This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: Eilis_OHara Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.ireland.lex.general/2681.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Martin, I'd try the Church of Ireland church -- St. Paul's -- in Mountmellick first. The Church of Ireland is the Anglican Church in Ireland and was the official or state church in Ireland until 1871. It's the COE in Ireland. Here's the link to the parish with contact information: http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=information.dioceses&page=showparish&id=15460 It's possible there was a tombstone in 1847 that has since disintegrated -- many of them didn't survive the Irish weather. There's a very high likelihood he died as a result of the Irish Famine. The British military barracks wouldn't have been without food but they would have been exposed to the rampant diseases associated with the Famine including dysentery and typhoid. In the Nineteenth Century in Ireland after the British Government had repealed the Penal Laws in Ireland [forbidding practicing a religion other than the Church of Ireland (Anglican)] and into the Twentieth Century, members of the British Army in Ireland could indeed be Catholic. The British military recruited locally in Ireland and many thousands of Irish who were Catholic joined the British military. It was a guaranteed wage with an excellent pension. What I have found in my research is that there would be a Church of Ireland chapel in the larger barracks and those in the barracks who were Catholic would go outside the barracks to the locality to the Catholic church there. In the smaller towns and villages where there were barracks there would be a Church of Ireland church as well as a Catholic church so military personnel would worship in whatever their religious denomination was. That was both before and after 1871 which is when the Church of Ireland was no longer the official church in Ireland. Regards. Eilis O'Hara Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.