Great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great…

Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago, Cemetery Records, 1864-1989

Making Irish surnames English – In 1518 the authorities of Galway decreed “neither O’ nor Mac shall strut and swagger through the streets of the city”. The names of the native Irish male population all names began with O’ or Mac meaning “grandson of” or “son of” followed by the personal name of the ancestor. In the late 16th century the Irish nation under military and social duress began the process of changing their surnames to sound more English. Despite popular beliefs the 12th century Norman conquest was not an English conquest. The 17th century marks the first true English conquest of Ireland which is reflected in the fact that it was suddenly un-cool to have an Irish surname in Ireland!To give readers an idea of the duress the population was under the English Poet Edmund Spencer (who spent 20 years in Ireland) called upon the English to commit genocide against the Irish. He lauded earlier works like that of Earl Arthur Grey who in 1582 used brutal scorched earth tactics which resulted in a serious famine which killed as many as 30,000 people in just six months. The Elizabethan conquest of Ireland (1565-1603) marks the first time a central government was established in Ireland. The native Brehon laws were outlawed and English law imposed. People were cleared off their land in a process we now call ethnic cleansing. To add insult to injury all things Irish were despised, including the Irish manner of hairstyles, clothing and everything else. Therefore it is not surprising that it became unfashionable to have an Irish name. While the surname change process was initiated by oppression it was not the sole cause. In the new political and social climate one could only hope to ascend through the social ranks by appearing to conform to the new social order. Gaelic families might use their surname to demonstrate their loyalty to the new power, while families of Norman descent hoped to mitigate discrimination and avoid having their land confiscated by calling themselves “the old English”. Thus surname change was an imperative of survival as the alternative was to face annihilation be it social, financial or physical. In reality many families had two names, one for official documents and another which they were commonly known by to their friends, neighbours and relations. A similar practice continues to this day most notably in the forename Liam, almost all bearers of the name are not called Liam on their birth certificate but William. Surname change was subject to a number of different processes which has led to the surname forms we have to day. Phonetic variations – English officials unfamiliar with the Irish language recorded surnames as the heard them and thus wrote the names down phonetically. For example Mag Oireachtaig (Ma-gur-ach-ti) becomes Ma’Geraghty or Mac Geraghty. Another scribe might hear it different like Mc Garrity or recorded it carelessly. Thus one surname takes on the appearance of many and we get all these variations Gerrity, Gerty, Gerighty, Gerighaty, Gerety, Gerahty, Garraty, Geraty, Jerety, McGerity, MacGeraghty, MacGartie, MacGarty and many more. Misspellings – were also common because the uniformity of spelling we enjoy today was not present in the English language until very recently. An interesting example is William Shakespeare (1564-1616) who spelled his name in a variety of ways. Despite his great learning and literary accomplishments 83 variants of his name have been attested in English source material Direct translations – of Irish names also occurs for example Ó Marcaigh to Ryder, Ó Bradáin to Salmon and Fisher, Mac an tSaoir to Carpenter or Freeman , Mac Conraoi to King, Ó Draighneáin (meaning from a place abounding in briars) is translated to Thornton. Ó Gaoithín (meaning from a windy place) is translated to Wyndham. Assimilation – is the name given to the process of substitution with foreign names of similar sound or meaning like these French examples. Ó Lapáin became De Lapp, Ó Maoláin became De Moleyns, Ó Duibhdhíorma became D’Ermott. Molloy (O’ Maol an Mhuaidh) and Mulligan (O’Maoláin) became Molyneux. Pure substitution – occurs where the connection between the original surname and the substitute is remote for example, Clifford for Ó Clúmháin, Fenton for Ó Fiannachta, Loftus for Ó Lachtnáin, Neville for Ó Niadh, Newcombe for Ó Niadhóg. Attraction – sometimes rare names are often subsumed by more common names. Ó Bláthmhaic is anglicised as Blawick or Blowick and becomes Blake Ó Braoin is anglicised as O’Breen, Breen becomes O’Brien, Ó Duibhdhíorma is anglicised as O’Dughierma or Dooyearma, becomes MacDermott, Ó hEochagáin is anglicised as O’Hoghegan becomes Mageoghegan, Ó Maoil Sheachlainn is anglicised as O’Melaghlin becomes MacLoughlin. The Gaelic revival movement of the 19th century caused many families to reverse the Elizabethan changes and they chose to restore the Mac and O to their surnames. Image taken from “Mapping the Emerald Isle: a geo-genealogy of Irish surnames” 1890.

