Bandon Cork

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your message.

Bandon town belongs to the civil parish of Kilbrogan. According to the Irish Times website, between 1851-1853, Desmond was the 4th most common surname in the parish:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=169&civilparish=Kilbrogan&citycounty=Cork

So perhaps this is the surname that the Irishman said was associated with Bandon!

There are a few places online where you could try looking for more Desmonds in the area:

(1) The 1901/1911 census records: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

(2) Civil records, the indexes to which can be searched online at: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347

(3) Catholic church records for Bandon Parish (the Roman Catholic parish) have been uploaded free of charge to http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/

(4) Griffith?s Valuation (land record 1848-1864) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

(5) Tithe Applotment Books (land record 1823-1838) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

(6) Familysearch have some birth and marriage church records for Ireland available: www.familysearch.org

Hopefully some of these may help you prove the Desmonds connection to the area. Once you have asked your uncle about his research be sure to post any additional information here if there is in fact a Bandon connection. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

All the best,

Genealogy Support