Hi,
Thank you for your message.
It will be much easier to find information on the family if you can narrow down a place of origin for the family. Creggs is an area in the civil parish of Kilbegnet:
http://www.logainm.ie/Viewer.aspx?text=creggs&streets=yes
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=1021&civilparish=Kilbegnet&citycounty=Galway
It may be an idea to look at church records in the parish to see i you can find any records pertaining to the family. This will help you confirm their parish of origin and also may give you some additional information.
Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Kilbegnet parish, follow this link:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Galway&CityCounty=East%20Galway&parish=Kilbegnet&churchid=553
You could also try searching online at:
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
Have you heard of the Tithe Applotment Books? These are land records dating from 1823-38. They do not give any genealogical information but can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place. I did a search for McCormicks and there was a Michael McCormick recorded in Ballynakill in 1834.
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?surname=mccormick&firstname=&county=Galway&parish=&townland=&search=Search
Ballynakill (Ballymoe) parish neighbours Killbegnet, which I suppose would make it ?near Creggs?
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=2792&civilparish=Ballynakill%20(Ballymoe)&citycounty=Galway
In the later Griffith?s Valuation here are the McCormick?s that were recorded in the parish in 1855:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=50&Submit.y=10&Submit=Submit&familyname=McCormick&firstname=First+Name&countyname=GALWAY
Note at the above link there was also a Michael recorded in Liskeevy parish.
Some other websites that you may find helpful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Irish Genealogy Tool kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/galway/index.html
From Ireland: www.from-ireland.net
Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
