About Us and A Letter from Ireland.

Mike and Carina Collins of A Letter From Ireland

Welcome to A Letter from Ireland.

 

Let me guess - you’ve been interested in tracing your Irish Heritage and Family History for some time now.

 

Maybe you've already travelled to Ireland? Perhaps you wonder if you will ever get here?

 

What you DO know is that your ancestors left Ireland for a better life - bringing with them their values and beliefs, many of which were passed to you and your own family.

 

Since 2013, we've shared our weekly "Letter from Ireland" and it has attracted over Two Million people of Irish descent around the world. They find that our Letters, Blog posts, Videos, books and Podcasts help them to understand what life was like for their Irish Ancestors.

 

For some, this information provides a rich backdrop to help with research on Ancestry Record sites. For others, the Letter connects them with their Irish roots in a very real and visceral way.

 

Here are just some reasons why some of our readers keep coming back to "A Letter from Ireland" for more:

 

“Trace your surname, discover where your ancestors may have lived and step into this fascinating and beautiful land that we love”. Sandy Laferriere.

 

“If you have Irish blood running through your veins, or even if you are just interested in Ireland, this site is essential.” Patty McCoy.

 

“You and Carina are melding a very important aspect of Irish history and heritage to our personal genealogical endeavors. Thanks for bringing it all to life for us!” Jack Healy.

 

 

Now, I think it’s time to introduce ourselves! We are Mike and Carina Collins - a husband and wife team based in County Cork, Ireland.

 

Our Irish Heritage adventure started when we noticed many people asking questions on Facebook about Irish surnames and the homelands of their Irish Ancestors.

 

We started to answer with our local knowledge - and those answers took the form of a weekly email called “A Letter from Ireland”.

 

In each Letter, we share stories of counties, surnames and heroic Irish individuals who made new lives for themselves across the world - often in the harshest of circumstances. Sound like any of your Irish ancestors?

 

Today, we travel around Ireland - gathering stories and sharing them with you through our weekly letters, blog posts, videos and podcasts.

Would you like to see the Letter and Podcast survive and thrive for the future - and receive some personal benefits along the way?

Recent Posts

Beara is the land of O'Sullivans

Irish Nicknames and your Irish Surname

Have you ever had a nickname? In your family – or with your friends – or maybe in school? I remember many of my teachers by their nicknames. There was “Small Tobacco”, “Seán Fada” (long John), “Birdie” and so on. That’s what we’ll chat about this week – the relationship between the Irish surnames in…

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facebook5 - Have You Heard Your Name in an Irish Accent?

Have You Heard Your Name in an Irish Accent?

Did you realise the difference a local Irish accent can make to the spelling of your surname? One of the harder parts of tracing the origins of your surname in Ireland are the different regional variations that it may have. In this letter, we will use one surname as an example of the way in which a name can evolve to have different spellings and pronunciations, but the same history.

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RSPCA - Animal Rights and Humanity Dick

Animal Rights and Humanity Dick

Let me start with a question – do you have a pet? Maybe you live on a farm and keep livestock? We had a Springer Spaniel and two cats up to quite recently – they lived long and happy lives in a loving family home. Well, one of our readers, Rob Hepburn from Northern California…

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Would You Like to Hear the Tale of an Irish Knight?

I’m having a cup of Barry’s tea this morning as we chat and I hope you’ll have a drop of whatever you fancy as you join me for today’s Letter. In fact, the Barrys of Cork have a small part to play in today’s letter. Over in The Green Room, I received a note from…

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Irish Rugby Team - United Surnames of Ireland

United Surnames of Ireland

Today, let’s focus on a recent battle that was fought between two close neighbours – Ireland and England. You see, just last weekend – the Irish and English Rugby teams met as part of the Six Nations Rugby tournament, the six nations being France, Italy, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. England have a super team…

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