Find my grandmother

Hi Mary,

Thank you for your message.

Unfortunately Ireland Reaching Out does not provide a dedicated genealogy service, however we do offer support in the form of advice and guidance regarding research.

If you are interested in carrying out some research on Mary and family, there are a number of resources which may help you.

Church records can offer a lot of information. Most Catholic records are held locally. You could try writing to the parish priest for possible assistance. One website which you may find helpful though is the irishtimes. Here they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. To see what records are in Dromtarriff parish follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Cork%20North-West&parish=Dromtarriffe&churchid=47

For Church of Ireland records check http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=information&id=63

The irishtimes website is also useful for information on particular civil parishes. To see information such as townlands etc in Dromtarriff follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=158&civilparish=Dromtarriff&citycounty=Cork

You could also check tGriffith's Valuation. This is a property valuation that was carried out in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. You can check this online here: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/  

In terms of Mary's emigration to Australia, have you checked immigration records in Australia? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure, so they may be a good source of information to you. The Public Record Office of Victoria has good online databases of settlers at www.prov.vic.gov.au Otherwise, other records may be found in the Colonial Office Papers of the UK National Archives, class reference CO 201. This class contains a wide variety of records, including petitions for assisted passages, emigrants' lists, records of emigrants on board ship, petitions from settlers for financial assistance and much more.

For her brother Dennis you could try searching under army personnel in the UK National Archives. You can access their wesite here:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

Some other websites which you may find useful are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm 

Family Search: https://familysearch.org/  

Genealogy Links:  http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/cork/index.html

Failte Romhat: www.failteromhat.com

Alternatively you could contact the genealogy centre in West Cork for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:

Skibbereen Heritage Centre,

Old Gasworks Building,

Upper Bridge Street,

Skibbereen,

Co. Cork.

Phone: +353 28 40900   Email: skibbheritage1@gmail.com

I hope that this is helpful. Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. 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.

Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.

Kind regards,                    

Genealogy Support