Rootsireland has 13 John Sullivans born/baptised in Limerick in 1844. With time and patience you can get a lot from their site - for free.

In this example I was looking for a Minnie and Catherine Wiley sisters parents unknown.

How I did it was to use the pay to view site

http://rootsireland.ie/

I did firstly a national search for Minnie which threw up a couple both in Antrim. I then switched to County Antrim.

By playing about with the date range I was able to narrow down the baptism to a specific year. I still have not used the pay to view option yet nor used up any of my limited number of free previews. Once I had a Minnie I had to find her parents first names. I started with father first name a - this would bring up any firstnames starting with "a". Working through the alphabet got me to H when I got a hit adding further letters and worked out father was Hugh. Search then for Wiley children no firstname father Hugh within ten years of Minnie. Got 6 hits and using same technique was able to work out the 6 names - but no Catherine. Minnie is a common nickname so reverted to Catherine. Broad search found two which narrowed down to one in 1868 and one in 1872. Was able to work out 1868 was daughter of John and Mary. Broad search found no other children to this couple. 1872 Catherine was daughter of John and Jane and a broad search threw up 9 children. Plodding through the alphabet got me Alexander, Eliza, Catherine, Eleanor, Francis, John, James, Samuel, Wilhemina, which was more complicated since it is usually spelled WilheLmina.  Catherine I knew was 1872, and bit of playing about with date range got me 1881 for Wilhemina. Age gap fits the two sisters although the ages are well out - no surprises there!

You can play about with the dates until you match up the other 7 children. You can refine it a bit more by choosing one child then working your way through the drop down menu of the various parishes until you get a hit. Then you can see if all the other children were also in the same parish. Bearing in mind couples did move about as well as changing churches. It is quite possible that these 9 children were born to more than one couple named John and Jane.  Getting one transcript should give mothers maiden name and doing a broad search for baptisms to John and Jane with new surname hopefully should confirm 9 children. However many older records do not list mother's maiden name. Using this technique you can gain a lot of data without using up your limited number of free searches or having to buy any transcripts.

Bob Graham (County Fermanagh XO)

Dear Jean,

Possibly the family, do you know if Daniel died before 1901?

Residents of a house 23 in Feenagh (Village) (Feenagh, Limerick)

Mary Sullivan was a shopkeeper and widowed by 1901, all were born in Limerick

Annemarie

Jean:

Here is the birth index records for a Timothy and Margaret O'Sullivan in the Newcastle registration district which is in southwest Co. Limerick. Feenagh mentioned in Annemarie's post is in the Newcastle disrict. To get a copy of the birth record for about 4 euros each, you have to write to the GRO www.groireland.ie   Fill out their form and provide the quarter of registration, Newcastle and the volume and page number.

Roger McDonnell

Thank you so much for the information, Bob, Annmarie and Roger.  I'll be in Ireland in May with my sisters and hope to do some exploring.

Thank you so much for the information, Bob, Annmarie and Roger.  I'll be in Ireland in May with my sisters and hope to do some exploring.

Thank you so much for the information, Bob, Annmarie and Roger.  I'll be in Ireland in May with my sisters and hope to do some exploring.

Thank you so much for the information, Bob, Annmarie and Roger.  I'll be in Ireland in May with my sisters and hope to do some exploring.

Jean,

I'm resident in Feenagh Co. limerick part of the feenaagh/kilmeedy parish.

There are lots of Sullivan families in the parish, many not related.

I'd be happy to investigate the O'Sullivan (Sullivan) families further if you want to email me

kilmeedy@irelandxo.com

Sean

I got the birth certificate for my grandfather Timothy O'Sullivan.  It shows his parents were John O'Sullivan and Margaret (Herbert) O'Sullivan.  It shows his address as Ballyloughane.  It also shows:

Registered in the Registrar's District - Ardagh

Superintendent Registrar's District - Newcastle

County - Limerick

How do I find John and Margarets birth certificates and marriage certificate if I don't have any dates.  I have an aunt that told me John was born January 27, 1844 but none of the sites I looked on matched up with that date.  I am very new to this and am totally lost.  My sisters and I were in Ireland in 2011 and are now coming back in May.  I loved the country and all the wonderful people and would love to know if any relatives are still in Ireland.

