Clare Roots Society
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Established: 2006
The Clare Roots Society, the brainchild of local Ennisman Larry Brennan,
was formed in April 2006. Larry placed letters in local press to see if
there was sufficient interest to form such a group in Clare, about 25
people turned up at the initial meeting. That meeting was addressed by
Paul O'Donnell of the South Galway group, which has been flourishing for
years. Since then, our society has met once a month, except during the
summer months, and has approx. 50 members . Some members are experienced
genealogists while others are novices in the field. In addition to local
members, we have some 'virtual' members who live overseas, but who follow
our activities via email, and dream that they are in Clare!
Invited speakers have included Peter Beirne of 'The Manse' Local Studies
library in Ennis, Jim Herlihy from Cork on the RIC, Liam Curran on Irish
Soldiers in the British Army, and Jonny Dillon of the Folklore Dept. at
UCD on the Schools' Folklore Project of the 1930s. From among our own
members, speakers have included Dr. Paddy Waldron, Gerry Kennedy, Ger
Madden, Declan Barron, and Larry Brennan. In addition, Larry has run a
number of hands-on computer workshops on genealogical research, and recording
of data.
The current committee consists of Declan Barron (chairman), Eric Shaw
(treasurer), Larry Brennan (PRO), Fiona de Buitleir (Secretary), and Sean
O'Gorman. Society meetings are held on the last Thursday of each month
in the County Museum building, Ennis. Our biggest project to date, which
is on-going, involves transcription of the gravestones in the old Drumcliffe
Cemetery. Drumcliffe is the major burial ground for Ennis and environs.
We have applied for a heritage grant in regard to this, which would enable
us to commission a professional survey of the cemetery, where many of
the plots have been lost from sight at this stage, or are unidentifiable.
A working group of ten members is currently engaged in the hands-on transcription
of the hundreds of old graves, and a group of school children from the
local Ennis National School is also involved. When all the material is
gathered, it will be collated, digitised, and made available on the Clare
Library website www.clarelibrary.ie
Other projects undertaken by members in the past 18 months include
transcription of some rural graveyards, transcription of the old Ennis
National School rollbooks 1898-1952 now available on Clare Library website,
and transcription of the old Burial Rolls for Drumcliffe, a work in progress.
Clare Roots Society
40 Victoria Court
Ennis
Co. Clare
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