Charles Gavan Duffy, the son of a shopkeeper, born in Monaghan on 12th April 1816. His mother was Annie Gavan. Duffy had experience working as a journalist on the Morning Register in Dublin and in Belfast where he edited and afterwards owned the Belfast Vindicator. He wrote prose and verse for the Nation as well as being the editor. His articles mainly dealt with current affairs, and he wrote under the pseudonyms of "The Black Northern"; "Ben Heder"; "The O'Donnell" and his initials. D'Arcy McGee who worked under Duffy in the Nation described his when he first met him in 1845 "He struck me as of a dyspeptic consititutoin and his middle size deceived me - we always expect a great man to stand six feet high. His manner was frank, short and decided, like that of a general after a campaign has begun. He was always in action, planning, suggesting, negotiating. He carried into this party his firmness, rankness and energy and animated them with his own scrupulous love of truth and invariable disinterestedness. I could not help remembering, when I compared the strength of his mind with the weakness of his body that Owen Roe O'Neill and Grattan, our greatest general and our first orator, were invalids...." "His mind was fruitful in expedients, stored with examples, poetic in its tone, practical in its operation , comprehensive in its judgements, critical in its determination . He was brave yet gentle, firm though full of feeling, a soldier in resolve, a woman in affection." The Nation: 15th October 1842 Extracts from Duffys leading article in the first publication "With all the nicknames that serve to delude and divide us - with all their Orangemen and Ribbonmen, Torymen and Whigmen, Ultras and Moderados, and Heaven knows what rubbish besides - there are in truth, but two parites in Ireland - those who suffer through her national degradation and those who profit by it. To a country like ours, all other nations are unimportant." "That is the first article of our political creed, and we desire to be known for what we are, we make it our earliest task to announce the object of the writers of this journal is to organise the greater and the better of these parties and to strive with all our soul, and all our strength, for the diffusion and establishment of these principles. This will be the beginning, the middle and the end of our labours.." "But the first duty of men who desire to foster Nationality is to teach the people not only the elevating influence, but the intrinsic advantage of the principle of the thin. You cannot enkindle a fire with damp faggots; and every man in the country who has not an interest in the existing system ought to show, as clearly as an abstract truth can be demonstrated, that national feelings, national habits and national government are indispensible to individual prosperity. This will be our task, and we venture to think that we will perform it indifferently well." "But no national feelings can co-exist with the mean and mendicant spirit which estimates everything English greater and better than if it belonged to our own country, and which looks at the rest of the world through the spectacles of Anglican prejudice. There can be no doubt at all that the chief source of the contempt with which we are treated by England is our own sycophancy. We abandoned our self respect and were treated with contempt; nothing could be more natural - nothing in fact, could be more just. But we must open our eyes and look our domineering neighbour in the face - we must inspect him and endeavour to discover what kind of a fellow he is - . We must learn to think sensibly and candidly about him; and we do not doubt that The Nation will tend materially to this end." "Many a student pent among books has his mind full of benevolent and useful thoughts for his country, which the habits of the students life would precent him from ever pouring out in this hot arena of politics. Such men will find a fitting vehicle in the Nation; and our kindred love of letters will often induce them to turn with us from the study of mankind in politics. Such a legion will be more formidable than 'a thousand men clad in steel' each of them may fairly represent the multitude whom his intellect can set in motion; and the weapons which they will lay on to the roots of corruption will not be less keen, or trenchant, because they may cover them with the flowers of literature.

I am researching my SHORTALL family history. The family has been in the townland of Kilrory in the civil parish of Moyanna in the Catholic parish of Stradbally for at least 200 years. Several members of the family emigrated to the USA at the end of the 19th century - William, Martin, James. James I think settled in the New Bedford area of Mass as two of his daughters married two Dahill brothers there. I would welcome any information on Shortalls from Laois. Patrick J Shortall.

