Mike:

FYI-Civil registration of births in Ireland started in 1864. 

I looked up the 1833 baptismal record for Rose Brenon and the mother was shown as Mary Carr. There were no siblings to Rose. The RC parish was Trim. I did not locate a marriage record for Edward and Mary.

Records for the RC parish of Trim start in 1829 so if Edward was baptized in that parish a baptismal record would not be available. I checked the subscription site Roots Ireland for Co. Meath baptismal records and there was a record in 1816 which is unlikely with a child born in 1833 and the next oldest record was in 1796. Likely a baptismal record for Edward is not available.

Have you considered DNA testing?

Roger McDonnell

Roger, thanks for the kind reply which is very informative and helpful.  I have extensively studied DNA evidence, primarily via Ancestry matches which is difficult because of the number of elapsed generations.

And there are many matches involving me and my father descended from the following John Brennan.  Possibly, this John is the same John as one of the two parish record Johns mentioned below.

Possibly, this John was Edward's newhew.  My father's DNA origins according to Ancestry are from the Leinster region, which is consistent.

Best wishes, Mike

John Brennan LZ1M-S16

1836–1890

BIRTH JULY 1836 •  Ireland

DEATH 26 MAY 1890 • Pittston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, USA

2nd great-granduncle