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The children's burial ground Cathair a' Cillín at Cregduff was recently cleared and tidied up by a group of locals, to whom the gratitude of the community is due. There are numerous upright stones within a small enclosure as at other local children's burial sites. The burial ground was consecrated by Fr. Martin Newell, P.P. on 21 July 2000, and a large inscribed stone was erected by the Heritage Society to mark the location for posterity. Read more

Má fháighmse sláinte is fada ‘bheidh tráchtadh, Ar an méid a bádh as Eanach Dhúin, ‘S mo thrua ‘márach gach athair ‘s máthair, Bean is páiste tá a' sileadh súl, A Rí na nGrást, a cheap neamh is parthas, Nár bheag an tábh'cht dúinn beirt nó triúr, Ach lá chomh breá leis, gan gaoth ná báisteach, Lán a' bháid acu, ‘scuab' ar shiúl! Read more

Below are two letters by John O'Donovan concerning the Parish of Annaghdown, part of his Letters containing information relative to the Antiquities of the County of Galway collected during the progress of the Ordnanace Survey in 1838 Vol. I. Links to each volume of O'Donovan's Letters are available on the Ask About Ireland website. "I have not yet sufficiently examined the antiquities of this parish having only passed through a few townlands of it on my way from Clare Galway to Tuam. I met one old church in the townland of Cill Chathail which bears the same name with the townland or rather which originally gave its name of Cill Chathail or Church of St. Cathaldus to the townland. It lies in a fieldto the left of the road as you go from Clare Galway to Tuam about 8 miles from the latter." Read more

There are some roads the names of which are familiar to people around the globe, such as the Appian Way in Italy, the Silk Road in China, the Stuart Highway in Australia, the Burma Road of World War 2 fame, route 66 in the U.S.A., or the trans American Highway reaching from the tip of South America to Alaska. But the road that had the greatest impact on the people of the Annaghdown/Corrandulla area when it was built was the Curraghline. Before it existed the means of getting to Galway City was by boat on the lake or by road through Claregalway. The Curragh Line is the stretch of road from Corrandulla Barracks to Carrowbrowne, a distance of approximately 6 miles. By any standard it was a major undertaking, given the difficult terrain it had to traverse from black alluvial clay in some places some fifty or more feet in depth to peat over white marl in others. Other places were a complete quagmire not to mention the added complication of two rivers and a number of streams and drains. Read more

A seldom discussed aspect of Irish history is the number of Irishmen who served in the British forces, a number which exploded in the nineteenth century reaching two in five of all British soldiers. Irishmen are understandably slow to acknowledge their participation in an empire won partly, and policed largely, by their countrymen. This short study focuses on the one hundred men from Annaghdown who served in British forces prior to the twentieth century, and it is important to note that this study includes only those who survived to discharge. The total number of men from Annaghdown was therefore considerably more, several times more indeed, in an era of war and particularly poor conditions for servicemen. Nationally, close to three quarters of Irish soldiers were from rural areas and, in general, the men enlisted 'for life' (i.e. unlimited service) or, into the nineteenth century, for twenty-one years. The men were more often illiterate, well over half in the case of Annaghdown, with them making 'their mark' on attestation and discharge. This was an impediment to their promotion. Read more

This is a transcription of a document entitled ‘A Copy of the Annadown Applotments – 1847’, presented to the Annaghdown Heritage Society in February 1996 by the Devaney family of Cregduff, Corrandulla. According to the prefacing summary page, it was applotted in spring 1847 by Thomas Browne, who lived in Cregduff. It is unclear why the document was produced. A comparison with the later Griffith’s Valuation shows that the acreage given for each townland is consistent between the two. This suggests that Browne’s applotment was based on a published source – possibly the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map, produced in 1838. It is also possible that Browne came into contact with those carrying out the official valuation during the 1840s. Read more

In 1812 the Commissioners for Enquiring into the Nature of the Bogs of Ireland published detailed maps of the Bogs, along with reports of how useful they might be for reclaiming for agricultural use. The map of the Cloonboo area shows the bogs and also the roads and houses in the area. Whether the houses are shown in their correct locations is not clear. A map made by the Ordnance Survey in 1839 shows the houses and roads in their exact locations, with the road in the same orientation as on the bog map. The N84 Headford Galway Road was not yet in existence, not being built until 1870. The road through the village from north to south was the boreen that goes through Greaney's bus yard. Read more

Birth registrations for one hundred years ago (1919) and marriages for 75 years ago (1944) have recently been added to irishgenealogy.ie. Records from these years in Annaghdown parish are as follows... Read more

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In the early 1920s, with the battle for an independent Irish Republic at full pace, when IRA Volunteers were taking the fight to the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, the land question was still a major issue in County Galway. Despite various Land Acts, particularly 1903 and 1909, in which loans were provided to tenants to purchase land, there were still many families who remained landless. Although the Acts allowed for land purchase, they did not allow for the distribution of land. Poverty-stricken families looked longingly at large ranches in Galway which supported only livestock and dreamed of having their own plot of land. The "land question" as it had been labelled for many decades, was still not solved for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the poorer families remained unable to purchase, so the situation arose where more prominent individuals bought up land that came on the market. The result of this meant that there were still many disgruntled landless farmers who felt they had no option but to resort to the tried and trusted methods of land agitation to highlight their plight. Additionally, there was now a national rebellion underway, with Irish freedom within touching distance and people dreamt of a bright future in an Ireland free from English tyranny. Read more

It is just over one hundred years since the influenza pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish Flu, swept through Ireland and infected one fifth of the population. The death registers for Turloughmore and Headford registration districts indicate that there were at least 25 deaths due to influenza in the Annaghdown area, between September 1918 and May 1919. The first victim recorded is Martin Nally (57) of Tonamace, who died on 22 September 1918. The disease is known to have affected younger individuals more severely, and this is to be seen in the fatalities in Annaghdown, with 17 of those who died aged under 40 years. Read more

I was born on 4th July 1923 and was second in a family of 6. My parents, Patrick and Mary Greaney lived at Cahermorris Cross where our house was used as the local dispensary and subsequently became known as Cahermorris Dispensary. When I was a child, Doctor Golding of Headford was the local district doctor and attended each Thursday from 11a.m. till 1p.m. until his retirement. He was replaced by Dr. Maguire who was the last doctor to attend there prior to the dispensary's closure. At the time most houses would have had to get their water from local streams or would have had collection tanks. The nearest local well at the time was in Kilcoona. It was practice at the time to have a clean water source in close proximity to a dispensary for patients who were attending. Read more

At the turn of the twentieth century and probably before that, St. Brendan's Church, Corrandulla had two side altars. One was adorned with a picture of Our Lady of Good Counsel where Mrs. Frances Butler, Winterfield House, Tonagurrane prayed. This altar was situated near where the commemorative window to the late Fr. P.V. O'Brien is today. In later times that same picture was hanging in the then childrens' corner until the 1970s. Across the aisle, where the window dedicated to St. Francis is now, Mrs. Helen Blake, Cregg Castle had a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on her altar. That picture has lingered on and can be seen today hanging on your left as you enter the church by the side door. Those two altars were beautifully adorned with golden-laced cloths, shining candle holders with lighted candles and of course flowers of the fairest. During Mass those two ladies would be praying with their backs to each other and side on to the rest of the congregation. Meanwhile the Reverend celebrant would be on the altar with his back to everyone. Read more