I am new to this list and have been reading everything with interest. My g.g.grandfather James Gardiner died in Stanley Tasmania on 28/3/1891, aged 80 years and Queens County was listed as place of BIRTH. He was born somewhere between 1811 and 1820 - discrepancies between Marriage and Death Certificates. I don't know which parish. He was buried Roman Catholic in Stanley, Tasmania. I cannot find him on a shipping list and the Tasmanian Archives do not have record of his arrival or his parents in Ireland. He married in Stanley, Tasmania 28/11/1848 to Eliza Meally (born Ireland but don't know place). I think her parents are James Meally and Elizabeth Heaps and they went to Tasmania when Eliza was a child. When she gave birth to 13 children, Eliza's surname was Mealy, Malay, Mailey, Maley, Maloy, Malley ...if that's a help. Hoping for some connections and advice on how to start my research. Pam Bell, Melbourne, Australia Marriage certificate gives age of 28, while Death certificates gives age as 80.

The first edition of 'The Nation' was published on 15th October 1842.... There has never been published in this, or any other country, a journal, which was imbued with higher ideals of nationality, which attracted such a brilliant band of writers in prose and verse, which inspired such widespread enthusiasm, or which exercised a greater influence over al classes of its readers, which after a time included every section of the community. The Nation preached a nobler and more self-sacrificing Gospel of Nationality than Irishmen and women had been accustomed to hear for many years. It sought, not only to disinfect the political life of the country, but to raise the whole standard of national self- respect based on the inalienable right of people to guard their own destinies; to inculcate a sentiment of pride in Ireland and everything Irish -in our history, legends, language and literature; in our music and in our art; in our magnificent contributions to the culture and civilisation of other countries; in our sacred ruins scattered throughout the land and in lonely islands off our coasts, silently preaching silent sermons on Irish sanctity, learning and foreign rapacity; in our heroic struggle for Freedom throughout the ages; in the brilliant achievements of our soldiers on the continent of Europe and in America, where they helped the oppressed colonists to achieve their independence - and it strove to regenerate the motherland intellectually, spiritually, socially and nationally. The Nation was a great educational agency - the greatest that ever was conducted from a newspaper office in Ireland. "It wound itself into the fibre of the Irish heart" - quote Sir Charles Gavan Duffy - one of the three founders of the Nation - "The poor peasants clubbed their pence that they might hear on their only day of rest what they could do for the Cause; the young tradesmen to whom it had become almost as necessary as their daily bread, clung to it. The Conservative students enjoyed it as a stolen pleasure, trembling to be caught in an act of Patriotism; the Irish exiles in England or France, or felling forests in Canada, or digging railways in the Western Republic, who still longed like their predecessors two generations earlier, to hear, 'how was old Ireland, and how did she stand'; the poor Irish soldier who stole into q secret place with his treasure; the young priest who judged it with his own brain and conscience, not by the word of command, cherished it the more for the dangers that it ran" In inspiring prose and soul-stirring verse the great epic events in Ireland' s history and distinguished Irish people who had achieved fame in all walks of life - saints, sculptors, authors, scholars, national leaders, martyrs, dramatists, novelists, orators and wits were made familiar to Irish people. Irish antiquities were invested with a new interest. Crumbling shrines were once more filed with holy men and saintly women and the clash of arms and fierce battle cries were heard again on many battlefields long since the graveyards of brave men - of savage Viking, of armoured knight and of Irish gallowglass. Cairns, beehive cells, cromlechs, Ogham stones and battered castles took on new meaning. Irish history became a fascinating romance, with some dark episodes of foreign tyranny and native treachery. The nobility of sacrifice in the national interest was preached as a cardinal virtue. The slave mind and the anti-Irish Irishman were held up to contempt and the responsibility of our countrymen for their own enslavement emphasised. The right to nationhood of a people long submerged industrially, commercially, politically and socially was boldly proclaimed, and the crimes and intrigues of the invader exposed. At the same time, it was pointed out that the people should make themselves fit for freedom, and that they had duties to discharge, one to the other, and all to the nation, as well as rights to gain. Every phase of Irish life was critically examined and remedies suggested where weaknesses were revealed. Above all, the Nation brought a message of hope and encouragement to the Irish, taught them self reliance, gave them a higher conception of nationality and urged union of all Irishmen - Catholic, Protestant, Dissenter, Orangeman and Repealer - in order to achieve definite national objectives. It is not surprising that a paper of such a character should make an earnest appeal to thinking Irishmen and women who had not lost all sense of national self-respect; and that it's appearance wach week should be looked forward to with keenest interest in all parts of the country, and that its influence should be felt in the castle and in the cottage. Barry O'Brien biographer of Parnell and of Lord Russell of Killowen stated that "The articles in prose and verse revealed fervent, well informed and high minded patriotism which captivated Ireland. They recalled memories which made our people proud of their country and filled them with detestation of the power which had destroyed its freedom" Lecky in his 'Leaders of Public Opinion in Ireland' wrote, "The Nation enthusiastically supported it (the doctrine of Nationality), and great efforts were made to revive, or strengthen, everything distinctive in Irish Nationality. The old names, which had been anglicised or forgotten, were restored. Irish history, traditions and antiquities were much studied. Historical associations connected with different localities were collected. Davis ardently threw himself into the movement for teaching and diffusing the Irish language." T.W. Rolleston in his Treasury of Irish Poetry said" The Nation poets, inspired, almost recreated, Ireland; and their work still continues to inspire Irishmen all over the world with its Nationalising spirit. It became impossible after the songs of the Nation were collected and published, for England or Europe ot America to either forget or ignore the passion for Nationality in the hearts of the Irish. A.M. Sullivan wrote: "It was not a newspaper so much as a great popular educator - a counsellor and guide. Its office a sort of bureau of national affairs, political, literary, industrial and artistic, its editorial room was the rendezvous of the 'youthful enthusiasts' as the older school of politicians called them: orators, poets, writers, artists.

