Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

Finding Grandad!

TipperaryArdfinnan (Tipperary)

After a bit more research and spending money on birth, marriage and death certificates I am in need of help.  Let me tell you what I know and information I have been given.

My Grandfather was born in Ireland somewhere between 18th September and 7th November 1912.  This I got from his marriage certificates, the first was 7th November 1942 and his age was 30 years old the second was 8th September 1954 and his age was 41 years old.

I never got to meet my grandfather as he left my grandmother (his first marriage) just after my father was born.  Shortly after leaving my grandmother and his recently born son (my father) he returned with his family to try and take custody of him but that abviously did'nt go to plan.  My grandfather died in Coventry, England in 1982 and I never got to meet him.  My father (his name was John and may be relevant) never wanted to reconnect with him but sadly died when I was only a few months old so I never got the chance to talk to him about it either.

Thanks to social media I have managed to connect with grandchildren from his second marriage (my cousin's) but because of the current pandemic I'm not able to meet them yet!  The information I have recieved from them is that he was from Ardfinnan, Tipperary and that's about all the information they have.

He went by the name Gerald Mulvey in England but I believe this was an alias to hide his true identity.  The story is that he and his brothers were in trouble with either the local authorities or the IRA and that is why they fled Ireland, unfortunaely I do not have a timeframe for this.  The last piece of information that may be of use at some piont is that he was a lorry driver (motor transport driver) and I was told that he used to drive ammuntion trucks, presumably during WWII.

Any help, ideas or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Jason

jay.bng@btinte…

9 replies

Jason:

Ardfinnan civil parish is in the Clogheen registration district. Civil birth records are available on the free site www.irishgenealogy.ie up to 1919.

I found a record for a Jeremiah Mulvey father John and mother Bridget Cullinan. The date was February 1, 1910. I know this date does not match the dates you showed in your message but dates of birth were commonly adjusted for various reasons. See fourth record on this link   https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…

I'm trying to determine the townland of birth and will let you know.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

The townland for the 1910 record was Killadamee in Ballybacon civil parish which is just south of Ardfinnan parish.

Looks like you have two leads to work with.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Patricia,

Thank you for posting.  I think this particular birth certificate is in the post and due to arrive any day now.  I just dont know why he would have a the wrong age on his marrige certificates unless he didnt know!  Whats really bizzare is that his death certificate has him born in 1910 but im pretty sure that is a mistake.  He has 3 other sons (my uncles) and one daughter (she passed away a few years ago) who seem to not know but I have'nt had the chance to meet and speak to any of them yet.  I also belive his second wife may still be alive and I'm sure she would know something but I'm not sure how to approach that yet.

Jason

 

jay.bng@btinte…

Thanks Roger,

Thats really interesting and the 1910 date actually matches his death certificate!  This could be quite significant.

Thank you

 

Jason

 

jay.bng@btinte…

The number of records that have the wrong age or birth year on them is astounding. I would not discount the Nov. 7, 1914, date. You did mention he may have been born on Nov. 7, so it would be a great coincidence if this was a different Gerald Mulvey.

glanvil3@aol.com

Hi Patricia.

I have no doubt that there are a lot of errors on records but It seems now, after more research, that the Tipperary connection was the key to identifying him.  After sending a message to my cousin she responded with a quote from her father, after a few drinks in the pub if anyone called to him using the name Gerald he would then respond "my name is Jerremiah".  They obviously thought he was joking!  A couple of other things matched up too regarding his brother so I am pretty certain it is him and I also have a good idea why he gave himself an alias....

 I still have some work to do but it's looking positive, I just need to figure out how to prove that the Jerremiah born in Tipperary is also the Gerald who died in Coventry.

 

jay.bng@btinte…

Hi,

I realise that you posted this a while ago but I was wondering if you found out any more information? 
the reason I ask is that my grandad lives in killaidamee Ardfinnan, as did my grandmother before she passed. My family live all around the area and their house is close to the 'old church' -they built a new one. It also goes by the name of Ballybacon. (Funny names aren't they)

There also used to be a pub a few miles away, tucked away called jereamiahs, I wonder if there's any connection? Did you get a definitive connection to killaidamee for a birth? Or is it just that area? As to be honest, the area of Killaidamee isn't very big, and there are very few houses there.

Very interested to see what you found. I wonder if we are related! 

Amkennedy4987@…

Hi Anne Marie.

Sorry for the slow response but I only just had notification of this message.  I will send you an email.

Thanks

Jay

jay.bng@btinte…

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.