McMurray, John

Hi Charles,

Thank you for your message.

In order to find records that go back that early it is necessary to know a specific place of origin in Down or Antrim as most church records are still held locally. The fact that you have Dromara parish is a good starting point.

Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Dromars parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Down&parish=Dromara&churchid=445

Unfortunately as you can see from this records do not begin until 1844. However, in the19th century new Catholic parishes were created so starting dates can sometimes be misleading. Many parishes changed their geographical spread so you may find earlier records relating to your family in the records of adjoining parishes:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/downrc.htm

Most surviving Church of Ireland records 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. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42

Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.

It may be an idea to contact the Ulster Historical Foundation for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email address: enquiry@uhf.org.uk

I hope this is helpful. 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