The Irish Kennedys are descended from Dunchaun, the brother of the mighty King Brian Born. The name comes from his father Ceann Eidig, meaning "helmet head." Appropriately, the arms of the Kennedys have three helmets.
From the 11th-15th centuries they were Lords of Ormond. The Kennedys dealt with the various conquests and confiscations better than many other Gaelic families. … [Read more...] about Kennedy,
O’Kennedy, Ó Cinnéide
Irish Heritage
Kennedy,
Irish Roots: The McNamaras
The hotel lobby buzzed with conversation. Irish inflections mingled with accents from New Zealand, Australia, England, Canada, and various parts of the U.S. And above the hum the name would grab my ear. "McNamara." "McNamara." As a reflex, I'd ram. And almost instantly smile and shake my head, laughing to myself at how often I kept doing that. Back in America, if I heard my … [Read more...] about Irish Roots: The McNamaras
The Origins of The Clan McNamara
The roots of the McNamara family are in the distant past of Thomond, the region of Ireland that today is known as County Clare. By the 11th century the sept (or clan) had become the Lords of Clancullen, the territory comprising most of East Clare. The Irish form of the surname, MacConmara, which means "son of the hound of the sea," eventually evolved into the two most common … [Read more...] about The Origins of The Clan McNamara
Photo Album: From the USA to Ireland
This passport picture of Peter Dolan and his son Andrew was taken in 1924 and was used when Peter took his then eleven-year-old son from Chicago to Ireland to be raised in what must have been at the time a rare incidence of emigration from the USA to Ireland. Dolan had been born in Croghan, Co. Roscommon in 1867. He emigrated to the USA around 1889 via Canada, moved to Chicago … [Read more...] about Photo Album: From the USA to Ireland
The Lady’s a Winner
Seventeen-year-old Lauren Byrne from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the High School winner in the National Annual Irish History Writing Contest organized by the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. Her winning entry contains excerpts from a young woman's diary who emigrated to America from Ireland at the end of the 19th century. Her story represents the difficulties faced by the … [Read more...] about The Lady’s a Winner