Do you enjoy reading about Ireland and your Irish Ancestry? I guess you quite enjoy it if you managed to read this far – and even went on to become a member of this Green Room!
A LETTER FROM IRELAND (VOLUME 3)
Just released in March, 2017. This new collection of Letters has been two years in the making – and we feel it is the best volume yet! Not only does it feature your favourite Letters from Ireland from 2015 and 2016 – but also includes many of our reader and member replies. This rounds off the book with a wonderful feel of collaboration between all of us. The book is also arranged according to the main festivals of the Celtic year and each letter takes on the energy of that time of year – reflecting the weather, nature and major events – as well as so many of your favourite stories of your Irish ancestors.
Click this link to open the book. (right click and “save link as” to download to your computer).
If you prefer, you can order a physical copy of the book at this location on Amazon.
IRISH SURNAMES – SOLVE THE RIDDLE OF YOUR IRISH SURNAMES IN NINE EASY PIECES.
This is a short (50 pages) book for you to download. It contains nine of the Letter from Ireland that will help you to quickly understand the origin, and evolution, of the Irish surnames in your family tree.
The “Nine Easy Pieces” will cover the main Irish Gaelic, Galloglass, Norman and Planter surnames in Ireland – and help you figure out the sounds and spellings you need to look out for when plotting your way around those brick walls.
Click this link to open the book. (right click and “save link as” to download to your computer).
THE TRIBES OF IRELAND: 1156AD
The reason I have written this book is to explore the tribes, families, territories, customs and culture of Ireland. I frequently get asked the question: “My surname is e.g. O’Brien – can you tell me a little more about the name and where it comes from?”
This book is here to answer that question by taking a snapshot of Ireland at a time just before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in 1170AD. This was a time when Ireland was a fragmented place – both politically and in terms of territory – but was united in language, custom and culture. It was a time when your Irish family surname came into being for the first time.
Click this link to open the book. (right click and “save link as” to download to your computer).
A LETTER FROM IRELAND (VOLUME 1)
Have you ever wondered where the surnames in your Irish family tree come from? Maybe you know already. Maybe you have a collection of birth certificates, census and other records that provide you with some bookends from the lives of your Irish ancestors. However, you and I know that there is a lot more to being Irish than being represented by a collection of demographic data. How did your Irish relatives live? What was life like for them? What gave them their values—their drive and sense of fair play? This is the area we aim to tease out in this book.
Click this link to open the book. (right click and “save link as” to download to your computer).
A LETTER FROM IRELAND (VOLUME 2)
I never realised that I would be writing the introduction to this book, ‘A Letter from Ireland: Volume 2’ so soon after the release of Volume 1. Each Sunday morning I send out the ‘Letter’—and hour later I receive the first of many replies. The family stories, yarns and myths contained in these replies inspire future issues of a Letter from Ireland, and so a wondrous positive loop of communication is sustained between all us correspondents. In this volume, I am delighted to include just some of those wonderful stories submitted by our readers. I think you will agree that this is a trend we should continue, and increase, for the future.
Click this link to open the book. (right click and “save link as” to download to your computer).
If you have any problems downloading any of these books please let us know.