Clareabbey Civil Parish, County Clare, Ireland Genealogy

Guide to Clareabbey Civil Parish, County Clare ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Parish registers, transcripts, baptism records, marriage records, and burial records.

The following information is a starting point for records about the civil parish of Clareabbey. The information is based on locations and records before 1922.

History
LOCATION: This parish includes the villages of Clarecastle and Ballyea and their hinterland. There are Catholic churches at Clarecastle (www.clarecastleballyeaparish.ie) and Ballyea (www.clarecastleballyeaparish.ie) and national schools (for ages 4 to 12) at Clarecastle and Ballyea. The parish is situated on the Fergus Estuary in mid-Clare, and is bounded on the west by the civil parish of Clondegad, on the north by the civil parish of Drumcliff, and on the south the Fergus Estuary and to the east by Doora Parish. CLARE ABBEY

Clare Abbey was founded in 1189 by Donal Mór O'Brien. It was an abbey of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine and was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was the scene of a great slaughter in 1278 between various factions of the O'Briens. Parts of the single aisled church date from the late twelfth century but most of the buildings are fifteenth-century work. These include a well-preserved east window, the tower and the domestic buildings with their unusual floral window at the south-eastern corner. The church and charter were reconfirmed by Thady, Bishop of Killaloe, in 1461. Henry VIII granted the abbey to the Baron of Ibrickan in 1543 and the Earls of Thomond were confirmed as owners in 1620 and 1661. The Augustinians remained in the abbey until 1650. By 1703 the abbey was a ruin, but there was a good "thatched house, an orchard and 2 or 3 cabins nearby", according to Moland's survey.

Localities
List the names of town-lands in this civil parish. List the names of the surrounding parishes. List the names and give a description of a district, poor law union, etc.

Maps and gazetteers
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Cemeteries
Add references to indexes to gravestones or monumental inscriptions.

Census
The purpose of a census was to gather information about people who lived in an area. While the government began census taking in 1821, only fragments exist before 1901. Censuses for 1901 and 1911 are available. Read more about the records in the Ireland Census article.

Church records
Read general information about church records.

Catholic
Name(s) of ecclesiastical parish, records, availability, archive, online indexes, notes.

Church of Ireland
Name(s) of ecclesiastical parish, records, availability, archive, online indexes, notes.

Presbyterian
Name(s) of ecclesiastical parish, records, availability, archive, online indexes, notes.

Methodist
Name(s) of ecclesiastical parish, records, availability, archive, online indexes, notes.

Society of Friends
Name(s) of ecclesiastical parish, records, availability, archive, online indexes, notes.

Others
Name(s) of ecclesiastical parish, records, availability, archive, online indexes, notes.

Civil Registration
Government registration of births and deaths began in 1864. Registration of Protestant marriages began in 1845, with all marriages being registered by 1864. Go to the Ireland Civil Registration article to read more about these records.

Land records
The Registry of Deeds started in 1708. Land transactions were recorded, including immovable property passed on in a will and property given to a daughter at her marriage. Read more about these records in the Ireland Land and Property article.

Probate Records
Probate dealt with the property of a deceased person. Read more about these records in the Ireland Probate Records article.

School records
Read more about these records in the Ireland Schools article.

Tax records
The valuation of property for tax purposes was started in the 1840s by Richard Griffith. A tax paid to the church, call Tithe Applotments, began in the 1820s. Read about these records in the Ireland Taxation and Ireland Land and Property articles.