Hi Peggy,
You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64). The 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). 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.
Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htmValuations office in Dublin (http://www.valoff.ie) will have a record of the land registry from 1855 to modern times. This will assist in seeing what happened to any land the family may have owned (as it usually passed on to a relation).Church of Ireland parish registers for the period up to 1870 are public records. Registers are available for about one third of the parishes, however many were destroyed in the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922. Most are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. A list of all surviving registers is available in the National Archives. http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/. Presbyterian registers are held in three main locations: in local custody, in the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast. PRONI has microfilm copies of almost all registers in Northern Ireland and also lists of records held by the Presbyterian Historical Society. For the rest of Ireland, almost all records are in local custody. It can difficult to locate these as many congregations in the South have moved, amalgamated, or simply disappeared over the last sixty years. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for more assistance. A link with contact details http://www.mylocalnews.ie/articles/737/4/st-mary-s-461/st-mary-s-cahir-parish-newsletter--1757/
Military records may also be of use to you. You can find information about the RIC here: museum@garda.ie There they are currently digitising RIC records and they may be able to help you find information. Excellent personnel records were kept from 1816. These can be found at the UK National Archives here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ HO 184. There are microfilm copies at the National Archives of Ireland, The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). For each recruit it includes a brief service record, date of marriage and wife's native county, and the name of the individual who recommended him. This is important to identify an exact place of origin, because the recommendations usuallycame from local clergymen or magistrates who knew the recruit personally. There is a book by Jim Herlihy called, The Royal Irish Constabulary: a complete alphabetical list of officers and men, 1816-1922, 1999. This supplies the Service Number needed to use the Registers quickly and easily. Also worth checking at the UK National Archives is PMG 48: 'Pensions and allowances to officers, men and staff of the Royal Irish Constabulary and to their widows and children'. This dates from the 1870s and usually gives the address of the recipient. The Dublin Metropolitan Police Register is held by the Garda Archives at Dublin Castle, but is more readily available on microfilm at the National Archives of Ireland. http://militaryarchives.ie/ is another site worth investigating.
I wish you the best of luck with your search.
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,
Genealogy Support
Ireland Reaching Out
