Waterford community bands together to help woman locate long-lost Irish family

A woman by the name of Carla Clark has taken to social media, particularly the 'I Am Waterford' Facebook group, in a desperate plea to reunite her late father with his long lost family in Waterford.

For a few years now, the Birmingham woman has been trying to locate any relatives she can find to no avail. 

Giving details, she said on social media that her father's name is Richard (Dick) McCarthy and was born in 1945. He was the youngest of three brothers, their names being Thomas (Tommy) and Michael. The family lived at 19 Cannon Street for a long period of time. 

Her grandmother's name was Bridget McCarthy nee Morrissey and she hopes to find at least her grave, if not any remaining family members. 

Thinking back to when she visited her father's home county as a little girl, she said that when they visited "he was extremely private regarding his family in Ireland" after his move to the UK at 17-years-old. 

She claims that "no one seems to remember him" and wants to learn as much as she can. 

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Carla's father, Richard, passed away seven years ago, when residing in the UK.

She said in the group, "If anyone has any information or know any of these people mentioned above, I would be so grateful for any information. Hopefully one day I'll be able to return my daddy to his mammy."

One commenter gave hope, saying he remembers the family but was "too young at the time to know where they were buried."

He went on to say that her grandfather, Thomas, was "a quiet man," providing insight she has always dreamed of. 

Carla gained hope from these comments after years of unsuccessful searching, saying, "I feel like I could potentially get somewhere here, finally." 

Many other people took to the comments to say they had older family living on, or near, the street, confirming they would ask if they had any information on the McCarthy clan. 

Another commenter linked the RIP.ie of Tommy, her uncle, which confirms he was buried in Slieverue Cemetary, offering a fresh glimmer of hope to the woman who wants to ensure that her father is at peace, with his family one last time. 

The once disheartened woman said, "This is honestly so lovely to read, I thought this morning I'll give one more try, and if not, I need to maybe give up on the search." 

Carla, who is in the process of planning a trip to Ireland, is certainly not losing hope now thanks to the community of County Waterford, and hopes to discover more information so she can honour and learn more about her dear father.