Down Survey of Ireland
Taken in the years 1656–1658, the Down Survey of Ireland is the first ever detailed land survey on a national scale anywhere in the world. The survey sought to measure all the land to be forfeited by the Catholic Irish in order to facilitate its redistribution to Merchant Adventurers and English soldiers.
The Galway Reader and Samuel J. Maguire
The Galway Reader is a journal published by Galway County Libraries between 1948 and 1954, and edited by Samuel J. Maguire, the first County Librarian for Galway, 1926–1955.
The journal is comprised of a series of articles, primarily written by Sam Maguire, on the history of Galway based on the resources in the library’s local studies collection. Many of these are short but are highly readable and very accessible. The articles cover a wide range of topics relating to County Galway, from famous events and people to the Famine and War of Independence, and to sport and flora and fauna.
Galway Public Libraries wish to gratefully acknowledge the donation from the Hawkins family in memory of Seán Hawkins in 2018, which facilitated the digitization of this publication.
The Galway Reader Volumes:
- Spring 1948–Spring 1949
- Spring 1949 (contd) – 1950 Vol. 2
- 1950 Vol. 2 (contd) – 1950 Vol. 3
- 1950 Vol. 3 (contd) – 1951 Vol. 3
- 1951 Vol. 3 (contd) – 1953 Vol. 4
- 1953 Vol. 4 (contd) – 1954 Vol. 4
- 1954 Vol. 4 (contd)
- 1954 Vol. 4 (contd B)
Lawrence Family Album
The Lawrence Family, of Lisreaghan, also known as Belview, owned extensive land in the east county Galway region in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and founded the village of Lawrencetown.
The Album, an important archive, is a wonderful history, pictorial and textual, of the family and the district of Lawrencetown. It contains much rich detail on the family, together with late nineteenth century photographs of the village of Lawrencetown, family portraits and interior views of the house.
The Lawrence Family Album is now available, in its entirety, on the Ask About Ireland website.
Ordnance Survey Place Name Books for Galway
In 1838, John O'Donovan was commissioned to list the place names of Ireland. For each place name, he listed variations of its name, its Irish form, its translation, its situation, and a brief description. This information is available online at the Galway Placenames Database.
The Schools Collection
THE SCHOOLS FOLKLORE COMMISSION
A treasury of folklore and history compiled and collected from schoolchildren, who wrote down stories and folklore connected with their local areas. They obtained information from older members of their communities at the time. This work was done in the 1930’s and has now been digitised.
Online Books on Galway's History
A number of books on Galway's history are available online at http://www.galway.net/galwayguide/history/.
- History of Lough Corrib, by William R. Wilde
- History of Galway, by James Hardiman
- Iar Connaught, by Roderick O'Flaherty
- Waterways of Galway, by IEI
Historical Newspapers
Irish News Archive is a database of national and regional newspapers from centuries past. It includes newspapers from Galway. The database is searchable. It is also possible to browse the collection by newspaper title and date.