Your Irish Ancestors

[KT2000]

Do you know their history? Hats off to Enda Kenny for reminding us!

My great uncle and 2 great aunts came over in the later 1800's as they were the eldest of 13 children and poor. They worked as domestics in Kansas City and eventually made their way to the West Coast. By the time I knew them they were doing well but they did not talk about their immigrant experience. They had been sent away to survive.

When my aunt died, we found the three candle holders that their parents had sent them away with and it hit me how brave they were - teenagers leaving their home forever for the unknown.

I know they must have been afraid as are all the refugees coming to this country.

Here's to Immigration Day!

[BannonsLiver]

1. I've been cursing at mine since Jan. 20.

Thanks for emigrating here, you assholes.

[KT2000]

2. Maybe they'll take us back!

[BannonsLiver]

4. What's frustrating is my people didn't even come here when everyone else did

They came AFTER the mid 1800's famine and well before the late 1800's famine. I'd like to ask them what the rationale was.

[Mariana]

24. Mine went to Quebec city sometime before 1837

when my gg grandfather was born and baptized there. His wife's family arrived in Quebec about 1841, and it's unclear whether she herself was born in Ireland or in Quebec. In 1881 they moved to Braintree, Massachusetts, at just the right time to be missed by both countries' censuses.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

27. All four of my grandparents came from Ireland.

One grandmother as a child with her parents in the late 1880's, the other three right around the turn of the twentieth century. Their rationale, as I'm sure the rationale for your relatives and for almost every immigrant who ever came here, was a for a better life.

[BannonsLiver]

30. I wish they hadn't

I'd rather be Irish.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

53. Me, I'm glad they came here.

I feel very Irish. All of my aunts and uncles married fellow Irish Americans, and I finally realized how very Irish my entire family is when, the first time I went to Ireland, every single person I saw looked just like my brothers and sisters and cousins.

And what I genuinely love about this country is our diversity. I've also lived in several different parts of the country, and that has added to my appreciation.

I am sincerely sorry you feel as you do, only because it can't be very pleasant wishing you could be in another country.

[Hekate]

64. You should look up The Troubles. The saddest part about Irish history is the hatred.

[BannonsLiver]

68. I know all about The Troubles

And I've been fortunate to see some of that history up close and in person.

I was kidding with my post. At least mostly.

[OnDoutside]

32. Quite posssibly it was because the Landowners were reducing the number of tenants on their estates

and in a lot of cases they paid the passage of those tenants, with the promise of a better life....well better than their current existence.

[mopinko]

7. if you have a grandparent born there you can get dual citizenship.

workin on mine.

[KT2000]

11. Didn't know that -

I do so I'll look into this. Thanks!

[mopinko]

14. you need birth and marriage certs to show the lineage.

it's a lot easier to do these days. i am sure refugees from drumph world will be warmly welcome.

[OnDoutside]

33. Mopinko is correct, though beware there is a LONG waiting list since Brexit alone ! The day after

Brexit, the London office of the Irish Passport Office received 21,000 enquiries on the first morning !

[KewlKat]

22. darn, mine is a Great grand.....

[GallopingGhost]

3. My Irish ggg grandparents

came here in 1789. I'm sure they're turning in their graves over the ignorant and cringeworthy debacle that took place with the Irish Prime Minister.

On the upside, Kenny made Trump squirm like an insignificant pissmire.

[QC]

5. Mine came around 1650, which is when Cromwell was running rampant there.

I'm not sure if those two things are connected, but it wouldn't surprise me. He laid waste to the country.

[AwakeAtLast]

37. My English ancestors did, too

They separated from their church and we're allowed passage here. One of their descendants ended up fighting in the Revolutionary War.

[QC]

43. I also have some English from that era.

Americans are mutts, lol.

[Drahthaardogs]

6. La Isola di Lacrimare

The Island of Years is what the Italians called Liberty Island. It's a reminder that the people came here out of desperation for the most part, not some spirit of adventure.

No different than a lot of people today. It is a stark reminder.

[Igel]

8. Tears. Not "years."

Don't usually correct typos but in this case it's an important one.

[lunatica]

16. You can correct the spelling from

Years to Tears by clicking on the edit button.

