Genealogy Chat

I am having major difficulty in finding the death and burial of my Irish ggranmother. The family are telling me 3 different stories about her death and none of them match up. I have contacted the Heath Executive in Ireland who have been extremely helpful and have found the birth and marriage records of this lady and are sending them to me but they are un-able to find a record of her death. The children were put into Industrial Schools in Ireland but still maintained contact with their father until he died. I am doing this for my mum as my nana had a hell of a life and my mum now wants answers. Nan spoke of the hell of the Industrial schools and of the beatings given out by the nun's and of working in the laundries. I would of thought the children would only have gone into these places if one or both parent had died. I have tried every avenue and all name variations and so many different websites but am getting no-where. My nan's father moved to England and died here but there is no records of his wife dying here or in Ireland. My mum is so determined to find out what happened that our flights are booked to Ireland to see if we can come up with anything there. The whole thing is a mess and I am sure that there is an answer somewhere but I just can't find it. There are alot more details but it doesn't seem right putting them on the board so these are the basics. If anyone can help me put this matter to rest for my mum's sake I would be extremely grateful. Regards michelle

Michelle, I don't really understand how it works in Ireland or the UK, but in Australia, we have had some similar things happen. Here the groups responsible, (some Gov., some churches,) are helping people to find the answers. I presume it was the Catholic church(only because of Ireland), but here the Catholic church heads are trying to resolve these things. I have sent people to the Church Head Office to get reports, etc. Most have been very helpful, however some have just not got records. I'd try the church. A letter setting out what you know and how much it would mean if you could find answers may work. Remember the people there now are not those who were the 'baddies' and most see how bad it was. Good Luck.

Thanks for the advice. I did find a web-site once for re-connecting families from the Magdalene homes/industrial schools, but typical I can't find it now. Will have a hunt around. Michelle