Just trying to find any records for a Mary Anne Byrne, who, according to all Australian documentation, was born in Dysart, Westmeath, Mullingar, Ireland in 1840. She arrived in Bowen, Australia on the ship Maryborough in 1865, married William Smith and settled near Warwick in southern Queensland, Australia.
Judy Smith
Queensland Australia.
Dear Judy
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out and apologies for the delay in replying to your message.
As you can see from the link below, Dysert is a Civil Parish in Co. Westmeath:
Records for the corresponding Roman Catholic Parish of Churchtown begin in 1836 for baptisms and 1825 for marriages. There are some places where you can search online for records of Mary Ann, however these websites do not have complete collections and many do not cover the period after 1900:
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ have begun a project to upload Irish church records to their site free of charge. However, so far only Counties Dublin, Kerry, Carlow and parts of Cork have been covered.
Other important sources include the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith?s Valuation:
Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837): http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp
Griffith?s Valuation (1847-1864): http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Have you tried searching the passenger lists?
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/migration/passengers.aspx
Some other websites that may be helpful are:
The National Archives of Ireland: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/ - you can search the 1901/1911 Census on the National Archives page too
Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm
Irish Genealogy Tool kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/
Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Best of luck with your search
Clare Doyle
Genealogy Support