[lpbk2713]

9. Both sets of grandparents came through Ellis Island.

Paternal grandparents came from Ireland. Maternal grandparents came from Scotland. None of them knew each other at the time, circa 1900. They all settled in Boston. Met and married a couple of years later.

[OnDoutside]

34. Did you find them in the 1901 Irish Census ?

[lpbk2713]

36. I found my paternal grandfather in the Ellis Island registry.

It showed his point of origin and the DOB was right. My other grandfather was named John Brown and there must have been a million of them. So it would be hard to pin him down. The info was handed down in the family that they all came through Ellis Island.

[OnDoutside]

39. Does it give the date he landed in Ellis Island ?

[lpbk2713]

44. I don't recall.

And I didn't bookmark it. He was the only one of the four that I could find any trace of.
If I had to guess it was in the late 1890's. I know it was before 1903 because my father
was born in Boston that year.

[OnDoutside]

47. If he had arrived after April 1901, then he would have been in the

1901 census. Unfortunately due to fire/civil war and incompetence we only have the 1901 and 1911 censuses in their entirety. There are fragments of the 1891 census but not much

There were 914 John Brown entries in the 901 census (just in case his father was also John), and a lot of those were in the Dublin/Belfast area.

Irish 1901 census

Did you get his marriage certificate ? Wouldn't that hold his father's name ? On Ancestry.com you can sometimes find info on his naturalization papers, and if he fought in WW1, there might be info there too.

There's another excellent Irish government run site called www.irishgenealogy.ie where a lot of the parish records are online and free.

[lpbk2713]

49. Thanks for looking and thanks for the link.

Sorry to lead you in the wrong direction but my maternal grandfather was John Brown and he was from Scotland. Our family wasn't much on keeping hard copies of records but you mentioned WWI. I remember hearing he was a Merchant Marine. Maybe I'll go from that angle.

[OnDoutside]

50. No problem, happy to help. There are lots of little nuggets to be had from enlistment

and naturalization forms. You should make great progress with the Scottish records, I found a great great grandfather in an 1841 census in Scotland, when his father was posted there with the Coast Guard.

One of the excellent sites (with is unfortunately not free) is https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

Best of luck with it.

[Deb]

10. great grandmother fled the potato famine from Dublin

Also found work as a domestic and married their son. She gave up her Catholic religion for lack of a rural church and local prejudices.
I have a silver coin spoon that was given to her as a wedding gift but my most cherished item is her Irish Brown Bread recipe.
I think trump and his ilk would be well advised to remember that all Americans come from sturdy stocks that have passed down their
resilience, courage and traditions. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

[lunatica]

17. Your first sentence may be missing something...

I'm pretty sure you don't mean what it says.

[pinboy3niner]

20. I'm assuming it was the son of her employers

At least, I hope that's what was meant.

[frogmarch]

12. My so-called Irish ancestors

were Puritans who came to colonial America from England in the 1630s during the Great Migration. My ancestor John Tuttle started a trading company in Massachusetts that did business in Barbados, but in 1650 he had some legal problems and moved to Carrickfergus, Ireland. His wife Joanna, who had handled most of the company's business, joined him there four years later. Their son Simon along with one daughter, stayed behind and took over the business. I'm descended from Simon, who as far as I know never set foot in Ireland, but since I'm also descended from John, who did, today I call myself Irish.

[OnDoutside]

35. It's fantastic to have that much history though, congrats.

[Brother Buzz]

13. My family didn't talk much about my single Irish ancestor

My grandmother's father was an Orange Irish remittance man, and was an abject failure by all measures. That is, unless you count drinking.

[mopinko]

15. about all i know is that

gg grandparents were all irish.
about the only thing i know is that my gramps (my mom's dad) and his dad were both farriers. so i got that animal thing goin on both sides. gramps could really talk to horses, and handle the nasty pony that my cousins had, who no one else could really handle.
my dad talked to squirrels. srsly.

i think great grandma was a domestic.

