Kennedy

Hello, I am trying to find my grandmother's birth town. Born on the 8th January 1919 , her name was Brenda Kennedy (or Bridgit - she changed her name herself), father Patrick Kennedy. I know the names of two of her sisters Elisabeth and Mary, but there were more siblings. Can anyone help? I think in the Kerry area, but not sure.

Hi Fiona, 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 😊☘️ I'd love to see what I can do to help you find out more about your roots. 

Some helpful information to keep in mind during your research: Before 1864 records were kept in the form of church and parish records; while some of these have regrettably been lost over the years, all the surviving records have been sorted into county-based genealogical centres. 

In 1864 civil registration was introduced in Ireland, which is when we started seeing the formal registration of births, marriages, adoptions and deaths. These records have been kept at the General Register Office of Ireland (GRO), to this day.

Since you suspect that your grandmother was from the Kerry area, I had a look through the civil records. There are no results for a Brenda Kennedy, but there are 28 Bridget Kennedy's born in the year 1919. I couldn't however find a match when it comes to the exact birthday and the name of her father. 

Have you been in touch with GRO yet by any chance? They might be able to dive a little deeper into the archives. 

Warm wishes, 

Melin

Hello Melin, Happy St.Patricks day🍀. I looked through the civil records too and couldn't find anything. I am sure of her birth date though as she was an Elvis fan and loved having the same birthday as him 😂. No I haven't tried the GRO yet the website seemed a bit daunting

Warm wishes
Fiona

Hi Fiona, 

How lovely to hear that she was such a big fan of Elvis and that they share a birthday! Did you know he had Irish roots too? 😊

You are more than welcome to reach out to GRO directly via email to see if there is any information that might be interesting for your research. We also have a few genealogy experts here on the Community who might be able to lend a hand as well. 

In the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. 

Warm wishes, 

Melin

Hi Melin,

No I didn't know that Elvis had Irish roots, that is amazing.

Thank you for your tip of sending an email direct to GRO, I didn't think they would help without exact place of birth or exact name. As I mentioned before she told me she changed her name unofficially because she didn't like it, I am not even sure if it was Bridgit. I know it started with B as she told me she kept the same initial and I had always known her as Brenda. Even on her marriage certificate it is Brenda. This is all information I can remember being told as a child and young teenager,I just hope I listened well enough or she wasn't telling one of her tales.

Warm wishes

Fiona

Hello Fiona, 

Thanks so much for the additional information. Family stories are very helpful in finding information about your ancestors, so hopefully, it'll help you find out more. 

Do you happen to know her mother's maiden name? This can sometimes make it easier to find out more. If you send GRO a message, you can tell them you think that your grandmother might have been from the Kerry area because of her stories, and mention anything else that you think might be helpful as well. 

In the meantime, keep us posted on your findings, and we're here if you have any questions! :)

Melin

Hello Melin,

Unfortunately I don't know her mother's maiden name. Thank you for your support and I will keep you posted.😊

Fiona