Hughes- Griffin

The Catholic parish records for Bekan which are available online can be found at this link:  https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1050

They go back to 1821 for marriages (with some gaps) and to 1832 for baptisms

Baptismal records will often state the name of the townland where the family lived.  If you locate that, then at this link you can find more info about the townlands within Bekan:

https://www.townlands.ie/mayo/bekan2/

What is shown there is actually the civil parish of Bekan, and the Catholic parish boundaries are not always the same, but in the case of Bekan I think they are.

Thank you so much Kevin45sfl, I'm sorry I didn't respond right away.  It has been such a crazy year since February but I am hoping to get back to this line of my genealogy and I will check out what you have provided for me.  Thanks so much.  KMW

Well it has been awhile! I have been searching off and on here in the U.S. still looking for info on my gr-gr-grandmother, Annie Griffin born in Co. Mayo. I came to Ireland in May 2025, although still not having an exact place. I did some searching on Find my Past and found a baptism of Ann Griffin bap. 9 May 1841 (this was close to the date we had year just off by 2 years) she was baptized in Balla,Diocese Tuam, Co. Mayo. I have the church record which gives her parents as MARTIN GRIFFIN AND MARY RATIGAN. Nothing here to confirm that. I did visit in Co Mayo and went to the museum in Turlough, which was fantastic and I find out later is was quite close to Balla.

So fast forward to Christmas time I was doing some searching on Ancestry and found an Agnes Griffin who died in St. Louis, MO (where Ann Griffin Hughes ended up) in 1926. There was an obit in the newspaper and it mentions her sister Ann (Griffin) Hughes YIPPEE - her death certificate also gives names of parents - same as the Balla baptism for Ann Griffin.

I search more on Roots Ireland and could not find a baptism for an Agnes Griffin BUT did find the following:

Martin Griffin and Mary Ratigan married in 1816 in Kilcolman parish

Children born to this couple per Roots Ireland:

Bridget Griffin born 1826

Margaret born 1827

Martin born 1829

They all were born in Crossboyne & Tagheen

Then a long gap until I found a Bridget Griffen born in 1838 to a Martin Griffen and Mary Raferty ?? in Balla

and then my Ann Griffin in 1841

Lastly, I found a Martin Griffin in Griffiths in the townland of Lurgan, Bekan parish in 1857.

My questions are:

Is it common for families to move around (looking for work perhaps? We have Kilcolman, Crossboyne and Balla and Lurgan?

I am concerned about the large gap from marriage to first child found 1826 -- then another gap from 1829 to 1841.

Concerned also that I can't find Agnes Griffin baptism even though obit says they were sisters and they had same parents names?

I see there is a St. Cronans church in Balla, I am slowly but surely, going through the Balla church records online but I wonder if I would contact the church/town if they would recognize those names of Griffin and Ratigan (and Raferty) as being in the town or if this family was tenant farmers that moved around a lot.

Thanks for any insight anyone can give me on the 40+ year search I am on.

Kathy Wurth