I am looking for information on my great grandfather who was born in Ardnagragh near Castleisland in 1852,and lived in the Cordal area.
His father was Roger O'Connor and his mother Joanna Kelleher, they came to England in 1850's
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Pat Bristow
Hi Pat,
There are Roman Catholic church records available for the diocese of Castleisland. These date from 1823 for baptismal records and 1822 for marriage records. You can find these at the National Library of Ireland, M. and B. to 1869, Pos. 4276; remainder 4277. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for more assistance.
Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864 however. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You could also try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at. Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38). Microfilm copies of the books for all of Ireland are available at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/tithe-applotment-books-and-the-primary-griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS).
Do yolu have any more precise information about the emigration to England in the 1850s? Usually more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure.
The more detailed information that you can give us about your ancestors the better, as this will help local people in the area to identify your ancestors records.
Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.
Kind regards,
Sinead Cooney
Genealogist (Ireland XO)
I believe Roger and Joanna were married 16 Feb 1831.
Their children:
Margaret was born 12 June 1834.
Daniel 17 October 1848.
Timothy 5 September 1844.
Catherine 9 July 1837.
John 20 November 1852
Take note of the names of witnesses and sponsors for more clues. They were usually family or neighbors.
I think you will find exploring these records may yield more clues yet.
Hope this helps!
Steve