RYAN/O'DONNELL

Hi - Thank you for your message.

Do you know the family's religion? Do you have a name of a town/parish or village in either county Tipperary or Cavan that is associated with the family? You will need a placename to begin your search as most Catholic records are held locally - One site which might be of use is - http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/ - where you can ?browse? an overview of available records per county. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for possible assistance.

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/.  The Anglican Record Project is has created an index to their records: http://ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/AngRecord/bunclodyunionindex.pdf

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.htm

Some sites which might be helpful 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

The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

Irish Newspaper Archives: http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/

Also Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at ). www.failteromhat.com

Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. 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.

Kind regards,                    

Genealogy Support

Thanks for the response.  I really don't know much, which is what prompted me to reach out to this forum.  I have located extensive documents in archives here.... (and for the vast majority they typically reveal at least the county of origin in Ireland) however not one single document (birth, marriage or death) regarding my family has contained such information.  Document after document after document simple lists place of birth or origin as "Ireland".  This obviously makes the search much more difficult since, as you point out, records are predominantly county and even parish based in Ireland.  I've found nothing to date in all the records I've uncovered that points to a placename.

I am looking in Tipperary primarily because I've uncovered some anecdotal mentions that point me in this direction.

In answer to your question the family is overwhelmingly Catholic here in the states.

It's my hope that some family remains in Ireland and someone there is interested in making the connection to the family that emigrated.

Kevin

Update: 2 August 2019

Futher research has uncovered baptism records for John Ryan, brother of Joanna Ryan who married my 2nd great grandfather James Mullen. John, son of Thomas Ryan and Margaret O'Donnell was baptised in Golden on 12 April 1840. (Golden and Kilfeacle Parish, Cashel and Emly Diocese) The family place of residence was listed as Suirville. I believe my 2nd great grandmother Joanna Ryan was born circa 1838 but I have been unable to locate her baptism record. This now gives me a starting place to search for James Mullen's baprtism record (circa 1843) as well as his parents, Patrick Mullen and Rosanna/Rosannah/Roxanna Hogan/Hagan. As most Irish tended to associate with others from the same area upon reaching the states I am hopeful I now have a better likelihood of finding the records I seek. Any help is most appreciated. Kevin