Nancy: Your answers so far may be right, however the church records I received, not only in Ireland, but later in Canada, are baptisimal dates. Sometimes the birth date is also noted with the baptisimal date, in the church register, but not always. Baptisms could occur a couple of days to a month after the birth. One situation I have in Canada is the first four children being baptized on the same date in 1859 with estimated ages being from five to a few months. Andy in Kitchener, Canada