Hi! I'm so glad that you are able to help us "hit the wall" folks, because I've been bouncing off of it for a very long time. My ggrandfather, Robert Gavagan, son of Elizabeth (Burns) and Thomas Gavagan, claimed on his naturalization papers in Boston (1852), that he'd been born in 1830 in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. My researcher (County Roscommon Heritage & Genealogy Center) tells me that there is absolutely no record of his having been born there. I haven't even been able to ascertain the Irish history of the name Gavagan. I sure hope you'll take this on as a challenge, because on my own I am dead in the water. My second problem is a mixed blessing; I am so thrilled to have recently found out that my ggrandfather, John G. Sullivan, lived in Kenmare, County Kerry. The down side is that I don't know if Kenmare is a town, a parish, etc., and I need to be able to find out in order to pinpoint exactly where he and his family lived so that I can research properly. Any information would be received with great joy. You can't imagine how much I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks! Fran Weeks