Visitors' Book 2005

Date: 22nd December 2005
Dear Sir/Madam,
Just a note to say how impressed I am by the range of historical sources made available on your webpage.
Keep up the good work.
Donal Fallon MA,
Project Manager,
CRDS Ltd,
Dublin

Date: 8th December 2005
Greetings, Clare Geneo-Angels! You people are out of this world!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your recently-added genealogy resource of graveyards linked to the 1842 map. Wishing you all the joys and peace the Christmas season can provide.
Jeanne Dwyer in crisp, cold Southern Indiana, where we're expecting our first significant snowfall tonight!

Date: 2nd December 2005
The Clare County Library maintains an excellent site which includes community resources, county history and more... top marks for a great concept.
Island Ireland,
an Internet directory to Irish art, culture and environment

Date: 27th November 2005
I am very impressed by your web site. Congratulations on the fine service which you are providing to those of us who are seeking our Clare roots.
Christina Poirier,
Canada

Date: 23rd November 2005
I just wanted to say how helpful the Clare Library site has been in our ancestry search. It is the best site for information on Clare County past and present. Genealogy isn't just names and dates but history and an understanding of the area. The Clare Library site gives a broad perspective of the then and now. Please continue this excellent site and thanks to all who make it what it is.
Millie McCormick

Date: 16th November 2005
Cant thank you enough for the maps CD which arrived today... I am the envy of my friends who are researching in other counties and dont have the same resources...
Sincere appreciation,
Wilma Erlandsen,
Australia

Date: 16th November 2005
You have, by a long way, the best online site for family history research in Ireland.
Shane MacNamara,
Australia

Date: 8th November 2005
Thank you so much for the 1842 maps CD which has just arrived. I am so grateful to Clare County Library for it, and indeed all it has done to help us family historians. Tracing in Ireland from Australia is not very easy – my husband 's relatives are from Galway, Cork and Limerick! – but with the great "gifts" Clare County Library has made to us descendants I find it much easier to find out things about my own ancestors.
Again, very many thanks.
Audrey King,
The Blue Mts of NSW,
Australia.

Date: 7th November 2005
May I thank you for your consideration and generosity [re CD for OS Maps]. My family, the Faircloths, resided in both Ennis and Kilfenora for some 300 years – a wink of the eye.
Thanks and thanks again.
Bob Faircloth

Date: 7th November 2005
Just a short note to say many thanks for the CD of 1st Series O.S. maps that you recently sent me. It has already been very useful for some of the work I do which is with geography students doing their Leaving Certificate projects, some of which require examining these old maps... Once again many thanks and congratulations for all your hard work in providing a very useful research document.
Colin Bunce,
Burren Outdoor Education Centre,
Turlough,
Bell Harbour,
Co. Clare

Date: 7th November 2005
This is a wonderful thing you are doing [the 1840s Ordnance Survey Maps]. it will be such a help to me as my early relatives ancestors came from Kilrush area in County Clare.
Many thanks.
Mrs. Yvonne McMahon,
NSW Australia.

Date: 7th November 2005
Thank you so much for the amazing work you are doing [re online maps]. I am very grateful for the help to find my ancestors. God’s Blessings to everyone.
Wilma Erlandsen,
Bunbory,
Australia.

Date: 7th November 2005
Thank you! thank you! thank you! for the Clare Tithe Applotment Books Transcription...
Pauline Insley,
Australia

Date: 31st October 2005
Outstanding website!!! Just discovered it today. Thanks so much for putting it together.
Pat Wood,
Fircrest WA USA

Date: 31st October 2005
Re: OS maps CD and online info:
You deserve every bit of praise and appreciation (plus your growing fame) for the efforts you are undertaking to be The Source for Clare historical information. Making the OS maps available provides serious researchers with a prime tool for getting pertinent geography correct.
Thank you very much!
Sharon Carberry,
now in Georgia, USA

Date: 27th October 2005
I just wanted to thank you for all the work that you do for those of us who are deeply into genealogy. Your website is probably the best around and has a wealth of information. Your latest endeavor with respect to online maps is absolutely fabulous. You should be proud of your efforts. Although you may not hear it enough, the genealogy buffs are really thankful.
All the best,
Ray FitzGerald
North Carolina, USA
Researching CHERRY from Cratloe area.

Date: 27th October 2005
Dear Library Team
I have just received and tried out the CD from the Maps Project. I have been able to see the houses of both my McKenna and St Lawrence greatgrandparents next door to each other in Ballylaghnan. What a fantastic and much appreciated service the library offers. Please record my appreciation.
Kevin Mckenna in NZ

Date: 25th August 2005
Kudos to Clare Library!!! I found your web site while searching for a link about Harriet Smithson and her relations with Berlioz. I'm a librarian in California, and I've looked at a large number of library web sites. I think yours is very attractive and well organized.
Steve Schermerhorn,
California, USA

Date: 17th August 2005
The job you folks have done is not just impressive it is awesome. I can’t begin to imagine the work and man hours it went into creating your web site. I was tickled pink to pull up the Clare 1901 census and see my grandmother’s name in Violet Hill at age 12…
Truly yours,
Stephan Jack,
USA

Date: 12th August 2005
My husband and I will be in Ireland in September (our fourth trip). This time we are researching his O'Brien and Breen ancestors from the Labasheeda area. Your online resources have been a marvelous help in preparing for the trip and I am very much looking forward to visiting your library... Thank you for all of the wonderful information you have made available online. If other places did even half the amount of work you have done, it would make the life of long-distance researchers like myself infinitely easier.
Sincerely,
Susan Beller,
Vermont, USA

Date: 17th July 2005
Good morning. I am an American of Irish descent and was thrilled to find my grandmother Margaret Hourigan's name in the 1901 Killaloe census. She was a 16 year old girl, born in Tipperary, working as a domestic servant at Mrs. Anne Spaight's residence on Abbey Street, Killaloe. Is there any way to know the date the census was taken? In July 1901 Margaret emigrated to America. I have long wondered how she earned the money for her passage, and if the census was taken before July, the girl mentioned IS my grandmother, and she got her money by working for Mrs. Spaight. The Spaight family in Derrycastle, Tipperary, just across the Shannon, were her father's landlords, so this would make sense, wouldn't it? Thanks for any information you can provide about the census date.
Joann Hinz
NY, USA
[Hello Joann,
The 1901 census was taken on the 31st of March, 1901.
Regards,
Maureen Comber,
Clare County Library]
Thank you! Now I know why Gramma was not listed in the March 1901 Tipperary census - she was across the bridge working for Mrs. Spaight. A mystery solved.
Joann Hinz

Date: 24th May 2005
Dear Clare County Library, thank you ever so much for your Library!!! I've learned VERY much about my Irish ancesters. They came to America sometime between 1844 & 1849... I viewed some of the pictures on your website on the evictions of the homes, and it broke my heart looking at the brokenness and despair in their eyes and faces. It gives me a sense of who, what, & why I am. I am proud to be of Irish descent & pray to our Lord above to visit the beautiful green isle.
A distant cousin of someone over there...
Barbara Lee Vore
USA

