Brick Walls? Oh, yes! I have a lot of them, and I’m sure you do too if you’re doing Irish research. Sometimes those brick walls are solid, but at other times you can work around them.
In order to understand why Irish research is so difficult, you need to understand the history. For example, the Penal Laws (officially known as Laws in Ireland for the Suppression of Popery) were in effect from the 1690s. Relief from these laws began in the 1770s however full Catholic Emancipation didn’t occur until 1829. During that time, Catholic records were not kept which may be why your brick wall exists. Even after Emancipation, many Catholic churches did not keep records so depending on where your ancestors lived, records could have started as late as the 1880s.
You may have heard that you can’t do Irish research because everything burned. The destruction of the Public Records Office (PRO) in 1922 was devastating and close to 1,000 years of Irish history was lost, but not everything burned. Vital records of births, deaths and marriages began in 1864 (1845 for Protestant marriages) and they were not at the PRO and survived. Land records were at the Registry of Deeds and also survive back to 1708. You may think that since your ancestors didn’t own their land, that they wouldn’t be in those records, but you might be surprised, especially into the 19th Century. One of the most important resources is Griffith’s Valuation, a tax list, which identified occupiers of the land. The occupier was the person who paid the rent and the timeframe is between 1846 and 1864. Even if your ancestors left before that time, it’s likely that some family members remained. There are also bits and pieces of other records and if you’re lucky something might have survived for the place where your ancestors lived. Frequently it is possible to find records back to the early 19th Century…before that it’s very hit and miss.
My husband's Daly family was from County Mayo, the Civil Parish of Kilvine and the Townland of Crumlin. It’s very important to know the locality. When I began my research all I knew was that Michael Daly was from Irishtown, of which there were many all over Ireland. I found the location with an obituary of Michael's half brother which told me the family was from County Mayo. The manifest of Michael's immigrations, told me his closest relative was his mother in Crumlin, Kilvine. His naturalization indicated he came from Claremorris which was the Registration District, or Poor Law Union. Frequently you’ll have to use multiple resources to get the bits and pieces to the answer to your research question regarding a location. But I still have a brick wall…Michael’s father was John who married three times. His second and third marriages were after Civil Registration so I know John’s father was also John. I have found John in Griffith’s Valuation in Crumlin (1855) but unfortunately the church records for the area don’t start until 1870, after Civil Registration. My brick wall for this family is about 1855.
My Johnston family is from County Leitrim, in the Civil Parish of Rossinver and the Townland of Laghta. The Registration District is Ballyshannon, which covers parts of Leitrim, Fermanagh and Donegal, and there are lots of Johnstons. This family was Church of Ireland which presents a different problem. At the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland as the State Church in 1869 most of the smaller parishes were required to sent their registers to the Public Records Office for “safekeeping,” and we know what happened. About two-thirds of the Church of Ireland Records were lost in the fire including Rossinver where records were kept from 1823 but only survive from 1877. I have identified my Johnstons back to James who died before 1862 identified from the Revision Books listing when the property moved to James' 2nd wife. I’m unable however to identify James' first wife, the mother of my 2x great grandmother and her three siblings. I’ve done a one name study of all of the Johnstons in Rossinver Civil Parish but can’t connect them. I do have an atDNA match to another Johnston but can’t connect for lack of records. My hope was to find a descendant of the brother of my 2x great grandmother and I have traced all of his descendants and there is no living male Johnston from this line. Another brick wall in the mid 19th Century.
I have done better on other lines. The Moughty name is very unusual (with multiple spellings) but they all lived in the Counties Longford and Westmeath. This is one of the few locations in Ireland that kept Roman Catholic Burial records. Most of the records begin about 1820, but one location goes back to 1781. The information recorded varies, but I was able to find Patrick Moughty who was buried in 1838, age 86, which would mean a birth date about 1752. Yes, that’s a brick wall, but I really don’t expect to be able to move back any farther. For Irish research that’s pretty good.
My Moag line (another unusual name) was from County Down, Parish of Annahilt, Townland of Ballycrune. This family was Presbyterian. Presbyterians were required to keep records from 1820, however some churches, mostly in Ulster, have records earlier than that. The Moags attended the Loughaghery Presbyterian Church and their records date back to 1801. Prior to that they were a few parishes away in 1st Boardmills where records date to 1782. This is one of the first families I researched in the early 1990s. My direct line ancestor, David emigrated in the mid 1870s to Fayette County, Pennsylvania where he married my great grandmother, Ella McDowell, a widow. According to their marriage license, David’s previous wife had also died (I’ve never found a marriage or death record for her and don’t have any information about her name). David’s father was William Moag and according to William’s marriage record his father was John. Early research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake identified a book of transcribed church records for 1st Boardmills Presbyterian Church in Saintfield Parish listed the baptism of Stewart Moag (1783) and Margaret Moag(1786) as the 4th and 5th children of John Moag and Mary Petticrew. The records for this parish started in 1782 so no information on the first three children. I attached William to John and didn’t research this family again for about 15 years (during the time I was doing primarily client research). When I got back to this family, many more records had come online, and I was taking groups of researchers to Ireland, including to Belfast. In 2014 I wrote a blog, I’m confused! Separating John Moags when I discovered that my William could not have been the son of that John Moag. In the early 1800s there were two John Moags baptizing children…I’d missed a generation and my hypotheses is that one of those first three children was also a John. In 2024, I found another John Moag; Oh No! Another John Moag. It’s important to re-read all of your information and resolve any conflicts. It's also important to re-evaluate your conclusions when new information is discovered. For this particular family I have hit numerous brick walls and have been able to use a variety of records, including Church, Freeholder, Land and Probate records, as well as Estate files for the Marquis of Downshire (only available in Ireland). I’ve also had the benefit of working with multiple cousins both here in the States, in Canada, in Ireland and in South Africa.
Be patient with yourself when you encounter a brick wall. It may be time to take a break and work on another family. When you come back to it, re-read everything, create a timeline, and research the collaterals. Research the locality to understand its history and see what records might exist or not exist. If the church records don't survive, doing the same search over and over is not going to change the result. Use DNA to identify cousins...it seems to me that the cousins usually got the good stuff! When I met my Moag cousin in Ireland, he had the Family Bible. And, if possible visit Ireland. You will find records there that are not online.
Happy Hunting!
Starting your Irish research? Check out my Irish Quick Reference Guides PDF Bundle.
Preparing for Success in Irish Research
Irish Civil Registration and Church Records
Land, Tax and Estate Records in Ireland