[KewlKat]

18. I never knew my GGrandfather, but his obituary said he was born in Northern Ireland

He left Ireland in his mid 30's; met a 16 yr old german gal on board ship and upon landing in NY (1850), married her. They lived in a sod house, the name of the town in NY escapes me at the moment, fed the Indians that dropped by and eventually took a wagon train to Hays KS. It said they were one of the founding members of the town. He fought in the civil war, was wounded and still had the ball in his wrist and drew a pension from the Army of $9 a month.

Wish I could find out about his life in Ireland, but no connections to even do any research. Noone knew for sure when he was born and only guessed at this age when he died.

[yuiyoshida]

19. I dun have any Irish Ancestors....

I have Hawaiian Native Ancestors, who roamed the pacific --and I have Japanese ancestors who left Japan to find a better life in Hawaii's Sugar fields.. and who prospered and had two more generations of prodigy before I came along... I am the first STATESIDE birth in my family. so... DOES THAT mean I get to be deported??

Guess We shall see..

[Hekate]

62. Yui, you were born on The Mainland,not "Stateside." Hawai'i has been a State for several generations

...by now. You need to go visit da Islands more. Go, go, really.

[yuiyoshida]

69. Yeah yer right but I am not flying any too soon...

The way I see it, they see me as a Foreigner. I am not a part of the American culture, or the American fabric. "don't look like a Murikan ta me... maybe some dayam Chineee??? " Tell her she is not gettin in this country, Trump's orders, tell her to go the fuck back to china!"

[WinkyDink]

21. Yes, I do! (Middle name is Erin.) They are from County Donegal.

[pinboy3niner]

23. I come from the O'Connells, the Dempseys and the Whites

My Irish great grandparents were famine immigrants but I know little about them--though I knew them when I was a little kid. One grandmother (the White) immigrated from County Cork with her sister in 1900. They were the eldest of 12 kids in a family headed by the first mate on a British Isles steamer.

My grandmother married a Welsh immigrant coal miner in Pennsylvania, so I ended up with a Welsh surname. I remember being told that most of the headstones in the cemetery near the mine bear that surname. The Welshman was the first of three husbands grandma outlived when she was young.

Grandma was an expert seamstress and ended up doing that in Chicago and then overseeing a whole clothing factory full of seamstresses. After she retired to Tucson her old boss came out and begged her to come back, which she did for a while before returning to Tucson, where she died at 97.

The other set of grandparents I knew, the Dempseys, lived in the Bridgeport Irish neighborhood of Chicago, on the next street from the old Mayor Daley. I remember being able to see the back of Daley's house from my grandparents' back porch.

[pinboy3niner]

82. I should mention that while Grandma Bea went by her 3rd husband's surname...

...as Beatrice McKeating, the only one of her deceased husbnds she always referred to as 'mister' was the Welshman--"Mr. Evans." The respect and affecton whe had for her first husband was patently obvious.

[AngryAmish]

25. My dad scammed some drunk American to sponsor him

He then probably killed some kid in NY so he beat it to Chicago.

Mom overstayed a tourist visa but there was a guy in Immigration from the same parish who fixed things for her.

Sentimental,no?

[ymetca]

26. My great grandfather

was a cavalry man in Sherman's "bloody march to the sea". Named Dixon. From Ireland. My sister has his Civil War discharge papers. Lord knows how many heads he chopped off...

My great grandmother, who lived to the age of 97, smoking cigarettes until her dying day, loved baseball but absolutely hated the NY Yankees. "They always cheat", she liked to say. I suppose that may have had something to do with the tale she told of her mother and father coming from Ireland and losing one of her brothers in the crowds on Ellis Island.

[applegrove]

28. I had a Foran or Forin ancestor immigrate to Canada from Ireland. I think he was a kid. He studied

architecture in NYC (stone buildings) and built many stone buildings in Belleville, Ontario Canada. Some buildings still stand today, including a family compound of beautiful old brick homes he built for his family.

[maveric]

29. My GGG Grandparents came over during the famine.

From County Cork. They came in through Boston where they settled in the Merrimack Valley MA. Where I am from.

[Leith]

31. My Greatgrandparents Were Born in Ireland

And my grandfather was born in Boston.

That means that I miss the golden door back to Ireland by one generation. Damn!

[OnDoutside]

38. The old jokes are sometimes good ....

Two men were sitting next to each other at the Murphy’s Pub in London.

