The Top 300 Surnames of Derry-Londonderry by Brian Mitchell. Maps by Sam Mitchell.

Exploring the history of a surname is a useful first step on a journey to tracing roots in Ireland. Surnames are very much connected to place in Ireland and are, therefore, an integral part of Irish identity and family history. In the case of the Northern Ireland city of Derry (aka Londonderry), naming traditions go back Derry’s founding by the city of London in 1613.

Esteemed genealogist Brian Mitchell, who has published a number of books on Derry family history in recent years, here presents us with an analysis of the most popular surnames for that port city. Mitchell bases his Top 300 Surnames of Derry/Londonderry volume on the 1989 Foyle Community Directory. Each name in this book has at least ten listings in the Foyle directory. The excellent Introduction discusses the main cultural origins of Derry surnames–namely, Gaelic, English/Lowland Scottish, and 20th-century newcomers, notably persons from Italy, Jews fleeing Eastern Europe and later Nazi Germany, and most recently Indian nationals. Derry’s unique historical background, including the impact upon surnames of the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster, also comes into play. The author provides the researcher with a bibliography of about a dozen surname books he consulted in compiling his own list of the Top 300. The bulk of the book consists of Brian Mitchell’s tabular, alphabetical list of surnames. For each name we are given a ranking and a short descriptive history, such as the following:

Olphert. Rank: 269. Scottish. This variant of Oliphant is chiefly found in Counties Antrim and Derry. The Oliphants of Norman origin, who settled in Northamptonshire, England in the late 11th century, acquired lands in Roxburghshire, Scotland in the 12th century. The Londonderry Port Book of 1612 to 1615 records the trading activity of Wibrant Olfert, a Dutch merchant, who made Derry his home in the very early years of the Plantation of Ulster; he was importing timber from Norway and exporting butter and oats.

Rounding out this compact yet vital work are a series of maps designed to help the reader follow the migration of surnames to Derry. Everyone who owns Mr. Mitchell’s earlier books for tracing Derry ancestors or understanding the place names of County Derry will want this volume for their personal or institutional library.

Available from www.genealogical.com OR in Ireland and UK through Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+top+300+surnames+of+derry+londonderry).

Further records have been added to our site at www.westmeath.rootsireland.ie

The Dún na Sí Heritage Centre’s genealogy service has added:

Castlepollard Roman Catholic baptism, marriage and death/burial registers as follows:
Baptisms 1763-1790
Marriages 1763-1790
Death/burials 1764-1818

Gravestone Inscriptions
Walshestown Cemetery, Mullingar: 2,000 headstone transcriptions
Kilbeggan Cemetery, Kilbeggan: 1,200 headstone transcriptions
Quaker Cemetery, Cartronkeel, Moate: 60 headstones.
Please note that photographs of many of these headstones are held at Dún na Sí. Please contact the centre for further details.

Free Admission (Small charge for bus to Mullaghmast on Sunday)
Pre-booking is essential.
TO BOOK:
Email: boxoffice@riverbank.ie
Phone: 045 448327
Online booking:
www.riverbank.ie

Each year, during the last week of August, many national and hundreds of local community organisations participate by organising events throughout Ireland. Many of the events that take place during the week are free and the programme highlights the abundance of great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage.

National Heritage Week is part of European Heritage Days. These are a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union in which over forty countries participate each year. The main aim of European Heritage Days are to promote awareness of our built, natural and cultural heritage and to promote Europe’s common cultural heritage. Every year millions of Europeans visit historical monuments and sites throughout Europe on European Heritage Days. In Ireland we celebrate European Heritage Days with a full week of events throughout National Heritage Week.

Find out more at www.heritageweek.ie

On 6 April at Offaly History Centre, Tullamore at 2.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m.

Ireland, 1858. Two brothers were wrongfully hanged for the murder of a local land agent, setting in motion events 50 years on as Ireland fought for independence. This is an emotional telling of the true story of the Cormack brothers, from Loughmore in Ireland, who were hanged in Nenagh jail in 1858. 50 years on their bodies were exhumed and reburied in their home parish of Loughmore where they remain today.

Filmed in Ireland, this is the second film from Blue Socks Entertainment from their ‘Stories from the Famine’ series.  See www.bluesocksentertainment.com

On 27 April at Offaly History Centre, Tullamore at 8.00 p.m.

Book launch of new book by Professor Jeff Kildea on Hugh Mahon: Patriot, Pressman, Politician, Vol. 1, the years from 1857 to 1901

Jeff Kildea is an adjunct professor in Irish Studies at the University of New South Wales. Professor Kildea will give an address on Hugh Mahon. Refreshments will be served.

