Connaught GenWeb was formed in 1997 out of the need of researchers to learn when where lines between territories changed and where records for one area, but kept in another area, are located today.

All About Connaught Gen Web

ConnaughtGenWeb, ^TM, began as a website sponsored by Mayo Ltd. server in early 1997. In early 1998 this website was graciously hosted by Rootsweb. By 1999 Provinces Leinster, Ulster and Munster were also hosted by Rootsweb, and a message board and mailing list was issued to each.

With the addition of MunsterGenWeb, UlsterGenWeb and LeinsterGenWeb in 1999, the four websites together became Ireland Provincial Projects, ^TM

As for Province ConnaughtGenWeb, CGW TM, The five county web pages from early 1996 were already online and providing genealogical resources for researchers, but there was several needs for a provincial level database that could cover more than one county..

1. Some researchers know their ancestors lived in Connaught, but they didn't know in what county.

2. Researchers discover that their ancestors lived in more than one county; So how to find and connect the the moving records with the moving boundaries. Quite a task.

3. Lines dividing areas changed, diocese and barony boundaries changed, even provincial and county lines changed. What changed very little was the boundaries of town lands, but a physical town land could be in Fermanagh one year and the next year the town land or part of it was in Leitrim.

4. Lastly, the most difficult documentation to find is records. Record repositories moved around; churched moved from one town land to another, or across a bridge to another county. How to find records when they may not be in the original location; what to do if records cover two or more territories, several town lands, two diocese, three baronies, or two counties......even two provinces.

5. The best example is a local one. Archdiocese of Tuam has from the 6th century been the ecclesiastical center for Province of Connaught.

PROBLEM: Tuam is the largest diocese in all of Ireland, encompassing all of the lands of Ui Maine formerly owned by Clan O'Kelly; Indeed not only Ui Maine, but, Tuam includes nearly all of County Galway and parts of Counties Mayo and County Roscommon. There are many diocese's in Tuam, and they are spread across three counties and include many hundreds of town lands.

Some records in the Roscommon database apply also to the Archdiocese of Tuam, and all of County Mayo and County Leitrim. But never fear. Help is on the way.

ConnaughtGenWeb's mission is to collect records from wherever those resources are today and then connect those to movement of boundary lines which moved with each swing of a battleaxe throughout the history of Connaught. Strife is the history of Ireland.