Do you have Irish Ancestry or love all things Irish? Join us in the Irish Roots Project! [closed]

Question

Fáilte!!

The Irish Roots Project co-ordinates the efforts of Wikitreers who have Irish ancestry and/or would like to improve the profiles of Irish people and the Irish diaspora on Wikitree.

There has been an explosion of free Irish genealogical records in the last few years and there has never been a better time to bust those brick walls and improve the Irish profiles on Wikitree.

If you would like to join the project we would love to have you.  Please post an answer below (including your research interests and what you would like to work on) and follow the instructions on the project page.   

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Irish_Roots

Comments

Hi, this is one Monkstown connection I know.  Thomas Ridgate Maunsell was from Monkstown.  It may be that Maria and Charles are related.  Do you know when Charles was born??

Thomas Ridgate Maunsell is the son of Edward Maunsell and Catherine Ridgate.2 He married Maria Fortaye Daly, daughter of James Daly, on 13 November 1795.1

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Hopefully we're on to something here. Charles Daly was born about 1825 or 1826. In know that he also lived in Kings County just before he immigrated to America in January 1851. There's a slight possibility he was also in Listowell, Kerry, Ireland.

Oh the tangles!

Thanks for the lead!

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Hi Heidi and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.   Thanks Anon too for your assistance.  Good luck ot both of you with your research !!

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Please add me to the Irish Roots Project. I have ancestors Forbes from Longford, Carew from Dublin and a few others.
Many thanks

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Hi I'm very interested in finding out more about my anscesters - the Childress/Childers Family - I've also been told the Glass Family and possibly the Kidwell family have Irish ancestry. Thanks again

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Hi Kelly and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.

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Hi Pam,   It looks like you were not signed in when you posted your request.  Are you Randall-1912 ?   

I see you have a guest membership on WikiTree.  Before I can award you the Irish Roots Project badge I need you to volunteer to grow our worldwide tree and "sign" our honour code.  It's just a click.  See https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Member_Types for the link.   Come back to me when this is done and I'll be delighted to award you the Project badge.

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The McCoys are from County Sligo.  The Roachs and Leonards from County Mayo.  The Meaneys from Inishowen.  Cheers!  Truly,  C M McCoy

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Hi CM,  welcoem to WikiTree and to the Irish Roots Project.

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Hi-I have been trying to find my grandfathers Irish family.  His name was Oliver Riddle/Riddell from County Tyrone.  I believe Oliver is really his middle name as all most every male in that family went by their middle name.  He was born March 1815 arrived inCanada about 1834.  He spelled his name Riddle and identified as Anglican Irish.  At some point his son my great grandfather Wm Oliver changed name to Riddell and Oliver Sr also changed his spelling and they then identified as Scottish.  Thanks for any help.  Other Irish are Smythe,Burns from County Antrim.  Also moved to Canada

Answer 1

I have Irish ancestry that on the McCullough side that leads directly to Ireland.  And if ancestry.com & geni.com are to be believed, I am descended from High King Brian Boru as well.

I would like to be able to research and clarify my Irish roots and be able to pass them down to the rest of my family.

Thank You,

Brian Lange

Comments

Hi Brian, thanks for your message - welcome to the Irish Roots Project!  Please follow the guidelines on the main project page.

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Hello.  Yes, my father has the haplogroup for Brian Boru.  I'm interested in creating a database of our ancient Connaught Clan.  So far, my father's oldest Irish Y-haplogroup is for Bressal Breac circa 200BC.  Cheers, we are from County Sligo, most probably near Easkey.  Please have a great day:)  Colleen

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According to both Ancestry.com and Geni.com I am descended from Brian Boru through my Scot ancestors to the son of Sitric Silkbeard and his wife who was Brian Boru's daughter.  This was found using records and not genetics, so I am slowly trying to verify each step before being completely satisfied with the results.  Who knows, perhaps we are cousins.  Have a nice day Colleen.

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Cheers, Brian.  I didn't realize we could find our ancient Irish ancestors through DNA either, but I've researched each McCoy Haplogroup and my father has the haplogroup of Bressal Breac the High King of Ireland circa 200 BC.  I have created a spreadsheet if you want a copy.  My ultimate goal is to create a database of our ancient Connaught Clan.   Please have a groovey day.  Truly,  Colleen McCoy

Answer 2

Hi, I'd like to be added. I have ancestors through my maternal grandfather,  William Harty and his father William Harty Mahoney. I would like to work with the area of Doneraile, where my ancestors were from.

Comments

Hi, thanks for your message - welcome to the Irish Roots Project!  Please follow the guidelines on the main project page.

