McCarthy and Lawlor from Chapeltown

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

Have you tried looking for information on the family in church records? As civil registration did not become mandatory in Ireland until 1864, births, marriages and deaths were recorded by the local parish churches.

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. Unfortunately, records for Ballynahaglish do not begin until 1866:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Kerry&parish=Spa(Ballynahaglish)&churchid=649

It may also be an idea to check the parish records of neighbouring parishes also as new parishes were created in the 19th century so sometimes these start dates can be misleading. Here is a link ot a map of parishes in Kerry, I would try Tralee and possibly Ardfert parish:

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

For information on Church of Ireland records check: http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.  

Both Catholic and Church of Ireland records from the pre 1900 period are currently being uploaded to www.irishgenealogy.ie/index.html free of charge. However, as this is an on-going project not all records are available yet, fortunately, Co . Kerry has been covered.

You could also check for record of the family in the land acts pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:

The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

Some other websites that may be helpful are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

The National Archives UK ? http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/kerry/index.html

You could also try contacting the Local Studies Department of Kerry COunty Library for assistance or advice: http://www.kerrylibrary.ie/local.asp

I hope that some of these links are 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