Hi Dianne,
It is a good idea to do as much as possible before you come.
WHAT CHURCH RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH OFFLINE?
1. The National Library of Ireland has microfilm copies of almost all pre-1880 Roman Catholic parish registers on the island of Ireland. Access is free and print-outs of the records are allowed. See www.nli.ie.
2. The LDS Family History Library has microfilm copies of c. 40% of Irish Roman Catholic parish registers, some copies of National Library of Ireland films, others filmed by the LDS themselves. See https://familysearch.org/catalog-search. These films can be ordered via the Family History Centers attached to most Mormon temples.
3. Most local Roman Catholic parishes do not permit research on their original records. Callers will normally be referred to the heritage centres whose records are now almost all on www.rootsireland.ie (subscription site). If necessary, contact details for local parishes can be found via www.catholicireland.net.
4. The Representative Church Body Library is the official archive of record for Church of Ireland records that survived the burning of the Public Record Office in 1922. A full list of its holdings is at http://ireland.anglican.org. All are freely searchable if they are not too fragile to be handled.
5. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.proni.gov.uk) has freely available microfilm copies of almost all surviving records of all denominations for areas now in Northern Ireland, as well as a good number for areas in the border counties of Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, Monaghan and Louth. A full list is at http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/online_indexes/church_of_ireland_index.htm.
I did email Cavan Geneaology and they advised that they are getting their emails, that is the best I can do in that regard, also check you own spam in case they had replied.
I also was unable to find my great grandmother's birth records, because it predated civil registration for catholics which is 1864 and the baptismal records must be lost, I could not find her death either, but a small note in a newspaper told me she died in 1932, at this stage her husband was dead. You could take out a subscription with https://www.irishnewsarchive.com and look at the Co. Cavan papers, Anglo Celt, Freeman's Journal and even outside of that. The names you are seeking are not the most common, so it should be easy enough to trawl through them, serch for the townlands also, make sure you do not auto subscribe by cancelling the subscriptions to any paid sites. They may have been involved in court actions, we were very litigious in years gone by.
Also utilise all the records on https://genealogy.nationalarchives.ie, pay attention to the wills and the will calenders, again you should be able to order the wills before you come. On their census page you will find all the census including 1841, though not that back that far for your area, while it is not evident on the side when you select census years, that year is there...for free.
I hope I have give you some new directions. If you wish to double check anything with me please do.
Regards Carmel O'Callaghan
