I have recently returned from Ireland and just resubbed. I found some new information to add to my genealogy files on Ireland and am posting the info here, in hopes it will look familiar to some. My mother and I visited the city of Kilkenny. The Kilkenny County Library Headquarters, 6 John’s Quay, Kilkenny, has a local history collection, consisting of microfilmed newspapers, books on Kilkenny city and county, local history files, etc. The library has a brochure outlining much of their materials, including names and dates of the local newspapers they have on microfilm. The email address is [email protected] The website is http://www.kilkennylibrary.ie/. The lady who assisted me there was very helpful. I had the death date of Archbishop John Jacob O’REILLY, who was the nephew of my great-great grandmother. He was born in 1846 in St. John’s Parish, Kilkenny city, Kilkenny. He was the Archbishop of Adalaide, South Australia from about 1896 until his death in 1915 in Adalaide. He visited Kilkenny in 1905. It was his family I was searching for. We stopped by the catholic church, the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, John's Street and Dublin Road, which was built in 1908. We found out there was an old cemetery just down the street from the church. We had spent the first week of our trip in Dublin. I knew there was an old Catholic cemetery in Kilkenny city and that some cemeteries had been transcribed years ago, with the records being held at the National Library in Dublin or in the nearby Genealogical Office, which apparently is associated with the library. I enquired about these records and after a wild goose chase, finally was told that the records did exist but were being indexed and thus were not available to the public. These records would have helped greatly in allowing me to find my relatives. Please be advised to double-check those resources that you find in the Irish genealogy research books. That is where I learned of the cemetery transcriptions. Just because a book says a record exists, does not mean it is available to the public all the time. While walking down the street in Kilkenny, between the church and the cemetery, called St. John‘s Churchyard, I noticed a building, which was a row of houses. The sign on the building said "St. John’s Place." In the information that I received from the Archdiocese of Adelaide, South Australia, there were some letters from the Archbishop’s mother, written in the early 1900s. The address on these letters was 1 St. John’s Place! I had found the home of the widowed Anne GALLAGHER O’REILLY in her later years. I could see that some of the houses were private homes, one a Bed & Breakfast and a frame shop. On one side of the row of houses, was a stone wall and on the other side of the wall was the house where the priest lived. The church was on the other side of the priest’s home. St. John’s was the church Anne attended and probably where her funeral was held. There was a path or driveway that went from the street around to the back of the row of houses, but since it was private property, I did not venture forth. We entered the frame shop and talked to the owner, who was delighted to hear of our family connection to the building and the town. Always talk to the locals. You never know what you may learn. A year or two ago, I had posted on one of the genealogy message boards, about Archbishop O’Reilly and months later, received a response from a man in England, who turned out to be a cousin. We were able to obtain information on the Archbishop from the Archdiocese of Adelaide, South Australia, but no death dates for his parents. The English cousin has a cottage in Ireland and we were able to make arrangements to meet during our visit. On Sunday, August 4, Tony, his wife, and son, met my mother and I at St. John’s Church. we went to the old cemetery, down by the church. We started reading the stones, many of which were difficult to read. Tony yelled for us to come over to where he was standing. We all walked over and lo and behold was the grave of Tony’s ancestors and the parents of the Archbishop, Michael O’ REILLY and Anne GALLAGHER O’REILLY. Following is the inscription on the tombstone: Sacred to the memory of Michael OReilly late of the 60th Rifles and Sergeant Major of Pensioners Kilkenny District for 18 years who departed this life on the 8th January 1863 aged 60 years This tablet is erected by Magor J. G. Rogers as a mark of esteem for a brave soldier and an upright man Also his wife Anne who died Feb - 25th 1921 aged 95 years Requiescat in pace Tony’s son found another stone, that of the family of one of Michael and Anne’ s daughters, Kate. The stone is engraved on three sides. The inscription reads thus: Of your charity pray for the repose of the soul of Teresa the beloved wife of John Sherin who died June 21st 1870 aged 56 years The above John Sherin died June 13th 1879 aged 65 years Also his daughter Maria E. Coyne who died Jan 26th 1885 aged 35 years and his son John P. Sherin died July 25th 1908 aged 55 years Also Rev. Michael Sherin Rector Naremburn N.S.W. son of the above John P. Sherin who died 30th March 1922 aged 42 years May they rest in peace. Amen Also in memory of Rosaleen M. Sherin who died Oct-29th 1918 aged 32 years also Kate Sherin wife of John P. Sherin who died December 10th 1934 aged 81 years Also Cornelius J. Sherin son of John P. Sherin and husband of Rosaleen Maud Sherin who died April 12th 1960 Requiem Aeternam Dona Eis Domine >From the above and from other information I have received: Teresa, 1814-1870, married John Sherin, 1814-1879. They had a daughter, Maria E., 1850-1885, who married a Coyne. Maria’s brother must have been John P. Sherin, 1853-1908. John P.’s son was Rev. Michael Sherin, 1880-1922. Another son of John P. was Cornelius J., died 1960, who was married to Rosaleen Maud Sherin, 1886-1918. Kate O’Reilly Sherin, 1853-1934, was the wife of the above John P. The week we were in Dublin, I found the baptism and marriage records for the family of Michael O’Reilly and Anne Gallagher. Since I knew they lived in St. John’s Parish, Kilkenny city, I was able to locate the microfilm and the entries quickly. I will post the information in brief here. 1846 -- marriage of Michael and Anne. Pat GALAHER, probably Anne’s father, was a witness. The townland is given as Bamask? for the marriage and the baptisms of some of the children. John Jacob 1846 -- Mary DORAN, Anne’s sister, was a sponsor. William 1848 -- Ellen GALLAGHER, Anne’s sister, was a sponsor. Mary 1849 -- Sponsors were William DORAN, Mary’s husband and Kate GALLAGHER, Anne’s sister. Kate 1853 Anne 1854 -- Eliza GALLAGHER, Anne’s sister and my great-great grandmother, was a sponsor. Lawrence 1857 Teresa Ellen 1859 Elisabeth 1862 -- Eliza BYRNE, possibly the same Eliza as above, was a sponsor. My Eliza married a Byrne/Burns in 1858. Bridget 1863 -- This one is questionable. The mother given is not Anne Gallagher, tho the priest could have made a mistake. Also, the birth is less than nine months after Elisabeth, but again, the priest could have made a mistake. John became Archbishop of Adelaide. William is the ancestor of Tony from England. Mary must have married someone and had children, as she is mentioned in one of Anne’s letters. This Mary had a son John who lived in Rockwile? Kate married John SHERIN. Their children: Molly/Mary? became a nun with the Sisters of Charity, Little Bray, County Wicklow. She lived at Mount St. Anne’ s, Milltown, County Dublin. Justin was a dentist, emigrated to Australia and died in the 1960s. Michael and John were priests in Australia. Therese, 1884-1950, has a descendent in Australia whom I am corresponding with. Cornelius married and is buried in Kilkenny. Margaret, Peter, and Anne - no information. Anne, Michael and Anne’s daughter, apparantly died young, as she is mentioned in one of her mother’s letters. Lawrence moved to Castlebar? Teresa Ellen lived in St. John’s Parish. I do not know if she married. Any of this sound familiar? Debbie