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Seeking info the Joyce's from ShanaKeela

Hello! I am going to Ireland in May 2013 and would love to meet some ancesters! I know they come from Galway/Clifden/small village of Shanakeela. They lived in house #5 (the smallest and poorest in the village) I plan to find this village if possible, but I have very little to go on since it doesn't seem to appear of maps. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about Shanakeela - it may be spelled shannakeela. Thanks for any information at all!!!

Maggie

Margaret Parslow

8 replies

Maggie:

I believe you are looking for Shanakeever townland which looks to be about 3 miles due north of Clifden but the roads you will have to take will make the trip 6-7 miles. I'm sure folks in Clifden can help. There is also a Shanakeever Lough.

Roger McDonnell

http://mapcarta.com/18976718

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

Thank you so much for the response. I think it's in the same area, but the 1901 census shows Shana Keela.

 

Residents of a house 5 in Shana Keela (Illion, Galway)Show all informationSurnameForenameAgeSexRelation to headReligionJoyceMartin65MaleHead of FamilyR CatholicJoyceMary31FemaleWifeR CatholicJoyceThomas21MaleSonR CatholicJoyceMary15FemaleDaughterR CatholicJoyceMargaret12FemaleDaughterR CatholicJoyceAnnie9FemaleDaughterR CatholicJoyceJohn6MaleSonR CatholicJoycePatrick2MaleSonR Catholic

 

Margaret Parslow

Maggie:

Got it. I was looking in Omey parish which is where Clifden is located and I need Moyrus parish. I can't find any good maps of Moyrus parish on the Internet. I do have detailed OS maps of the area so I need to look at them and get back to you.

Roger

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Maggie:

I finally found Shannakeela and it was a lot further east then I was looking. It is actually 17 miles east of Clifden.

The main road into Connemara is the N59. Once you get to the town of Oughterard you are about 13 miles away from Shannakeela. Continue west on the N59 until to you get to the village of Maam Cross which looks to be about 8 miles from Oughterard. I would ask for directions there. I know there is a restuarant at the crossroads. It looks like Shannakeela is 5 miles further west on the N59 and then 1 mile north. Good luck! Let me know if you have further questions.

Roger

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Most excellent Roger!!! Thank you very much for your help. I will be there in May seeking the ground my ancestors walked on :)

Margaret Parslow

Hi Maggie,

You posted this inquiry a decade ago, but we seem to have the same ancestors living in house #5 in Shanakeela in the 1901 census. They are in house #3 in 1911. Please reach out.

Thanks,

Kate Joyce

katetraveling

Maggie & Kate,

My paternal grandmother, Bridget Joyce was also from Shanakeela.  Her family is enumerated in house #7.  She and another sister as well as a niece all came to Massachusetts.  Since 13 of the 16 families listed are Joyces, I'd say that the odds are good that we are all related!

I hope to visit myself in the next year or so.

Thanks,

Joe Orfant

Joe Orfant

Hello Kate and Joe!

It's been nearly a decade since my original post here, but I've still not made any real headway on the subject.

It's not something I'm working on very often to be true, but I do still have a family tree on Ancestry.com and unfortunately it's a bit of a mess.

I did find Shanakeela!! I got directions to the village using Google Maps, and I think I found the street where these houses once stood, but I'm not sure. It's a tiny off the beaten track area - and unbelievably beautiful - I had goosebumps!

If we can share some ancestry data that would be great, I'd love to learn more and maybe find relatives still in Ireland.

I've been back to Ireland 5 times since - I so wish I could move there to live, but my Grandparents were born in the USA,

Thanks for keeping this thread alive!

Maggie

Margaret Parslow

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