Question of the Week: Do you have Irish Roots? [closed]

Question

Do you have Irish roots? Tell us about them with an answer below. You can also use the question image to share your answer with friends and family on social media. 

Comments

Great question Eowyn!
There are some very interesting family histories to read in the answers below.

---

Yes! I am the first American born in my family. My Mother was born and raised in Northern Ireland. Foley and Orr are the names I am researching on that side of the family.

---

I have O’Mara/O’Meara on my mother’s side.

---

My Husband is 100% Scots-Irish according to his DNA results, with 87% being Irish. (I do all the research for both of us.) Most of his ancestors came to North America in the 19th century, many settling in Newfoundland, Canada and Massachusetts, USA. A few went to Australia & New Zealand. His great grandmother was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His Irish roots come from Munster: Cork & Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, Mayo and others. Also from Galway,  Dublin, Carlow, Louth and others. I was so surprised that there was no other indication of any other DNA showing up! Does that happen often? It seems that even after his ancestors left Ireland they, for the most part,  continued to  marry only other Irish. Some left Ireland to work in the woolen mills in England for a time before coming to Massachusetts but they still married only other Irishmen. It's only our generation, (we're both in our 70's), that other nationalities start showing up in my husbands tree. It seems as if they would only marry other Irishmen. I realize that Ireland is an Island and not many outsiders would want to settle there but there had to be some (I'm referring to 200 plus years ago) Am I the only one that thinks this is unique/strange? I haven't seen any of his DNA matches that have this genetic make-up, even his cousins have a broad mix of ancestors.

Answer 1

"Patrick was a saint, I ain't"

Isn't everyone Irish this week?

Comments

Well I will be tomorrow the 17th March.

Answer 2

I have an Irish ancestor who is a brick wall: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Douglas-10589 .  The family thought he was Scottish.  His Canadian records show him born in Ireland.  Research brings these surprises, from time to time.

Comments

Although I didn't find your Hector Douglas, the book The genealogy of the families of Douglas of Mulderg and Robertson of Kindeace has a lot of Hectors in the family line. It might be just good reading for you or you may find a hint to your Hector.

---

Thank you for the reply, Richard. I've gone through the book.  I still haven't found any Irish Hectors, after the 17th century.

---

Research does bring these wonderful surprises!  I have links to County Donegal and County Limerick through an ancestor everyone believed was Scottish until I proved otherwise.

Genealogy is wunnerful, innit‽  

---

It sure is, Melanie.

---

I would love to make a connection back to Ireland, through Hector, and Sarah, but I haven't been able to do so, thus far.  Hope springs eternal..

---

So do I. Margaret Doyle, whose birth surname might or might not be Gorman, but who was born in Ireland in about 1801.

---

Mark, I find it fascinating that your Sarah was born a Hamilton, simply because my Co Limerick 4-greats-grandmother was a Hamilton born.

---

Melanie, maybe I should be looking for Sarah, rather than Hector.

Answer 3

My father was 100% Irish and my mother was 0%.

Do I get 1/2 of a kiss on St. Patties day?

Comments

A cake with light green icing?

---

Maybe with one lip?

Answer 4

Amongst my Scottish & English Ancestry, I've got a few Irish branches in my tree and even a German Irish branch as well.

My DNA proves that I'm 100% Mutt... LOL! :-))

~Brian Kerr

Comments

We must be kin. I have mutt DNA, too, Brian. (Even more so since I have Kerr ancestry, to boot!)

---

HA-HA Your a real Pip... Pip! :-))

My Mother's side is primarily a blend of Jewish and Italian Ancestry from various locations.

My father's side is a blend of Irish, English, Scottish and German Ancestry from various locations as well.

It's so fascinating to see (and can be frustrating to find) the various places my family came from.

~Brian Kerr

---

Your father’s ancestry matches mine.... same countries. (Toss in a little Welsh for me, too.)

---

It appears that were from the same/similar recipe of the Melting Pot.

