My great grandmother, Catherine Connell

Hi Diana

Thank you for your query. Having such little information will make it very difficult to find any records for your great grandmother  in Ireland. Although she traveled from Cork it obviously dose not mean she was from Cork. What sources have you used to date?  Including this information makes it easier for our volunteers to advise and assist 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.

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

Transportation from Ireland for crimes committed in Ireland, lasted from 1791 to 1853, ending 15 years earlier than transportation from England (A crime could have been stealing food). The records of the Chief Secretary's Office, which had responsibility for the Penal system, are the major Irish source of information on transportees. Not all of the relevant records have survived, particularly for the period before 1836, but what does exist can provide a wealth of information. The records were formerly housed in the State Paper Office in Dublin Castle, which is now part of the National Archives of Ireland (NAI).

Prisoners' Petitions and Cases, 1788-1836: these consist of petitions to the Lord Lieutenant for commutation or remission of sentence, and record the crime, trial, sentence,  place of origin and family circumstances.

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

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/

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

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

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

We hope that this information is of help to you Diana. Please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind regards,                    

Genealogy Support