After awhile, one bloke looks at the other and says ” I can’t help but think, from listening to you, that you’re from Ireland?”.

The other bloke responds proudly, “Yes, that I am!”

The first one say, “So am I! And where about from Ireland might you be?”

The other bloke answers, “I’m from Dublin, I am.”

The first one responds, “So am I!”

“Mother Mary and begora. And what street did you live on in Dublin?”

The other bloke says, “A lovely little area it was. I lived on McCleary Street in the old central part of town.”

The first one says, “Faith and its a small world. So did I! So did I! And to what school would you have been going?”

The other bloke answers, “Well now, I went to St. Mary’s, of course.”

The first one gets really excited and says, “And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?”

The other bloke answers, “Well, now, let’s see. I graduated 1964.”

The first one exclaims, “The good Lord must be smiling down upon us! I can hardly believe our good luck and winding up

in the same place tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from St. Mary’s n 1964 my own self!”



About this time, Vicky walks up to the bar, sits down and orders a drink.


Brian, the barman, walks over to Vicky, shaking his head and mutters, “It’s going to be a long night tonight.”

Vicky asks, “Why do you say that, Brian?”


“The Murphy twins are drunk again.”

[KT2000]

60. LOL!!

[AwakeAtLast]

40. My Great-grandmother was a McNeil

Her ancestors came from Ireland, but don't know when or from what part.

[OnDoutside]

42. More than likely Ulster or Dublin

[AwakeAtLast]

78. Ooh, thank you!

[OnDoutside]

41. Map of Irish names

[OnDoutside]

45. Fifteen totally made up nonsensical words that Irish people love to use

I can vouch for most of these being in regular use

http://irishpost.co.uk/7-weird-wonderful-words/

1. Banjaxed
Meaning: Broken, incapacitated.
Example: Ah lads, Donald Trump has this country banjaxed already.

2. Begorrah

Meaning: According to Urban Dictionary Beggorah was originally used in the Irish counties of Kerry and Cork to mean: ”Holy mother of God” and such like.
Example: Faith and begorrah! (although the last time someone Irish actually said that was 1902)

3. Codding

Meaning: kidding, messing, joking, teasing
Example: Donald Trump when caught out : "Ah sure, I’m only codding ya"

4. Cogging

Meaning: copying, plagiarising. Used mainly in Cork.
Example: Hey Michelle, watch Melania, she’s cogging your speech.

5. Do Lally

Meaning: Nuts, crazy, round the bend
Example: Donnie's driving me do-lally today

6. Flahed

Meaning:Tired. wrecked, exhausted.
Example: I’m flahed out from Trump like, and it's not even Day 60 !

etc

[KT2000]

63. Meredith McGiver

Wonder if she is Irish!

[OnDoutside]

80. Scottish descent I reckon ... ;)

[Tracer]

46. My mother was born in Killybegs, Ireland.

She was brought here in 1923 along with her father at age 16. My grandfather was a widower and a stonemason.

My father's parents were also born in Ireland (Cairciveen, Cork sp.?). That grandfather was a Boston policeman, who died when my dad was 2 years old. His mother supported him and his sister as a seamstress.

From very poor beginnings, our family climbed up the "American Dream" ladder. My dad put himself through MIT and formed his own engineering company.

I have dual citizenship and an Irish passport. I have to tell you that it is VERY complicated to procure one, even if you are first generation Irish, even more so if you are second generation. I had to produce almost 20 forms of I.D. plus reams of copies.

[OnDoutside]

48. Happy photos

[northoftheborder]

58. Loooove the rocks and green grass....

Makes me feel at peace and well-being

[KT2000]

65. Great Pics!

I hear mashed peas is a staple there too.
Lovely field scene - I hear they have walking tours through fields like this.

[OnDoutside]

79. Yes ! My wife adores "mushy" peas especially with fries.

But anytime really.

[a la izquierda]

51. My great-grandparents came...

between 1989 and 1916.
I wish I could apply for citizenship.

[guillaumeb]

52. On the subject of Irish names:

I friend of mine is of Irish ancestry. I mentioned to him one time that any Irish names that begin with "Fitz" show the Norman French influence. He asked how and I told him that Fitz is a corruption of fils de, meaning son of in French.