I don't know if you're familiar with that saying... LOL! :-))

~Brian Kerr

Answer 5

Yes, my 2nd great grandmother Jane Walker was born in Galway, Ireland. When she was a teenager, she and her sister were able to leave during the potato famine. They lived in New Orleans, and that is where she met  Alexander McCullough, who was working as a shipwright. They had five children and moved to Pennsylvania to care for his ageing parents. Jane took a trip back to New Orleans to visit her sister, and she developed Yellow Fever. She died at age 39 and is buried in New Orleans. I wear this Claddagh ring that I bought in Galway to honor her. The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty. They have made these rings in Galway for over 300 years. It is the only ring that i wear on my right hand.

Comments

This ring is beautiful, wow Alexis what a great story you bought the ring to honour Jane

How sad she developed yellow fever what a sad story.

Dying only ages 39 that is terrible

Thank you for sharing this story

---

Maith an cailín thú, Alexis

---

Brian,Tapadh leat. 

---

Alexis, I wear a Claddagh tie tack slash lapel pin! (I have a ring, too, but I’m hands are too big now to wear it.)

---

Thank you for your comment Pip. You must have gotten your ring long ago, and I have never seen a label pin. The ring I have was bought after my hands started swelling, so that is truthfully why it is the only ring I wear. There is a detective on a police show that wears a Caddagh ring.

---

Actually, Alexis, my wife bought it for me in Wales some 20+ years ago!

---

What a beautiful ring. I really like the design. Thank you for sharing it.

---

Thank you Marion for your very nice comment.

Answer 6

My grandmother was a Mulholland although they lived in Scotland since the 1790's.

Answer 7

My maternal grandfather was from Belfast and there's an interesting story behind things here.

My maternal grandmother was the youngest of 4 children, born in Uganda and raised in an English private boarding school. Whilst her siblings remained in England, my great-grandad was facing financial difficulties and so had her moved to an Irish boarding school, which was cheaper at the time.

She remained in Ireland for a little while, studying at Queen's University in Belfast, and during this time she ended up in a relationship with my grandfather - when the time came for her to move back to England with the rest of her siblings, he went with her. They eventually divorced, with my grandmother claiming she liked his family but not him (which I always thought was funny but also unfortunate), grandad dropped contact with everyone but remarried and stayed in England.

What's crazy about the whole thing is, if great-grandad never had any financial problems, my grandmother would've almost definitely stayed in England, and things would've went quite a bit differently for them both (with my grandad likely remaining in Ireland).

Edit: another interesting thing is that one (but only one that I know of) of my grandad's lines actually traces back to Scotland once you go far back enough.

Comments

Cool (if sad, kinda) story, T.

Answer 8

Yes but maybe no.... My maternal grandmother was born in Belfast, and emigrated to Canada at age 12. However... both of her parents' surnames were very, very Scottish. I have not yet been able to trace their lines back to Scotland, though.

Comments

Surname alone doesn't mean a lot.  There were Scots who became Irish and Irish who became Scots.  And there were Scots and Irish who shared last names because they were all descendants of the Normans.

My one "Scottish" 3-greats-grand turned out to be Irish, but his last name is still Scottish in seeming.

(Yes, him again, but he's the only example I have!)

---

I saw that, Melanie!

Answer 9

My 3rd great grandfather John McKnee was born in County Galway circa 1829 and emigrated to Virginia before 1850; my great-great-grandfather David Dillon was born in Listowel, County Kerry, in 1845 and came to New Orleans in 1848 with his parents and younger brother Michael.

Answer 10

Yes, Surnames are Barris, Morley, McCain and Newcomb. are all born in Ireland.

Answer 11

My direct paternal line is off of R-DF105 with a likely NPE for my 2rd GGF. Likely surname candidate is Dowling and atDNA matches suggest his biological father is likely James Dowling. Also match Downing/Downen lines more distantly. One of these days some descendant will accept offer for a sponsored YDNA test to confirm. 

