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 –…

Saints, Scholars and Irish Family Surnames

A few weeks back, I mentioned Thomas Cahill’s book “How the Irish Saved Civilisation” – and I know a lot of our readers have already come across it. It tells the story of how Irish monks set about preserving Greek, Roman and early Christian knowledge through their manuscripts and teaching. It’s a wonderful little book…

What Are the “Approved” Irish Names in Your Family?

Many Irish families seem to feature multiple instances of the same forenames e.g you might find dozens of Johns, Marys or Richards – but very few Joans, Timothys or Michaels. This cumulative effect is often down to “Irish naming patterns” – but sometimes families have a special place for some given names. Last week, I…

Castles in Ireland – Our Top 22

Tower castle building was introduced to Ireland by the Normans on their arrival in the late 1100s. This type of castle is quite rare in England and Wales – but you will find them in the more “dangerous” parts of the world – Ireland and Scotland! The Gaelic Chieftains got in on the castle-building act…

Butler

Surname Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

An Irish Mentor

Saints, Scholars and Irish Family Surnames

What Are the “Approved” Irish Names in Your Family?

Castles in Ireland – Our Top 22

County Tipperary Surnames and Places