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Rootgatherer (great pseudonym!), thanks for that. I imagine McCaffery could well be another form of McCarthy. Is this another piece in the jigsaw? Or a red herring? Who knows? :)

AustinQ, I've just realised Dundalk is in County Louth, adjacent to Co. Monaghan. So not that far from Carrickmacross. That marriage record could indeed be relevant.

Thank you Caomhin. Perhaps it would be worth investing in the birth certificate for Bridget Murray and see where that leads. It may then be worth looking at the Kerr / Murray marriage certificate.

I agree, RG - that's what I would do.

Rootgatherer & ArgyllGran, thanks for your help and advice. I'll do as you suggest. Wish me luck! :)

We sure do wish you luck Caomhin. Please come back and let us know when you get the certificate. :-)

Will do! Thanks again. :)

Fingers crossed that our guesswork is correct!

Hello again!

I thought I'd give you an update, as I've now received a copy of Bridget Murray's birth certificate.

Her date of birth was 5 July 1908, and as I already knew, this ties in with my mother's year of birth as derived from her marriage & death certificates. The excellent news is that the place of birth is given as Leege, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, which supports my distant memory of a document (not this one, I feel sure) that gave that address for my mother's birthplace. I can't imagine what that remembered document might have been.

Her name is given simply as 'Bridget'. This is disappointing, as I was hoping to see her middle names as well.

The 'Name & Surname and Maiden Name of Mother' are simply given as 'Margaret Murray'. Margaret is also the 'Informant' and her residence is given as 'Leege'.

Unfortunately, under 'Name & Surname and Dwelling-Place of Father' there is nothing but a horizontal line!

So, it seems your hunches were correct, and I'm almost sure Bridget is my mother, but without her father's name it's not a positive identification beyond all reasonable doubt, is it?

I'll now ask for a copy of the Hugh Kerr / Margaret Murray marriage cert and see if that takes me any further, though I'm not sure it will.

Any further thoughts you may have will of course be very welcome!

If the date of birth matches your mother's that certainly looks fairly hopeful. The marriage certificate is the next stage and will maybe help identify Bridget's grandparents.

Thanks, Rootgather. The trouble is, I don't remember my mother's exact birthdate- I was only six when she died. Anyway, I've ordered the marriage cert and we'll see what that says. Watch this space :)

Your mother's death cert should have her DOB on it.

EDIT:
Ah, I see from your earlier post that you have your mother's death cert, so presumably it doesn't give her DOB?
Scottish ones do, but I forgot English ones don't. (Have just checked some for people in my tree.)

Caomhin .
The document you cannot recall was possibly her Baptismal one....at the time in question and well into the 1970's 80s that one was more important than the Birth Cert.to the vast majority of RC Irish.

Hello ArgyllGran. My mother's death cert. is in fact a Scottish one, as she died in Edinburgh. However, it only gives her age, not her date of birth, unfortunately. Her marriage cert. also only gives her age. From the two I was able to work out her birth year and that her birthday fell somewhere between 16 April and 29 December.

Hello Eringobragh, that's a very interesting possibility. Thank you for raising it. But I don't know how to go about finding it in the records, assuming it exists. Any further advice, please?

I think it was about the mid 1960s when DOB appear on Scottish death certificates. Prior to that it just gave the age of the deceased person.

Ah, I see. Bad luck!

This is the website for the church in Carrickamoss. You could try contacting them.

The parish records are online but only go up to 1880.

Potty- did you forget the link? :-)

Caomhin

The Baptism Record will exist, and assuming as was the case then,( and by and large still is) the child was usually Baptised within two weeks of being born.

I would be looking at the RC Church in the Parish where the child was born... bear in mind it could also have been in the Parish where one or both of the parents originated and that could be not only another Parish but another County !!!..

Leeg is in the RC Parish of Killany (which borders the Co Louth)..their RC Records have been Transcribed but only up until 1881 I think...You would need to find out who is holding the later ones...some Registers are still with with the PP others have been deposited with the NA in Dublin.

Did your mother marry in a RC Church..? If she did then the Marriage Register of that Church may have details of where and when she was Baptised..Information essential for those marrying in RC Church and one of the reason why the Baptism Cert.was so very important.