Roots Archive
Roots: The McCooey Clan
The McCooey surname has Armagh roots, deriving from the Gaelic name Mac Cumhaigh, meaning “son…
Irish Roots: O’Connell, Connolly, Conlon and Connellan
William Connolly The name Connolly is derived from several different roots….
Roots: The O’Sullivans Past & Present
The O’Sullivan Clan of Munster has produced fine military leaders, sporting heroes, politicians, movie stars,…
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Roots: O’Mahoney, McMahon and Vaughan
The families of McMahon and O’Mahoney are related only by the common derivation of their names from the Irish name Mahon (in Gaelic Mathuna) which was a personal name, meaning […]
Roots: Phelan, Whelan, and Fallon
The origin of the names Phelan and Whelan is an excellent example of the vagaries of Anglicization of Irish names. Both of these names are derived from the same Gaelic […]
“No Man Left Behind”
“No Man Left Behind” is so much more than a slogan to me. In a sense, I contemplate Memorial Day year-round due to my work with the Army. For the […]
Finding Our Roots
For many Irish Americans traveling to the Emerald Isle, the chance to track down family histories and conduct genealogical research is one of the largest draws. Failte Ireland, the National […]
How I Found My Elusive John Murphy
The Deadly Trail that Finally Revealed a Phantom Branch of My Family Tree My earliest American-born ancestor was my great-great-grandfather, Edward Murphy. It took a while to figure this out […]
Irish Roots and Rituals
Growing up in New York City, I lived in the heart of the American melting pot. There seemed to be a festival or parade celebrating the city’s nationalities and ethnicities […]