McWaters

Lori,

Statutory birth, death and marriage registration (in some jurisdictions called Vital Records) only started in Ireland in 1864, save for non RC marriages which were recorded from 1845 onwards. So you probably won’t find statutory birth, death or marriage certificates for this family. For earlier years you usually need to rely on church records, where they exist. You obviously need to know the precise denomination in order to search the correct records. Not all churches have records for that period and not all are on-line.

RC records are mostly on-line on the nli site:  

https://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

For other denominations, the churches usually hold the originals but there are also copies in PRONI, the public record office, in Belfast. A personal visit is required to access them. Access to the records there is free. This link explains what records exist, parish by parish:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records

If you are unable to go yourself, you could employ a researcher. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

You haven’t said what denomination the couple were. The RC records for Newry start in 1818, Church of Ireland 1804, Methodist 1826, Non Subscribing Presbyterian in 1779.

Looking at the 1901 census for Co. Down there were only 14 people named McWatters in the county (spelling as given, no McWaters). 2 of them were born in Scotland and were Presbyterian. The other 12 were a mix of Presbyterian and Church of Ireland. None in the Newry area.