THE EIGHT SURNAMES OF CONSANGUINITY

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A Chairde,
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The 'holiday season' always gives us a chance to meet up with relativies that we may not see too often during the year and, of course, for those interested in genealogy this is always a wonderful chance to add to our knowledge of our family history.

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Whilst many people with Irish ancestry will have little difficulty in tracing their lineages back to the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, the descendants of our chiefly families can go back much, much further. Although our Gaelic chiefly families may be able to trace their ancestry to the early centuries of the Christian era or before and thus, making their lineages the oldest in Europe, our nation's turbulent history has made connecting to these lines almost impossible for the majority of us. However, advances in DNA research may throw up some surprising opportunities in this respect.

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In the wonderful city of Singapore in October 2010 I came across this panel on the side wall of the Tan Clan Temple. The text traces the eight surnames of consanguinity in a very interesting 'family history' which I found strikingly similar to our own Gaelic origin narratives. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate a copy of this wall panel and searches on the Internet have, thus far, proved unsuccessful.

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It was my intention to obtain a copy for publication in the GSI Annual Journal as the Genealogical Society of Ireland is committed to promoting the study of family history amongst Ireland's many ethnic communities and thereby, providing information on such to the majority community. The Society's Director of Education & Social Inclusion has launched a consultative programme to further the participation of members, from all backgrounds, in the activities of the Society. Already the Society has published an article on Irish-Polish links and, no doubt, articles on other communities will follow.

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Last month the Genealogical Society of Ireland celebrated its 20th anniversary and also officially opened its Archive or 'An Daonchartlann' at the Carlisle Pier, Dún Laoghaire Harbour. For the full story see this month's issue of 'Ireland's Genealogical Gazette' on www.familyhistory.ie or http://www.docstoc.com/docs/66476146

Featured in this month's issue:

+ Minister Officially Opens Society's Archives
+ Weekend Genealogy Courses
+ Vol 5 (2010) Contents
+ John Grenham, MAPGI, FGSI
+ 1926 Census
+ Will Your Records Well
+ James Scannell Reports...
+++ Dr. Chris Lawlor
+++ Ireland in Turmoil
+ Précis of the November Lecture
+ GSI Lectures 2010/11
+ New Membership Package Agreed

www.familyhistory.ie/shop
+ 'Holyhead to Ireland' (review)

http://www.amberleybooks.com/
+ GSI Board News
+ Dublin in 1707 - A Year in the life of the City (review)

http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/
+ Diary Dates
+ Medal Society of Ireland
+ Morning Meeting (notice)

Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain fé Mhaise.

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Michael Merrigan

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