The founders of the Nation were three young men - two of whom were Catholics and one a Protestant, but all free from the slightest taint of bigotry and anxious to unite all creeds and classes for the country's welfare. They were Charles Gavan Duffy who became editor; Thomas Osborne Davis and John Blake Dillon. The contributors in addition to the founders included Clarence Mangan, Denis Florence McCarthy Father C. P. Meehan Father John Kenyon Thomas Francis Meagher William Smith O'Brien M.P> William Carleton Denny Lane Thomas MacNevin John Mitchel Richard Dalton Williams Michael Doheny Martin MacDermott John Thomas campion Thomas D'Arcy Mcgee John O'Hagan Michael Joseph Barry Michael Joseph McCann John Kells Ingram Edward Walsh John Keegan William Drennan John Cashel Hoey Dr. R. R. Madden James Fintan Lalor Father P. O'Brien Davern James McBurney Thomas Devin Reilly John Edward Pigot Arthur Gerald Geoghegan John Fisher Murray John Walsh J.D. Frazer William Pembroke Mulchinock John Cornelius O'callaghan W. J. O'Neill Daunt Bartholomew Dowling Hugh Harkin K.T. Buggy Charles Kickham Dr. Robert Dwyer Joyce Terence Macmahon Hughes And others.... O'Donovan and O'Curry the Irish scholars became subscribers to the journals from the start and co operated with Davis in presenting to the public the correct spelling of Irish names which had been changed. Samuel Ferguson who founded the Protestant Repeal Association came to sympathise with the aims of the journal. William Elliot Hudson provided suitable airs for a number of the lyrics from the Nation when they were published in book form. Women also contributed: Jane Francesca Elgee: Lady Wilde (mother of Oscar Wilde) Elizabeth Willoughby Treacy Mary Eva Kelly Ellen Mary Patrick Downing