Date: 15th May 2005
I just want to complement you on your wonderful genealogy site! The information is very informative, and, although I am not sure whether I have found what I am seeking, I want to say that the process is easy, concise, and affordable. I have discovered that in 1900 there were 300 "Clune" families in Co. Clare. I am looking for "McClune" and I am unsure how one gets from Clune to McClune, or even if Co. Clare is where they came from, but I will keep looking.
Thanks again,
Donna March,
Canada
[Hi Donna,
thank your for your kind comments on our website. While we do not have a reference to a 'McClune', there are references to a 'Mahone MacClune', and a 'Mahone MacCloone' as having land in Chapter 24 (Book of Forfeitures and Distributions) of James Frost's History and Topography of the County of Clare. See The History and Topography of the County of Clare by James Frost: Book of Forfeitures and Distributions: Barony of Bunratty Upper: Part A: Quin Parish. 'Mahone MacClune' is shown as proprietor of land (subsequently forfeited) in the townland of Carrowgar in the parish of Quin in 1641.
Similarly, 'Mahone MacCloone' was proprietor of land in the townland of Cullenagh in the same parish.
See http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/quin_parish.htm for more information on Quin parish.
Best of luck with your research,
Anthony Edwards,
Clare County Library

Date: 29th March 2005
I have found the Clare library site invaluable and interesting in the years of studying my own family history in Clare. Congratulations to all who are involved. I look forward to my visit in August and investigating it all in person.
Best regards,
Toni Dearsley,
New Zealand

Date: 22nd March 2005
My heart felt appreciation to you and the Clare Museum. One Sunday two weeks ago, I typed "1921-1923 Irish history" into my computer hoping to learn if (and why) it was true my Great Uncle Patrick was killed in 1923, when "the War" was over in 1921. As you can tell I knew nothing about Irish history 2 weeks ago... I have been on a very fast learning track in the last two weeks. I took my photo of Patrick to Ireland last summer but didn't even have a county to match it with. I wonder how could I be so very fortunate as to have my Patrick from your Clare. The people of Clare have really done a wonderful work looking for and saving all of our history. I have always known that my heart is Irish and when I viewed the green of Ireland from the air last summer I knew I was going home. I do not expect to find any family in Ireland. I am just honored to know I really have Irish roots that have stayed in our family "DNA". Some place in my brain I had Clare or Cork saved, as I could not remember what my Dad told me when he was dying. However I learned last summer almost everyone left from Cork City so maybe that was the Cork [he mentioned]. As you must understand I have learned so much about geography, trying to find old maps of Clare etc... graveyards and anything my little computer can store for me.
I have discovered on the internet in the Clare Museum the last letters of a very special Great Uncle Patrick Hennessy. I have a family photo and family stories about Patrick Hennessy, the uncle my father was named after and the great uncle I was named for. The only clue I had was that on the back of the photo is written "Poor Patrick, Died Jan,20,1923". My great aunt or my grandmother wrote that I think, and I know that the death of their younger brother had a life-long impact on all my family. Thanks to Ellen Murphy and her father who gave their aunt's letter to the Clare Museum, I have exchanged information and a copy of the photo I have with Ellen and John at the Clare Museum. I believe with all the information they have (date, and hurling medals on Patrick in photo) I have found my namesake. This is what living history is about. I would like to think this would be the best way young children can learn the history of their country and themselves - by searching personal information and putting the mystery together in context with history.
I'll be in Ireland again this summer but had not expected to make this discovery so the time will not be only mine, as I am traveling with a friend ... My next trip is in the works NOW, not sure when, but I'll come to Clare and spend my 2 weeks in your library, the Clare Museum, and walk the country roads, breathe the clean air of Ireland and try to go to the place Patrick was shot in Limerick, and then his grave if I can find it. Like great uncle Patrick, my father Patrick gave much for Freedom. Dad was shot down over Germany on Easter Sunday, April 9th, 1944, and became a POW for a little over a year. My Dad suffered for 50 years from serious injuries from the war, but never gave up his love of Church, family and country. He also forgave those who had caused his suffering. I know my Dad never saw or knew of any of Patrick's letters, but when I read them I felt I was reading my Dad's words.
Thank you from my Irish American heart. "Family Forever"...
Again my sincere Appreciation,
Patricia D. Benker
PO BOX 1027
Pinecrest,CA.USA
95464-0027

Date: 15th March 2005
I have found your site of "North Clare Soldiers in World War 1". My name is Rick Slattery and my father fits into this category. My father was John Joseph Slattery, b. 9 Dec 01 in Corofin. He enlisted in 1914 or 1915 and was discharged in 1922. (Yes he was very young when he enlisted). At some time he was in D company, 2nd Batallion, Royal Munster Fusiliers. I believe he was a sergeant. His serial number was 10717. I believe that he was posted to Khartoum, Kantara, Gebeit, Cairo, Egypt and Alexandria. When he was alive he mentioned having his birthday while in action in the Battle of the Somme. He ultimately emigrated to Australia and died in Sydney in 1986. I was glad to find your site because of the importance of remembering these heroic men.
Rick Slattery,
Australia

Date: 14th March 2005
We recently discovered your excellent work [Board of Guardians minute books] last week and have added it to our webpage. We are currently engaged in a similar project in partnership with the Kerry County Library in Tralee, and our images from the first year of the Famine are now up at the above site. We had a slightly different approach by publishing pdf’s of the original books for each week, accompanied by a text page that summarizes the contents of each week. After the Killarney pages, we will be working on a similar time period for Kenmare. When I was in Dublin last year meeting with people at the Library Council, I was told that Clare was doing excellent work in this area, so we’re delighted to see the results.
Prof. Terry Ballard,
Automation Librarian,
The Arnold Bernhard Library,
Quinnipiac University,
Connecticut,
USA

Date: 10th March 2005
Hello. Today was the first time I learned of your library and all the information you have put on line for all the 'amateur genealogists'. I just wanted to thank you for all your time and effort. How wonderful to be able to use my computer to search for my 'Irish ancestors'. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Your site is just wonderful! It is easy to navigate - that is important to those of us who are not 'computer gurus'... Thank you all again for your hard work and time in putting together this most informative site. God Bless You.
Sincerely,
Sally Fleming Toblesky,
Mountain Home,
Arkansas,
USA

Date: 8th March 2005
Hello from Australia. Congratulations on the wonderful work that you do. We certainly do appreciate all your efforts...
Regards,
Ernene Smedley (nee Dillon)
Australia

