Not  many records exist for people researching their roots in this area . For geographical, historical and eclesiastical reasons Galway is divided into two regions Eastern and Western. There is a historical society covering each  section . This might appear to simplify the situation until one starts to take the eclesiastical situation into account.   For better or worse many records are church centred and to find information one needs to know the parish and diocese one's ancestors came from. The  parishes of the established church; the Church of Ireland, adhered to the old boundaries while the Roman Catholic church having the largest numbers expanded and changed to accomodate the population. For centuries the Archdiocese of Tuam covered  territories which cross several counties as the diocese pre-dated counties. 

In 1832 the diocese of Galway was formed from the old wardenship of Galway with some additions from the archdiocese of Tuam. In the late 1890s some attempt was made to sort out the situation and parishes that had originally been part of old monastic settlements which linked both sides of the Corrib and were acquired over time by the archbishop of Tuam, found themselves in Galway diocese. The Roman Catholic parishes of Kilcummin and Killannin were in the Roman Catholic union of Headford and Clarin. To this day some parishes west of the Corrib are in the diocese of Tuam and some are in Galway.

Once again the situation has swung  full circle and the two diocese are co-operating to counteract the shortage of priests. Its hard to believe that just over a century ago our forefathers fought pitched battles over the changes.

If you should happen to visit the new Killannin churchyard about two miles from Carrowmoreknock, have a look at the ruins of the old church on the hill. behind it. This was built in 1810.

In the1890s when the parishes exchanges took place; Killannin was one of the parishes under Fr Coyne whch  objected to the changes. The diocese of Galway appointed a new priest.  Fr Coyne barricaded himself inside the church with his supporters. The military were called from Oughterard to help the Galway diocese appointed priest gain admittance. Fr Coyne was ousted despite spending a lot of time running over to Rome for help. This might have been because of his support for the Land League. This has now become part of local folklore.

However all is not as it seems. Although Killannin civil parish has always been in the Killannin area, the same cannot be said for the Roman Catholic Parish. At one point in the 19th century the Killannin area was in the Roman Catholic parish of Killeen, as was the Lettermore area and Carraroe. What is now the parish of Spiddal appears to have been the Roman Catholic parish of Killannin.  Lord Killannin whose family name was Morris always lived in the Spiddal area.

One of the iniquities of  times past was that Roman Catholics were supposed to pay tithes to support the established church. To establish how much they should pay, a  property valuation was conducted in 1829. This is one of the earliest census substitutes available for ordinary people. It does not cover everyone but it is a start.