Dilllon / Hayes family

I am trying to trace family members from Tullamore, KIngs County (County Offaly). My great grandfather, John Hayes, was from the Parish of Carrick near the town of Carrickfergus. It would seem that he was a tailor by trade. He joined the British army at Templemore (6th Foot Corps?) on March 3, 1880. His father was William Hayes of Carrickfergus, Antrim. John Hayes married my great grandmother, Bridget Dillon in Tullamore, Kings County on 17 November 1882. My grandmother, Mary Jane Dillon was born in Tullamore on 21 September 1883. The family was posted to the West Indies in 1884 and returned to Ireland in 1886. A daughter, Adelaide, was born on 15 November 1886, just before their return. There were two more siblings, John, born 4 November 1887 and Kathleen Bridget born 10 September 1889. The family were posted to South Africa on 30 December 1886, where to my understanding John Hayes left the army in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa. I'd like to find out if Mary Jane Dillon and John Hayes had any siblings and whether any would still be in Ireland?
I shall be in Ireland for a week or so in mid-September and would appreciate any help.
Anthony Hubbard

Hi Anthony, 

I would recommend you subscribe to www.rootsireland.ie for a day where you can find the marriage record of John and Bridget, as well as what would appear to be Bridget's baptismal record and those of her siblings. Using the names and dates on their baptismal records, you will then be able to search for their own marriage records and then search for them in the 1901 and 1911 census returns available at www.census.nationalarchives.ie. 

Although we could not locate John's baptism on www.rootsireland.ie (we don't yet have records from every Church), we did find some marriage records where the father was a William Hayes which may be those of his siblings. We also found a William Hayes living in Carrickfergus on the 1901 census with his married daughter and her family - this could be your ancestor.

While you are in Ireland, you may wish to visit the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) which holds the majority of Church registers for the north of Ireland. You may also wish to book a consultation with one of our genealogical researchers in our offices in Belfast who can guide you further. You can do this by emailing enquiry@uhf.org.uk.

Good luck with your search and have a wonderful time in Ireland,

Kind Regards, 

Gillian Hunt
Research Officer
Ulster Historical Foundation

Hi Folks,

Wow - it's incredibly exciting that there is a possibility that both yourself, Anthony and Valerie may be related in some way!  

Huge thanks to Gillian for lending her expertise!  Be sure to reach back out to us, Anthony and let us know how this goes!
Hope you had a wonderful trip.

All the best,

Colin