Hi All.

A friend of mine is researching her grandfather, John O'Reilly, of County Cavan, who was born in 1843. He went to Sidney, Australia, in search of gold. Family history says he found gold and came home and built a house for his mother.

My friend would like to construct a timeline of the grandfather's life. The grandfather wrote poems, supposedly while he was in Australia, that included the death of a son in Cavan.

My question is, does anyone know if and how much communication went on between the men who went to Australia and their home county? Is it likely he received the news of the death while he was in Australia?

Thanks for your help.

Bonnie