1. Michael DOODY was born poss. abt 1820 in poss. Galbally or Knocklong, Co. Limerick.

Although our Doody family was thought to have come from Galbally, Co. Limerick, it's possible they may have come originally from Knocklong, Co. Limerick. According to Michael's marriage certificate, his residence at the time was Knocklong, half way between Knockainy (where his wife was probably from) and Galbally. We know from the baptismal record of his first child, Eliza, that the family lived at the time of the baptism in the townland of Bottomstown in the parish of Knockainy, and at the time of the births of the youngest children, the family was living in the townland of Ardnamoher in Galbally.

Griffiths Valuation (1847-1864) has been checked and there are no entries for anyone by the name of Doody in the parish of Galbally. The parish of Knocklong was also searched in Griffiths for Doodys but none were found there either.

The Tipperary Family History Research organisation was unable to locate a baptism record for Michael in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, which includes Galbally and Knocklong. However they did notice that the page from July 1820 to July 1821 was missing from the register, so if Michael was baptised between those dates, which he could have been, there's no longer a record of it.

They did find baptism records for a John and Julia Doody from Galbally. The names John and Julia Doody appear among the sponsors of Michael's children, so it's possible that Julia and John were Michael's siblings. On John's and Julia's baptism records, the father's name is James which was the name given to Michael's eldest son, possibly following the tradition at the time of naming the first-born son after the paternal grandfather. So it's possible that the baptism records found for John and Julia relate to Michael's siblings. Full details of John's and Julia's baptisms, along with those of two siblings, are as follows:

Father: James Doody
Mother: Catherine O'Connor
Parish: Galbally
John, baptised 14th July 1822, sponsors David O'Connor and Ellen Blackburn
Richard Doody, baptised 6th December 1825, sponsors Joseph Houlihan and Norry Sheedy
Elizabeth Doody, baptised 26th August 1827, sponsors Patrick Holway and Margaret Houlihan
Julia Doody, baptised 4th July 1830, only one sponsor, Ellen Landers

However further evidence would be required to prove that James Doody and Catherine O'Connor were Michael's parents.

Notes:

1. There's a record in the LDS Vital Records Index for the birth of a Honora Doody in Galbally on 13 June 1868. Parents were John Doody and Ellen Donohoe. Could John be the John above born in 1822?

2. The Doody surname is an anglicised form of 'O Dubhda', from 'dubh' meaning 'black'. Other anglicisations include 'O'Dowd', 'Dowd' and 'Duddy'. The O Dubhda family had for centuries prior to the Norman invasions of the 12th and 13th centuries ruled over large parts of north west Mayo and west Sligo. Some O Dubhda families migrated to Munster in the 16th century, possibly accounting for the presence of our Doody family in Co. Limerick three centuries later.

Michael married Johanna QUIRKE on 19 Nov 1848 in Galbally, Co. Limerick. Johanna was born in prob. Bottomstown, Knockainy, Co. Limerick. She died after 1900 in prob. Ardnamoher, Galbally, Co. Limerick.

Unfortunately all that's known of this Quirke family is that they probably lived in the townland of Bottomstown in the parish of Knockainy (also spelled Knockainey), Co. Limerick. Griffiths Valuation (1847-1864) was checked for Quirkes in Knockainy, but none were found in Bottomstown, only in Baggotstown East, Ballynagallagh and Patrickswell.

Witnesses to the marriage of Michael and Johanna were John Quirke and Johanna Cronin.  

Besides the surnmames Quirke and Doody, names that occur more than once amongst the godparents of the children of Johanna and Michael are Cronin, Noonan and Hennessy, so it's possible the Quirkes or the Doodys were related somehow to these families.

Note: The Quirke surname is common throughout Ireland, especially in Munster and the south east. The name is derived from the Irish 'O Cuirc' from the first name 'Corcc' meaning 'heart' or 'crimson'. Before the arrival of the Normans in the 12th century, the sept was based in south west Tipperary in an area called 'Muscraí Uí Chuirc'.