I am looking for James O'Rourke believed to have come from Swords Dublin born about 1853 His wife may be called Bridget Hyland. A son Denis James O'Rourke was born in 1883 possibly in Dublin. Denis married in Southampton England in 1916 where he died in 1945. His marriage certificate says James is a Bolier Maker and Denis is a Cable Puller (docks). I have no further information about his family. Anything would be gratefully received.
sarahorourke
Friday 2nd May 2014, 04:49PMMessage Board Replies
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Dear Sarah
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
As you can see from the link below, Swords is a Civil Parish in Co. Dublin:
Church of Ireland records for Swords begin in 1703 while records for the corresponding Roman Catholic Parish of Swords begin in 1763. There are some missing dates notably between 1777 and 1802 for baptisms and marriages. There are some places where you can search online, however these websites do not have complete collections and many do not cover the period after 1900:
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ have begun a project to upload Irish church records to their site free of charge. However, so far only Counties Dublin, Kerry, Carlow and parts of Cork have been covered.
Other important sources include the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith?s Valuation. Even though these sources only record the head of the household, the information is very important and can be valuable:
Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837): http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp
Griffith?s Valuation (1847-1864): http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
The National Archives of Ireland: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/ you can search the 1901/1911 Census on the National Archives page too, for instances of the family name at that time
You could also think about checking the trade directories listed here:
https://www.google.ie/#q=slaters+directory+Swords
Remember to post any new information that you find here. 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.
Best of luck with your search
Clare Doyle
Genealogy Support
Wednesday 7th May 2014, 01:39PM