Answer 3

I would love to join the Irish Roots Project.  My ggg grandfather George Love II was born in County Tyrone in 1784 and immigrated to the US with his parents George Love I and Mary Isabella Smith in 1790/91.  They eventually settled in Belmont, Ohio.  I obtained some of my data from Ohio Valley Genealogies by Charles A. Hannah.  George Love I may be the son of Robert "of Ballyfolliard" Love and grandson of Robert "of Strabane" Love.  There is a bit of a mystery regarding parentage as Robert of Strabane had children illegitimatly through Agnes Matthews.

Comments

Hi Janice, thanks for your message - welcome to the Irish Roots Project!  Please follow the guidelines on the main project page.  Good luck with your research.

Answer 4

I have hit the proverbial brick wall for my Irish ancestry. At this time I am following any lead possible on Census reports and checking into neighbors. I haven't taken my DNA test yet because there is something Magical to me about discovering who I am from old records.

I have hit a big snag in my research. I do not know when my ancestors arrived, where they arrived or where in Ireland they came from. I only know what I have been able to piece together using familysearch and ancestry. (they settled in Philadelphia NY, had around 8 kids, and were buried in Jefferson County NY)

I am researching any and all things Irish (Irish wedding tradition, the potato famine, northern Ireland Orourke Castles etc...) Especially my Irish surname (Rourke, O'Rourke) I have always felt a true connection to Ireland, something deep in my soul that calls out for a home I have never truly known.

I would love to be able to contribute any information I find on my hunt for my Ancestors.

Comments

Hi Alicia, welcome to the project!

Thinking of ideas, one reason why you might do a DNA test is that even if you don't get any recent matches, often you get matches to people with recurrent surnames or locations.  For example, I frequently get 4th cousin matches with people whose Irish family ties go back to Northern Ireland.  I have no knowledge of any Northern Irish links in my documented records but it makes me wonder, it is at a point now where I no longer think it is just coincidence.

You may get even luckier and get a match with your known surnames at a 3 or 4x cousin level.  This may give you a clue to then explore the many Irish records that are now online.  I am assuming you do not know the names of your immigrant ancestors parents?  It might be worth exploring the names of their first born kids, the Irish naming patterns were fairly commonly used through the 19th century.  I have this several times over with my Irish immigrant ancestors for example.

My 3x great grandmother was an O'Rourke - she came from Tullamore if that is of any help!  :-)

Another suggestion - my Irish ancestors came to Australia and they all settled near their friends and neighbours in the same towns in Queensland on arrival.  It makes sense - you come to a foreign land and you move somewhere where there are people you know.  It might be worth looking into the antecedents of the Irish community in the area of Philadelphia (if you know it) when they first landed in America - chances are they knew someone there.  It probably is a shot in the dark, but if they lived in a place where many immigrants came from County Cork (for eg), that might be a clue as to where your ancestors came from.  If you can get hold of baptism records, who were the godparents?  

Lastly, Ancestry has a resource (cannot remember the name) which is an Irish American newspaper where people often posted classified ads seeking loved ones.  Worth a try?

Some of these techniques have worked for me - I definitely feel your pain having Irish ancestors!  We just have to get creative!    However my biggest tip is the DNA testing - you will be amazed what you can uncover.  I have broken one of my Irish brick walls using it - my 2x great grandmother who came to Australia had no known family, we only knew her father's name.  I have now found descendants of her sister living in America one of whom had a wonderful story to tell about the family.  I still dont know where exactly in Ireland they came from, but the oral family history was just terrific.  I say go for it!  Good luck with all your research :-)

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Your feeling about your roots is certainly not new to me.  Checking into my Druid origins I have looked into a number of societies who purport to be schools or organizations of Druids. These appear to me to be simply Adaptations of Wicca or German magical beliefs and have never rung true to me.  Good friend of mine is Irish born and also feels a great connection to the Pre-Christian Irish way of life.  Both of us agree that Druidism is a way of looking at life and in no way what might be called a religion.  Both my parents and many of the Irish (mostly Irish Catholics) I have come to know have an instinctive belief in reincarnation, a druid belief, despite 1500 years of Catholic preaching against the idea.  Many Irish families still set an extra plate at the table for "the man who is crossing the bog."  This is a Druid custom arising from the fact that hospitality to wayfarers and strangers was considered of the utmost importance by the Druids.  Although the Druids had no laws punishing even extreme Crimes under Christianity (bad  actions up to and including homicide were litigated in Civil courts with Civil type punishments), flagrant violation of Hospitality was punishable by death.  Druidism was non-materialistic, non-hierarchical, non-sexist, and although some families appear more often in such list as exist, non-hereditary.  Perhaps the Irish Celts, ( the only ones I know much of) evolved into a world view and lifestyle that dictated the nature of Druid beliefs.  In which case a longing for the ancient people and homeland would be natural . . . genetic.

