Irish Ancestry

[Mobo]

 

Having successfully found my 'Irish' many moons ago, I remember how long and difficult a journey it was. 

In the light of this, I wonder how many Rootschatters out there are still 'struggling' with theirs.

 

[julie64]

Struggling??  Positively pulling my hair out!!  All I know about a great chunk of my family tree is that they were 'born in Ireland' and came to England sometime before 1861.  If only they had unusual surnames ... but they are Burkes and Doyles!  Even the helpful people in the common rooms suggest that without a county name then I'm pretty stumped.
Julie

[Floss]

Still struggling with my 'Irish', I had a break for a couple of years to concentrate on another line but recently decided to give it a go again.   Its difficult trying to find any info, it makes me realise how difficult it must have been to research your family tree before the internet.  I definitely wouldn't have had the time or the the money to do much research.   

Struggling?? Positively pulling my hair out!! All I know about a great chunk of my family tree is that they were 'born in Ireland' and came to England sometime before 1861. If only they had unusual surnames ... but they are Burkes and Doyles! Even the helpful people in the common rooms suggest that without a county name then I'm pretty stumped.
Julie

Doesn't make it any easier with an unusual name, mines McIlduff !!

Fiona

[Jean McGurn]

Found two generation of my Irish but only because they came to Liverpool and stayed. Plus the unusual surname plus the fact that my lines quite often had two christian names.

Still cannot find them in Ireland though most likely they spelt their name different.

Jean

[Mobo]

 

It all depends on when your Irish came to Britian, and I can only speak for the period I know about - the 'Famine' years 1845/1860

Anyhow, here's a little tip - it's more than likely your Irish were Catholic, so you could look at the PR'S of their local church, and if you can't, a polite letter to the Parish Priest and a small donation to the church will always produce a response. 

Checking the PR'S is worthwhile as Catholic baptisms show the names of both godparents which were usually an aunt or uncle, and this enables you to find them on the Census.  Likewise, witnesses at Marriage were usually a brother or sister (although sometimes neighbours were used). And again these can lead you to interesting finds on Census Returns.

Back then, most Irish families and their neighbours tended to settle in the same 'communities' on arriving in Britain, so you only have to find one of these individuals where they've put County of birth, and you can be pretty sure it's where's your relatives hailed from too.  This happens more times than you'd think

Once you have the County - you're on your way...... remember, if you can't go forward, go from side to side or up and down .....

If anyone needs help, just ask ...........

 

[Nessie]

Good advice Mobo, but if you only have Ireland on the English census as I have with my Margaret Collins, you can't contact every church in Ireland.
I have spent the last couple of days looking at neighbours of my g grandmother hoping I would be as fortunate as Pam in finding a clue that way.

[thindle]

Help. Just about to give up when I saw your piece in the common room. I have two sets of gt gt grandparents who are Irish and came to England in the 1840s.. The first set are called Charles and Ann Maguire ( nee Kelly ) they came to live in Hull , and in 1849 Ann gave birth to Agnes my gtgrandmother. The family are not on the 1851 census in Hull nor can I find them on any other censuses. By the 1881 census, Agnes must have met and married Michael George Doyle ( known as George ) and had a daughter Emily Agnes in 1877 and then Rose Hannah my grandmother in 1880. Of Agnes' parents there is no trace on any censuses. The godparents of Agnes at her baptizm were Bridget Moran and James W Perlan. of them there is no trace on a census.      Michael George's parents, Michael and Emily Doyle ( nee Hurley ) came to England in the 1840s and lived in Liverpool for a time when they had a son Patrick J Doyle in 1848. They then moved to Staffordshire where Michael George was born. The next census i have with them on is 1861 in Cheshire then in 1871 Michael the father is a widower. The rest for that family I have. It is where they came from that I want to know. My grateful thanks to anyone who can help.

[julie64]

See what I mean?? Doyle's everywhere!!
Julie

[onecoat]

i cant get any further with my husbands family, all he knows is they are from ballymena and his grandad is called edward and great grandad is called patrick(mcdermott), nobody knows anything else about them or any relatives so we are totaly stuck

onecoat