Mc Donald's and Byron's Bellanagare 1800-1835 onwards.
does anyone have any info on the Mcdonald's and Byron families who lived in Bellanagare Roscommon in the late 1700's and early 1800's. I know that my 4 x great grandparents are buried in kilcorkey disused cemetery which by happy coincidence is across the field from the holiday let I am coming to in kilcorkey at the end of September. I found a plan of this cemetery and my great grandparents are two of the lucky ones to have headstones and on the stone for John Mcdonald it mentions the stone was erected by his son's. Up till then I was under the impression that my 3 times great grandfather (also John McDonald) was an only child, born a year before his mother's death in 1818. his father died in 1830's. Desperate to find out if any of the McDonald or Byron families still live in Bellanagare or is it Ballinagare now? I know that Morahan's pub goes back to the 1600's so thought that might be a good place to start. Having e-mailed the parish priest, the parish secretary has got back to me and offered to get out the parish records from 1865 for baptism's and marriages. The lady is a star.
I know that at some time my 3 x great grandfather moved to Stockport in Manchester and stayed there until my nan moved to London where all the rest of us came onto the scene.
fingers crossed i find some answers before i leave this mortal coil, as at nearly 74 as my missus put it, "you might as well wait and speak to them direct!"