Answer 5

I would like to join this project. Although it may be that only two or three generations of my direct line lived there, others remained. Part of the English Plantation, evidently, but then became Quaker. County Armagh.

Comments

Welcome to the project Glenn!

Answer 6

I have Irish on my Lewis (maternal maiden) side from Ireland, and my other names are Hiner (maternal grandmother maiden), Like (paternal surname), and Smith (paternal grandmother maiden). I love all things Irish and would love to join the project

Comments

Welcome to the project Jeremy!  Please follow the instructions on the project page to take things from here.  Thanks!

Answer 7

Looks like my Smith paternal line came directly from Ireland in the 1800s, I'd be interested in joining this project!

Comments

Welcome to the project Joshua!  Good luck with the brick walls

Answer 8

I would like to support the Irish Project as I have a great great grandfather who was born in Nenagh, Tipperary, and would like to discover more about his family history.

Comments

Hi Mike and a warm welcome to the Irish Roots Project.   Good luck with your family research.

Answer 9

I am looking for information on William Hunter (Hunter-9770) who immigrated to the US from County Tyrone around 1833.

Comments

Welcome to the project Abby!

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Thank you.  Can you tell me how to use this project to find information on my ancestor?

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Hi Abby - Have a look here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:External_Resources_for_Irish_Genealogy_Research   for links to the various Irish information sites.

Answer 10

I would like to join the project, I have McMahon ancestors from Tipperary, Ireland, that I would like to find information on.

Thank you, Phil McMahon

Comments

Hi Phillip and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.

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Thank you Maria

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Hi Phillip, McMahons from Tipperary could be any of the following:

- McMahon clan from the Airghialla confederation in south Ulster;

- McMahon clan of southwest Co Clare.

- either of the O’Maghna or the O’Mochain clans of Aidhne in south Galway, both of whom anglicised their name to Mahon. The during the Gaelic Revival when the Gaelic prefixes Mac and O were resounded, there were Marine who mistakenly adopted the wrong prefix, presuming themselves to be MacMahons when they were really O’Mahons. The McMahon surname is a good example of how the genealogical egg has been scrambled by foreign occupation, dispossession, forced transplantation, anglicisation of surnames, etc.

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Thank you Rory, The Ancestor I have gone back to was John McMahon, McMahon-2250. He arrived in Australia from Ireland sometime from his birth in 1814 Country Tipperary to his marriage in Yass, New South Wales, Australia in 1846, to Mary Ann Rowe. John died 13 Sep 1868 and is buried in Queanbeyan. His father was also John McMahon who I believe was born in 1793. Any leads you can give me would be appreciated. Phil.

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Phil, I take it that only the county was named. That’s common in Irish genealogy. Tipperary is a big County to search. Griffith Primary Valuations are the usual Cencus substitute to use, but your family left 1846, before Griffith compiled his Valuations in the 1850s. You may have to do what I did and go through the Tithe Applotment books of the 1820s. I was lucky enough to find a DNA match with a Kane whose ancestral parish bordered Dunmore, Co Galway. The penny dropped. That was the name of the family farm in Victoria. No guarantees it will work the same way for you, but I would be inclined to test both Y-DNA and Family Finder at Family Tree DNA if you have not already done so. I have collaborated with the guys at the McMahon DNA at FTDNA. Good guys. Not everyone helps, but they do.

Answer 11

I have irish in my tree, have not looked into it yet. Should be fun

Comments

Hi Brock and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.

Answer 12

My mother was a Riley who told me they dropped the "O" crossing the ocean so I assume we were O'Reilly's before. I have hit a brick wall with this side of my ancestry and would like to work on this connection.

Thanks.

Comments

Hi Dennis and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.

Answer 13

My name is Amanda and I would like to trace back the roots of my Irish ancestors.  Some surnames I'm looking for are Clune & Hogan.

Comments

Hi Amanda welcome to WikiTree and to the Irish Roots Project.

Answer 14

I am very interested in this project. I've worked on my Irish ancestry for years now. 7 of my 8 great-grandparents were Irish. Now in search of my Regan roots, somewhere in Ireland. With the help of DNA testing, traditional genealogy and collaborating with others, I will solve my mystery! Our McCarthy line comes from County Cork, as proven by my brother's Y DNA test.

Thank you,

Mary Helen McCarthy

Comments

Hi Mary Helen and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.  Good luck with your research.

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The McCarthys are an interesting case. A mix of DNA types, including R-CTS4466 which has an affinity with the Irish Type 2 STR genotype, plus R-DF21, and a mix of other Haplogroups. McCarthys with a known descent from leading chiefs like McCarthy Reagh and McCarthy Muskerry were tested and found to be R-DF21, along with some O’Callaghans. Both the McCarthy and O’Csllaghan clans descend from Callaghan of Cashel, a medieval king. The McCarthy DNA study is one of the successful ones, a model for others.

