Dublin record searching and genealogy trip itinerary?

TwistedTrees

Our self-guided visit to Ireland from Canada will take place sometime in May of 2013, one year from now. I am a planner and like to be very prepared. The trip is going to be a combination of pleasure and genealogy research alike and we plan on approximately 15 days, arriving in Dublin on day 1.



I am working on our tentative itinerinary, which is not carved in stone, but a general guideline. Padraigh here has been very helpful to me before doing a lookup in Dublin (baptism) with no positives (thank you again) and ShaneW has been so helpful with his amazing dedication in assisting people on this and other genealogy websites. I am aware of the reader's tickets, hours and such with NAI, NLI and other repositories and will ensure to play by the rules and make any arrangements in advance if required.



The major goal is trying to confirm the proximity of my paternal family, so we can move forth from there to further enjoy some time there. The problem is that our family lived near the tip of 3 counties. Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. All of their subsequent UK Census' from 1861-1901 (inclusive) list Cork, Ireland as 'Where from' and one later census states Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, of which we know the actual homestead could very well be in a different county other than Cork. In years of research, we have substantiated our findings, but are now facing the dreaded wall of stone with my gg-grandfather.



Possible sources (GV) 'may' point to the family Kilbehenny, Limerick, but it can't be definitive at this time. I am about to compose an email to Mallow Heritage Centre to see if their records for Mitchelstown might expand in the boundaries of Limerick and Tipperary and just bite the bullet to have them look up what they can access. I have been on every good and credible website imaginable, both pay and free, to no avail, and my father and I have been at this for quite a long time. It's very possible the baptism was never recorded in 1835, and I am fully aware of that possibility. We have a father's name, but no Mother, which may inhibit our baptism search. The name is quite prevalent through Munster.



Mitchelstown RC Church has kindly responded with no results, and the Fr. at the Kilbeheny RC Church has never responded, despite a couple of polite and respectful attempts. I keep an open mind with searches.



We plan on 3 days and 2 nights in Dublin (can the Guinness Factory sustain my husband all this time, while I am at the Archives? Lol...I'm sure he'll find lots to do in the area..no car there!) for my research, then we move up to Larne, Antrim for a couple of days (bus?) to visit a family friend for a couple of days, back down Dublin way to head southwest by car (a tad scary for my DH), towards Mitchelstown, Cork, Kilbehenny, Limerick area (a day or 3), towards Killarney, Dingle and up the West Coast to Galway, then Dublin to depart. I'm still working on that part.



Are staff readily able to assist at NLI and NAI? If I do find any info prior from Mallow Heritage Centre, it would shorten our stay a little in Dublin, unless I get record-thirsty and find more. I just don't know what to expect there, so a great primer is always welcome so as to not go in circles. I have one year to sort my records (not sure how to do it simply for a trip abroad, as it's all in a big box right now) and I want to go as prepared as I can.

Is 3 days in Dublin enough for getting onto one record, and possible finding more? I realize that question is pretty general, but I have the family pinpointed in a general area, despite being at the tip of 3 counties.



It's sometimes discouraging being 7,000 miles away across the pond.



Any help is greatly appreciated.

shanew

with regard to RC records - there's only so much the NLI staff can help you with that. Once you chosen a parish to search it's all up to you!

To search a parish you need to know the film reference which will look something like Pos. 1234. One good way to check out the parish details is with the maps on the Irish Times/John Grenham website at :

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/index.htm

Click of the individual parishes to see the dates available and film number etc..

Mallow Heritage and several of the counties in the area are part of IFHF/RootsIreland, and they have a pay-website with transcripts. Depending on what clues you have you may be able to locate details on their index. The basic search is free but only show numbers, any more detailed search or transcripts requires credits.. could help you narrow down possible parishes.


Shane

TwistedTrees

Hi Shane, IFHF purchases may have funded the cost of half my trip to Ireland up until now..Lol.

Of course, with such a common name in this area and more restricted searching now on IFHF, I'm at the point of seeing if Mallow HC can find anything before we go on our trip. I am registered with IFHF, but there are pages and pages of possibilities, which would break my bank account. Mallow may be a less expensive option I'm thinking.