As a political agitator, journalist, businessman and politician, Hugh Mahon had a varied and fascinating life. Born at Killurin, Offaly, he and his family migrated to America in 1869, but returned to Ireland in 1880 after their American dream failed. He was active in the Land League in County Wexford which led to his arrest and imprisonment with Parnell in 1881, and exile to Australia. As a crusading journalist he exposed corruption and became a thorn in the side of the Forrest government in Western Australia during the 1890s. He was elected to the first Commonwealth parliament in 1901 and served in four Labor ministries, rising to Minister for External Affairs during the First World War. He has the distinction of being the only person expelled from the Commonwealth parliament.

This book, the first part of a two-volume biography of Mahon, spans the period from his birth in 1857 to his election to parliament. Pulling together the many facets of Mahon’s life, it reveals the forces which drove this complex man who was reviled by many for denouncing the British Empire while remaining a hero to those who supported self-determination for Ireland.

Professor Jeff Kildea is an adjunct professor in Irish Studies at the University of New South Wales. In 2014 he held the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History at University College Dublin. He is the author of Tearing the Fabric: Sectarianism in Australia 1910-1925 (2002); Anzacs and Ireland (2007); and Wartime Australians: Billy Hughes (2008), as well as numerous articles and papers on the Irish in Australia. He is the director of the Irish Anzacs Project at UNSW.

15th Annual Historic Houses Conference will take place in Dublin Castle from 19-21 June 2017.

The Country House Revived? will focus on the survival and revival of historic houses across Ireland, the UK, and Europe in the course of the last fifty years. The conference will be accompanied by a photographic exhibition.

Further details and a list of accommodation are available at http://historicirishhouses.ie/

NEW SEARCH FEATURES on rootsireland.ie

Subscribers can now search using baptismal sponsors’, marriage witnesses’ or burial informants’ names.

Remember our special offer, one third off annual subscriptions, ends on 27 March 2017.

Reminder: We have recently added new Baptismal and Marriage records for Rathangan Catholic parish, Co. Wexford.

Baptisms: 1803 – 1892
Marriages: 1803 – 1806 and 1813 – 1890

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from RootsIreland


One third off a 12 Month Subscription for a limited time in March.*

Get a 12 months subscription with one third off from 6 March to 27 March 2017 inclusive.*

To obtain this offer just go to the following link and login using your existing RootsIreland login details: http://www.rootsireland.ie. If you currently have a subscription, click My Account, My Subscription and Start a New Subscription.

If you have any questions please check our Help section and if this does not provide an answer, then you may contact us or one of the county centres. You can check what is available on our site for each county here.

*Offer applies from 12 midnight Irish time on 6 March to 12 midnight Irish time on 27 March 2017 only. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

The Dublin City Council Libraries and Archives Digital repository has launched an online archive of over 43,000 historic photographs and documents. Users can search documents online by archive, date, and location at no charge.

Photos of events like the Eucharistic Congress and the North Strand Bombing are included, as well as everyday events such as social events and Dublin scenes. The Fáilte Ireland Photographic Collection with images dating from the 1930s onwards of people, places and tourist locations from across Ireland is also available.

The archive includes pictures of old documents and objects, with the oldest document dated to 1757 – of an old planning map of Dublin City.

You can find the archive at http://digital.libraries.dublincity.ie/vital/access/manager/Index

Anon. Pilgrimage to St. McDara’s [Macdara] Island – leaving the Island by currach and gleoiteog [galway hooker], Co. Galway.

Want to discover your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors?

Many people believe that researching Irish ancestors is impossible because of the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922. While many records were destroyed, others survived and large collections have come online in recent years.

Join Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation during their annual U.S.A. lecture tour to learn how to get the most out of Irish resources and records, gain strategies for breaking down brick walls, and grasp important historical context that may help fill in gaps in your research.

Whether you are just beginning your Irish research or have been at it for years, you won’t want to miss these workshops!

Fuller contact details with additional information can be found at: www.ancestryireland.com/northamericantour2017

Friday, 03 March – Phoenix, AZ (9:00am–5:00pm)
Location: Irish Cultural Center, 1106 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Host: The McClelland Library
Web: www.azirish.org/upcoming-ulster-historical-foundation
Tel./e-mail: 602-864-2351, 623-225-6352 (Mobile)
Main Contact: Cindy Patricki – cindy.patricki@azirishlibrary.org

Saturday, 04 March – Phoenix, AZ (9:00am–5:00pm)
Location: Irish Cultural Center, 1106 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Host: The McClelland Library
Web: www.azirish.org/upcoming-ulster-historical-foundation
Tel./e-mail: 602-864-2351 623-225-6352 (Mobile)
Main Contact: Cindy Patricki – cindy.patricki@azirishlibrary.org

