GGG Grandmother Helena Keefe

Hi Vicki

Thank you for your query. Can you share what sources you have used to research your family up to this point? Including this information makes it easier for our volunteers to advise and assist you.

The reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? (or in your case 1780) particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist. Some registers for urban areas pre-dating 1800 may exist ? though often these can be fragmented- as there was an increased need in cities or larger towns to document the population. Please also note that the Church of Ireland was the official church of the country and therefore the bulk of information that does survive for earlier periods is often from these registers. 

Do you know what the religious denomination of your family was? you can view what Roman Catholic records exist for the above parishes through the link below: 

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/  (Browse Roman Catholic Parish Map)

For Church of Ireland records see: http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.  The Anglican Record Project is has created an index to their records: http://ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/AngRecord/bunclodyunionindex.pdf

You can do a place name search on the link below and it will give you the other land divisions that the parishes falls under: http://www.irish-place-names.com/ 

You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp  or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/     or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) https://familysearch.org/        

The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. These lists constitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burden of the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for whom few other records survive

Here are some other websites that may be of help to you:

http://corkgen.org/publicgenealogy/cork/placesalmanac/fermoy/

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction…

http://www.rathcormac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=…

http://www.skibbheritage.com/

http://rothehouse.com/

http://www.kilkennycoco.ie/resources/eng/planning/Mooncoin%20pre-draft%…

http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

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

http://ifhf.rootsireland.ie/?gclid=CKLT_Pa4wrUCFYUf4Qod4EoAGg

I hope that this information helps you further your research Vicki or at least make a connection with the area. If you are hoping to find family still living in these parishes you may want to make contact with a parish priest for each area or a local heritage centre. Please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind regards,                    

Genealogy Support