Date: March 2005
Pete Hamill, the Irish-American writer gave an interview in Irish America magazine a few years back. I saved it because it explained so well why we travel to Ireland researching our roots. Here's the exact quote: (and just because it says American, doesn't mean it doesn't apply to Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian etc). "The writer John McNulty wrote an account of his first trip to Ireland. The title was 'Back Where I Had Never Been'. That title almost perfectly expresses the emotion felt by many Irish Americans when they first glimpse the land of their parents or grandparents. Early on I realized - as so many of the Irish diaspora do - that my own identity was tied to a place I'd never seen. I could never hope to understand my parents and therefore, myself, without trying to understand Ireland too. Ireland made them what they were; Ireland plus America made me. When Irish-Americans go back to where they'd never been, when they act out the cliche of discovering the places that hurt their parents into exile, they are not engaged in some trivial act. They are looking for continuity with the past. They are trying to find the line of a story that was interrupted by history; there are some aspects of being Irish American that resemble starting a novel in chapter 17". The native Irish may not understand that need, they've been on their native soil for thousands of years, they have their history. We on the other hand, have to go find it, it was lost to us; everything but the love of that place. So to Clare County Library and their wonderful staff I say thanks for giving us the first 16 chapters; it means more to us than you realize.
Elisabeth Haren,
USA

Date: March 2005
My thanks to that compact, savvy, and innovative team of diesels at Clare County Library and Local Studies Centre for making so much Clare local and family history available to the Clare diaspora worldwide. Even if you live thousands of miles away the Library, with the help of its state-of-the art cyberlinks, not only provides you with a constantly discharging cornucopia of historical Clare material (databases, photos, books, newspaper extracts, you name it) but also keeps you in touch with the day-to-day goings-on in the County. By reaching out to and harnessing the Clare diaspora the CCL & LSC has redefined the county library paradigm as a global one, a move which sets new standards for other libraries and family history centres.
Paddy Casey
Switzerland

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library is of invaluable assistance to me in my meanderings through the Linnane family history. I have spent many an evening, happily lost in the documentation on the library website. And, on the one occasion where I have been able to visit the Local Studies Centre in person, I was impressed with the kindness and assistance rendered to me. I am looking forward to my next visit.
Mike Nagan
Washington
USA

Date: March 2005
I cannot thank the library enough for all of the help they have given me! Because of the data online I have been able to finally break through a decades old brick wall!! Hopefully I will be able to tour the library and center this coming year and thank you in person!! On behalf of all the New York/Florida Arthur Clan a very heart felt "THANK YOU"!
Diane Arthur Kennedy

Date: March 2005
Great appreciation for the magnificent site and for the opportunity to participate through the Tithe Applotment Book Project.
Regards,
Kevin McKenna,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
Many thanks for the wonderful work you do for all genealogists who are researching their Irish roots.
Marianne (McDonald) Powers

Date: March 2005
I have yet to find my Corbett family in Clare but I feel that I am getting closer as a result of the information published by Clare County Library... Count me in as a supporter of Clare County Library and Local Studies Centre.
Gordon Corbett,
Northumberland,
England

Date: March 2005
I wish to thank all the people that give their time & work at Clare County Library. I have found that the people doing & helping with family history, are the nicest people you would want to meet. So a BIG THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!
Brenda Keasling Dobbelaere

Date: March 2005
Thank you Clare County Library for your dedication to genealogy and all the help you have given researchers.
Mary Anne Carmody

Date: March 2005
The information that Clare County Library provides is overwhelming and fantastic. Thank you for all the effort that it took to provide.
Ed McCarthy,
Michigan,
USA

Date: March 2005
Without the Library I would know little of my family and less of Ireland. Thanks for letting me transcribe the TAB For Killard. You bring us hope that we will find all our ancestors. It took five generations in America to learn my paternal ancestors were really Schmidts not Smiths. I am only four generations into my maternal ancestry which prompted my first trip across to be to Ireland. Thank you.
Clifford Conway Smith,
West Virginia,
USA

Date: March 2005
Thank you so much for all the hard work that you have done to help us to find information on our ancestors online. It is not easy to research from Australia and your website is so interesting and informative. I wish that I had been able to do more research before I came to Co.Clare in 1998 but I am looking forward to another trip as soon as I can. I have not been able to find any living relatives in Ireland.
Keep up the excellent work.
Ernene Smedley (nee Dillon),
Queensland,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Last August, I visited Clare County Library and met some of the kind and helpful staff. I am anxious to return in person, but in the meanwhile I enjoy the wonderful internet site. Many thanks to Clare County Library staff.
Nancy I. Baker

Date: March 2005
I never would have determined the townland of my Clancys without the valuable information found on Clare County Library website. It's so informative, so well set up, so easy to access and search... I just can't say enough! THANK YOU!
Sandy Ciszewski

Date: March 2005
Thanks for your incredible website! Now researchers have, at the click of a mouse, information that could only previously be obtained at a cost and through countless hours at a microfilm reader. What a gift to us! Thanks.
Cathy Joynt Labath

Date: March 2005
Congratulations to all volunteers and staff at Clare County Library - it truly is an enjoyable adventure travelling to Clare through their Library.
Regards,
Nora McNamara,
Melbourne,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Thank you to the staff at Clare County Library for all the help they offer to all genealogists around the globe. Some of us are unable to travel to Ireland to do our research on site so having information offered to us such as 'tithe applotment books' etc. is wonderful.
Carol Battye,
Melbourne,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I have been doing research on the Joyce and McMahon names in Ennis, County Clare. The library provided very good information and were instrumental in getting me some information that I might not have otherwise had including the fact that my great grandfather was a member of the RIC and my great grandmother was possibly a dress maker. As soon as possible I will be going back through their files for more info. They are great and were most pleasant to deal with.
Nancy Owens,
South Carolina,
USA

Date: March 2005
Until three years ago I knew nothing at all about my County Clare ancestors except that on my great-grandmother's tombstone it said "from County Clare". I have learned so much from Clare County Library staff and from my fellow list-members [of Rootsweb] that I am absolutely astounded. I have never been to County Clare although I had a short visit to Ireland about 40 years ago. I KNOW I will love it when I do come, and am now afraid that I may never want to leave again! Thank you everyone!
Mary Wilkinson

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library for all they have done for Clare Genealogists everywhere!
Mary Crandall

Date: March 2005
Greetings Clare County Library staff. Clare County Library certainly offers far more than bricks & mortar. I have been offered and obtained so much information and help from the good people there...even though I live at the other end of the world (the "top end")...in Tasmania (Australia). Again congratulations and best wishes to all at Clare County Library.
Ellen Crehan,
Tasmania

Date: March 2005
We family historians are so fortunate to be the beneficiaries of an exemplary website and the supportive communications of Clare County Library staff. The breadth of the Clare diaspora meets its match in the depth of knowledge available through this library administration's efforts. The Tithe Applotment project is truly a testament to what can be accomplished with vision and cooperation.
Sharon M. Carberry,
USA

Date: March 2005
My deepest appreciation to Clare County Library for all the help they have provided to the people who are trying to reconnect with their families over many miles and many years.
Thank you,
Melody Masi

Date: March 2005
Your website is fabulous and provides a model for libraries everywhere I appreciate the enormous amount of work that the staff has put into this site - many, many thanks.
Patricia Brown,
Sydney,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I most certainly would like to offer my sincere "Thanks" to everyone at Clare County Library for their outstanding contributions to genealogists all over the world who are trying to go back and walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. I have found so much information relating to my family through Clare County Library site I really feel that I belong to County Clare, especially the photographs which make one feel as though they are standing in the midst of the scene itself. Thank you so much from the descendants of County Clare who now live so far away in distant lands. How hard it must have been for our ancestors to have left the shores of their homeland, many never to return. Perhaps that is why we now feel so close an affection with our "Roots".
Sincerely,
Kay JOHANSEN-CLARKE

