About Us and 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
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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For decades, the “Mag Aonghusa” clan were the lords of the Ui Eachach Cobha tribe located in what is now part of County Down. Over time, their surname became anglicised as McGennis/McGuinness and their homeland in County Down became known as the Barony of Iveagh. Do you have this surname in your family tree? Maybe…
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It’s Easter Sunday morning as I write this letter and as we say in Ireland on such a day: “The sun in dancing in the sky!” Happy Easter to you and your family! We’re still on our Irish/UK roadtrip at the moment – travelling between the cities of Liverpool and Bristol. Over the next two…
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Have you ever been frustrated when you see an Irish surname spelled many different ways? I’m sure you have one or two of these in your Irish family tree. One of our readers, Chris Grissom, asked the following: “I have found there are several convergences of “Meagher” and “Maher” in researching my family. This is…
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How are things in your part of the world today? I’m delighted to introduce another reader’s “Letter of the Month”. We get so many stories each week, it seems a pity not to share some of the best. So, congratulations to Kevin Nolan who shared the following letter. “Hi Mike, I’m the product of a…
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