Sunday, 05 March – Tacoma, WA (1:00pm–5:00pm)
Location: Pierce County Libraries, Administrative Center Library, 3005 112th St E, Tacoma, WA 98446
Host organisation: Lakewood and South Hill Libraries
Tel/e-mail: 253-548-3425 or 316-300-3383 (mobile)
Register online: www.piercecountylibrary.org/calendar.aspx?id=281
www.facebook.com/events/618976198289299

Tuesday, 07 March – The Hermitage, Nashville, TN (6:00pm–9:00pm)
Location: The Hermitage, 4580 Rachel’s Lane, Nashville, TN 37076
Host: Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
Web: thehermitage.com/event/exploring-your-scotsirish-genealogy
Tel./e-mail: 615-889-2941, info@thehermitage.com

Thursday, 09 March – Michigan City, IN (9:30am–4:00pm)
Location: Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. 4th Street, Michigan City, IN 46360
Host: Michigan City Public Library
Web: www.mclib.org
Tel./e-mail: 219-873-3049 (call Robin Kohn to register)

Saturday, 11 March – Bentonville, AR (9:00am–4:00pm)
Location: Bentonville Community Center, 1101 SW Citizen’s Circle, Bentonville, AR 72712
Host: Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society
Web: www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arnwags, www.facebook.com/groups/nwags
Tel./e-mail: 479-271-6820, genealogy@bentonvillear.com

Sunday, 12 March – York County, PA (1:00pm–5:00pm)
Location: York County History Centery, 250 East Market St, York, PA 17401
Host: South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society
Web: www.scpgs.org/meetings
Tel./e-mail: 717-887-7508, richardkonkel@yahoo.com

Monday, 13 March – Green Bay, WI (3:00pm–8:30pm)
Location: Brown County Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI 54301
Host: Brown County Library
Web: www.browncountylibrary.org
Tel./e-mail: 920-448-5815
Main Contact: Sue Lagerman or Mary Jane Herber

Wednesday, 15 March – Fountaindale, IL (9:30am–5:00pm)
Location: Fountaindale Public Library, 300 West Briarcliff Road Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Host: Fountaindale Public Library and Plainfield Public Library
Web: host7.evanced.info/fountaindale/evanced/eventcalendar.asp, www.fountaindale.org
Tel/e-mail: Debra Dudek (main contact) – 630-685-4201 – ddudek@fountaindale.org
Register by phone (630) 685-4176 or Register online for the seminar: http://ow.ly/OLiy308phOz

Thursday, 16 March – Fountaindale, IL (9:30am–4:30pm)
Location: Fountaindale Public Library, 300 West Briarcliff Road Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Host: Fountaindale Public Library and Plainfield Public Library
Web: host7.evanced.info/fountaindale/evanced/eventcalendar.asp, www.fountaindale.org
Tel/e-mail: Debra Dudek (main contact) – 630-685-4201 – ddudek@fountaindale.org
Registration: Free Event! In-person attendance limited to 70 in Main Lecture Room, and 35 in

Friday, 17 March – Richmond, VA (9:00am–12:30pm)
Location: Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219
Programme Title: Irish Ancestry Day (note: the full event runs from 09:00 to 16:00)
Host: Library of Virginia
Web: libraryofvairishancestryday.eventbrite.com, http://www.facebook.com/educationLVA
Tel./e-mail: 804-692-3500 (general number)
Main Contact: Catherine Fitzgerald Wyatt – catherine.wyatt@lva.virginia.gov

Saturday, 18 March – Philadelphia, PA (9:00am-4:30pm)
Location of programme: Brookside Manor, 50 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville, PA, 19053
Host: The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (GSP)
Web: https://genpa.org/events/
Tel./e-mail: 215-545-0391 email info@genpa.org

Sunday, 19 March – Pittsburgh, PA (9:00am-4:30pm)
Location of programme: Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
Host organisation: Heinz History Center & Westmoreland County Historical Society
Main contact (handling registration): Sierra Green
Tel: 412-454-6361, mobile: 724-456-4769
Email: sgreen@heinzhistorycenter.org

Tuesday, 21 March – Little Rock, AR (6:00pm–9:00pm)
Location: Hillcrest Hall, 1501 Kavanaugh Blvd, Little Rock, AR 72205
Host: Arkansas Genealogical Society, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
Web: www.butlercenter.org
Tel./e-mail: 501-320-5711
Main Contact: Christopher Stewart – cstewart@cals.org

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day itself, than by making a start on your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestral quest. Your Irish genealogy is waiting to be discovered.

With sixty years’ experience of serving Irish people everywhere, let the Ulster Historical Foundation help you discover your family’s story.