Ballynakill CAtholic parish

Robert:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

You are in the correct parish page for Ballynakill parish in western Galway. I think the parish you are looking for is Letterfrack. Here is some information about the church http://www.tuamarchdiocese.org/parish-details/?parishID=31  Here is the parish register from 1869-1880. http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1045

I will alert our HQ folks that your Galway Ballynakill records ended up in the Ballynakill Roscommon page.

Roger McDonnell

Hi Robert,

It is awhile since you posted your message, I am familiar with the area and have researched my family history in the area. Do you still need help with your family history. Ballynakill Catholic parish is reasonably the same as the Civil Parish. There are a number of churches in the parish, Ballynakill, Letterfrack, Tully Cross and Creagh (Lady of the Wayside). At present I think the main church associated with the parish is Letterfrack. There are also a number of Cemeteries in the parish. King and Thornton would be the main families that I am associated with, members of the family would have married Coynes and Lydons. This free government website have added the bmd civil records recently and many of them have the image of the full record. https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-search.jsp  They might be helpful to you. The image of my grandfather's birth record from 1868 is on it, he didn't have a baptism record as they only started in the parish in 1869. 

Thanks, right after I posted that I found in the parish records that you mentioned, that the parish for the area was Ballinakill (slightly diff spelling). I found the marriage record for Jane Lyden/Lydon (in the US) and Thomas THornton from 1869. The witness was Jane's brother Michael who remained in Ireland. There was another brother, John LYdon who also stayed. I found him and his wife, Honor Corbett living in Ungwee in the 1911 census and a connected thru DNA just sent me all of his children's baptism records. SO since they had 9 children and 7 lived to adulthood, it's likely I still have family there! I kknow Jane was married in the Ballinakill Chapel in Renvyle
THis John and Michael were brothers to the Jane Lydon Thornton and to my 2ndgreat grandmother, Catherine Lydon Coyne, wife of Tadgh "Tady" Coyne and all settled in Marcellus, NY. The Lydon parents, Patrick and Bridget (Coyne) Lydon came over with Jane and Thomas in 1870 and settled there too along with a few other siblings of Jane and Kate.
From my Coyne side as far back as I know were Tady's parents, John Coyne and Ellen ":Nellie" Walsh (or Welsh,hard to read) and TAdy had two brothers and a sister who also came to Marcellus ahead of him": Ridger and his wife, ANn Gannon, Patrick and his wife Mary, also a Coyne and Sarah Coyne ("Salle" ) who married Philip Gannon, brother to Ann.
Sadly all of these people came over to NY before Catholics were again allowed to keep records. TAdy was the last to come over that I know of from his family and Jane and parents from the Lyudon side were last in 1870 with the two brothers, Michael and John who remained in Ireland. MIcahel died between 1919 and 1929 as he's mentioned in one of the Lydon's obits in 1919 but not in Jane Lydon Thornton's obit in 1929 but John is. I found out recently he died in 1936 and his wife, Honor died in 1933.
I had wanted to go to the area this summer but couldn't get myself together to get everything in line to come so planning on next spring. I would like to see where they lived also know nothing much remains in the townlands of Ross and Tievegarriff, thanks to Google earth but still want to be on their land!
I have a great old photo of Tady and Kate in front of their house in Marcellus along with their sons Michael and Timothy and the Lydon Parents just before Patrick Lydon Sr died in 1888. IT would be great to find out if I have other Lydon (or Coyne) relatives still living in the area.!