I have often wondered wondered over the years how it is that people have a pride in being Irish - or part Irish - where it came from. I've wondered how it is that I can ask someone - who does not 'look' Irish - where they are from and have them come down on top of me like a ton of bricks - saying I'm Irish - I was born in this country.......... I've wondered how it can be that if that was an Irish person in another country - born in that other country and asked the same question - they would say "I am Irish." I can understand the attitude of the first kind of person here......their claim to being Irish and living here and all that - please don't get me wrong........ but I've always wondered about the rest...... and in that rest I would include my family and my friends if any od us was living anywhere else - bringing up children - our first claim would always to be Irish. Some who will have read my posts in the past will realise that I often talk of people who were protestants being good people in this country - that not all catholics were good people - that there is good and bad in all groups. Some of you will know the names of some famous Irish men - some of you will knwo what it is these people did to gain notoreity. Yet.....I live here - have been brought up here - studied our history - and there are many whose names I recognise and I know little about what they did. There are many who I never heard of. We learn all the time. I've been asking people if they heard the song 'A Nation once again' would they be able to sing a few words....mumble along.....I've yet to have anyone say no.....whether they are Irish in Ireland or a descendant... If I ask - do you know who wrote that? I've only had three people be able to tell me - and I have asked a lot of people. Someone once asked on one of the newsgroups if anyone knew a poem which had to do with Eoghan Rua O'Neill which ?Senator Edward Kennedy quoted at his brothers funeral...............I remember posting it to the newsgroups - and I think when I found it the book it was in had a differnt author to he who I know wrote it - his penname..........W.B. Yeats has actually said that that particular piece of poetry was equal to the best ever written - while at the same time saying in his speech about the author of the poem - that he was not really a great poet..... if I was to ask anyone could they name the poet - I'm sure few could. The same man who wrote 'A Nation Once Again' Thomas Osborne Davis - a protestant from Mallow in Co. Cork. Thomas Davis and two others(Catholics) - Charles Gavan Duffy and John Blake Dillon founded a newspaper called the Nation in 1842. I've been reading articles from this - and all that period. For many of you - the descendants whose ancestors left Ireland during the famine...........your ancestors will hace read and heard of these articles. For all that I have read - the general concensus is that this newspaper/journal had a great part to play in irish History - in how the people felt about themselves. it is said that the ordinary people couldn't care less about anything more than survival prior to the production of the Nation. As I've read about these men, through articles published by them and others - I wonder how much of what they said was carried by your ancestors to other countries. how much of what they said or did is part of the reason why people have this pride in being Irish...... or is it all just due to genes? and dreams Jane:-)

Hi Dick mail to you is bouncing back to me....host unknown Jane I haven't done the will thing..... - yet -

Hello list members: Seeing recent messages re DONNELLY, I have a marriage at Ballinakill Parish Co. Laois for 28 September 1826: John DONNELLY to Eliza COSTIGAN. I do not know the 'townland' or church in Ballinakill. Does anyone know how I could obtain a copy of this entry, which hopefully would show the location and church, without actually visiting Ireland. I have written to the Offaly and Laois Heritage Centre, and they quote £100 for a parish search. I think this is far too expensive, especially when I have the actual date. Any help would be most appreciated. Regards Jane (Oldham, Lancashire)

Does anyone know anything on: James Mooney born: abt 1814, Queen's County - dont know which parish Moved to: Kilmore (nth of Melbourne), Australia married: 30 Nov 1842, Melbourne Paul Selkrig _____________________________________________________________________________ http://movies.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Australia & NZ Movies - Find out what's on at the local cinema with Yahoo! Movies

At 04:00 am 21/06/2000 -0700, you wrote: >IRL-LAOIS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 51 > >Today's Topics: > #1 Where is Loaghis, Ireland ["Roberta Sahr" > <drsahr@compufort.c] > #2 Sixsmith/Booth-Queens County [Barbara Taylor > <btaylorb@uswest.ne] > #3 Martin Carroll ["Edward Carroll" > <carroll@clinic.n] > >Administrivia: >To unsubscribe from IRL-LAOIS-D, send a message to > > IRL-LAOIS-D-request@rootsweb.com > >that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > >and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software >requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > >To contact the IRL-LAOIS-D list administrator, send mail to >IRL-LAOIS-admin@rootsweb.com. > >______________________________X-Message: #1 >Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 11:50:26 -0500 >From: "Roberta Sahr" <drsahr@compufort.com> >To: IRL-LAOIS-L@rootsweb.com >Message-ID: <003001bfdad7$a27ba820$b2c45fcc@sahr> >Subject: Where is Loaghis, Ireland >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" > >Mr gggrandfather Joseph DILLIN, was b. abt 1796, in Loaghis, >Ireland. This is all I know about him, so I need a county?? or parish?? >so I know where to ask for a lookup request. > >Roberta >Wisconsin USA drsahr@compufort.com County Laois is what you are after >

