Do you have any school teachers in your family tree? Perhaps they have fond memories of the hallowed halls in which they taught, the ordered classrooms, fully stocked with the supplies of a good education. In this letter, we will visit a humbler school setting, that was the only option for many Irish schoolteachers during lean times.

The Fighting Irish – Is Your Irish Surname Mentioned Here?

Céad Míle Fáilte – and welcome to your Letter from Ireland this week. Well, the early summer is truly underway here in this part of Ireland. The cherry and apple blossoms are coming to an end, to be replaced by that beautiful light shade of green you see in the trees. A great time of…

Did Your Irish Australian Ancestor Follow the Black Velvet Band?

2.1 Million Australian citizens who identified themselves as being of Irish ancestry in the 2011 census. When I hear from our Australian readers, there is often at least one story of “transportation to a penal colony” in their ancestry.

Have you Unpacked Your Irish Family Tree?

We see a lot of Irish family trees both here and in the Green Room. Do you have an Irish family tree of your own? Perhaps handwritten in a sketchbook, or carefully constructed and annotated on Ancestry.com? What’s your biggest challenge/wish with the information on this tree? Do leave a comment below and let me know.…

Irish Surnames – County Cork Surnames and Places

Do you have a County Cork Irish surname in your Irish family tree? Here we include ALL the County Cork surnames belonging to our readers – and lots of pictures too!