Would appreciate any help with Thomas McDonnell (b. c1858 Westmeath) and Rosanna Lynch (b. c1869 Meath).
Also, would them having such a large age gap maybe contribute to the fact they mightn't have married officially?
A decade wouldn't have been considered a huge age gap. My Irish Granddad was 10 years older than both his wives, although he constantly adjusted his age on documents. There was likely a similar gap between his parents. 9 years between mine. Most of my (Irish) uncles married after age 30, wives were 2-10 years younger.
A man had to be able to support a wife, he may have had to wait years before he earned enough or took over a farm or had full-time work or could afford accommodation fit for a wife & child. He needed a wife young enough to bear several children.
Average ages at marriage rose after the Great Famine, couples in Ireland tended to marry young before then. Increase in average marriage age age was more in men.
Have you looked for a marriage outside Ireland?
