Alice Fahey : Short Biography

Alice Fahey, daughter of Patrick Fahey and Ellen Connors, was born Roman Catholic in Birr or Parsonstown town, in Birr parish, in Offaly, in Ireland, in about 1888.
Her siblings were Mary A, born about 1887; Gregory, born about 1889; Patrick, born about 1891, married about 1914; Peter, born about 1893
She didn't marry in Ireland.
She left Ireland in 1913 and went to New York, the United States...NB:....This has now been disproved as she was a witnes at her brother Patrick's wedding in 1914.

There is a suggestion that she may have been commited to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum - possibly in the 1930's/40's

First, you should keep in mind that there are at least 17 versions of the Fahey surname - Fahy, Fahey, O'Fahy, O'Fahey, Vaughey, Veighey, Veighy, Fahie, Vahey, Vehey, Fahi, Fahay, Fahee, Faey, Fohey, Vaghey, Faghy, - and records of Alice Fahey may be listed under any (or all) of these. However, Gaelic spellings are very rare in records before 1900.

Alice Fahey (or some of her family) were in Ireland for a civil registration event (births, deaths and marriages for all from 1864, non-Catholic marriages from 1845). The good news is that full pdf images of all registered births 1864 - 1915, marriages 1845 (non-Catholic) and 1864 - 1944 and deaths 1878 - 1969 are freely available at IrishGenealogy. 

Birr or Parsonstown town is situated in the civil parish of Birr, Offaly. You can see maps, record listings and links to records relevant to Birr by clicking here. 

The relevant Roman Catholic records are in Birr and Loughkeen. There are surviving baptismal records in this parish for the years around Alice Fahey's birth, 1888, and this is a good place to start research. Click here to see details of locations and years covered.

Alice Fahey (or some of her family) may have still been alive in Ireland during the period of the only surviving comprehensive censuses, in 1901 and 1911, and could be recorded in one or both of these. The entire 1901 and 1911 censuses are freely searchable online, at The National Archives of Ireland, and this is an excellent starting place. Because you have an idea of her place of origin and age, it should be relatively straightforward to identify the relevant return(s), and this is a good place to start. The original returns give a complete picture of the household, and supply information which can be used to unlock other sources, especially the birth, marriage and death records of the General Register Office.