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
We got back late last night from a great road trip during which we covered 16 counties across Ireland (see our route below). We traveled from south to north and back down again. And that’s what I’d like us to talk about today – the Counties of Ireland. Which county in Ireland are your families…
Do you wonder if you have Irish Castles somewhere in your Irish Ancestry. I have put together a list of castle-owning names. Is your Irish surname here?
For hundreds of years to up the arrival of the Normans in the late 12th century – Ireland was divided into many autonomous kingdoms – ruled over by a “Ri” or King. These Kings won their lands through military and political might – the boundaries of their kingdoms were constantly changing with the ebb and…
Today we’re looking at Viking, Norman, Galloglass and Planter (English and Scottish) names. Let’s take a few examples using the ancestral family of one of our Readers – Patricia Clarke (thanks, Patricia J ). Patricia gave me six of her family names: Byrnes, Clarke, Halpin, Leonard, Martin and Rafferty. While I may be COMPLETELY incorrect…
Would you like to run an Irish Castle for a day? Sound exciting? But we’re not talking about just a castle – also the large family estate of lands that surround it. A few weeks back, Carina and myself went to County Galway and visited Aughnanure castle in Oughterard. Ever been there? Aughnanure was the…
Here on the Letter from Ireland – we focus on your Irish surnames and where in Ireland they come from – why? Simply because this matters to people! The 3 most common questions I get asked are: Questions 1 and 2 are what we are all about, as for question 3? That’s one for our…
Is your surname Irish? Maybe you’re not sure if it’s Irish or Scottish. You’re not alone, many of my readers ask me if their surname is Irish or Scottish. In this letter I hope to answer this question for you and give you some facts about Irish vs Scottish surnames.