Roots Archive
Roots: Reynolds and Haughey
This month we are featuring the families of our new Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Albert Reynolds,…
Roots: Unusual Irish Names
My recent article on “That’s Not an Irish Name” has prompted a lot of comment…
Roots: That’s Not an Irish Name!
Names such as Kelly, Murphy, O’Brien and Ryan are distinctively Irish and are widely known…
More Articles
Roots: Doherty or O’Doherty
The Doherty or O’Doherty name has many variations, including (O) Dougherty, Daugherty, Docherty and Doharty. The name, derived from the Gaelic O’Dochartaigh, means (descended) from Dochartach. Dochartach was a descendant […]
Roots: Land Records in Irish Family History
In a previous article, we discussed the use of church records in researching family history. However, to access church records you will usually need to know where in Ireland an […]
Roots: Using Church Records
To do successful family history research you must know where to look. Knowing the sources and what they can tell you is vital to success. This column in the coming […]
Roots: Jordan, Rice and Power Families
Readers have asked about the origin of the names Jordan, Rice and Power, only the last of which is in any way common. However, some explanation is provided below. The […]
Irish Roots: Quinn, Quinlan and Quigley
Although the Irish language, or Gaelic, does not have a letter “Q,” the distinctive sound of the accented “C” in some Gaelic names has caused them to be anglicized phonetically […]
Irish Roots: Barry, Berry and Beirn
The Barry name is mainly of Norman origin and is very closely associated with County Cork. There is also a less common Gaelic origin from the Irish family O’Beargha, which […]