The name Quinlan turns up in Aghaboe & Kyle parishes in the Tithes (1826). Both parishes are in the same part of the county - no Donnelly's in these parish though that I can see for that time. Any possibility that she could have been Dooley - that's a common enough name in these places....... Quinlan is also in Aghaboe R.C. parish registers...... and then interestingly enough - I've not seen any Quinlan stones on graveyards I've been to - and when I check an old telephone directory - there weren't many Quinlan's and those that are there for Laois are all located around this same part of Laois - the southern end.....bordering on Tipperary......... and there are lots of Donnelly's listed for various towns in Tipperary which are quite close to this part of Laois. Jane ----- Original Message ----- From: "genealogy hammondfamily" <hammondgenealogy@hotmail.com> To: <IRL-LAOIS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: 21 June 2000 14:06 Subject: Quinlan & Donnelly > Hello, > looking for links Edward John Quinlan & wife Mary (nee Donnelly) migrated to > Australia from Queens County in early 1860s. Children: Sarah Agnes Quinlan > (married E J Hammond in Cootamundra 1877), James, other's names I am unsure > of. > Thank you > Gina > hammondgenealogy@hotmail.com > ________________________________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com > > > ==== IRL-LAOIS Mailing List ==== > > >

Hello, looking for links Edward John Quinlan & wife Mary (nee Donnelly) migrated to Australia from Queens County in early 1860s. Children: Sarah Agnes Quinlan (married E J Hammond in Cootamundra 1877), James, other's names I am unsure of. Thank you Gina hammondgenealogy@hotmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Thanks to all who responded to my questions about the Griffith's valuation and it's acronyms. I received lots of e-mail within a couple of hours and it was all valuable. Thanks again, Irene Lee Alaska PS I have the Griffith index on cd-rom, if anyone needs a lookup please e-mail me (not the list).

I didn't see an answer to the measurement question re Griffith's. The land is measured in Acres, Roods, & Perches. Here is information posted by Thomas F. Burns to the Limerick List: For those of us who lack engineering skills, I offer the following: A ROOD is a 1/4 of an acre A PERCH is 5 and 1/2 yards (also called a pole or rod) Dorothy ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

I'm looking for information on MARTIN CARROLL who was born in QUEENS County in 1835. Martin Carroll was a was a laborer and a Catholic and he joined the Irish Constabulary in 1857 with a recommendation from a Mr. Bailey, Justice of the Peace. I assume Mr. Bailey was from Queens County also. Any information or hints on where to look in Queens County for further information on Martin Carroll would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Ed Carroll

I am looking for the names of Sixsmith and Booth from Queens County. Is there a way I can access the records from the National Archilves without going to Ireland? The Sixsmith and Booth families both migrated to Canada (Ontario) and my grandfather, William S. Sixsmith was born in Queens County 1808. After arriving in Canada he married Eliza Booth who was also born in Ireland 1809. I have done extensive research on the branches of the Sixsmith family in Canada but have been unable to connect them in Ireland. I am sure they are all either siblings or cousins as they owned property in the same area of Lennox Addington County in the early and mid 1800's and the older members records indicate their being born in Ireland and many state Queens County. The 1851 Census indicates that both William and Eliza belonged to the Church of England. Many of the others show Weslyian Methodist. The name of Sixsmith was changed to Sexsmith after they migrated to Canada. (my maiden name..not easy to be in high school in 1950 in Las Vegas, Nevada with that name...but at this point, does make the research easier.) Any information anyone might have regarding these families would be more than appreciated and I am very willing to share any and all of the information I have. I have kept copious notes on every entry in my PAF genealogy program. Barbara Sexsmith Taylor btaylorb@uswest.net

Mr gggrandfather Joseph DILLIN, was b. abt 1796, in Loaghis, Ireland. This is all I know about him, so I need a county?? or parish?? so I know where to ask for a lookup request. Roberta Wisconsin USA drsahr@compufort.com

I am new to this list and was wondering if the surname FORESTILL, FORRESTALL and any variations is common to Laois. And if there is any list on the internet that gives locations of surname origins. Thank you Laraine

