Thinking on the same lines as Gaffy as to gambling!
1872 Marriage of James Clarkewith a match of
Margaret Henry in Tobercurry District
1901 census1911 CensusLooking at your names listed and the additional John and your Patrick
I searched in familysearch.org for Clarkes in the Sligo District
there are a few of the names but not with matching years;
however there is a civil record in each of the following years that are a match to the family in Tobercurry
(another area in Sligo) which is also where the marriage is recorded
The following names and years match children found in census, familysearch.org and from this topic
1 -
1873 Michael2 -
1875 John3 -
1877 Mary4 -
1881 Margaret5 -
1883 Catherine/Kate6 -
1886 James7 –
1888 Pat *** Best shot in my opinion8 -
1891 Thomas*** there are no other Pat/Patrick Clarkes in the district in the 1880s and only two in the 1870s
Editted to add
I have just searched on rootsireland.ie for
Pat Clarke, Sligo, Kilmacteigue RC, 1888, Father James and Mother Margaret and got a hit;
it does not recognise Henry as the mother's surname
but it was not unusual that the mother's surname was not recorded;
this is looking closer to being correct for you.
You can order a photocopy of this certificate from the
GRO in Roscommon which is just €4
but is not an authorised copy for legal purposes; this currently costs €20 plus postage if ordered online
If ordering a few certificates the €4 option may be a wise way to go!