This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: mccannjm1 Surnames: McCANN Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mccann/1699.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: There were no records destroyed in Ireland in 1917 - "peace" had been restored by the end of Easter Week 1916. The fire to which you refer was the burning of the Four Courts in Dublin in 1922. Some Free State soldiers thought it would be mighty craic to burn down the records office and be the blight of Irish family historians ever since. Unfortunately this renders looking for many relatives in Ireland prior to the Civil War a 'needle in a haystack' job. If you are lucky someone in your family might know the town or parish that he came from. This way you can look up the baptismal and marriage records. If you can find such details I would be more than happy to drop into the national library for you. I live in Dublin. Jason McCann 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.