johns Parish 10 children and were tenant farmers. and left for the US because of the starvation.
Griffiths Valuation (of Tenements)….its in the Second section.
Fantastic helpful summary! Thank You.
Question -can you recommend someone familiar with all these sources to help me?
My Sligo ancestors were believed to be in the area of Kilmacteigue parish, Tubbercurry, county Sligo, Ireland in the 1830’s – Kilroy, Brannan, Brennan, and Gallagher.