looking for my great grand fathers family

Hi Shirley,

You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) for John's family. The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38): Microfilm copies of the books for all of Ireland are available at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/tithe-applotment-books-and-the-primary-griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at.

You may try     http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html (Canada)   http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ (UK) http://www.proni.gov.uk/ (Northern Ireland)    http://www.castlegarden.org/ (Castle Garden) for information regarding emmigration. Often more infromation was given at the point of arrival. 

Church records may also be of use to you. Church of Ireland parish registers for the period up to 1870 are public records. Registers are available for about one third of the parishes, however many were destroyed in the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922. Most are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. A list of all surviving registers is available in the National Archives. http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/. Presbyterian registers are held in three main locations: in local custody, in the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast. PRONI has microfilm copies of almost all registers in Northern Ireland and also lists of records held by the Presbyterian Historical Society. For the rest of Ireland, almost all records are in local custody. It can difficult to locate these as many congregations in the South have moved, amalgamated, or simply disappeared over the last sixty years. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for more assistance. http://www.raphoediocese.ie/parishes?start=20

I wish you the best of luck in your search.

Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Ireland Reaching Out