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
Was your ancestor “out” in 1916? Explore how the Easter Rising shaped your family story and learn how to find their records in our Letter from Ireland.
Have you ever wondered why your ancestor lived with another family in records? Learn about the Irish Hiring Fair, the “earnest” coin, and the reality of life as a landless labourer.
Step back to 1876 with this fictional Irish ancestor letter. Experience the grit of farm life, emigration, and the deep family bonds of a West Cork family.
Beyond the myths of snakes and shamrocks, what do we really know about St. Patrick? We explore the true story of the man who shaped the Irish landscape.
Why did your Irish ancestors held such tiny plots of land? The Battle of Boyne might have something to do with it, shaping records and the world they left behind.
Ever wonder why your Irish ancestors left in spring? Discover the “hungry gap” and the seasonal rhythm that forced a choice between the land and the sea.
Discover how the rhythms of Irish life and the season of Lent shaped your ancestors’ world, from wedding patterns to the unique records they left behind.
Irish Matchmaker Tomás O’Brien had the power to shape family trees. We dive into the hidden world of 1880s matchmaking and how it shaped your Irish ancestors.
The hills, bogs, valleys, and coastlines we see in Ireland today weren’t shaped slowly over millions of years like many other parts of the world. Much of Ireland, as our Irish ancestors knew it, was carved into existence in a geological blink of an eye that happened just 12,000 years ago.
Brigid once dominated Irish birth records but has nearly vanished today. Explore the history of this powerful name from goddess to emigrant.