Would SKS please advise as to whether or not Parish records from around C1831 are still intake or were they in fact burnt in fire as I have been led to believe? I am trying to trace an Ancestor ELIZABETH HAYES born QUEENS COUNTY about 1831, and her twin sister MARY HAYES. Both girls came to Australia at the age of 18 years old in 1849. dornes@ozemail.com.au Regards, Dorne Saunders (Australia)

BEGINNING IRISH RESEARCH You have an ancestor or ancestors from Ireland and you don't know which part, or you are lucky enough to have the name of a county. Where do you begin, what do you search through for information, what are the resources available to you. You've heard that all or most Irish records were destroyed in a fire in 1922 in Dublin, during the civil war. Is there any hope of ever tracking down where these people came from - of finding that elusive piece of paper which proves they came from this or that place? All records were not destroyed. Yes, a large number were, but not all. You just might be lucky. There are two main avenues/databases open to you to begin with. The Tithes and Griffiths Primary Valuation of Ireland and the records in the Civil Registration Office. (The General Registrar's Office). Forget about the fact that the Griffiths may have been carried out at a time after your particular ancestors left this country and if that is so then the records in the General Registrar's Office will have nothing on those particular ancestors either. The fact is that whenever your ancestors left - the whole family may not have gone. There may be siblings - brothers and sisters who stayed in Ireland, their parents may still have been alive. Think positively! The Griffiths Valuation of Ireland can give you an indication of the spread of a surname throughout the whole of Ireland during that period. Once you have that you can then move on to checking Parish Records for those areas. Begin with those places which have the surname as a common one and work your way through records to those places where it is a rare name. In the intervening search you may find other clues in parish records which will lead you to believe or know for certain that that parish is the place your ancestors came from. The least you will be able to do is pinpoint a county or counties which are a possibility, and even that in itself is better than knowing your ancestors came from Ireland but you don't know where. In the years before the Griffiths Valuation was carried out taxes were paid and these were known as 'Tithes'. The responsibility for the assessment and collection of tithes rested with the local Church of Ireland Minister. Lists were made of people (Tithe Applotment Books) who should pay these taxes and the value of the land which they held. However, these lists are not as useful as the Griffiths Valuation in determining who lived where at that time. Tithe Applotment Books Tithes were an income tax on farming, usually about one tenth of the annual income. These were used for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland and were paid from the time of the Reformation. Before the Composition Act of 1823 it was possible to pay them in kind instead of money. From the time of the Composition Act they were supposed to be paid in cash and Tithe surveys were carried out in each Parish to assess what the income for that parish would be. Two people were appointed by each parish to carry out this assessment. Both Catholics and Protestants resented this tax - Tax was not payable on all land, and there was even variation on the types of land from place to place. From 1736 grazing land had an exemption - this was usually land held by landlords. Certain crops were taxable, others weren't. Potatoes could be taxable in one parish and not in the one next door. Tithe books are not comprehensive, people who did not hold land are not listed and some types of land were passed over absolutely. Towns and cities were usually not assessed. They are arranged by townland and usually give the acreage held by each farmer. However, note here that the measurement used was the plantation or Irish acre which differs in size from the imperial or English acre used in the Griffiths Valuation. The information you get from the Tithe Books is simple, : townland name; landholders name; area of land and tithes paid. Some will list the landlords name as well. The original tithe books for the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland are held in the National Archives in Dublin. Those for the 6 counties of Northern Ireland were transferred to the PRONI in Belfast. Copies remain in Dublin in the National Archives and National Library. Tithe Defaulters: Both Catholics and Protestants objected to paying of Tithes. 1830 Catholic Parishoners in Graiguenamanagh in Co. Kilkenny withheld their tithes. During 1832 they were followed by those in most parts of south Leinster and Munster and violence erupted - The 'Tithe War'. Church of Ireland Ministers therefore ended up without this money during 1831. It was necessary for them in order to claim from the Clergy Relief Fund to draw up a list of Parishoners who had 'defaulted' on the Tithes. 499 Lists/Schedules of Defaulters were submitted in order to avail of the relief fund. 127 of these still survive. - Lists of Tithe Defaulters, not written up alphabetically, and it is necessary to go through each book for each county and for some there are a number of books. 