Collections

Included in the collections are Galway County Council minutes (ref GC/1), dating from 1899 onwards, available online at the Digital Archive. The Galway County Council collection also includes various committee minutes, valuation records, electoral rolls, staff attendance records and administrative files.  Surviving burial ground registers are accessible through the Burial Ground Registers.

We also hold material from former local government bodies:

• Rural District Councils (1899-1925).
• Ballinasloe Town Commissioners /Council (BTC/1): Minutes from 1841-1876 are available on the Digital Archive.
• Loughrea Town Councils (LTC/1): Extant minutes from 1909-2006 are accessible on the Digital Archive.
• Tuam Town Councils (TTC/1): Minutes from 1843-2014, with some gaps, are on the Digital Archive.

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We hold an important collection of Poor Law Union material.  The collections are comprised of just under 600 volumes, mainly Board of Guardian minutes. They detail the administration and management of workhouses, dispensary medical care and other public functions, such as the provision of burial grounds, in the Union areas, from 1839 to 1921.

There were ten Unions in County Galway: Ballinasloe, Clifden, Galway, Glenamaddy, Gort, Loughrea, Mountbellew, Oughterard, Portumna and Tuam.  The Archives holds collections for eight of these Unions, excluding Oughterard and Portumna.

Availability: Most of these records have been digitised and are available in the Digital Archive. 

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We hold records of several notable landed families spanning from the 18th century to the 21st century. These collections provide a fascinating insight into the history and lives of these families. These include:

• Kellys of Castlekelly, Ballygar, 1606 – 1880
• Burkes of Ballydugan, Loughrea, 1707-1970 (GP6/)
• Purefoy of Offaly and Turbett of Dublin, 1732-1920 (GP16/)
• Lawrences of Lawrencetown, Co. Galway, 1826-1930 (GP1/); available in the Digital Archive.
• Ffrench of Rahasane, Co. Galway, 1765-1831 (GP4/); available in Digital Archive.

We also have several private collections, including:

• Minihan Family Photographic Collection, 1890-1980

  GP8_Descriptive List_2024-09.pdf (PDF, 1.54MB)

• George Chambers Photograph Albums, 1929 - 1961 (GP9/); available in the Digital Archive. Check out our publication Island Images: From the Changes Archives for more details.

• Shaw-Taylor,  Captain John,  Diaries, 1890-1909, (G01/4), Castle Taylor, Ardrahan, County Galway.

  G01-4 Shawe-Taylor, Captain John 1890-1909.pdf (PDF, 405KB)

   

• Papers of Tomás Bairéad, (Irish language author and journalist), 1920-1973 (GP2/); available in the Digital Archive.

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Our archives cover all aspects of Galway’s history. Here are some notable smaller collections:

• Richard St George Mansergh St George, Survey & Maps of the Estate in Headford, Co. Galway, 1775 - 1853 (GS01/5). This is available in the Digital Archive.
• James Hardiman, Volume of Drawings, 1811 – 1830 (GS01/2). This is available in the Digital Archive.
• M.S. Kelly & Co., Printers & Stationers, Loughrea, Customer Account Ledger, 1928-1944, 
  (GS21/01B).
• Eyrecourt Demesne, Auction Catalogue (Eyre Family), 1926 (GS01/20).
• John Waldron, ‘Some Notes on the Civil War in ilreand, 1922-1923', 1972-1985, (GS12/10).  This is available in the Digital Archive.

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