Do you have an Irish surname in your family tree? In this Letter from Ireland we look at the Tribes of Ireland in 1150. Join us as we take a tour off the kingdoms at this time and the surnames associated with them.

A Roadtrip Through 17 Counties of Ireland: Part 1

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…

If you took all the Gaelic Surnames out of Ireland – what would be left?

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…

Like to run an Irish Castle for a Day?

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…

A Tale of Nine Irish Surnames

In last week’s newsletter we introduced Turlough O’Connor – High King of Ireland up to 1156. If Turlough was in the habit of reading maps back at that time, he might look at his kingdoms through the lens of this map – showing the major Tribes of Ireland at his time. Now, let’s take a…