Seeking Information on Owen Barrett

There are actually several townlands in Mayo called Rathbaun (in Irish, an Ráth Bhán), which is a fairly common name, but the one which Roger mentioned is the only one in the parish of Backs. You can see more info about that Rathbaun at this link, which includes an interactive map, allowing you to look around the area: https://www.townlands.ie/mayo/tirawley/ballynahaglish/mount-falcon/rathbaun/

As you can see at that link (through a further link there), the townland name was anglicized in various ways over the years, including as Rathbane and even Rabane (the "th" letter combination is now siient in Irish).

The Catholic parish records for Backs which are available online can be accessed at this link: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0738 , but those don't seem to go as far back as what Roger found. Perhaps he has another source.

The Barrett’s were an Anglo-Norman family which became fully Hibernicized (using the name Bairéid in Mayo). They became like a native Irish sept (or “sub-tribe”), having a well-defined territory on the eastern side of Lough Conn in northeastern Mayo, in the area of what are now the parishes of Backs and Attymass, and they intermarried with the other families in the area for centuries. One branch of the family changed their surname to Mac Andrew (Mac Aindriú in Irish) long ago, and I have McAndrew ancestors from the area myself. Later, the name was sometimes re-Anglicized as FitzAndrew. Not sure that will be of much help in your search, but if you turn up dna matches with the McAndrew or FitzAndrew surnames, you'll at least know the likely reason.

Just noticed your older messages about the Barrett's and the Gallagher's. In one of them, there's a mention of a baptismal witness named McAndrew. Now you know why. She was probably a relative. I also have Gallagher relatives from that part of Mayo. In case it's of interest, although the surname Gallagher is often associated with County Donegal (where there are still many Gallagher’s), scholars now believe that a separate Gallagher “clan” originated in the Mayo/Galway area. In Irish, Gallagher is Ó Gallchobhair (modern Irish spelling Ó Gallchúir), and it means “descendant of the foreign help”, referring to (real or legendary) mercenary warrior ancestors who were brought in from Scotland or elsewhere in Ireland to fight in local wars (known as a gallóglach, or “gallowglass”).  It may also refer to Norse ancestors, since the term “gall” was used for them as well.

Thank you so much for all of this information! I am just wondering if anyone can tell me if I have the correct parents for Anthony Barrett as I have found a few records. There was one ruled out earlier (Which was mentioned in a seperate post) but there is another one that lists Anthony's parent as Bridget Hughes and Thomas Barrett, although he didn't name any of his sons Thomas but neither did he name any Owen. I have a feeling I am correct in believing that his parents are Owen Barrett and Anne Reddington but I just want to make sure. Rathbaun in the parish of Backs is only down the road from Ballina where my later family were from.

Also, is it just the case that they don't have any records going back further naming Owen's parents or is there another reason I haven't found them yet? I was wondering if Owen was born somewhere else or was born under a different name as I know Owen was often spelt in different ways.