Library Forum

I will be in Ennis this September. I feel as though I have exhausted what research I can online. Is there anything that I could glean from actually visiting the library that I can't get on line? At this point I feel like I'm at a dead end. Thank you.

Blondie,

It's difficult to give a clear answer without knowing what you have looked for online, what you have found and what your objectives are. However, you might like to check out the entry about the Clare Library Local Studies Centre at http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=1&t=1548 I'd be very surprised were you to fail to find something at the Local Studies Centre or fail to get an important lead from one of their experts.

Paddy

Thank you Paddy. I have been able to find my gggranndparents marriage and birth of one of their children on line ,from the Lisdoonvarna records. I can't seem to go any further. I can't find the birth or parents of either of them. O'Connor and Carrig are fairly common names in Clare in the mid 1800's but I can't connect them to anyone specific, so I wondered if there were more records available at the library , that aren't available on line?

Hi Blondie

You may not find more specific records in the local history centre BUT they have put together a fantastic collection of odd sources and indexed them on old fashioned card indexes - they recently got another set of drawers as the number of card entries had grown so much. Peter and Brian go through local papers, magazines, journals etc and index references to any number of items. Not as comprehensive perhaps as a computer might be but very impressive nonetheless, and their filing system allows them to find the correct book/magazine/newspaper cutting very quickly. You may be lucky with your specific names, or of the townland. You will definitely get information on Lisdoonvarna which at the least will put your family in context. There is also a good selection of old maps which you may find interesting. As you have birth and marriage dates you could look at the local paper on microfilm for those dates, and while it is unlikely your event would be listed you would get an idea of what was happening in Clare at the time.

You can't be in Ennis without visiting the LHC (apart from the fact that the town is not that big!) - it's in the old Presbyterian Manse , with the church (now part of the regular library) next door. Enjoy your visit.

Lucille

Hi Blondie - I support Lucille's post - the Library is a wonderful treasure-trove and I wish I had spent more time there whilst on my visit to Eire last year. Note that Shiela is in the process of transcribing the RC Lisdoonvarna parish records, so you may find additional possible family connections that you had originally missed. I had trawled the records when they came online last year and thought I had found all my possible family connections, but Shiela's fantastic work revealed a couple I had missed.

good luck, Kerry

So here is a specific question. In 1870 Michael Carrigg and Hannah/ Ann/Johanna Carrigg (born O'Connor),have daughter Susan/Johanna,listing Ballyvara as their residence. I know Hannah's mother is also Hannah/Ann O'connor but no idea who her father was. I found a Thomas O'connor in 1855 in Ballyvara on Griffiths Valuation,also an Anne O'Connor on Fisherstreet,but have no way of knowing if these people are related. What documents would help me? Would there be something more at the library that i cant find on line?
Thank you.

Hi Blondie
According to Sheila's transcriptions Michael Carrick and Anne O'Connors were married on 5 Jul 1867. Have you checked the civil marriage certificate?
That should show the identity of Anne's father.
Cheers, Murf

Unfortunatley,there is no record of their marriage in the Civil Registration. This is why I was wondering if there might be other documents offline that I might find of use at the library. I'm quite at a dead end.