Looking for.....

Kerry Ann:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

Please provide more details regarding your ancestors (names, dates, etc) to allow our volunteers to try to assist you.

Roger McDonnell

My grandmother Mary McGrath was born in Dungarvan Waterford in 1931, she had three brothers Sean William & Michael, their mother (my granny) was Mary Ellen Lyons, my grandmothers fathers surname is McGrath from Cork, possibly Fermoy area & that is where my Granny is from I believe. Mary Ellen would have been born around 1900. I don't have any information on my grandmothers father. 
I know I have relatives in Glenville, I know my granny & William lives & died in Buttevant.

My grandad Kieran (Ciaran) Boylan was from Johnstown/Navan Meath, he was born in 1925. I believe he has a brother 'Desty' Desmond Boylan born around 1929.

Kerry Ann:

Civil birth records are available on the free site www.irishgenealogy.ie  however, because of the 100 year privacy rule, we only can see images of birth records thru 1919.  Marriages only have a 75 year rule which means we can see marriages civilly registered thru 1944. I searched for a McGrath/Mary Ellen Lyons marriage from 1925-1931 and only found one possibility which is likely not the correct record.

See 2nd record  https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_re…;  Thsi marriage was in 1928 in Co. Kildare.

A couple questions. I assume you don't have the given name for McGrath? Second is 1925-1931 too late? Should I be searching earlier for the marriage record?

Roger

Sorry to intrude on someone else's thread, but I can't help but note your name, Roger, and being a fellow McDonnell I thought it might be worth contacting you directly. I registered on the Mayo notice board some time ago, but haven't heard much from there. I'm looking for my great grandmother Bridget Sweeney and great grandfather John McDonnell, both from County Mayo. Bridget left Ireland in 1847, at age nine, and married John McDonnell in Birmingham, England in 1855. They came to the USA (probably through port of Baltimore) around 1860, and I know what I need to know from that point on. I'd like be able to connect  each of them (Bridget in particular) to a particular parish or townland in Mayo, but I've been told that Mayo birth and baptismal records are scarce (nonexistent?) before 1850. The only pieces of information I have about their pre-emigration lives  is their respective fathers' names: Thomas Sweeney and Edward McDonnell. If you have any suggestions for next steps I could take in my search, I'd greatly appreciate it. Many thanks.

Kathleen McDonnell,  mcdonnellkath@gmail.com

Hi Kathleen!

RC church records for Mayo parishes are generally not available not available until around 1850 but there are about ten parishes where some records are available back to the 1820s and 1830s. I did search on Roots Ireland and the earliest John McDonnell baptismal record with father Edward in Mayo was in 1844 too late for your purposes.

I checked the 1855 Griffiths Valuation for Co. Mayo and located 13 Edward McDonnell records. We don't know if Edward McDonnell was still alive in 1855 or if he was leasing land but he may be one of the 13. You can go to www.askaboutireland.com to search for the locations of the 13 Edward McDonnells.

I also searched for a Bridget Sweeney baptismal record with father Thomas but the earliest record was in 1843 (there were two in 1843) which again appears to be too late for your ancestor. There were eleven Thomas Sweeney records in the Griffiths.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Roger McDonnell

Many thanks, Roger.