Bless you Mary - you may have little experience of searching Irish records, but I have none! Don't even get me started on my Mother's side, who she now wants me to research - her Mum was Mary Smythe, and her dad was Francis Browne! (shouldn't be difficult to trace eh? Smiths and Brownes in Ireland - heavens above!)

I did check Brian's site, and I too noticed Margaret Henney d. 8/4/1881. I know somewhere there is the exact dates of the censuses, and I'd like to check this out because if you notice, Margaret is alive and living with her daughter and son in law for the 1881 census, but died 8/4 same year - how sad, she was probably unwell at the time of the census, unless she met with an accident.

Sandra - no need to send me the images thanks, I have now found them. It just goes to show how creative you have to be with regards spelling, but I'm beginning to wonder just what on earth my real name is!! I grew up a Heaney, but this may not be the case it seems.

I'm delighted to still have these relatives as Manx born though. I'm sure with the name Heaney (or whatever it is) that somewhere along the line, they came over from Ireland, and I started out wondering if it was during the potato famine of the 1840s - I'm getting slightly nearer to that era now, so it's entirely possible.

Just one further detail: when I first started this search, Brian (and I think, Sue?) sent me some of the first Heaney 'sightings' and my GG Grandmother Sarah was living in Maughold St, as a general servant for a family called Christian (I haven't got my file with me, but will check this out) In the same street was my G Grandmother, Sarah's daughter Jessie (described as Henning, relationship - 'rearing') - I see that it was Robert and Margaret Christian she was living with - Margaret I now know, thanks to you, was Sarah's sister!

What a wondeful afternoon's work.

Thanks again to both of you.

Maggie