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
Many Irish surnames derive from a group of warriors who arrived in Ireland as mercenaries from the 13th century onwards. They were called the “galloglass”. A few weeks back, I received the following mail from Brenda Mills – one of our regular readers: I would love to know more about the McCoy’s and where they came…
When I am travelling in Ireland and someone asks “Where are you from?” – the answer expected is almost always the county you live in or grew up in. Nowadays, we have a strong affinity to our county. It’s only when I travel abroad, I start to think of myself as Irish – do you know…
Last week I was invited to a dinner at Dublin’s Trinity College on a beautiful summer’s evening. Have you been there? As dusk fell we went for a walk among the grounds before the formality of the speeches and dinner. A sign caught my eye: “This way for the Book of Kells”. There we were, just…
A couple of days ago I was having lunch with one Ian Armstrong (Ian designed the cover of A Letter from Ireland). His family has been in Cork for generations – but his ancestors came from County Antrim in Ulster – and before that they arrived in Ireland from the Scottish border counties in the…
Many of the emails I receive each week are concerned with planning a trip to Ireland. Often, it is a first trip – and the person on the other end are worried that they are fitting enough in, going to the right places etc. You know yourself how enjoyable – and stressful – holiday planning…
This morning I sat down to write about “The 13 Pubs of Ballydehob“. As I pulled out my notes and started to write, I noticed something that took me on a completely different route to the one planned. So, the wonderful tales of Ballydehob and its 13 pubs will have to wait for another day.…
Over the last couple of years, I have noticed many readers mention that they have combined Irish citizenship with that of their own country – and many more asking what it takes to apply for dual citizenship. How about you – do you hold dual Irish citizenship? Would you like to? Do let me know…
Have you ever taken a trip to Ireland? Last week, Patrick Mullen (one of our readers) was looking for help. You see, he was planning his first trip to Ireland and was concerned about “driving on the wrong side of the road” and “the driving habits of the native Irish”! He was wondering should he…
Have you ever had a “run-in” with the law where you live? Just last week we got our first 2 “penalty points” on our driving licence. I know – that makes us fugitive outlaws! But that’s what we want to talk about today – the use of law (and the brehon families) in Gaelic Ireland.…
In last week’s letter from Ireland, we talked about the “Irish Diaspora” and I asked what part of the diaspora you came from. Well – the response was second to none (that’s very good in Irish parlance!). I spent until last Thursday reading replies that traced the tracks of many of your Irish ancestors. So…