Answer 12

David Downing from County Cork, born around 1725, was my 5th great-grandfather. He immigrated to present-day Prince Edward Island, worked for the island’s surgeon (possibly as a valet), and married an Acadian. The name Downing became Donelle for many of his descendants in southeastern New Brunswick. He’s the main reason for 12% British and Irish ethnic origins in my DNA results.

Answer 13

Yes, but I can't prove it because of the brick wall I've hit with my Ratliff family line!

Answer 14

I do and once their record goes to Ireland that is where I usually leave them just like O'Brien-5195, Unknown-333835 and Teague-2265. Others I know are Irish but I haven't even been able to get them there like Magee-1286... yet.

The quest is always ongoing.

Comments

Don’t give up, Leilani!

Answer 15

I have Irish roots through my mother's side. My Great-Grandfather John Leo Sloan Sr. had 100% Irish heritage. 3 of his grandparents were born in Ireland. And his Paternal grandmother Mary Ann Alpin was the daughter of Irish immigrants. His great-grandfather Christopher Sloan is a brick wall that I've been trying to break down for a few years now to no avail. 

Oh those illusive Irish records.

I also have distant Irish roots through my maternal grandfather. He is a descendant of James C. Dixon who came to America from Ireland before the American Revolution.

And on my dad's side as well. I descend from Elizabeth Walsh who was born in Nova Scotia. And Canadian census records list her nationality as Irish. I don't know who her parents were for certain. But I did find 1 record that possibly points out who her parents might have been.

And overall, according to Ancestry DNA. I am approximately 25% Irish.

Answer 16

My paternal grandfather was not Irish at all (Swedish/German) and my maternal grandfather seems to be only English but everyone else is either Irish or descended from Irish.

Answer 17

I am proud to be a direct descendant of Honora Mary O'Flynn Logsdon b. abt.1681 County Kerry, Ireland.

The beautiful Irish lass with flaming red hair, who was kidnapped from the southern coast of Ireland by the British to be bartered in Maryland. William Logsdon paid a hogshead of tobacco for her passage and later became her husband.

Comments

What a fascinating story, Kat! Could be made into a book.

Answer 18

Until yesterday, I thought I had Irish roots. According to family lore, "the Lanes came from Ireland." According to 23andme, I am 70.6% British and Irish. When I went to answer this question yesterday, I took a closer look at the 23andme report to find my exact percentage of Irish ancestry. It was zero! The report showed that I had ancestors in 9 cities and towns, 8 of them English and one of them, Gwynedd, Welsh! So I spent yesterday reading about Wales. Next St. David's Day, if you ask "do you have Welsh roots?", I will say yes.

I did, however, buy some corned beef and cabbage to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. People in Ireland do not eat corned beef, which originated with New York Jews. People in Ireland eat potatoes, which originated in Peru. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Comments

People where I’m from eat potatoes, too, Joyce. Lots of them. I must be Peruvian-Irish.

---

I suppose you usually make them into French fries?

Answer 19

Yes, I do have Irish roots in Counties Clare and Limerick through the Hehir and Maloney line of the Kemp family tree. :-)

Comments

I too, am a Maloney descendent, out of NY, Canada, then back to Ireland (Ctys Cork, Limerick and various other counties).

Answer 20

Yes, my 4th great grandfather John Burk has a very interesting story.

He was born in Ireland about 1746. He was consigned into the English Navy and abandoned ship near Boston, where he joined the Patriots and fought at Bunker Hill. He was captured at the Battle of Bemis Hill (Saratoga) and taken as a prisoner to Quebec, where he and 14 others escaped after several years.

After the war, John Burk settled on a farm in Vermont. About 1800 he returned to visit his native Ireland and brought back what was known as the "Burk Potato". Shortly thereafter, several potato distilleries were established near his home in Vermont. In 1807 the town selectmen voted "to take proper care of John Burke and his property, so that he not be allowed to squander it away. Burke was addicted to hard drinking."

Comments

Yes, that is an interesting story! Thank you!

---

What a story!

---

Wow! That is an amazing story!