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Hello Parish of Clonegal,

My name is Peter Doyle of Melbourne Australia and I am trying to locate the birthplace of my Great Grandfather - Michael Lawrence Doyle.  There is conflicting information available to me here in Australia which has made the search very difficult and I am to visit Ireland in September and was hoping to solve some of the mysteries/missing pieces before my arrival so I could visit where he was born.  A very helpful Family History Centre here in Australia has put me on to Ireland XO so I'm hoping you can help.

What is known about Michael Lawrence Doyle:

- Born 1854;

- Documented that he was born in Country Wicklow but no parish confirmed;

I have found on Rootsireland a Baptismal Record of the birth of a Michael Doyle of Ballykeenan baptised on 23 July 1854 in the "Parish of Clonegal, County Wicklow" so could County and Parish boundaries have changed since 1854?.  The sponsors recorded were Edward Murphy and Joney Doyle.

- Religion: Roman Cathloic

- Parents:Michael and Mary (but I have a suspicion his father's name might have been Lawrence, not Michael)

- Siblings: Unknown

- Sent to Australia in 1864 (so about 10 years old) to live with his Grandmother (name unknown and no passenger details of when exact he went and on what ship).

- He married in Australia on 9th July 1879 to Emma Lydia Smith in Cowwarr, Victoria, Australia

- He had 9 children (all born in Australia) with the names: Grace Josephine, Owen Lawrence, Sylvester George, Christopher Francis (my Grandfather), Mary Kathleeen, Aloysius Robert, Donald Charles, Ursula Lydia and Maisie Emma

The confusion is that his Death Certificate records his father's name as Michael and I have not been able to locate a Marriage Certificate here in Australia to better confirm/deny that.  The only Michael Doyle that I've been able to find born in 1854 (in Co. Wicklow at least) are:

- the one mentioned above, but his father's name was Lawrence (which is clearly a family name that was used by my Great Grandfather for his family, hence my suspicion that maybe his father was Lawrence, not Michael?);

- one that the Wicklow Family History Centre found in the Parish of Glendalough, born 10/3/1854, Father Michael, Mother Madge, Mother's suname of Kennedy.

So, any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Peter Doyle

Peter J Doyle

Tuesday 11th Aug 2015, 11:53PM

Message Board Replies

  • Peter:

    Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

    The RC parish of Clonegal covers area in both Carlow and Wicklow although the church is in Carlow.

     http://www.clonegalkildavin.ie/pages/clonegal_rc.htm

    Here is the link to the parish register  http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0700 I would look for Doyle baptismal records and possibly a marriage record.

    Parish borders may have changed but as of 1851 Ballykeenan townland was in Barragh civil parish in Carlow. Here is the 1852 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing for Barragh civil parish. There were a good number of Doyles but the only Doyle in Ballykeenan was Owen. There was a Michael and Lawrence in the parish but in different townlands.

     http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/carlow/barragh.htm

    Let me know if you have any questions.

    Roger McDonnell

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Wednesday 12th Aug 2015, 12:37AM
  • Thanks for your assistance Roger.  The difficulty here is that the Parish of Clonegal lead is only a guess - the only factual information I have is that his name was Michael Lawrence Doyle and he was born in County Wicklow in 1854.  I have no other corroborating evidence that can pinpoint him.

    Do you have any suggestions in this regard?

    Peter J Doyle

    Monday 15th Apr 2019, 06:41AM

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