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
I looked up the letters from this time last year (to see if the sun actually shone anytime in the past), and I came across a letter titled: – Religion in Ireland, A Methodical Approach – it got me thinking about religion in Ireland. One of our readers, Noni Morrison, was on sharing the story…
In times gone by, the first weekend in August was the start of the “builder’s holiday”. Our own family used to all pile into the car on the Friday night and head off to the wilds of Ballydehob in West Cork for a fortnight of laying about and not doing much at all. We really…
Join me for a short history of the Irish “water of life” – otherwise known as Irish whiskey! Hope you enjoy, sláinte!
I must admit, I find English – the language of this letter – to be one of the most beautiful languages in the world. Down through the centuries it stretched in the most imaginative of directions – absorbing the beautiful lines of poets and scribes who were supported by a wealthy power and taking in…
Today, we are going to have a “wander” around the place – covering two significant birthdays, one here in Ireland and one in France. Then, we’ll head over to Scotland for a reel or two. Finally, we’ll hear from a reader who ties a lot of these items together. Very international, I’ll have you know…
2.1 Million Australian citizens who identified themselves as being of Irish ancestry in the 2011 census. When I hear from our Australian readers, there is often at least one story of “transportation to a penal colony” in their ancestry.
We see a lot of Irish family trees both here and in the Green Room. Do you have an Irish family tree of your own? Perhaps handwritten in a sketchbook, or carefully constructed and annotated on Ancestry.com? What’s your biggest challenge/wish with the information on this tree? Do leave a comment below and let me know.…
Do you own a piece of Linen? How about Irish Linen? Maybe a nice tablecloth or even a cool dress or nice shirt? A few weeks back, I received the following email from Joan Adams: My ancestor, William Irwin, was born in County Antrim about 1703 and immigrated about 1741. I have long wanted to find…
A few weeks back, I mentioned Thomas Cahill’s book “How the Irish Saved Civilisation” – and I know a lot of our readers have already come across it. It tells the story of how Irish monks set about preserving Greek, Roman and early Christian knowledge through their manuscripts and teaching. It’s a wonderful little book…
One of our readers – Pádraic Mac Coitir (that translates into McCotter or Cotter in English – a fine Irish Viking name!) – was on to me during the week. Pádraic is a local tour guide in his home county of Antrim and also writes some very nice pieces for his local paper. So, Páidric…