Hi Mick
The following is the information I have at present regarding Sarah. Her parents were Thomas Armstrong and Mary Sawyer (Soyer and Sayer) Names were written down by the clergy in those days as pronounced. They were married on 16/5/1844 in St. Brendan's Roman Catholic Church Birr. Wife is down as Marianne Soyer. Sarah was then baptised in the same church on 15/7/1854 to Thomas and Mary Sawyer as a Roman Catholic. I have found baptisms of 2 siblings of hers - Henry on 27/3/1862 and George on 28/3/1860. I suspect there were more children.
Sarah was married to John in St. Brendan's Church of Ireland Church in Birr in 1884 - the information you have already,
I have found records for 4 children born to them while in Birr.
John Henry was born on 24/4/1886 when they were living in Crinkle - probably Crinkle Barracks where the soldiers were stationed and lived. John was listed as a Corporal then.
Alfred George was born on 27/3/1888 when they were also living in Crinkle. John was a Sergeant then.
Herbert Bertram born on 8/7/1894 when they were living in Birr town at Cappaneale. John was a Pensioner then so had obviously left the army. (Crinkle (called Birr) barracks was in Crinkle which is a small village about a mile outside Birr)
Sarah Jane born on 27/1/1898 when they were living in Green Street Birr. John was a Pensioner.
There is a death record of a Thomas Armstrong who died aged 94 on 29/3/1875. Married. A shoemaker. He died at the Workhouse so there is no address of where he lived prior to admittance. His age would make him too old to be Sarah's father, I think. Possibly he could have been her father's father?
There are also births around the same time in Birr with a father William Wright who was also a soldier in Crinkle Barracks. Perhaps he was a brother of John's?
I have a book on the history of Birr Military Cemetery (at Crinkle or Crinkhill) written by Stephen Callaghan where he has recorded all the headstones in this cemetery. The regimental colours were surrendered for safe keeping to King George V on 12th June 1922 The Barracks were burned to the ground on 14th July 1922 during the Irish Civil War.
There is only one Wright headstone in the Cemetery and I quote from Stephen's book - William John Patrick Wright died
18th April 1881 aged 3 months. Born 19 January 1881. William was the son of Sergeant John and Catherine Wright (nee Sullivan). He was born in Crinkill. John who was from Devon was in the 28th Regiment of Foot. In 1871 he was recorded as being stationed in Gibraltar. William died of convulsions aged 3 months.
Mick I hope the above information will be of assistance to you. If you have any further questions please let me know.
Margaret
