Francis and Catherine O'Donnell

Dear Sandy

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

As you can see from the link below, Kilfenora is a Civil Parish in Co Clare:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=2737&civilparish=Kilfenora&citycounty=Clare

Records for the corresponding Roman Catholic Parish of Kilfenora begin in 1836 for baptisms and 1865 for marriages. There are some missing dates in the baptism series notably between 1847 and 1854. It would seem that the birth of Mary predates the records available. You could still have a look at the sites suggested below, particularly as you believe that her parents may not have been from Clare. It is difficult however, when you do not know or have a parish name around which to focus your search:

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.

You should also refer to the Clare County Local Studies site as it is a must for anyone with Clare ancestors: http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/library/local-studies/locstudi1.htm

Other important sources include the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith?s Valuation, as everyone in the family may not have emigrated. Even though these sources only record the head of the household, the information is very important and can be valuable:

Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837): http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp

Griffith?s Valuation (1847-1864): http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

The National Archives of Ireland: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/  you can search the 1901/1911 Census on the National Archives page too, for instances of the family name at that time

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  

Hi Sandy

I also am researching this family and did not know that Mary was looking for a brother when she came out to Australia.  did you find out any more about her parents?  I have photos and newpaper clippings of Mary if you do not have them.

Helen

Dear Helen:

Many thanks for your message to the Ireland Reaching Out message board and welcome!

I'm not sure if there is further information.  I can tell you that the National Library of Ireland has most of the parish registers available online at this time.

The link to Kilfenora parish is here:

http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0628

The baptisms for that parish do not start until 1836.  However, you can check neighbouring parishes as some of them may have earlier dates. 

Another very good source for County Clare research is the Clare County Library which has put many records (transcribed) online through the great work of volunteers.  The link for that site is below:

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/genealog.htm

You will need to have some time to take a look at what they have put on the site.  It is well worth a look!

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Kind regards,

Jane.