I know it seems impossible and yes, Irish research is very impossible sometimes. I find that working on Irish families is easier if you work on them as a family group per generation. Collect as much material for each individual, literally like looking under a rock but keep collecting. I broke two Irish brick walls using the FAN principles.
If you have Irish immigrants, work harder to cite every year of their lives, even the poor farmers or factory workers. Sources: Obituaries, burial plot records, taxes, SS forms, voting records, military, tombstone inscriptions, city/town/rural directories, petty court records, census, agricultural center, local histories, naturalization, etc. Reading church records, page by page, is a great way to find out if your relative were godparents or witnesses for other relatives who immigrated from same regions. True, poor or working Irish did not have Wills or many properties transactions but they went to church.
Another word about burial plot records. This is not Find A Grave. One needs to go to the actual graveyard offices and pull out the plot records (even pauper solo graves). Sometimes by snail mail if you can't go in person. Many times I did research for a family group and found another generation buried that were not living for census enumeration. Plus, burial records give you exact dates to work on when you have common surnames like O'Brian, Sullivan, O'Connor, etc.
