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

pride prejudice - Pride and Prejudice and Three Irish Surnames

Pride and Prejudice and Three Irish Surnames

Let me ask you a question: Have you ever considered the difference between the male and female of our species? I guess that the main differences, beyond the obvious, range across a wide variety of subtleties. Take myself and Carina, for example. We were both exposed to the prose of Jane Austen in school, through…

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Potato Blight - Daniel McDonald - Painting Ireland During the Famine

Daniel McDonald – Painting Ireland During the Famine

This week, we’re going to have a look at one particular name that is found all over Ireland and Scotland – perhaps you have it in your family? Seeing as we now have so many readers from all over the world, today’s choice of word and name seems very appropriate. You see, the Irish word…

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Mrs Brown - Do You Have an Irish Mammy in Your Life?

Do You Have an Irish Mammy in Your Life?

I was talking to Carina a couple of days back about last week’s letter. In it, we mentioned how hard it is to come up with stories and examples of strong women from Ireland’s past and present. It seems that the tales and accomplishments of Irish women down through the years have been underplayed, unreported…

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Sunset Skibbereen - How Many Generations Back to Your First Irish Ancestor?

How Many Generations Back to Your First Irish Ancestor?

Have you ever wondered when the first Irish ancestor to hold your Irish surname lived? How many generations does it go back from yourself? It’s a vexing question for many of us, mostly due to the absence of records here in Ireland from the early 1800s back. I’m settling into a cup of Lyon’s tea as…

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Moon and stars - Let us Gaze at the Moon and Stars: Agnes Mary Clerke

Let us Gaze at the Moon and Stars: Agnes Mary Clerke

This morning we’ll start with a place far away from all of us – but a place that all of us can see each day. In fact, over the coming days – November 14th to be precise, the moon will come closer to earth than it has since 1948 – a phenomenon known as a…

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