At this time, all I have to go on is County Cork, Ireland from Great-great Grandfather's consistent UK Census info from 1861-1901, and one later clue in the census listing Mitchelstown, Co. Cork as 'where born'; a marriage certificate in the UK 1857, listing our bride (21) and groom (22), parish residence in Bristol, and the married couples' fathers names.

The groom's father (great-great-great grandfather) is deceased at the time of the 1857 UK marriage, so we have no idea if he ever made it to Bristol, UK or whether he died in Ireland beforehand. I have some feelers out for the groom's obit in Bristol. approx 1904 to see if there is any info on his father and we have his death certificate, but, of course, there is no information on his father with the death certificate.

I have one possibility of a lead on familysearch.org for the death of the old father registered at Mitchelstown and will order the film, but naturally a baptism of his son..my gg-grandfather, will identify the mother.

Grenham, Discovery Series Ordnance maps, Ancestry, Family Search, IFHF, so many more, etc. have been a valuable source to me on this end, and the genealogy world out there on the net have been so very helpful. I am hoping, but not counting on, a visit to Ireland to pursue a little more if available. It should be a fun trip, nevertheless!

mari2222

You are looking for a particular baptism in 1835 so as to identify the place you wish to visit - am I understanding you correctly?

TwistedTrees

Yes, Mari, you are correct. One lone baptism which hopefully even exists (pre-civil registration).

We have been pleased up to now in finding correct records that have quite surpassed our expectations. Anything further findings are indeed icing on the cake.

mari2222

I hope you are lucky in your searches. You did not mention if you had any success browsing through Griffith's Valuation (free at www.askaboutireland.ie) trying the various possible locations - not for a baptism, but for a location for the family close to where you expect it to be....?

TwistedTrees

GV has been a great source, Mari...thank goodness for these records.

My OSI Discovery Maps and of course, seanurad for townlands, PLU, etc. have been an invaluable source (still somewhat confusing to me with their complexity..but getting closer in gaining knowledge), and Grenham's book still keeps me going at times.

There are so many invaluable sources out there, but I still have a couple of direct relatives on my most wanted list.

If only the name I was seeking was unusual, but unfortunately that's not the case. In having an insatiable addiction to family geneaology, I just have keep plugging away and attempting to knock down each wall.

mari2222

It might be a long shot, but perhaps you could email the North Cork county library service to see if there would be value in dropping into them when you visit......they may hold old records pertaining to the 19th century.

shanew

I think it's definitely worth having one more try at establishing more clues on the family from later records e.g. census, obituaries, headstone inscriptions, newspaper articles, wills etc - the more details you have the better chance you have of tracing some definite details here in Ireland.

As in many cases the problem is often not so much finding possible matches with the types of clues mentioned, but establishing definite, or even probable links. E.g. if the only clues are to a person with a common surname and father's name, an approximate date and approximate location then quite frequently you end up with several possible baptism or marriage matches (assuming records go back far enough) - but no way to tell which, if any, is 'yours'. Early RC baptism records dont give much detail - e.g. no occupation for father, and often no address, so it can be difficult to distinguish between different families.. unless you have a mother's maiden name.



Shane

TwistedTrees

Shane, you're definitely correct about definite and probable links, and I must say we very much follow that guideline. It behooves me as to the number of people on worldwide sites like 'the big one' who reach up and grab a random name, because it "kind of" fits. The "it's kind of... sort of... maybe"... that doesn't work for us. 'Slow, but sure' should be the basic mantra for any armchair genealogist as far as I'm concerned.

Perhaps this is why it's taken us 20 years just to confirm my GG Grandfather :eek:.

We're the types that cross-check the family connections to the maximum and with all and every angle, to be sure it's indeed our family and have all the confidence that he is our one.

Mari, thanks also for the suggestion of the North Cork Library to contact and will add the stop into our itinerary, should pre-contact prove to be a possible source. I have also established local historian contacts as well in the area, so I feel confident that even if we cannot locate what we're looking for, the trip will be a dream one and we will enjoy it immensely, regardless of what we find.