Hi,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried looking at the original church record for Catherine and Edward?s marriage. These can sometimes be useful, as sometimes you can get the couple?s fathers? names and also the names of the witnesses which may be clues about siblings or close family members. Catholic weddings generally. although not always, took place in the bride?s parish of origin so it may be possible to find Catherine?s birth record in the parish records also, however it will be much easier if you can try to narrow down a timeframe for her birth.
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. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For St.Mary?s/Athlone parish, follow this link:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Westmeath&parish=St.Marys&churchid=178
As you can see Dun na Si Heritage Centre have copies available. If you would like to contact them here is their email address, however a fee may apply: dunnasimoate@eircom.net
If Catherine was born after 1864 there will be record of her birth in civil records. Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records up to 1958 online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
You should also be able to find record of the family in the 1901/1911 census if they did not emigrate until WW1. You can search these online here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
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
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/westmeath/index.html
Family Search Links: https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Ireland_Genealogy_Websites?goback=.gde_3030105_member_230205486
I hope some of 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