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MayoBalla (Mayo)

Hi!

I'm super new to the ancestry locating thing. I want to find out where my grandparents are from. My dad's ancestors are supposedly from Donegal, and my mother's are definetely from County Mayo. I was wondering where's a good place to start. I want to really connect with people in Ireland who might have known my decendants. I never met my grandparents and my parents don't like to talk about them because it upsets them so I really would love to learn about their lives.

Thanks in advance!!

bridgetsweeney

1 reply

Hi Bridget,

You should start with the 1901 and 1911 census  www.nli.ie ; National Library of Ireland.  As there will be many families with the same first names you will need to ensure that you have the correct one. Your own family will probably confirm this.

From there you have church records at www.nationalarchives.ie/Catholic ; Those records will depend on the years they were kept. Usually they are up to 1880's, so your grandparents are likely to be included.

Land records can be had 1840'50's at www.askaboutireland .ie - Those Sites are free.

Subscription Site - www.rootsireland.ie is worth checking out for Births, Marriages and Deaths - Not all will be included. It wil depend on how well the parish records were recorded and the parishes which they have updated.

Copies of State entries can be had from the Registrar at the County Civil Registration Office. Cost 4 Euro for a photo copy.

Regards,

McCoy

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