So to all of the Irish here at DU, no need to thank me or all of the other French people for the civilizing influence we introduced into Ireland.

[Hekate]

54. O'Hara, Mullooly, Cassidy, Quinn, Kelly...

To the Irish apprentice boy who ran away from "a cruel master," to the Irish sisters who were the sole survivors in their family that set sail in one of the infamous "coffin ships" during the Great Hunger -- to all those who came before me, including the English (who got here in the 1600s) and the Alsatians (who seem to have come last, in the late 1800s) -- to the unknown Native American of the Pequot tribe who married in sometime in the 1600s -- to all those people, known and unknown, I owe my American life.

I am not afraid of new immigrants: I married one. And I ain't leaving.

[KT2000]

67. Irish and Alsatians

here too. The difficulty of their lives is hard to imagine. Respect to them and their toils.

[CottonBear]

55. My many times great-grandfather came from N. Ireland in late 1700s

He settled in the mountains of NC. Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers were born in the same NC mountain town. The town is near where my Irish 🍀 ancestor settled.

I have his last name. I am Scots-Irish. 🍀

My son's last name is Irish. His paternal great-great-great grandfather was an Irish immigrant.

[northoftheborder]

56. My ancestor...

....we've always assumed came from Scotland, because of a Mac..... and other family names found in the Highland register. However, on a visit to Ireland I found many of those names as town and street names.... So I'm wondering if there was much travel back and forth from Scotland to Ireland and vise/versa.

[greatauntoftriplets]

57. Three of my -great-great-grandparents (one was dead) emigrated in 1853.

With their kids, of course, who were young adults and teenagers at the time. My great-parents were in their teens at the time, but the families emigrated together because they were close friends.

They were from Wexford and sailed from there to Liverpool, and landing in New York. From there, they went to Portland, ME, for a time where they worked in a mill. Later, they headed west to the Chicago area where they farmed. I never knew any of them, nor my paternal grandfather who died when my father was 8.

Took a DNA test last summer, which showed me as 24 percent Irish. By fortune, a cousin who had also done a DNA test AND extensive family research. I'm still going through her tree, which I find very tedious. It was a very nice find. Unfortunately, the information here seems to end. No one has gone to Wexford to check local documents.

I also want to salute my other family, who emigrated from Luxembourg, France, Switzerland and Germany. Emigration took guts.

[Mendocino]

59. About 95% German and Swiss,

the other 5% Irish, Scottish and English. But I always be wearing the green on St.Paddys day

[3catwoman3]

61. Redmonds and Elliotts...

...in my ancestry. I love both names

Elliiott is my middle name, and my younger son's middle name, as well. He likes it enough that he says he will name a son Elliott, if he ever has one.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

66. No Irish in my family that I know of

Mostly German, French Canadian, Polish.

[pat_k]

70. The Internet is a wonderful thing

My Irish ancestry is on my father's side.

https://www.findagrave.com has the family tree going back to 1805. It was put together by Margaret V. "Margi" Ranieri, who is the daughter George Bruno Ranieri and Catherine Keeshan (one of my father's cousins and sister of Bob Keeshan, mentioned below).

My Irish connections below. My grandfather emigrated from Pintown, Roscrea, Tipperary to NYC with four of his brothers in the early 1900's.

It gets a little confusing because names are repeated each generation. I know very few of my relatives, but with the number of children in each generation, there are certainly a lot of them "out there."

My biggest claim to fame is my father's cousin, Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo. I got to visit his studio in NY when I was about 4 years old. Quite a big deal for a little kid.

Father
-------------------
Dennis Joseph (1933-1983)
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=64474139

Grandparents
-----------------
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=59300586

Denis Joseph Keeshan (1877 - 1956)
Bridget Agnes O'Hara Keeshan (1898 - 1992)'

Denis was a policeman for the City of Evanston, Cook, Illinois. Denis is the 4th child and 1st son on a family tree with birthdate of 1874; he used two other birthdates 5 Sep 1881 and 25 Dec 1884.