A searchable map based on the 1890 census is available here: http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/ireland/

 Source (secondary):  FaceBook group, Twisted Twigs On Gnarled Branches Genealogy

Traveling by ship to Canada and then making their way to the U.S. Midwest via the Great Lakes is an often overlooked route that countless Irish emigrants took to that part of the country. One of the states that benefited from this migration was Ohio (OH). . . read more →

E-Book:  The Irish Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland — Nelson J. Callahan & William F. Hickey with an Introduction by Andrew M. Greeley

Navan, the county town, is in pleasant undulating country at the meeting of the Boyne and Black-water Rivers, with a recently developed industry deriving from mineral deposits. Navan is now one of the major centres for furniture manufacture in the country.

Boyne Valley in County Meath, Ireland The fertile Boyne Valley in County Meath first attracted settlers during the Stone Age. Remains of this ancient civilization are plentiful in the area and include Newgrange, the finest Neolithic tomb in Ireland.

In Celtic times, the hill of Tara became the seat of the High Kings of Ireland and was the Celts’ spiritual and political capital. Tara retained its importance up until the Norman invasion in the 1100s.

Meath’s rich soil has sustained hunters and farmers from ancient times up to the present day and has permitted artisans and craftsmen to create complex structures such as Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and the passage graves of Lough Crew.

The breathtaking beauty of the Boyne Valley still retains its capacity to attract visitors today just as it attracted the Celts and Normans centuries ago.

Apart from historical sites and beautiful views, the Royal County, as Meath is known, boasts a wide range of activities. Angling, shooting and horse-riding are all readily available. Cycling is an ideal way to explore the treasures of this County.

Featured Image:  Navan, Co. Meath, circa 1900.

A portrait of a place and a people existing now only in memory. . .

Courage came to me from the height of the mountain, and with it came the dignity of manhood, and knowledge of the Tree of Life, for now I was a branch, running with the vital blood, waiting in the darkness of the Garden for some unknown Eve to tempt me with the apple of her beauty, and that we may know our nakedness, and bring forth sons and daughters to magnify the Lord our God.

I saw behind me those who had gone, and before me, those who were to come. I looked back and saw my father, and his father, and all our fathers, and in front, to see my son, and his son, and the sons upon sons beyond.

And their eyes were my eyes.

As I felt, so they had felt, and were to feel, as then, so now, as tomorrow and forever. Then I was not afraid, for I was in a long line that had no beginning, and no end, and the hand of his father grasped my father’s hand, and his hand was in mine, and my unborn son took my right hand, and all, up and down the line that stretched from Time That Was, to Time That Is, and Is Not Yet, raised their hands to show the link, and we found that we were one, born of Woman, son of Man, made in the Image, fashioned in the Womb by the Will of God, the Eternal Father.

I was of them, and they were of me, and in me, and I in all of them.

Lineal consanguinity is that relation which exists among persons, where one is descended from the other, as between the son and the father or the grandfather, and so upwards in a direct ascending line; and between the father and the son or the grandson, and so downwards in a direct descending line. Every generation in this direct course makes a degree, computing either in the ascending or descending line. This being the natural mode of computing the degrees of lineal consanguinity, it has been adopted by the civil, the canon, and the common law.

Collateral consanguinity is the relation subsisting among persons who descend from the same common ancestor, but not from each other. It is essential to constitute this relation, that they spring from the same common root or stock, but in different branches. The mode of computing the degrees is to discover the common ancestor and, beginning with him to reckon downwards, so the degree the two persons, or the more remote of them, is distant from the ancestor is the degree of kindred subsisting between them. For instance, two brothers are related to each other in the first degree because from the father to each of them is one degree. An uncle and a nephew are related to each other in the second degree, because the nephew is two degrees distant from the common ancestor, and the rule of computation is extended to the remotest degrees of collateral relationship. This is the mode of computation by the common and canon law. The method of computing by the civil law is to begin at either of the persons in question and count up to the common ancestor, and then downwards to the other person, calling it a degree for each person, both ascending and descending, and the degrees they stand from each other is the degree in which they stand related. Thus, from a nephew to his father is one degree; to the grandfather, two degrees and then to the uncle, three; which points out the relationship.

The mode of the civil law is preferable, for it points out the actual degree of kindred in all cases; by the mode adopted by the common law different relations may stand in the same degree. The uncle and nephew stand related in the second degree by the common law, as are two first cousins or two sons of two brothers. But by the civil law the uncle and nephew are in the third degree and the cousins are in the fourth. However, the mode of computation is immaterial as both will establish the same person to be the heir.