Hi Jim,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried looking in Church records for information? This will be easier to do for Bernard as you have his parish of origin.
Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Annegaliff/Urney parish, follow this link:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Cavan&parish=Urney&churchid=814
For information on Church of Ireland records checkhttp://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
www.familysearch.org has a selection of records available online.
You could also check for record of the family in the land acts pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Do you know much about their emigration? Sometimes immigration records can give some extra information. For immigration information in Canada check the National Library and Archives at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html
Some other websites that you may find useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/cavan/index.html
I hope that this is helpful.
Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support