Letter Archive
Welcome to the letter archive page for the weekly "Letter from Ireland". We started to write these letters in 2013 covering Irish Genealogy & Family History, Irish Surnames, Irish Culture & Customs and Ireland Travel, here you'll find a link to all of them.
Browse the letters listed on this page and jump to one that interests you, or enter a placename, surname or other item in the search box below to see related letters.
All of our weekly letters to date
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…
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…
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…
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…
Do Irish naming patterns work for you? Have you ever reached a stumbling block in your ancestry research? In this letter will will discuss a built in set of clues left by many of our Irish ancestors, hidden in the pattern of how they named their children.
Next month we are heading off to St. John’s in Newfoundland – and we’re really looking forward to our trip down the Irish immigrant trail in North America. Did you know that Newfoundland has the “distinction” of being the only place outside Europe given a distinct name in Irish? It was called “Talamh an Éisc”…
Just last night, we had a lovely dinner of poached salmon, new potatoes and green beans. The reason I mention this is because we celebrate the old feast of “Lughnasa” (pronounced Loo-nasa) about this time of year. It’s a traditional time in Ireland to mark the beginning of the harvest – and it certainly feels…
Do you remember being a child in the run up to Christmas? For most of us it was a wondrous time – and maybe you are still lucky to see that wonder in the eyes of your own children or grandchildren? In our house, among the very many preparations for Christmas, there was a focus…
I’m writing to you from the City of Montreal – as we continue our journey along the Irish Ancestry Trail in North America. I’m having some straight-up Montreal coffee as I write – and I do hope you’ll have a cup of whatever you fancy as we start into today’s letter. Just a couple of…
We’re spending our last day in Toronto as we conclude this leg of the “Irish Ancestry Trail”. One of our readers, Tony Dolan from Prince Edward Island in Canada – recently shared a story. Tony emigrated to Canada from County Roscommon in the 1970s and started work as a chef. He stayed in close contact…