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library and Local Studies Centre for such a wonderful internet site and for all the information that has been made available for our research.
Mary Fisher

Date: March 2005
Not a single conversation with another researcher goes by that I don't say, "Too bad your people didn't come from Clare!" I have done research on other family lines which originated in counties other than Clare, and the other 31's online resources can't hold a candle to Clare County Library's website. This is due entirely to the staff's soulful dedication and deep understanding of how important it is for the diaspora to "come home." I've come home four times and am returning again in a few weeks. Thank you for showing us the way.
Jeanne Foley Dwyer,
Indiana,
USA

Date: March 2005
It’s difficult to come up with the words to properly show my appreciation to them for the wonderful service they provide. My first memories are of my grandmother’s recounting tales of her early childhood in an faraway land of fine mists and lush green meadows bordered by the river Shannon. But it wasn’t until I began researching her family about two and a half years ago that I was able to finally begin to know the real, somewhat star crossed individuals who once inhabited this idyllic isle. Without the library and local studies centre, none of this would have been possible.
Jan Thompson-Kelley

Date: March 2005
Thanks to everyone at Clare County Library for their help!
Jay Wilpolt

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library for their incredible work!
Pat Connors,
USA

Date: March 2005
Thank you for the wealth of information. I visited the Local Studies center in 2000, especially for the Folklore Project, didn't have enough time to spend, and hope to get back soon.
Margaret (Sullivan) Jenkins,
Connecticut,
USA

Date: March 2005
Those of us researching in Clare are extremely fortunate to have access to Clare County Library and all the genealogical information of the area deposited there.
Joan Floegel

Date: March 2005
I have a fascinating narrative from one of my ancestors about the lives they had back in the 1800's. I find the information on-line from Clare County Library to be very helpful to me researching from a distance. In particular I want to make sure that their names don't get lost over the years. There are almost no Miniter names left in Clare, so it is especially valuable to have their names in the Library collection. Thank you to the members of the library who do so much to keep the stories of our ancestors alive and well for the generations to come!
Susan Cavanagh Larkin

Date: March 2005
Thank you to Clare County Library for all the assistance given over many yearsto help us all find our ancestors and gain knowledge of their homeland.
Frances Hudson

Date: March 2005
Thank you Clare County Library for all the great work you and many others do for genealogists all over the world.
Ruth Coomey Hakala

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library has a superb site that I always mention to people with Clare ancestry who are looking for their roots. It has taken me back a generation and I have found names on the Griffiths and Tithes for several enquirers. And that's before we hit the History Page! Congratulations to all concerned and keep up the good work.
Beryl O'Gorman,
Victoria,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Having visited Clare County Library on many occasions and received lots of help from Maureen Comber and the rest of the staff, I was delighted to be involved in the transcribing of the Tithe Applotment Books. I would like to join the rest of the list in saying a very big thank you to the staff of Clare County Library.
Best wishes,
Elaine Pratt,
Lincolnshire,
United Kingdom

Date: March 2005
I have found the staff of Clare County Library extremely knowledgeable and always willing to go that extra ten miles to help those from far away find our Clare roots. I turn to the website time and time again in my quest for these elusive families. I wish every Irish county I am researching would emulate this wonderful service. May it long continue.
Catherine McCourt,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Researching Coughlan of Kilmihil, Graygrove, County Clare and Hanrahan of Lissycasey, County Clare... Much thanks and appreciation to Clare County Library and its staff and volunteers... I started my genealogy research with the foregoing (maternal) families and had not gotten too far when on a whim started to dabble in my paternal lines. I was very successful completing the direct line to the early 1580's. I will be back to my Clare connections shortly and Clare County Library website will be (again) the first place I start. Thank you for all your hard work and please know that it is greatly appreciated.
Best wishes,
Susan Whalan

Date: March 2005
The dedication and commitment of the staff of Clare County Library in making so much information available on line is simply astonishing. I hope some day I will have the opportunity of thanking them in person.
Margaret Byrne,
Sydney,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I am one of the luck ones who lives in Ennis and has contact directly with the staff that are one of the most helpful staff in local government. In particular the help you get from Maureen, Peter & Francis & all the work the staff at CLASP have contributed to the Library service. The staff are only as good as their leader and one should not forget the boss Noel Crowley who has to fight every year to maintain or increase his budget he gets from Clare County Council. The information is there and they will guide you to go further with your research.
Regards,
Larry Brennan,
Ennis, County Clare.

Date: March 2005
Thank you for providing an excellent source of family history information which is so readily available to researchers around the world.
Barry O'Shea

Date: March 2005
My deepest gratitude and appreciation for all you do for those of us seeking our Clare ancestors. A simple thank you seems inadequate for the tireless work you've done. I have been doing genealogical research for some 30 years and getting nowhere with my Irish ancestors, but, thanks to you, I have found more Clare relatives than I ever knew I had . Your website is to be commended also, for the professionalism in its setup and the ease in which the data is accessed! I only wish all my Irish ancestors had been of County Clare! Thank you so very much!
Audrey Leary,
U.S.A.

Date: March 2005
Dear Clare County Library folks, thanks for the help with my McNamara line. You sent four biographical Mac notices to me gratis. Your site is exemplary, above and beyond any other library site I have seen to date. Thanks for having the foresight and energy to develop the sources the general public so desperately needs and wants to advance our family history research of our ancestors in Co. Clare.
All my best,
Jim McNamara,
Newsletter Editor - British Isles Family History Society - USA

Date: March 2005
Although I did some of the transcribing of the TAB in Clare, I was hesitant to respond because I have no proven ancestors in Clare. Close, mind you, but none certain in Clare. I think what Clare County Library is doing is fantastic; I can only wonder how Clare can afford to do so much and others are unable to come close to matching it. I'm willing, at any time, to do more transcribing,.... in Clare or Limerick (also close but none yet proven) or in Tipperary, from whence my ancestors came to Canada.
Dick McCutcheon,
Ontario,
Canada

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library online services have been wonderful for international researchers! Being in Canada, I never would have had the access to these records if it weren't for the work and dedication of the library. A huge thanks from Ontario, Canada!
Tracey Sheady,
Ontario,
Canada

Date: March 2005
Thank you for sharing so much with so many.
All the Best,
Carolyn Killury,
Melbourne,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I've written before directly to Clare County Library thanking them for their work. I'll say it again, thank you. You are giving us information that we may never have been able to find. Your work is very much appreciated.
Best wishes,
Carol Clancy Johnson

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library is beyond words. All they do from A to Z for people around the world is immeasurable and deeply appreciated.
Best Wishes,
Patty Lain

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library, especially its dedicated staff and volunteers, for creating an online library that reaches 'round the world!
Shawne FitzGerald

