Hi Paul, Of course you're right. I have met the Parish Priest from the Arklow Church, many times, while visiting Arklow . I will refrain from giving a personal opinion of him, since it's just that - my opinion. He actually gave me the Parish Registers for an evening to search for my ancestors. However, the Registers only have a surname, the given name and a year, with a volume and page number which corresponds. No actual dates, parents or sponsors. To get that info, I did leave an unsolicited 100 pound donation on the desk. That was long before Euros! I should mention, too, that I've never actually met the man IN the Parochial Office. I've always dealt with his Office Staff. I have photo copies of all the registers, right up to the 1950s, copied with the full knowledge and (albeit reluctant) permission of the Parochial Office staff. (My brother had to leave his passport in the office while he copied them.) However, the records I post are actually transcribed (over more than 15 yrs.) from the microfilms housed in the National Library in Dublin, as you mentioned in your post. I pass them on freely, because I'm not a professional genealogist. They are only leads to be followed. I believe in my heart that everyone who wants to know who their people were, should know, without having to travel, or pay what could be, for them, a small fortune. Not trying to steal anyone's thunder, Peggy Leonard/NY