HELP NEEDED WITH IRISH RESEARCH

[Richard]

Since joining the 3t' I have noticed that quite a few members have Irish or part Irish ancestry.
I was wondering if any of yous have researched your Irish side and if so, could you give me some advise
and maybe point me in the right direction.
I have VERY scant information to go on & as far as Ireland is concerned...if you show me a map,
I will show you Ireland. That's as far as my knowledge of Ireland goes, (north or south).
I need to try & look into the following 2 aspects of my family history:

(1): A family member by the name of Robert Smith, protestant, who left Larkhall in the 1970' for Ulster.
Married a Irish lassie named Mary ????? They had several children over the years until Robert died in
the 1990'.

(2): Family members by the name of Bernard Connelly, born Scotland or Ireland, married a Cornish lass
by the name of Mary Jane Chappels. And Bernards father Charles Connelly, catholic, believed to be
from Eire (southern Ireland). Time period; approximately 1850 to 1900 ?

Sorry folks but this is about as much as I know. Can someone please give me a good starting point OR
any other help would be great & more than I have now.
Thank you.
Richard.
(PS: I take it that all Irish records will be held in separate places under 2 different systems ?)

[John Donnelly]

Hi Richard,

as far as I know, there are no records at all in the South prior to 1852. I have spent considerable time in cemetaries and parish houses in Counties Louth and Donegal, trying to find records. They are not there.

The Griffiths Valuations which recorded the landholdings are probably the only way to trace any family.

Again, as far as I am aware, there are very few, if any, digitalised, never mind on-line, records available.

It has been a few years since I was looking, so things might have moved on.

If any-one has any better news, I would love to hear about it.

JD.

[Richard]

Thank's JD.
Just as I feared.
I've been told so many different stories, along similar lines, about records not existing but did not know
what to believe because a lot of the advise has been contradictory etc but yet, nobody can give me
anything "concrete" to go on.
I've even been told;"Good luck with that one" when I mentioned to a researcher/librarian that, at some
point I'm going to have to look for Irish records. I've not been looking forward to this part of my research
AT ALL. Never mind, onwards & upwards, I don't give up that easy,(middle name, apparently, is stubborn
bas...d, or so the wife say's).
If I come across anything useful I will let you know. Highly unlikely, I know, but if I do ?
Thank's anyway.
Richard.
PS: Were do I access the "Griffiths Valuations" ?

[unicornheart]

i have a lot of Irish descendants but cant get into records?

[John Donnelly]

Richard,

check it out on Google. It's a very well-known thing. I found some useful details from it. It's a bit like a census, but could be more likened to a sort of Domesday Book, showing who owns what land.

Good luck,

JD.

PS. I should point out, that records are available in the North.

[sweet caroline]

I phoned up St Marks Newtownards where all my early ones where married and Christined ,being Church of Ireland .No records before Civil registration ,and they didn't do burials I have all the later marriages for St.Marks ,but would cost a bl**ding fortune.

sweet caroline

[Richard]

JD:
I was almost telling the wife that I now want to be known as; "Eff That For A Game Of Soldiers".
The Irish research is going to be a hard ask. Looked up the Griffiths Valuations, as you suggested,
and in the process of doing so I managed, to at least, get the Connelly's narrowed down to Monaghan.
I think I will come back to this Irish search at a later date. It's not important enough to be spending
a lot of time on. Especially when I have other lines to research that I've not taken as far back as the
Connelly's. But I will still gladly take any help or info that anyone can offer. So thanks for pointing me
in that direction JD.
Here is one or two interesting points I also discovered that may be of use to someone going down the
Irish Ancestor Research route:
(1): There is at least one spelling variation for EVERY Irish surname, most have several variations.
(2): As JD suggested, NO 19th century census records have survived. Griffiths Valuation 1848-1864 is
the ONLY detailed guide to where Irish people lived in mid-19th century.
(3): Two other collections exist:
(a): Irish Records Index 1500-1920. This is a name index to microfiled Irish records at the Family
History Library in Salt Lake City. These records reveal persons name, date of record, residence
in Ireland and the microfilm numbers etc to help you order a copy of the original record. These
records include histories, pedigrees, parish registers, probates & orphan court records.
(b): Royal Irish Constabulary 1816-1921. This is an extraction for said organisation.
(4): Any records that do exist for Ireland are kept at:
(a): National Archives, Dublin.
(b): Public Record Office, Belfast.
Hope this is of some use to others. GOOD LUCK.
Thank's again JD.
Richard.

[John Donnelly]

Hi Richard,

thanks for this. Maybe I'll be able to use some of these trails to find out a bit more of where I came from.

Always been terrified of finding that we were a family of outlaws and sheep-stealers.

I do know that great-grandfather on my mother's side was a pocine-distiller in Donegal, and GGF on father's side was a shanachie or hedgerow-teacher in Carlingford. On my search, I once met an old man who, as a boy, helped my GG-uncle of the family farm. The search is more fun than the discovery. Discovery is a one-off; the search is an on-going thing.

JD.

[sweet caroline]

I was told all the Familysearch irish records can be had at
General Register Office, Government Offices,
Convent Road, Roscommon.
Tel: +353 (0) 90 6632900
LoCall: 1890 252076
Fax: +353 (0) 90 6632999
Fax: +353 (0) 90 6632988

I sent to Belfast for a death in 1900 Newtownards ,Not registered at Belfast.

http://www.groireland.ie/

sweet caroline

[Hughie]

Early Irish census records were burned in the 1922 Four Courts fire. What substitutes will recreate this genealogical information to trace your family tree?

Read more at Suite101: Burned 1821, 1831, 1841, 1851 Irish Census Records & Substitutes | Suite101.com http://jenniferjensen.suite101.com/burn ... z1mJEBtV3v

[Richard]

No problem JD.
WHiT, you can't be serious ? I would love to find a "band of outlaws", or something similar, in my story.
Instead, I've found mostly normality ????? One or two possible scandals, a couple of illegit weans and three
relatives killed in the Udston Mining Disaster (couple years before it, one of them lost his wife & child on the
same day) and a few War Heroes. All very interesting stories but, so far, no outlaws...damn!
Still, lots more research to be done & a lot of ground to cover. There is hope yet ?

Just some of the names I'm researching are 2 different branches of Smith(what a joy), Cook, Murison, Baird,
Cousland, Connelly, Sommerville & several outsiders, not to mention all the other names I find along the way.
Think I will need to start setting myself some limits and sticking to them or make a rod for my own back.
As you can see, I've enough to be getting on with. I think one of my limits is going to be; not going back any
further than 1855, for obvious reasons.

That may well be true about the Search/Discovery but remember; "the Discovery is the Memory.
Richard.
(Oh, and I've got a couple of "missing" weans in my story)

BRILLIANT. Another bit of good information to help and check out. Thank's for that SC.
Thank's also Hughie.

[huey1]

Hi Richard
I would say join the Rootchat web site its free and post what info you have on the appropriate board i have had a great deal of help when i come to a dead end.Have you looked at the 1901 and 1911 irish census which are on line.I had a quick look at the 1901 and there is a Mary Jane Connelly and family including a son Bernard sorry no husband listed living in Armagh also shows that she was born there so may not be any connection.
huey1