Date: March 2005
Working with Clare County Library in person and on the Internet is a wonderful genealogy experience. Kindness, knowledge and perseverance must be the motto of their terrific staff. Thank you, Clare County Library!
Sharon Vossoughi,
Modesto, California
USA

Date:March 2005
Clare County Library is like an old reliable friend to return to time and again, and be amazed at what new material they have made available. It has acted as a focus for Clare researchers, at home and abroad. Long may you prosper.
Lucille Ellis,
Dublin, Ireland

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library's efforts are greatly appreciated!
Maryl,
Atlanta, Georgia,
USA

Date: March 2005
I would like to thank Clare County Library for the site they have provided. It has been very useful. I hope someone encourages other Libraries in Ireland, to follow their lead.
Teri O'Rourke

Date: March 2005
I deeply appreciate the wonderful amount of information now being made available by the generous folks of Clare County Library...
Velma Geraghty,
Montreal, Canada

Date: March 2005
We think that Clare County Library is wonderful. The staff at Clare County Library were very helpful and put us on the right track. The web site is so useful and the information is so relevant and up to date. It is so easy to become totally immersed in a fascinating wealth of data. With the knowledge we have gained since our visit to Clare we hope that the next time we just might break through our 'brick wall'. We wish that other counties had such a magnificant resource.
Thank You.
Alyson and Cunningham Atchison,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
I appreciate very much what Clare County Library and its volunteers are doing for the descendents of the Clare families at home and overseas. I am searching for my Mulvihill ancestors from Kilrush, Co. Clare and my Murphy ancestors from Co. Kilkenny... Establishing connections between Ireland and many other countries through ancestral research has to be a good thing and should bring the world together as one big family. After all, they say that there are only a maximum of 6 degrees of separation between any of us.
Thanks.
Terry Murphy,
Queensland,
Australia.

Date: March 2005
I want to say a VERY BIG THANK YOU to all in Clare County Library who have made available a mountain of information that has given so much insight into the lives of people in County Clare. Names, places and small details are important pieces to add to family history, but the awareness of our ancestors’ way of life enrich our understanding of the trials and joys they experienced. What a wonderful job you have done!!
Louise Atherton,
Perth,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I would like to add my thanks to the staff of Clare County Library for all their efforts. I am researching the Kearney and Neylon families from Doonbeg, Co. Clare. I visited the area a few years ago, but did not have an occasion to get to the Library. Hopefully I will get there again some day, and will make a point of visiting them.
Mary Skewis,
Upper Michigan,
USA

Date: March 2005
The folks at Clare County Library are the best! I found them very supportive and through their help I was able to make great progress on my research.
All the best,
Ray FitzGerald

Date: March 2005
I know that on the magical day when I finally establish the townland for my Hawkins brothers, that Clare County Library site will help fill in the many, many gaps that I have. Until then, I find it an extremely informative and interesting website, even without direct connections to my family. I wish that other websites existed with the same volume of information as supplied by Clare County Library team. For those of us that have "distance" as the great setback in our research, online sites such as Clare County Library's are invaluable. My thanks and congratulations to you all.
Raelene Prosser,
Victoria,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I would like to send my heartfelt tribute to all at Clare County Library. Several years ago I asked for help in some research I was doing in the Feakle area and was amazed with the their efficiency. Thanks you again!
Lorraine Hubbell,
California
USA

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library for all the hard work and effort they have made in making Clare County Library website the treasure trove that it is today. We really appreciate it!
Meg Mulvey

Date: March 2005
I wish to thank Clare County Library for all the ongoing help and assistance that they have offered myself, my mum and other members of my family. A big thank you also goes to Peter Beirne whose help has been outstanding to say the least. Keep up the great work and if there are more areas to be transcribed I would be more than willing to help. I only wish other counties were as helpful and generous as Co Clare's is. All the best for the future,
Michelle Leddin (nee Crowe),
Warrnambool,
Australia.

Date: March 2005
I assisted with the transcriptions of the tithe applotments, which was a brilliant example of the worldwide interest and willingness of the Clare Rootsweb community to share and contribute information with each other. This is reinforced every day with the emails from members, sometimes seeking and other times offering a depth of expert information and discussion points. This is also very true of Clare County Library website, which has a wealth of information on it, just waiting to be accessed. I only wish I had the time to delve and delve and delve!!
Sincerely,
Maggie Lambert,
Canberra,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Hi,... I'm amazed at what Clare County Library has to offer! I wasn't aware there was such material available. I'm researching Patrick Reidy from County Clare. All I know is that he was born about 1831, his father was Austin Reidy and mother, Margaret Lynch. I have no record of them arriving in Australia but have found his marriage in Ballarat, Victoria in in 1868. Best wishes to all involved...
Jan
from Victoria,
Australia

Date: March 2005
It is great to have this opportunity to express appreciation to the people of the Local Studies Centre, Clasp Press and County Clare County Library for their creativity, knowledge, technical skill and plain hard work in opening up for us all - in Ireland and overseas - such wonderful access to our common history. The process of their presentation online and their personal contact is enriching. It encourages us not only to find our family links, but to also learn, understand and have empathy with the hopes, struggles and cultural life of the people of the past. Engaging in this process has value and strength for all our futures. Many thanks to all at the library...
Mary Considine,
Melbourne,
Australia.

Date: March 2005
As one who has reaped the rewards, I greatly appreciate the efforts that went into Clare County Library website. I realize all of the hard work,dedication and cooperation that go into making century-old records available to the world. I am significantly grateful to everyone involved. By working together, families from around the globe can access the website and find actual records of their ancestors. I also realize that the researchers of Clare have something available to them by way of the website that many other researchers do not, and for that, I feel fortunate. It is for all of these reasons that I want to say thank you...
Sincerely,
Coleen
from Elizabethtown, PA,
USA

Date: March 2005
The library and library staff have done a terrific job of making good resources available world-wide, and, they are very responsive and helpful when asked for help with a particular request.
Joseph Michael Reid

Date: March 2005
I am so very grateful for the resources the library provides for all of us no matter the years distance since our families left Clare. You provide a priceless window for us to peek back and see how our ancestors lived.
All the best,
Margy Bousman,
USA

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to the wonderful staff who are making Clare County Library a centre of excellence - making it what a library should be - a priceless resource of research and knowledge.
Best wishes,
Nicola Jennings,
Dublin, Ireland

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to the library for posting the information and photos, it means a great deal to those who haven't been able to get to Clare yet! My husband's family appears to have lived in Borheen (where I excitedly found his grandfather's brothers' families on the 1901 census!!!) and at least one was buried in Corrovorrin. Every tidbit I find about them and the hotels they apparently ran is priceless, as it will be years before we can manage a trip to Clare.
Christine Bauman,
Indiana,
United States of America

Date: March 2005
My sincere thanks to Clare County Library and all they have done to share the cultural and genealogical history of County Clare. May you always prosper from your generosity.
Regards,
Phil Davidson,
Washington,
USA

