I have many "lost" Irish ancestors. This is the 2nd one I would like to look at. Patrick Donovan was born around 1871 in Ireland. Oral family history says he was from Bantry. This branch is Catholic. I've looked through the entire NLI Bantry film with baptisms in the correct time frame, and I don't see a match. His death certificate gives parents names as Daniel Donovan and his mother's maiden name is listed as Catherine Donovan. I don't know if this means she was actually Donovan as well, or if the informant didn't know her maiden name. I don't know if he perhaps was born elsewhere then moved to Bantry? The birth date given on his death cert is 17 Mar 1871 but in talking with a granddaughter of his, she said she always felt like that date was maybe a baptized on that date instead. On varying records, his birth year changes around a bit, usually between 1868-1872, but anything with a date, March is pretty consistent. I know quite a bit going forward from his marriage in Illinois in 1900, but so far have been unable to pin down a birth/baptism record, parents names (particularly mother's maiden name), or immigration.

I do have several items - death certificate, marriage certificate (parents names left blank), naturalization papers, WWI Draft registration, place of burial, US census records and a newspaper article requesting heirs to be advised that his will had been petitioned for probate.

I don't have any paid subscriptions to any of those sites.
Any ideas to get backwards into Ireland and confirm parent names and date/place of birth??
Thanks!!