Hidden Histories of an Island Village: an Ethnoarchaeological Exploration of Westquarter Village, Inishbofin

Summary

While historians have a broad understanding that residential practices changed through time within 19-20th century Irish coastal villages, little research has explored the extent migration and residential continuity shape village history, let alone the underlying reasons for changes.  Focusing on the small village of Westquarter, Inishbofin, Co. Galway, Ireland, this paper explores the social and residential history from around 1800 through present day.  Centered on the dynamic intergenerational shifts within and between four major families, we track concurrent patterns of residential continuity among select family members, the relocation of other family members to other areas of Inisbofin, and the off-island migration of still other members to America, mainland Ireland and England.  Collectively the use of oral history, historical maps, and local interviews provides new insights into how and why residential patterns change within a village, and the extent to which this can be linked to archaeological data sets.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Hidden Island Histories: Narratives of Transformation, Emigration and Interaction within 18-20th Century Irish Coastal Communities   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 584