Clare County Library's Local Studies Centre is a reference library and research centre dedicated to the collection of material on any aspect of County Clare. Located at the Manse, beside the de Valera Library in Ennis, it is open to the public free of charge. The Centre also houses a collection of Irish interest material. Much of the material in the Local Studies Centre has been digitised and published online by the library's Information Services Department, based in Library Headquarters.

Books - The Centre aims to collect all published books relating to Clare, all books by Clare-born authors and any general publications containing Clare material. This Clare Collection contains c.2,000 titles dealing primarily with the history, archaeology and topography of the county. Directories, almanacs, topographical dictionaries and unpublished works such as theses and projects are also part of the collection. The Irish Collection comprises c.8,000 works on all facets of Irish society. The full collection of books housed in the Local Studies Centre can be searched online by selecting the 'Local Studies' option in the Collection list in OPAC, our online library catalogue. See also recent additions to stock >>

Journals - The Local Studies Centre contains a comprehensive collection of Irish journal titles including all major Irish historical and geographical publications. Journals of specific relevance to Clare include The North Munster Antiquarian Journal, Dal gCais, The Other Clare, Molua, The Clare Association Yearbook and Sliabh Aughty. Local Parish and sporting magazines are also collected.

Newspapers - The following newspapers are available:

Photographs - The photographic collection contains c. 4,500 prints of Clare scenes. The Lawrence Collection (1870-1914) is the largest in the archive. A selection of the Lawrence prints can be viewed in Foto: Clare county images online. Other collections include the Westropp Collection (1900), the McNamara Collection (1910), The Irish Tourist Association Survey (1943), and the Bluett (1940s-60s), Clare Railways (1940s-1950s) and Postcard Collections. The Schorman and Diel Collections contain recent images of Clare's archaeological heritage, and the Killaloe Heritage Centre Collection comprises many private photographs of the Killaloe area and its inhabitants.

Maps - The Down Survey (1685) and Grand Jury Maps (1787) are the earliest maps of Clare held in the Centre. First edition Ordnance Survey 6" (1842) and their accompanying Letters and Name books, compiled under the direction of John O'Donovan, are available. Some Ordnance Survey 25" and 5' and 10' town plans are also held. There are also some maps of the Fergus Navigation and Reclamation Schemes of the late 19th Century, Rail and tramway plans and Dúchas' Record of Monuments and Places (1996) at the Centre.

Estate Records - The Petworth House Collection comprises filmed copies of some papers of Lord Egremont, who held extensive lands in Clare, during the 17th and early 18th centuries. The Studdert Papers includes details of the Burton, Arthur, Lloyd, Studdert, North and other estates between 1880 and 1930. The O'Brien Rent Rolls date from 1685 to 1828. Manuscripts relating to the Duke of Buckingham's estate in north-west Clare in 1847 and 1848.

Land Surveys - The Books of Survey and Distribution record landed proprietors and their estates during the 2nd half of the 17th Century. Thomas Moland surveyed the Earl of Thomond's estate, which included large tracts of land in Clare, in 1703 and 1711-12. The Tithe Applotment Books (1830s) and Griffith's Valuation (1855), similarly, give information on land holding in the 19th Century.

Records of Local Government - Grand Jury Presentment Books, outlining the construction of roads in the county, have survived, in part, since 1786 as has the Corporation Book of Ennis (1660-1810).
List of Proposals adopted by the Proposals Committee and Rural District Councils and considered by the County Council at half-yearly meetings, 1903-1920 (incomplete).

Folklore - The Scheme for the Collection and Preservation of Folklore and Oral Tradition, known as the Schools' Scheme, undertaken by the Folklore Commission in 1937-8, operated in nearly 200 Clare National Schools. Under the scheme, senior pupils were asked to collect folklore from their own areas and write essays on the material they gathered. Copies of the resultant manuscripts are available at the Local Studies Centre.
'Irish Life and Lore', a collection of 120 CDs recorded by Maurice O'Keeffe in conversation with storytellers, historians and archaeologists is now available at the Centre. The CDs cover mainly the counties of Clare, Limerick and Kerry.The material from County Clare covers topics such as Fair day in Miltownmalbay, Knock village in its heyday as a busy port, the life and times of Eugene O'Curry and the archaeology of Dysert O'Dea. Among the Clare participants in the series are:
Father Robert E Lee speaking about historic Liscannor;
Michael Shannon and Jack Garrihy on the folklore and archaeology of Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher;
Sean O'Halloran on the folklore and ancient church grounds at New Quay;
Jack Killoury from Ballyfaudeen telling fairy stories and playing some tunes on his tin whistle;
Brendan Garvey, lighthouse keeper from Loop Head, recalling sea-faring stories;
Michael O'Gorman telling tales of the Famine and local customs around Scarriff.

Parliamentary Legislation - A comprehensive collection of nineteenth and twentieth century statute law of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, starting in 1814 (54 Geo 111) and ending in 1921 (11 & 12 Geo 5) is held in the Local Studies Centre, along with the Public General Acts passed by the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann from 1922, and subsequently by Dáil Éireann. The Index to the Statutes 1922 to 1968 with chronological tables is also available.

The Census has been taken each decade since 1821 and provides information on population, housing, age, sex, occupation, agriculture, emigration and other topics. The Centre also holds copies of the 1901 and 1911 census manuscript forms for county Clare, which provide detailed information on each resident of the county in those years. The 1901 Census is available on this website. The Old Age Pension Returns of 1841 and 1851 for the county are available (Cens/5/1-1084).

Catholic Parish Records
Registers for a number of parishes in the Diocese of Killaloe are available for consultation on microfilm in the Local Studies Centre.
Click Here for a list of the parishes and dates of the registers.

Church of Ireland Parish Records
Parish of Drumcliff (Ennis), Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1744-1870 (incomplete).
Register of Baptisms 1744-1748; 1785-1870.
Register of Marriages 1744-1748; 1785-1845.
Register of Burials 1744-1748; 1785-1869.
Register of Confirmations 1838 and 1842.

Extensive papers relating to the Famine and its relief, 1846-53, include correspondence from Relief Committees and documents relating to the Poor Law administration.

The Reports of the Commissioners of National Education, 1834-1920, detail the establishment and development of the national school system. Other areas covered by parliamentary papers held in the Centre include fisheries, local government, population, prisons, industrial relations and emigration.

Bureau of Military History, Clare Witness Statements, 1913–1921
The Bureau of Military History was established in 1947 with the objective of assembling and co-ordinating material to form the basis for the compilation of the history of the movement for Independence from the formation of the Irish Volunteers on 25 November 1913 to the signing of the Truce on 11 July 1921.

The Bureau has assembled a total of 1773 witness statements along with other documentary sources such as voice recordings, photographs and press cuttings. Detailed instructions governed the taking of statements as obtaining an accurate factual account from witnesses was the paramount concern of the Bureau. General information on the military archives of the Bureau of Military History can be found in the publication “An Introduction to the Bureau of Military History 1913 – 1921” (Dublin, 2002). There are copies of 43 Clare witness statements available.

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