Irish Surname Resources
In this section I have included all the letters (and podcasts) I have written that relate to Irish surnames. Ireland has one of the oldest surname systems in the world - originating from about the mid-800s - and knowing a little more about the origin and evolution of the Irish surnames in your family tree will often give you a greater insight into your own family history and Irish culture in general.
Browse the features 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 and podcasts.
Irish Surname Letters
Just this week I have had the following question asked a number of times: “Where in Ireland does my x surname come from?”. It’s a fundamental question for many of us – after all, we all like a sense of place in our lives. So, I thought it would be useful to share the following…
This week, we are going to feature a reader’s letter – one that takes you from a small village in County Kerry to the big port of Hoboken in the USA. Along the way, we’ll chat about Irish surnames, nicknames and tricky Irish pronunciations. But mostly this is the story of just one of the…
Now, if you were ever to take the south-westerly road out of Cork City, you would pass through the village of Ballinascarthy after an hour or so. On your left you might notice the surprising life-size sculpture of the original Ford Model T motor car. You see, William Ford left this area at the age…
There is so much talk of immigrants in the news around the world today – so I thought it would be useful to examine an Irish view of “immigrants” in ancient times through the names, nicknames and surnames that were often labelled on these immigrants. Names were given according to appearances – and one word…
I was working on an Irish surname last week – and was reminded by a reader just how important it is to understand Irish history and the origin of Irish surnames just a little bit so that you can start making more educated guesses as to where your Irish ancestors came from in Ireland (if…
Irish Surname Podcast Episodes
This episode explores the major Royal Irish surnames of O’Neill and O’Connor. We talk about Niall of the Nine Hostages, the patriarch of the O’Neills, and the singer Sinéad O’Connor.
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We look at the stories of two different Irish pioneers in early north America – in what is now the country of Canada. The first is the story of Denis O’Donovan – who had the opportunity to choose his final resting place – and the second is Tadhg O’Brennan who may have been the first…
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In this episode of the Letter from Ireland Podcast show, we travel to the city of Glasgow in Scotland to meet two proud Glasgow natives of Irish ancestry. Come with us as we get a unique perspective on this city that saw the arrival of so many Irish immigrants from the 1800s onwards.
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Do you have any Anglo Norman surnames in your Irish Family Tree? Then join us now as we talk about some of these Irish surnames and follow the Norman trail all the way back to Ireland.
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Welcome to Series 1, Episode 6 of the Letter from Ireland Show. In this episode, we look at Irish placenames and townlands.
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