A distant relation of mine contacted me through Rootschat.He mentioned a Bridget Garrigan who he said was born in Lobinstown Meath Ireland about 1841.According to the information he has is that Bridget never married but she had a daughter and a son.The daughter was Mary Anne Dunne born in May 1880.Her father was James Dunne.She married a John Coulter b.1887 Enniskillen d.1937.Bridget sons name was Patrick Dillon born about 1870.This Patrick Dillon was my Great Grandfather.He was a fowl dealer,this i do know from my own research.He lived in Tisdale Street in Ardee Louth.When i checked the 1911 census i found a Bridget Garrigan,a fowl dealer living in Tisdale Street with her grandson whose surname is Coulter.Was in the National Archives in Dublin recently,could not find a birth cert for Patrick Dillon,checked from 1865 to 1875.Any suggestions.
Might Patrick have been registered under the maiden name of Bridget if she wasn't married? In Ireland can an unmarried woman use a 'perhaps Father's ' name if she wasn't married? Or even a ficticious name?
Civil registration in Ireland only started on 1st January 1864 so these were early years. It may well be, rather like those early days for England and Wales, that people were not as diligent at registering as they should have been. It could be that a scour of the Parish Records would be your best best option. Many existing records for both the Church of Ireland and Catholic Church are being collected into heritage centres around the country. These are then being digitised and may be viewed (and downloaded for a fee) from Roots Ireland. Original Catholic Parish Registers are held by the Church to which they belong. It is always worth contacting the Church Office or Parish priest to see if they would be prepared to check the registers for you. Irish Genealogy, a website that is sponsored by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, also has some records and is adding to them all the time. I hope that this helps.
Hi There I am a grandson of Mary Ann Coulter just saw your entry by chance I lived in Ardee in the early fifties and I remember a lovely lady called Ali Dillion who used to visit my granny every Sunday without fail they both got on well you properly know more than I do, All of my Grannys children have since died but there are a few cousins about