Date: March 2005
Thanks to the wonderful Clare County Library staff & their excellent website, I was forced to give up my day job in order to spend more time making use of their great efforts.
Richard Hupman

Date: March 2005
A big thanks for all the info I have obtained from the Library web site. It has made and continues to make things much easier for us folk on the other side of the world.
Rob Singleton,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
Thank you, Clare County Library, for such a wonderful website! Your hard work did not go unnoticed... My ancestors tombstones state "native of County Clare" - still have no idea where though.
Vivienne Christensen,
Auckland,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
Thank you Clare County Library for putting so much information on line. I really appreciate you kindness.
Jenni Penn,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
USA

Date: March 2005
We have no written family material on which to build a family tree. Therefore, the records digitized and put online by Clare County Library are of inestimable value to current and future research. They are the only source of information on the many modest families of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Lawrence photo collection is an amazing snapshot in time of a way of life otherwise lost to most of us. We who use these records are truly grateful.
Sincerely,
Mari Clarke Santoro

Date: March 2005
I have only used Clare County Library site for about a year but I think I have made quite good use of most of it particularly searching the tithe applotment books over several parishes looking for my ancestors. I have read a great deal about the famine and the Diaspora of the Irish as well as about the clan origins. Well there is just so much there on the website to write about. Many thanks for helping me to understand the past.
Sally,
Ontario,
Canada

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library website is one of the greatest things on the world wide web!
James Maloney

Date: March 2005
What a privilege it is to join with others in saying 'Thanks' for the amazing amount and variety of information you have provided to Clare researchers! My sincere appreciation.
Jackie Stuart,
Pennsylvania,
USA

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to the genealogy researchers at the Co. Clare County Library. The Griffiths Valuations and the Tithe Applotment lists have helped greatly to narrow down the search for my Irish ancestors. Thank you for allowing me to participate in the latter.
Jo Banks,
Las Cruces, New Mexico,
USA

Date: March 2005
I love what the library is doing... I am very much into that. I hope it catches on. Libraries can make a lot of money if they offer free services as well. My guess is the library will catch about one million internet hits a year.
Don Kelly,
USA

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library and Local Studies Centre, a library I'm proud to have as my own.
Thanks,
Jenn Hyatt,
Corofin,
Beautiful County Clare,
Ireland

Date: March 2005
Thanks to Clare County Library for such a wonderful website; it certainly is very informative.
Regards,
Lorraine Anderton,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library is my home away from home. They truly are a wonderful team!
Thanks,
Declan Barron,
Ennis, County Clare

Date: March 2005
My appreciation for the work of Clare County Library is enormous. I am from the Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia and so it is great to be able to research places, people and places on Clare County Library site. My congratulations to the Library and staff.
All the best to you in the future,
Audrey King,
Blue Mountains of New South Wales,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Thank you County Clare County Library for all of your hard work. As a result of your dedication, I have been to County Clare twice in the past five years.
Shawn Howes,
Houston, Texas
USA.

Date: March 2005
... I have received invaluable advice and assistance from Maureen Comber and Peter Beirne and other staff members and of course the website is added to my Favourites. It has such a wealth of information and is always being updated - an outstanding work! Well done!! Ennis is a long way from this part of the world so the website is invaluable for my research.
Catherine Delahunty,
Dunedin,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
I am deeply grateful to the Country Clare County Library and its staff for their ongoing care and attention to the people, pictures, stories and formal historical information about Co Clare and their generosity in making it available to descendants of Clare families worldwide, helping us to preserve our own family heritage for the future.
Christin O'Brien,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
Please include my best wishes to the staff of the County Clare County Library and Local Studies Centre, especially to Peter Beirne and Maureen Comber for their generous help. Clare County Library site is my very favorite web destination. The genealogy files make the family connection seem very real. The book recommendations from the librarians are enjoyable and the on-line card catalogue is used as a reference guide for cataloging the collection of our local Irish genealogical society. It was my great pleasure to be entrusted with transcribing a small portion of the Tithe Applotment Books. This gave me a great sense of being connected to the Kilmacduane area of Clare. Thank you all for the wonderful job that you are doing...
All the best,
Mary Cecilia Murphy,
Amherst, Buffalo, New York
United States of America

Date: March 2005
I really enjoy [Clare County Library's] website and have learned so much about the County and its people . I can always go there and find something new to learn. I really appreciate the amount of work they have done and continue to do and hope that I may help transcribe something else soon. Bless them all and health and happiness to all.
Maryellen D'Ambrosio,
Sun City, Arizona
United States of America

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library for their wonderful online genealogical and history data!
Best wishes,
Noelene Norris,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I think just about every genealogist wants to go as far in their research as they can without getting their wallet out, thereby keeping it a hobby and not an investment. But every once in a while something comes along that deserves support and gratitude beyond the level of "moochies" or "freebies." Clare County Library is one such organization. Every time I visit their website I feel like I should drop something in the "Donations" box on my way out... What a great wealth of information. Even though I have yet to nail down my ancestral homeplace, I am already well aware of the color and taste of the area, thanks to images and reports I got from Clare County Library. My hat is off to all who work so hard at making that place such a valuable resource. Thank you all.
Tim Hogan,
Denver, Colorado
USA

Date: March 2005
Although I have not yet used the onsite County Clare County Library, I have gone on line on several occasions to familiarize myself with the area and history. I found it quite enlighting. The DALY family is on my paternal side and the emigration story of my great grandmother Honora nee DALY TOWNSEND has made her one of my heroes. It is just now coming to light within the family. Our spring trip is planned to research this unknown part of my family's past in Clare and adjacent area of County Limerick. Although we have family in both Mayo and Wexford and have done genealogical research with them, I had many trepidations about initiating research in Clare. Much of the anxiety has been alleviated by the glowing reports of people on the [Rootsweb] list who have been there. Looking forward to seeing and meeting the people there in early April 2005.
Mary Ellen Chambers

Date: March 2005
Thank you Clare County Library for the information you have provided for all genealogists.
Lorraine O'Brien,
Gisborne,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I have visited Ireland three times (not nearly enough!), and have visited Clare County Library, where I found very kind and helpful folks. And I have visited Clare County Library site on the internet many, many times! Great job...we love you in Kansas!
Edna Kelley Burns,
Kansas,
USA

Date: March 2005
Greetings from a Limerick city native of the Holy Island parish of St.Mary's, who has coaxed and cajoled both the Limerick City and County Libraries on innumerable occasions to emulate Clare County Library's Genealogical Input, but to no avail - the best that they could do was put Lewis 1837 Topographical writings on-line, whilst the City Library did put trade directories in their data base, and on line - not a fraction compared to what the people oriented library in that great town of Ennis have achieved in Local Studies and History, Lewis, including Griffith's, the 1901 Census, The Tithe Applottent Books, etc - simply overwhelming!!! Congratulations - and may the wind be always at your backs in your genealogical endeavours, and may your engines always carry a full head of steam to help you traverse those 'narrow gauge lines' of discoveries.
Padraig Mor O'Gealagain,
Ontario,
Canada

