The earliest RC church records for Bray are not on microfilm so you will not be able to search them in either Dublin or the Family History Library. The Presbytery, Herbert Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow is the address. Make an appointment with the parish priest. Do a frequency and distribution of the surnames by using The Householders Index, (FHLC#919,001-7 or in the National Library of Ireland) a surname index of tax records in Griffith's Primary Valuation and Tithe Applotment Books or the CD-ROM Index to Griffith's Valuation. Griffith's identifies people between 1840 and 1864. Tithe Applotment covers the period of 1820 to 1840. This gets you to the parish level. These records give the names of the individuals (heads of households only), where they lived, the acreage, and the value of the land and building. These records do not give specific information about ages, birthplaces, and other members of the family. However, they point to the parish to search for baptismal and marriage information. The National Library has a Genealogy Office which you can visit. Many of the usual records are held there with people to help you. On your own, go to familysearch.org and search for grandmother's name and follow up on any likely responses. Then, proceed to the Family History Library and search the Catalog for Bray, Wicklow, Ireland to see what those holdings are. Go to The Heraldic Artists Ltd. at 3 Nassau Street (near the National Library) to browse their inventory. You can take the DART from Dublin to Bray. Have lunch in a pub and talk with the people. Walk around downtown Dublin. . .St. Stephen's Green, St. Patrick's, Dublin Castle, General Post Office, Grafton Street and Bewley's for people watching. I read this advice from a young man, "Grab a guidebook, a round-trip ticket to Ireland and go. Hang with the locals — go to a local pub and ride public transport or walk rather than taking taxis. Rent rooms in bed and breakfasts. Be patient, flexible, and smile." Enjoy. Ellen jJoanlaw wrote: > > Hello all, > I wonder if anyone could give me a bit of advice. > In three weeks time my husband and myself are going to Dublin for six days > short break,and when he is busy sampling the dark stuff, I want to do some > family history. > > I have very little info, the only thing I have is my gt grandmother was born > at Wicklow, and according to my late mother & grandmother the place she came > from was Bray. My gt grandmothers name was ELLEN BUCKLEY, born 1845-1850 her > father was JOHN BUCKLEY he was a builder by trade. They were Catholic's. > > What I wanted to know is where is the best place to start, I know my chances > of finding anything out are slim, but I would still like to try. > I wonder if anyone knows what information there is for this time frame, and > any advice at all would be very much appreciated. > That,s to everyone in taking time to read my message. > Very best wishes Joan. > > ==== SHAMROCK Mailing List ==== > ** SHAMROCK ROOTS homepage http://community.webtv.net/shamrockroots/SHAMROCKROOTS