Brian Smith - A Guide to Tracing your Clare Ancestors

The counties and provinces and of Ireland

County Clare is situated in the north-west of the province of Munster. It is bounded along its coastline by Galway Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by the river Shannon. The main towns of Clare are Ennis, Kilkee, Killaloe, Kilrush, Scariff, Sixmilebridge, Shannon and Tulla.

In the old Gaelic system, the county was part of the Kingdom of Thomond. The main Gaelic families are the OBriens, OLoughlins, McNamaras and McMahons, generally referred to as the Dalcassian families.

Clare was invaded on several occasions from the ninth century by Danish Vikings who established settlements on Inniscattery Island and elsewhere. They were finally being defeated by Brian Boru, who also defeated the Danes at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.

Following the Norman invasion of 1169, the area was nominally granted to Norman knights. However the Clare chieftains kept them from holding any substantial power in the county. The major Norman settlements were at Clare town and Bunratty. Some were eventually expelled from the county by the Gaelic families while others adopted the Irish way of life.

The county boundary was established in 1565 by the English authorities, who first united it with the province of Connaught. However in 1602 it became part of Munster.

Following the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Clare was one of the counties which was set aside to accommodate the delinquent proprietors i.e., those proprietors whose land was confiscated because they did not actively oppose the rebellion. Under the 1652 Act of Settlement parts of the holdings of the existing Clare landholders were confiscated to accommodate these delinquent proprietors and supporters of Cromwell were also planted in the county.

Although unaffected by the 1798 rebellion it was troubled by agrarian disturbances during the 1800s. The county was badly affected by the Great Famine of 1845-50 and by 1851 the population had decreased considerably. Over 50,000 people died and thousands emigrated to many destinations throughout the world. The continuing decline in population continued on into the early years of the twentieth century, by 1901 the population was 112,334 and by 1911 it was down to 104,232.

* from the 1st May 1851

Tracing a family history normally requires the researcher to consult many different historical sources. Hopefully, some or all will provide details of the family being researched. Sufficient details, when pieced together, can form a comprehensive picture of a familys existence. The final picture depends on number and quality of the sources.

It is important that the full range of sources available are used effectively. These sources vary widely in their genealogical content and are described as Primary Sources (e.g. Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths; church records; census records; Wills and administrations) and Secondary Sources (i.e. records that assist the researcher to locate an ancestors existence in an area at a particular time, e.g. Tithe Applotments, Griffiths Valuations). Some of the above sources will also provide the researcher with interesting background details.

Other sources can also be of great assistance in providing information about the lifestyle of an ancestor. They can, in some cases, be used to define a timeframe in which a primary source can be consulted. They include newspapers, journals, published family histories and documents.