Whelan/Keating

Hello Jackie,

I'm not related, and I'm not sure if you have the baptism record for Mary Keating, but I first uncovered her baptism transcription at the Find My Past (FMP) website. Linked to the FMP transcription is a copy of the original Cashel and Emly, Tipperary baptism record for her, held by National Library of Ireland, which shows she was baptized on 2 October 1798. Her baptism record can be found at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632678#page/46/mode/1up

Once the link downloads you'll see two facing pages of the baptism register. Mary's baptism is the 8th entry down from the top of the left-hand page. You can enlarge the page by means of round icons in the upper center/ right of the screen. The icons are white with green backgrounds. You can also access the full-screen function by clicking on the last icon on the right with the two arrows pointing northeast and southwest.

Mary's baptism record shows that her parents were Patrick (Keating) and Margaret Maher. The sponsors, or godparents were John Ryan and Margaret Maher. The godparent Margaret Maher could have been a cousin to Mary's mother, Margaret Maher.

I looked for the marriage transcription of Patrick Keating and Margaret Maher at the Find My Past website, but didn't find it. However, the National Library of Ireland website link shows that the Cashel and Emly marriage records go back to 5 January 1793, which means that it's possible that Patrick and Margaret were married sometime before that date. The National Library of Ireland also shows that Cashel and Emly baptism records are available from 11 November 1793. See: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0253

But I did uncover the Find My Past baptism transcriptions, linked to copies of original baptism records held by the National Library of Ireland, for two more children of Patrick Keating and Margaret Maher. The oldest of these children is William Keating, who was baptized in the Cashel and Emly Parish on 5 August 1794. William's baptism is the 6th entry down from the top of the left-hand baptism register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632678#page/11/mode/1up

William's godparents were Richard Maher and Margaret Costello. I also found the 12 May 1796 Cashel and Emly baptism for James Keating. His baptism is the 7th entry down from the right-hand baptism register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632678#page/27/mode/1up

The first names of James's godparents are Thomas and Betty, but I couldn't readily decipher their last names because of the handwriting.

Concerning John Whelan, if he had been born and baptized in the Ballingarry Catholic Church, there will not be a baptism record for him. as Ballingarry Catholic Church baptisms do not commence until 15 June 1814, some 16 years after his approximate year of birth of 1798.

I only found the FMP transcriptions of two children named John Whelan who were baptized in County Tipperary from the years 1793 to 1803. Both were baptized in the Carrick On Suir (South Tipperary) Catholic Parish. One of these children was baptized on 10 December 1796. His parents were Patrick Whelan and Catherine Walsh.

The other John Whelan was baptized on 6 April 1798. His parents were Patrick Whelan and Catherine Shanahan.

A Google Map shows that Carrick On Suir, by the shortest modern day route, is 21.3 miles south of Ballingarry. See the map at: https://is.gd/U9VuJl

Kind Regards Jackie,

Dave Boylan

Good morning Dave,

Thank you very much for all of the information that you provided me.  The records in Ireland far surpass the ones that we have in America once our family arrived.  Very rarely does it mention anywhere on legal documents except for Ireland, the country of origin for families.  I am assuming that when the records for a certain Church commence that is when the parish was established or just when life events were recorded?  If the first instance is the case, did people travel a distance to have their children baptized or to be married?  I always believed that people did not travel a great distance from home and usually married someone from their townland or village?

I have only been a member for a few months, but the help that is received from your web site is wonderful.  Once again my appreciation goes out to you  and to all the volunteers who make this web site possible.   

Respectfully,

Jackie Brennan, Hatboro, Pennsylvania, USA

Hello Jackie,

Many thanks for your kind reply. I really don't know, in every particular instance, if the commencement of parish registers for a particular parish, is also the date when that parish began. Some parishes broke off from other parishes to start their own religious communities, while it's also possible that some Catholic parish registers for certain time periods no longer exist due to age, fading, or water damage. I do know however, that Catholic parish registers were not destroyed in the Four Courts fire in Dublin during the Irish Civil War in 1922, as many people think.

I believe you are correct that families usually lived close to the church where they worshipped, though in some instances, such as in the wilds of Galway and west Cork, some farmers and their families had lived quite a distance from the church where they would have been married or had their children baptized. I believe people did tend to marry someone from their own town or parish, but again not in all cases, as I've gone through many church and civil marriage records where the bride and groom were residents of different parishes, though these parishes may have been contiguous to one another.

Once again, thank you for writing Jackie. It was very considerate of you.

Best Wishes,

Dave