53 of these books relate to Co. Kilkenny, 30 to Co. Tipperary; and there is some cvoerage of Laois; Carlow; Offaly (King's county); Meath; Cork; Kerry; Limerick; Louth; Waterford; and Wexford. Quaker records show lists of those who defaulted on Tithes also. Griffiths Primary Valuation This valuation records every landowner and householder in Ireland in a period shortly after the famine. An Act was passed in 1826 which allowed for a uniform valuation of property in all Ireland for levying of county cess charges and grand Jury Rates. Thus began an assessment f the whole country, county by county by Sir Richard Griffith.. Amendments were passed to the 1826 Act, the first in 1831 excluded those houses under the annual valuation of £3, another in 1836 excluded house under £5 The information given in the Griffiths gives: the townland address and householders name; the name of the person from whom the property is leased; a description of the property; the acreage and the valuation. If a surname was common in an area then the surveyors adopted the practise of indicating the fathers name to show the difference between two people of the same Christian name and surname..(usually) So Tadgh O'Brien (Michael) is the son of Michael O'Brien and Tadgh O'Brien (James) is the son of James O'Brien. However, here in Ireland people of the same name could/can be distinguished simply by indicating the colour of their hair (as gaeilge - thru Irish ) so it would have been sufficient then to indicate that one Tadgh had red hair and one Tadgh black - calling them respectively Tadgh (Red) O'Brien and Tadgh (Black) O'Brien The main difference between the Tithe Applotment Books and the Griffiths Valuation is that all householders were listed in Griffiths. Remember the different types of acres used in each, the Irish and English acre, this will account for difference in size of land held by a family from one valuation to the other if they appear in both. Remember also the fact that the house of less than £3 annual value were included up to the year 1831 in the Griffiths Valuation and excluded from that point forward, and those with an annual value of £5 were included up to 1836 and excluded from then on. There is a computer CD produced by the Family History ?????, which many refer to in order to find those areas of Ireland where a surname appeared, or those parts (parishes) in a county where the surname was found. However, this is a list of names for the area, there is no way of knowing if the six John O'Leary's listed for one county are one and the same or if all the land is held by John O'Leary and rented out to others when using the CD to identify those people. One problem I personally have noted with the Griffiths CD is that while it is suppposed to have been transcribed from the originals - the place names are not as they should be in many instances. There are placenames in there which while I know them from the originals Griffiths - are not the same as actually written in the Griffiths Valuation books. This I assume is because these were written up by people with little or no knowledge of Irish geography or Irish phonetics. So that while they transcribed what they thought they saw, because of faded ink or poor script - the actual name might be quite different. If it was someone with a knowledge of either Irish phonetics or the geography of the area they would have written a different word as the place name. This is not a huge error to anyone who does know the geography of the area they are enquiring about, but for anyone who hasn't got a clue it's a different story. There is an index to the surnames occurring in the Griffiths Valuation (The Householders Index). The indices are made up by county, divided into baronies, parishes, townlands. There are two sections to an index and some counties have a number of volumes covering the whole county.e.g. Co. Cork has three. The first section of an index being an alphabetical list of surnames occurring in the area the index covers and the names that occur in each Barony. The second section is an alphabetical list of surnames occurring in each parish within that barony. It doesn't matter if you don't know which Barony the parish you are looking for is in - you just check through the second section. It doesn't matter even if you don't know the parish you can just check the first section to see where the name occurred in a county. The index to the surnames tells you how many times a surname occurred in a particular parish and whether or not that surname also occurred in the Tithe books. It does not give you any more information than that. Should you find that the surnae you are looking for occurred in the area you are interested in for the Griffiths Valuation, then you read the original microfilms for that record. Should that surname have been recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books, you refer to the information on that parish. It may have been the same person or it may have been a relation. The Householders Index (Griffiths Index) with their LDS-FHC Numbers Laois (Queen's/Leix) Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath: LDS Film No. 0919005 Tithes: Laois (Queens) 1823-38 Griffiths : Laois 1858-60