These three names and others of a similar sound such as Donnellan and Donlon are sometimes confused, as spelling variations have occurred among emigrant families. They are, however, totally distinct, and indeed both the McDonnells and O'Donnells are made up of several distinct septs. The main branch of the O'Donnells, based in Donegal, is the most eminent of the Gaelic … [Read more...] about Irish Roots : O’Donnell, McDonnell and Donnelly
Irish roots
Roots: The Lennons
All they need love – The Lennon Clan. Lennon, a surname found throughout all of Ireland, is the anglicized form of O Leannáin, or O Lionnáin, which has also been anglicized as Linnane and Leonard. The Irish surnames O Lonáin (Lenane) and O Luinín (Linneen) have sometimes also been translated as Lennon or Leonard. Many of the O Leannáin clan can be found in County Galway as … [Read more...] about Roots: The Lennons
A Family Tradition
The Murphy family business, which originated in 1939 with Margaret Murphy of Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, selling hand-embroidered linen, is now a major retailer on the world-wide web with over 50 items ranging from hand-knit Aran sweaters to a baby's Irish rugby jersey on offer. Margaret's two grandsons, Paul (42) and Conor (32) Murphy, have brought the company into the 21st … [Read more...] about A Family Tradition
The Story of the Irish Diaspora Wherever Green Is Worn
The Irish Diaspora is the outworking of two forms of colonialism, those of Mother England and Mother Church. I have been interested since boyhood in what was then known not as the Diaspora, but as emigration. Like nearly every other Irish person of my generation, some of my closest relatives were forced into unwilling emigration. I have always lived near Dun Laoghaire, where … [Read more...] about The Story of the Irish Diaspora Wherever Green Is Worn
Irish Roots:
Some Light on the Dark Clan
The name Delaney comes from the Irish O'Dubhshlaine. Its earliest anglicized form is O'Dulany with a broad `a.' Delane is another variant (the O' has been long since dropped). It is sometimes mistakenly associated with the Limerick surnames O'Duillean, Dillane and Dillin, though there is no relation.
Dubh means black or dark. That's the easy part, but some dispute arises over … [Read more...] about Irish Roots:
Some Light on the Dark Clan