Answer 15

Researching my father’s heritage and hit a wall with William Morrow in NC. 1772.  I believe I have more generations back to Ireland but no proof. I feel like I’m missing some resources out there and need to learn more about the best ways to do this. Thanks for doing this project!

Comments

Hi Jane and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.

Answer 16

I am interested in population clusters for surnames Holmes and/or Boze in Ireland.

My paternal surname of Holmes has roots back to Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada where as early as the 1851 census they are farmers and claim Irish nationality and Free Will Baptist as their religion.  Baptist was extremely prolific in the area and within the extended family.  However, I have been unsuccessful in sourcing the family's origins back to Ireland.  Two possibilities exist which are both connected to the War of 1812.

A Patrick Holmes who appears to enlist from Wexford and served in the Maritime Provinces as part of the 92nd Regiment of Foot and after settled in Andover, Victoria County, New Brunswick with a military land grant.

The other is Moses Holmes who appears to have been a native of York County, New Brunswick and served in the 104th Regiment.  Moses Holmes is possibly the son of Moses Holmes Sr, a Loyalist who served in the American Revolution in Delancey's Brigade out of Long Island, New York.  This would place the Holmes line in the American colonies as early as 1750.

In all my research, it appears that my paternal line left the British Isles much earlier than the established migration period.  I'd be interested in any clues to Holmes in Ireland at or prior to the War of 1812 or any information concerning early immigration of Irish peoples to the American colonies or the Maritime Provinces.

I have tested my ydna and audna.  I am in the I2 y-haplogroup and am derived for I-M223->I-CTS1977->I-Y5282->etc.  In the Europedia ydna tree, I am the terminal SNP node named I-Y23701 which was discovered from my BigY test results.  My closest ydna cousins are non-paternal events.  My distant genetic cousins share a common ancestor who lived in about 700 BC.  Today, they have surnames of Hallford, Bogue, and Bennett with origins in the British Isles.

Our common origins possibly trace back to a Germanic Tribe, perhaps Jutland or Friesland.  We may have come to the British Isles from Denmark or Normandy, or we may have been cutoff from the European continent after the flooding of Doggerland.  We will learn so much more as more men test their ydna.

Comments

Hi Ryan - Great  to have you in the Irish Roots Project.   You might also want to take a look at the DNA Project.   https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:DNA

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HI Ryan:  I believe we have connected elsewhere (Ireland Reaching Out) about the New Brunswick Holmses.  I am descended from Patrick Holmes, born ca 1788 in Wexford, Ireland.  He served in the Prince of Wales 98th regiment in the Napoleonic Wars, serving in the West Indies and then mustering out at St John in 1818, whereupon he opted for the land-payment option (instead of cashing out), receiving land on the west side of the St John River south of Andover (Bairdsville area, I believe).  I visited the property once.  He married Anne Fletcher, born in the province, and they had numerous children, including my gg-grandmother, Isabelle.  I have searched far and wide for any sign of him or his family in Wexford and have found nothing.  He was supposedly Catholic, per the census records (which actually Anne was anglican), but I do not find him in Catholic records of Wexford Town (where he was supposedly born).  I connected with a Holmes woman from near Bannow, Wexford where she believes family may have hailed from, but so far no proof.  It would be good to see if she's had a DNA test.

Answer 17

Hi,

Would like to join this project, I have an Irish Ancestor/lineage I would love to find more info for. A convict from Dublin that got transported to Australia (Crier-14). She has been an interesting character as she changed her first name a few times throughout her life, Esther to Elizabeth to Eliza. So yes, would be very interested to try and get more info on her and her family, plus because of her, I have 7% Irish blood according to AncestryDNA  :)

Comments

Hi Graham,  welcome to the Irish Roots Project and good luck with your research.

Answer 18

I have only my grandmother’s good memory for family names and dates but would like more. Her grandmother came from Ireland, County Derry, to Canada then NY and her maiden name was Mehaffy. Other family names were Bristol and Logan. I also have a grandmother with the maiden name of McPhail that we believe to have Scottish connections. Some research, of which there was very little when I was first interested, showed some of these names were border names. I would appreciate having more information on these names if possible.

Thank you,

Jennifer Frawley

Comments

Hi Jennifer,   I've left a message on your profile.

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Hi Jennifer,  I'm delighted to be able to welcome you to the Irish Roots Project.

Answer 19

My DNA shows quite a bit of Irish ancestry, which isn't coming from my mother's side. Trying to track down biological father.

Comments

Hi Katie,   I've left a message on your profile.

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Hi Katie - sorry for delay in welcoming you to the Irish Roots Project.

Answer 20

Looking for the parents of Hugh Montgomery (6831) in Ireland.

Comments

Hi Lyle and welcome to the Irish Roots Project.