In this article, we look at Irish Surnames – their origins and evolution. See if you can find the Irish surnames in your family tree in one of the sections below.

An Irish Mentor

Céad Míle Fáilte – and you are very welcome to this week’s Letter from Ireland. It’s a bring day here in County Cork – and shaping up to be a very nice day for the sea and maybe a few photographs. I hope you are doing well wherever you are in the world today –…

Tralee to Kilkee on the Wild Atlantic Way

Coming into the town of Tralee – the administrative capital of County Kerry – my mind always goes back to the Rose of Tralee festival. Specifically to the early 1980s and heading down to Tralee for the craic, sleeping only when necessary and wherever possible. Funny how those memories can colour your impressions of a…

The Ring of Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way

The thing that hit us most as we wandered into the colourful village of Sneem was the smell of turf fires! A real smell of Kerry for us. The village offered a welcome rest after the snaking road out of Killorglin and getting stuck behind a tractor or two. The other thing about Sneem are…

Sheeps Head Peninsula and Bantry on the Wild Atlantic Way

When we look at Irish surnames today, it’s easy to get confused when we see names that appear to have several different spellings, some look very English or Scottish – how could they be Irish you ask – while other names appear to randomly have an “O” or “Mac” in front of them. Before We…