Famine Deaths

hkftbl:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

There is no data base of deaths during the Famine period. Civil registration started in 1864 and the records are available on the free site www.irelandgenealogy.ie   The records from 1864-1878 are index records and the actual records are available from 1879-1966. We expect that the 1864-1878 records will come online in the near future possibly this Fall. If you know the registration district then I would search thru the new records from 1864-1878 when they go online.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Roger McDonnell

Have you considered that they may have left Ireland, either moved to Britain or emigrated to U.S, Canada, Australia etc.? Another career move for young Irish men was joining army. A large proportion of soldiers in British Army in 19thC were Irish. A career move for a young Irish woman was moving to Britain to be a domestic servant or to work in a factory. There were also itinerant Irish hawkers and labourers in Britain, some of them seasonal workers. Many lived in lodgings, sometimes in common lodging-houses with a lot of other Irish people. There were encampments of navvies, some with families, near big construction projects. Names of many were incorrectly recorded at census time.

As to your theory that they may have died as a result of the Famine, local history resources may be the way to go. The local Poor Law Union was responsible for destitute people. Poor Law Boards of Guardians made reports. Members of clergy, charities and other concerned people wrote to newspapers and to Parliament about what they'd witnessed. Where were they born?

You may be interested in a book called "Annals of the Famine". It's a contemporary account by an American woman who was travelling around Ireland in1840s. Disposal of the dead is one of the topics she reflects on.  There are many other books about the Famine period. This week's episode of Feargal Keane's RTE  series "History of Ireland", currently being shown on BBC tv,  covered the 19th century.

Thank you so much !! Yes, I did pursue them emigrating to Australia and the US. Nothing has surfaced however.  I will try to get that book you recommended.  Perhaps I'll gain some insight there. You pose some very good possibilities.  Good food for thought!!  Thank you again.  :-)