New Resources Arise all the Time

The easy access to online Irish civil registrations continues. Last year a large selection of birth, death and marriage registrations became available free and online at irishgenealogy.ie

This past week further records were added to this database at the website. Claire Santry at irishgenealogynews.com lists that the database now includes images for the following: births 1864-1916, deaths 1878-1966 and marriages 1870-1941. Indexes are available for the years 1864-1877 covering deaths and 1845-1863(non-Catholic only) and 1864-1869(all weddings). There are no civil registrations of Catholic marriage ceremonies, any births or deaths before 1864. 

I was able to fill in a few dates and clarifications thanks to the update. My great-great-great-grandparents were Denis Desmond(1806-1882) and Julia Creedon(1814-1879). They had married at Macroom in County Cork on 23 Nov 1837. They had nine children between 1838-1858. These children were baptized and one would expect they were born shortly before their christenings given Catholic practices at the time. None of the nine had birth certificates but starting in 1864 their deaths and marriages could show up in the civil registries. 

Their daughter Bride, born in 1856, married a Scottish-born Presbyterian in 1884. There is a church registration of this marriage. However, there is not a civil registration for these nuptials. Perhaps this mixed marriage has notes in the bishop’s papers when they applied for the necessary dispensation.

I was able to find death registrations for Julia Desmond on 13 Jan 1879 and her widower, Denis Desmond, 10 Mar 1882. They were both living at Massytown, Macroom. 

Denis was a publican. The dictionary definition of publican is tax collector. The use here meant that he ran a public house. Shortly after his death a newspaper item ran alerting the public that his daughter Bride was planning to obtain his license that allowed one to run a pub. 

The 1882 informant for Denis’ death was Daniel Riordan. Denis and Julia’s eldest daughter Mary Annne(1838-1922) was married to a Daniel Riordan and they also raised their family in Massytown. It is most likely that this informant was the deceased’s son-in-law. 

Two shortened lives were also clarified. I had long ago researched the parents of my grandfather’s relatives Bridget, Hannah and Tom Mahony. Their parents Thomas Mahony and Elizabeth Hegarty married 18 Feb 1879. They first child, Elizabeth, was born nine months later on 9 Nov 1879. Bridget 1881, Hannah 1883, Hannah 1885, Mary 1886, John 1888 and Tom 1891 followed. 

Elizabeth(1879-1885) did not show up in the 1901 or 1911 Irish census and it appeared that the Hannah born in 1883 died before 1885. The expanded database online revealed through the now online images that Elizabeth Mahony died at her parents’ home on 16 May 1885. Her sister Hannah was born 16 Apr 1883 and tragically lived only 10 minutes dying from convulsions that same day.