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library is leading the way in providing information of great importance to all of us doing family research in Co. Clare. A memorable moment for me was reading the CBS Ennistymon School Registry and finding my G-Grandfather and his two brothers mentioned. As I read further I realized that two of my Grandfather's brothers were also listed and under a column titled 'General Observations" it was written "went to America". I could only sit back and wonder what it must have been like for my G-Grandmother to leave Ireland with her six children ,so that she could be reunited with her husband in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Clare County Library!
Dick Hayes

Date: March 2005
Discovering my greatgrandparents in the Baptismal register of Clare County Library's online resources started me on a wonderful journey. I have learned a great deal about Ireland's history and feel connected to Ireland in way that I hadn't before. Thank you, Clare County Library, for a truly wonderful window into Clare's past. Heartfelt thanks!
Geraldine Desmond,
New York, NY,
USA

Date: March 2005
The help and information received from Clare County Library has made researching my family history a pleasure. The assistance given to out of town enquirers never falters and no question is too hard or stupid. Long may Clare County Library, and staff, prosper. We are indeed blessed to have this resource.
Regards,
Maureen Little (nee Bourke),
Auckland,
New Zealand

Date: March 2005
I am very appreciative of the wide range of information available on Clare County Library site. It has made my Irish ancestry much more understandable.
Marg Watson,
Victoria,
Australia

Date: March 2005
What a gift is Clare County Library and its staff... Thank you all for your stunning web site, as well as for all the on-line and individual help you have provided in researching my (exceedingly RARE surnamed) GENNESSY gg-grandparents. Blessings abundant to all of you!
Eileen McKee,
Florida,
USA

Date: March 2005
I have used the wonderful Clare County Library web site and visited the Library in Ennis several times. Both are very helpful and friendly - certainly the best county sites in Ireland.
Patricia Concannon

Date: March 2005
To Clare County Library staff and volunteers, I have used Clare County Library in my efforts to trace the origins of my late husband's branch of one of the many McNamara families. My specific search was for James McNamara who married Mary A. Slattery and were listed on his death certificate as the parents of Joseph Michael McNamara who was born "somewhere in Clare" in April 1854. I so appreciate Clare County Library's website and all of the FREE online and searchable information. Even though I did not find information leading to the baptism records for Joseph Michael McNamara, I have learned so much from searching all available material on Clare County Library website and many times simply became distracted by the information I was reading. I recently e-mailed Clare County Library thanking them and requesting that they pass on my appreciation for the efforts of the volunteers who transcribed the TABs. Still searching for a documentation of the birth/baptism of Joseph Michael McNamara, son of James McNamara and Mary A. Slattery. Thank you again Clare County Library,
Helen McNamara,
California,
USA

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library for all the work they have done for researchers all over the world. Please keep up the good work.
Toni Mason

March 2005
Many thanks to the dedicated staff and volunteers of Clare County Library and Local Studies Centre for such a tremendous internet site!
Judy Killeen Zack
Michigan
USA

Date: March 2005
The Clare County Library site is fantastic! I seem to find something every time I use it. I've been fortunate in having had the opportunity to visit the Library in Ennis. Congratulations!
Regards,
Helen Murphy,
New Rochelle, New York
USA

Date: March 2005
Thank you for all for your hard work! I really appreciate being able to use the website for my research as I am on the other side of the Atlantic. I hope to be able to come and visit County Clare some day!
Maria Richter,
Florida,
USA

Date: March 2005
...thanks to Clare County Library for the cutting edge,innovative assistance they continue to provide to genealogical researchers the world over. May they please keep leading the way with the good work they undertake. I sincerely appreciate the help I have obtained from Clare County Library.
Daryl Francis Murphy,
Brisbane,
Australia.

Date: March 2005
To the fabulous Clare County Library staff and volunteers I offer my heartfelt thanks for the time you've put into helping all us researchers discover our Irish roots.
Judith Mason,
Chicago IL,
USA

Date: March 2005
I have enjoyed looking at Clare County Library site; there are so many interesting things to research and I am thankful that Clare County Library offers all this information to us. What a wonderful example they are for other libraries.
Sincerely,
Barbara Wudarski,
Michigan,
USA

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library site is as much a joy and comfort to me as a good daily newspaper. It is a site that is something to look forward to researching and enjoying often, even daily.
Mary Crandall

Date: March 2005
... I am very appreciative of Clare County Library's wonderful efforts and generosity in providing such an excellent site. Living in Perth, Western Australia our Irish family history in the past has just been "too hard" and "too expensive" and although the situation is much improved I still find great difficult in linking my families. Keep up this excellent work and I will hopefully be much more informed of my County Clare ancestors.
Cheers,
Patricia Joy,
Perth,
Western Australia

Date: March 2005
I love Clare County Library, on line and on my one and only visit it was just as good. I am astounded at the quantity of stuff that has been inputted, and it is so much better than lots of other far larger and more affluent repositories.
All the best,
Heather Brain,
Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia

Date: March 2005
I want to thank Clare County Library staff for making so much high quality information available through their website. I use the website frequently and I'm impressed with how often they add new data. On my visits to Ireland I always stop in at the local history center to pursue new leads. The staff is always very friendly, professional, and helpful. Thank You.
Erin Glynn

Date: March 2005
Sincerest appreciation to Clare County Library and its volunteers for their continuing efforts. The Library has enabled me to research my elusive Irish ancestors and learn about Ireland from the comfort of my home. If other libraries had half the information on line as Clare County Library does, genealogy would be too easy! I hope to visit Co. Clare in person someday; in the meantime, I will continue to access the library databases in hopes of solving the mysteries of the Kelly, Kennedy, Curry/Corry and Lynch families from Lislanahan and Kilkee.
Thank you again,
Kathy Alviso

Date: March 2005
My name is Melissa Hallyburton. The family name I am tracing in County Clare is the name of O'Connor. What I do know comes from a marriage certificate dated Dec 1885 in Australia. BRIDGET O'CONNOR born in County Clare, daughter of DANIELO'CONNOR and SUSAN MOLONEY. Bridget emigrated to Australia in 1876. We do also know that her brother JAMES DANIEL O'CONNOR enlisted in the Australian forces and gave his mother as next of kin and she was said to be living at the time in Doolin. James said he was born in Ennistymon, Clare on Jan 1st 1876. I go to and read the Clare Site often, as it is much easier for me than to be able to just pop in and have a look around for myself (but one day the"dream" is to get to Ireland and spend a good long time hunting down the elusive family of Daniel O'Connor ). But as yet I have been unable to find MY line of O'Connor. But I still keep looking, as it is a truly wonderful site and lots of hard work has gone into it. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.
Melissa Hallyburton,
Warrnambool, Victoria,
Australia.

