The Galway Diocesan Archive is a private archive, maintained in a secure location which is not immediately accessible or open to the public. Queries should be directed to the archivist, Mr Tom Hansberry, or to Dr Darina McCarthy, who can be contacted at info@galwaydiocese.ie
The archive contains items of historical interest relating to parishes, administrative matters relating to the diocese, and a small library. Not all material is catalogued, and only part of the catalogues are electronically searchable. Work is ongoing to improve cataloguing, and to assess and catalogue the library. Most of the administrative and parish material is 20th century, with some from the 19th century. See the 1944 MacLysaght & Berry report further down this page for information on earlier documents.
Researchers with archive queries are facilitated as far as possible, but queries must be specific rather than speculative. Parts of this private archive are not available for inspection, for reasons of confidentiality and legality.
Sacramental Records
Please note that sacramental records are not kept at diocesan level: they remain with individual parishes. If you require a copy of your own baptismal or confirmation record, please apply to the parish in which the sacrament was administered. You will find contact details for all parishes here. Please ensure your record request contains accurate name/s and date/s.
Genealogy Queries
Please see here for genealogy queries.
From the Archive
Edward MacLysaght & H.F. Berry, 'Report on documents relating to the Wardenship of Galway', Analecta Hibernica no.14 (The Irish Manuscripts Commission Ltd, 1944).
This issue of Analecta Hibernica is devoted to material relating to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction known as the Wardenship of Galway. Its history covers a period of three and a half centuries: from 1484, when the Wardenship was created, to 1831, in which year the Catholic Diocese of Galway, subsequently united to the Dioceses of Kilfenora and Kilmacduagh, was formed.
A clip from the British Pathé archives concerning the dedication of Galway Cathedral in 1965 is here.
(As British Pathé needs commercial advertisers to support its work, you may have to wait for a few seconds to skip an advertisement before accessing the video. The content of such advertisements is outside our control.)