Thanks for the help,

Jean

Sean, Thanks for the offer, I sent you this same info to your email.

I was woorking with Sean (Kilmeedy Limerick) on this last year.  My last contact with him was in April of 2013.  He said he had found some things out about my family of Sullivans in Feenagh but he never told me what or how I could get copies.  Is Sean still working with Ireland Reaching Out?  Please let me know because he has not answered any of my emails.

Thank you,

Jean Sullivan Cardinal

Hi Jean,

I'll forward your query to Sean and see if he has any further information for you,

The kilmeedy@irelandxo.com address is monitored by a number of local interested parties. I can see no emails to/from yourself within that account beyond March 29th, not sure what the current status of your query is.

Kind Regards

Jonathan (Site Administrator www.feenagh-kilmeedy.com)

Hi Jonathon.  Sean had given me his personal email.   So far I've gone back as far as my great grandfather John O'Sullivan born 1/27/1844.  I can find no birth certificate for him but was told his parents were Daniel O'Sullivan born 1820 ? and Ellen O'Leary.  I do not know if he had any siblings or any info on parents other than name.  John married Margaret Herbert on 2/2/1869 in Ardagh.  It listed his address as Kilconelle and hers as Ballinlehane.  They were married in St Bartholomew's RC Church in Athea.  I have all info after his marriage but nothing before that.  I would love to find out about his parents and if he had any siblings.

Thanks for your help,

Jean

Hi Sean,

I figured I would post here in case my emails weren't getting to you.  I have got info on my Great Grandfather John O'Sullivan (B 27/1/1844) and his wife Margaret Herbert (B 15/2/1849) from thier marriage in Ardagh, Limerick on 2/2/1869.  They were married at St. Bartholomew's RC Church, Athea.  I have records for 9 of thier children and have them arriving in America on July 31st, 1891.  I don't have any birth records for John or Margaret.  From his death certificate Johns parents are Daniel and Ellen (O'Leary) and Margaret's are John and Margaret (Cremin).  I would love to get information on thier parents and if they had any brothers or sisters.  I would love to find out where they lived and where they are buried so I can visit there.  Any information you can give me would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your help,

Jean

I would like to update what I've found out so far and am looking for any help on going further.  My gggrandfater was Daniel O'Sullivan married to Ellen O'Leary.  His son my ggrandfater was John O'Sullivan born Jan 27, 1844 in Newcastle.  He married Margaret Herbert on Feb. 2, 1869 at St. Bartholomew's RC Church in Athea.  I can account for them and thier nine children all born in Ardagh, Limerick.  They all settled in Chicago, Illinois, USA with John and Margaret arriving in 1891.  Here is what I'm trying to find out.

1.  I found a record of Daniel occupying land leased from a William Irwin In the village of Feenagh.  Is there any way to figure out an address from theGriffith's Valuation?

2.  How can I find out if Daniel and Ellen had any more children?  I have tried Ancesty, Family Search, Roots and Church records online and have found out nothing about them.

3.  I am planning a trip to the area in May of 2015.  Is it possible to drive from the city of Limerick and go to Ardagh, Newcastle, Athea and Feenagh all on the same day?  I have found Newcastle West and Ardagh on a map but not the other two.

4.  My Grandfater and all his siblings show being born in Ardagh, Newcastle, Limerick, Ireland.  Is there any way to find out where they were baptized or what the Church is for that area, we would like to visit it while there.  I was also told that The school they went to is still standing and would like to visit that.

Thank you for taking the time to read through all this and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Jean

Just one more note to add, I was curious what cemetary might this family be burried in?