My gtgrandfather John Byrne was baptised 5/6/1845 in Fethard, Co Tipperary. His father was Thomas Byrne (1803 - 2/8/1875) and his mother was Bridget Smith. They lived on Moore St Fethard and both father and son were boot and shoemakers. There may be another son called Patrick. I'd just like to know any more information on the family and to know if there is any way I can check if they had a Fenian connection? Any help or guidance would be really appreciated. Trisha
Tuesday 2nd Apr 2013, 08:57PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Trisha,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried looking in church records from the parish to see if you can find more information?
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 Fethard parish, follow this link:
Most surviving Church of Ireland records 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. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42
Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.
You could also check for record of the family in the land acts pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 so any births, deaths or marriages in the family after this date would be recorded in these 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 online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
Have you already tried looking in the 1901/1911 census records to see there were any Byrne?s still in the area at the time? These records can give lots of useful information and can be found here:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
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
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/tipperary/index.html
Family Search: www.fmilysearch.org
I hope that 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
Monday 20th May 2013, 02:20PM