I visited Ireland in 2013 and through a few flukes of timing managed to locate my father's cousin in Longford who showed me a photograph of my Great Grandparents that I had never seen before and then took me to their graves. I also went to the archives in Dublin and managed to get a copy of my Grandfather's birth certificate, but found anything earlier was not available.
Upon returning to Australia, I paid for a subscription with Ancestry.com to see if I could trace my family back further, but eventually I hit a wall with with any new information, so I decided to write the The Sligo Weekender to ask if they could put a notice in their paper to see if anybody recognised the relatives I was searching for.
To my surprise, they actually printed a half page article that was a huge success, as I found family I didn't know I had (my Great Great Grandparents are his Great Grandparents) and they sent me a number of photos that again I had never seen before. They also managed to confirm some information that I had and advised me that they still live in the same family home (albeit renovated) as my Great Great Grandparents lived.
I hope to return in the near future and meet them properly as it has been a great experience finding family I didn't know I had.
I just wanted to show my appreciation to the paper for taking the time to help.
Regards, Gavin O'Reilly