Date: March 2005
Some three years ago, the Clare County Library site was my introduction to finding the basics about our Irish background; it just keeps getting better.
Jann Gallen,
NSW Australia

Date: March 2005
Clare County Library is much more than a bricks-and-mortar storage for books, it is a living, dynamic entity, stretching itself across land and sea, touching every continent. It has united those who seek to understand their roots - beyond just names and dates - delving into social, economic, political and religious histories that are so often lost or discarded. Rarely does one find such dedication. Rarer still is the expression of gratitude from those who have been blessed to enjoy the results of such grand efforts. To Clare County Library and all who have contributed, a most gracious Thank You.
Kathi Reilly-Murphy

Date: March 2005
The excellence of the County Clare County Library staff is without peer. Indeed it could very easily be argued that the endeavour of this library should have been the basis for Ireland to display it's genealogy databases rather than through the Family History Centres. Clare County Library continually pushes the limits both with on-line data but also with Staff contact on-line. Congratulations to you all!!! It is an added bonus to have Clare ancestors with people like you helping us.
Best regards
Rod Warnock,
Kilaben Bay NSW,
Australia

Date: March 2005
Many thanks to Clare County Library for their kindness in putting the historical and genealogical information up on the web for all to share.
Nancy Rathburn

Date: March 2005
I am much luckier than most people who are tracing their Co Clare Families as both my parents were born and raised there, and most of my family still live there. Having said that, the resources provided by the Co Clare County Library have still provided me with much information that I did not otherwise have. The 1901 census was able to take me back further than my parents and also filled in the gaps in what they knew. The Tithe Applotment books again took me back further still. I am forever grateful to the Library for putting all these resources at my disposal with the click of my mouse. Keep up the good work as you are appreciated by many.
Claire Quinlivan,
London, England.

Date: March 2005
Thank you to Clare County Library staff and all who made it possible to put this information on line. It is especially valuable to those researching from outside of Ireland. Outstanding!
Meg Mulvey,
Berkley, Massachusetts,
USA

Date: March 2005
I am most grateful to Clare County Library for the abundance of information available to researchers. The 18th and 19th century history articles are of particular interest to me.
Rita Mauch,
Camarillo, California, USA

Date: March 2005
Researching McNamara, Carey, Hinchie, Duggan in East Clare. I organized a family heritage tour for 22 family members for our visit in August of 2004. I was able to solidify and coordinate many theories I had about my family by researching on Clare County Library site. I recognize how fortunate we are to have the information readily available. It allows researchers to develop a family history as opposed to dates and names alone.
Marilyn Eddy Siperek,
Great Valley, NY,
USA

Date: March 2005
Thank you to all at Clare County Library - I hope you know how much your efforts are appreciated.
Anne (Hogan) Washington,
Adelaide,
South Australia

Date: March 2005
With sincere gratitude for all you have done to bring us all "home to Ireland".
Kathleen Richmond (descendant of Patrick FitzGibbon and Mary Hennessy FitzGibbon from Kilrush)
Oak Forest, Illinois,
USA

Date: 1st March 2005
Hello, my name is Marleen Brooks. I live in the US, but some of my ancestors came from Kildysart in the 1850s and I'm told some Brookses still live there. I enjoy your website. It's nice to learn about the places my people came from.
Marleen Brooks
USA

Date: 27th February 2005
I am very impressed with your library website and all that Clare County Library appears to offer. It's refreshing to find things clearly listed and explained well, in addition to having such a wide range of topics and activities...
Robert O'Keane

Date: 25th February 2005
Just a quick message to compliment you on clarelibrary.ie. Very impressed by the sheer volume of material on the site including thousands of photographs, well written history articles and documents covering all aspects of local history. It’s a great service for County Clare. Keep up the good work,
Gerard Skehan
Canada

Date: 21st February 2005
Hi, though living in England now, I grew up in Ennis and spent many a happy afternoon in the library. After a gap of 20 years (I left as a boy of 13) I went home for the first time last year... Naturally I visited the library again, and with my daughter found it as enchanting as ever. One nostalgic memory that lived up to the billing! The reason I'm sending this e-mail is to offer my thanks and congratulations to you all for the superb Clare County Library web site. I find it a great tool for me personally to keep in touch with what's happening culturally in Clare. The site is informative, very well laid out and easy to use. I particularly love the book review section, but applaud the site in general .
Thanks again,
with kind regards
A. Fox

Date: 19th February 2005
Hi, what a wonderful and educational site. With everything from genealogy to book reviews, you site has been a real revelation.
Many thanks to you all, you have created a fascinating site.
Yours etc.
David Griffin

Date: 18th February 2005
Hi, You have a fabulous site. I spend hours surfing and learning more about County Clare, the birth place of my ancesters as well as my wife. Thanks!(Labasheeda)
Take Care,
Dan Sullivan
Bay Shore, N.Y., U.S.A.

Date: 8th February 2005
I just want to thank everyone involved in the Tithe Applotment Books project.
Thank you everyone,
Helen McNamara,
California

Date: 3rd February 2005
Hello. I wonder if you can help. I have found your website which has been really helpful. I am writing to ask if you can recommend how I go about conducting a search within local church records for Kilrush. I am trying to find my great great grandfather's records. I live in the UK so it's difficult to visit the National Archives in Dublin. Can one visit and search the records held in the church? I am visiting Kilrush in the summer. Are they available online? I would appreciate your help in where and what I should do next.
Kathy Hammond
U.K.
[Dear Kathy,
Thank you for your e-mail enquiring about local church records in Kilrush and your great-great-grandfather. Much work under the guidance
of the late George Harratt has been done on transcribing gravestone inscriptions in the parish of Kilrush. This transcription work of the
graveyards in the parish was done under the auspices of a youth employment scheme and you can make enquiry at the following address:
Gravestone Inscriptions Project, Kilrush Youth Centre, Kilrush, County Clare. Telephone + 353 65 9052 009. You could visit the Youth Centre
when you visit Kilrush in the summer. You might also want to have a look at this page from the Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead on our website.
With best wishes,
Peter Beirne,
Clare County Library.]

Date: 25th January 2005
Congratulations on your excellent site. I found the 1901 census details extremely well presented and could easily locate forbears etc...
Best regards
Aidan McGrath

Date: 22nd January 2005
Hello - Congratulations on the great Clare County Library website! I am trying to find further info on the parents (Mr. Tuohy, maybe Daniel, & Miss Leonard) of my G GF Patrick Leonard Tuohy born Feakle abt. 17 Mar 1839. He had a sister Bridget born abt. 1834, and possibly brothers Michael and John W. One story is that he came to New York, USA abt. 1860. Another story is that the parents (the father being Daniel, who had a son Michael) brought the family to the U.S. earlier (abt. 1843) and the parents later (abt. 1862) returned to Ireland to live. After some time in New York City in the early 1860s and Civil War service in 1864, at least Pat & Bridget wound up in Chicago, where they spent the rest of their lives. Pat married Catherine Rogers & Bridget married John Lyons. Touhy Avenue in Chicago is named after Pat's family. If anyone knows of more info on Pat's family in Feakle (either Tuohy or Leonard), I would be happy to have it.
Regards, Maryl,
Atlanta, USA
mmhook@mindspring.com

Date: 18th January 2005
Hi, I just found your website and have found it most interesting with endless information... Thank you for such a wonderful website...
Donald Carroll
USA