His siblings were Catherine b1870; Johanna b1871; Margaret b1873; Marianne (known as Polly) b1875; Christopher Denis b1876; Brigid Mary "Bride" b1880; Edward "Ned" b1882; Hugh b1884; John Joseph "Joe" b1888; Timothy b1890; Michael b1891; and James b1892 died in infancy.

Denis and his brothers John Joseph, Hugh, Timothy and Michael Joseph of Pintown, Roscrea, Tipperary, Ireland, emigrated to New York City in the early 1900s.

Denis moved to Evanston, Cook, Illinois, Timothy moved to Kermit, Winkler, Texas), Hugh lived in Jamaica Queens, Michael lived in Kew Gardens, Queens, and John Joseph lived in Manhattan, then moved to Forest Hills, NY).

Timothy was a professional mule driver called a mule skinner.

The site doesn't mention employment of Hugh, John Joseph, or Michael.

Denis and Sybil Josephine (Blake) Keeshan children are Mary Keeshan b1911-d1929; John Joseph Keeshan b1913-d1913; Dennis Keeshan b1915-d1915; Catherine (Keeshan) Taylor b1918-d1980. Sybil died of lobar pneumonia in 1918.

Denis' second wife is Bridget "Bridgie" Agnes (O'Hara) Keeshan and their children are Baby Alice Keeshan (stillbirth) b1931-d1931; Twins Dennis Joseph Keeshan, Jr. (My father) and Edmond Joseph Keeshan b.

Great Grandparents
-------------------
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=64474298

John Keeshan (1838 - ____)
Catherine Quinlisk Keeshan (1850 - 1920)

John and Catherine (Quinlisk) Keeshan, farmers in Pintown, Roscrea, Tipperary, Ireland who did not emigrate to USA.

John (1 of 5 children), Catherine (siblings unknown)

Great, Great Grandparents
--------------------------------
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=58954066

Edward "Ned" Keeshan (1805 - 1867)
Catherine Gilbert Keeshan (1810 - 1865)

[LeftInTX]

72. There used to be a rumor that Bob Keeshan was Armenian

Kaishian is a fairly common Armenian name, so people thought Keeshan was derived from Kaishian.
But the Internet taught me that Bob Keeshan was not Armenian - LOL

[pat_k]

74. I often wondered if it was a corruption...

... of Sheehan, which is a reduced form of O'Sheehan, which is in turn an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Síodhacháin 'descendant of Síodhachán', a personal name representing a diminutive of síodhach 'peaceful', the same word as sítheach.

Then I came across an Irish names list, which has the following entry:

CifeAin, Keeshan

So, apparently it has an independent origin. I haven't come across any information about what CifeAin might mean in Gaelic.

[whistler162]

75. Probably given to the first Keeshan

by his girl friend!

Now you be keeshan your hands to yourself until we are wed!

[pat_k]

76. Like it!

[LeftInTX]

71. I'm probably somewhere between 1/16 to 1/4 Irish

My mom is from the south and was typical southern Anglo-Saxon. Apparently a great grandparent had an Irish surname.

My dad is 100 percent Armenian.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

73. Do you know what a 7 course meal for an Irishman is?

A 6 pack and a boiled potato.

[Historic NY]

77. Great, Great, Grandfather came in 1825, he's buried in NY City.

We found he had 2 wives, when we were checking up on his Civil War pensions.

[jeanmarc]

81. 1920's

Both sides of the family. I have no clue what they did in Ireland, but one part of my family, the Costellos spent some time in France, which I should have a knowledge of why, but I don't. Likely because of English bastards. I forgive the English now, but they were real bastards during the famine. You can't pump food out of a country that is in famine, but the English considered us less than primates at the time. And they said so. The Prime Minister was making outrageous comments.

I'm 3rd generation. I don't give a crap about St. Paddy's day. It's a day where people drink and puke and curse and I want no part of it. Even though I can do all 3 of those things on command. It's a stupid holiday. I guess almost all holidays are stupid.

[KT2000]

83. this year St Patrick's Day

is being celebrated in NYC at Riverside Church with a past senator from Ireland (the one who spoke after the election about how horrible tRump is and how he should not be treated as if he was normal), Gabriel Byrne, and others, as a celebration of immigrants - to counter tRump's actions.