What Were the Penal Laws?

An English court dispensing
"justice" in the 19th century?
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

By Adrian McGrath

Who remembers? Were you taught about this in school? If you live in Ireland, perhaps someone told you about this. But if you live in the United States, where most people who are of Irish descent live today, you probably did not learn this in school, unless you deliberately took a special course in Irish history. 

The Penal Laws were blatantly brutal and discriminatory laws which targeted primarily Irish Catholics. To some extent the laws also persecuted non-Anglican Protestants like Scots Irish Presbyterians (also called Dissenters) and members of other religions such as Judaism. 

The Anglican Church was officially sanctioned and supported by the British government and included the Church of England and the related Church of Ireland. But Roman Catholics were deprived of all fundamental human rights under the Penal Laws. In this sense the Penal Laws were comparable to the Apartheid laws in South Africa or the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws in Nazi Germany. The focus of oppression, however, was on religion not race.

All people who are interested in the cause of justice, whether Irish or not, should want to learn about these prejudicial Penal Laws which existed in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in British-controlled Ireland. Yes, people should want to learn about them for the sake of learning history. But they should also want to learn about the evils of the Penal Laws so that such a persecution of a select group never happens again -- to anyone, anywhere. 

It is noteworthy that the United States Constitution in addition to its safeguard of freedom of religion in the First Amendment, specifically outlaws the persecution of a select group of people without due process of law under the legal term "bill of attainder." The American Founding Fathers understood what British tyranny was too. See Article I, secs. 9 and 10 of the US Constitution which forbid bills of attainder.



The Battle of the Boyne, 1690

The Battle of the Boyne, 1690.
The Protestant Dutch/English leader William of Orange
defeated the Catholic English king, James II, securing
Protestant rule in Ireland for centuries to come.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons, original
painting from 1693

The last time two rival English kings fought each other for the crown of Great Britain was at the Battle of the Boyne, a river north of Dublin in Ireland, in 1690. This battle was part of a larger power struggle over control of Britain where religion, Catholic versus Protestant, was a key factor. The Catholic English king, James II lost the battle to the Protestant English king, William of Orange, who was really Dutch and not English. William and his wife Mary would then rule over the British Isles including Ireland. 

The Treaty of Limerick which ended this so-called Williamite War was supposed to guarantee equal rights for Catholics; but as time passed, those protections disappeared.

The victorious group, eventually known as the Protestant Ascendancy, wanted to make certain that it remained in a position of power and privilege and that any opposition, mainly from Catholics, never again threatened their status. So, a series of discriminatory laws were passed by the pro-British and Protestant Irish parliament to suppress Catholics in Ireland, a land where the vast majority of the populace was in fact Catholic. 

Ever since the Reformation and the rule of Henry VIII, Great Britain feared powerful foreign countries which were predominately Catholic, such as France and Spain. Britain historically feared that foreign Catholic nations might attack British interests directly and might aid Irish Catholic rebels who resisted British rule in Ireland. 

A scene depicting Irish
peasants during the 1845
famine. The Penal Laws were
largely repealed by 1829,
but the after-effects remained.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

When did the Penal Laws begin in Ireland, we might ask. The answer is rather complicated. There had been anti-Catholic Penal Laws prior to 1691 in the British Isles, which included Ireland then. Indeed, some discriminatory laws began from the time of Henry VIII. Certainly during the time of Oliver Cromwell, Catholics in Ireland were brutally persecuted. But the time period after the Williamite War and the Battle of the Boyne saw anti-Catholic Penal Laws which were much more inclusive, permanent, and harsh. 





The Penal Laws

Starting after 1695 and for over a century to come until Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the laws of the land persecuted Catholics and non-Anglicans. (See Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829. )

A political cartoon from 1790 making fun of an
attempt by progressives to repeal the Test Act,
a Penal Law which required a candidate for public office be a
member of the Church of England and not a Catholic
Photo by Wikimedia Commons 

In fact, it could be argued that the discrimination against Catholics did not fully end in Ireland until the Irish won their partial independence in the 1920s, although the North (Ulster) remained under British control. 

Here are some of the things the Penal Laws did in Ireland:

Catholics could not hold public office, i.e. be elected as a member of government.
Irish Catholics could not practice their own religion.
Catholics could not be educated in schools.
Catholics could not become part of a profession, like being a doctor or a lawyer.
Catholics were limited in what trade or commerce they could engage in.
Catholics could not buy or sell land. They also could not lease land.
Catholics could not own a horse over the price of five pounds.
Catholics could not vote.
Catholics could not keep and bear arms. Catholics could not own a gun, a sword, or any type of weapon. 
Catholics could not have an annuity, and they were limited in undertaking financial matters.
A Catholic could not legally marry a Protestant. Any offspring from such a relationship had to be raised as Protestant.
Catholics could not buy land from a Protestant or receive land as a gift. Additional laws made it illegal for Catholics to buy or sell any land in any way. (So, this meant Irish Catholics, who made up over 90% or more of Ireland, could not legally own any land in their own country.)
Catholics could not inherit any land or movable property from a Protestant. (So, if a family member converted to Protestantism, he or she could not will property to a Catholic relative.)

A Catholic who might be in the process of dying could not leave his or her child into the guardianship of another Catholic. The child fell under the control of a Protestant only. (Yes, this is shockingly true. See Seamus MacManus book "The Story of the Irish Race," Devin Adair Co. New York, 1921, 1975 edition, on page 459, esp. footnote 11.)
Catholics were not allowed to educate their children by themselves or send them to another Catholic to teach them.

And there were many other restrictions. Violations of these laws could result in severe penalties including prison, torture, or death. 

As an example of an attempt to purge Ireland of Catholic leadership, a law was made in 1698 which stated, " All Popish Archbishops, Bishops, Vicars General, Deans, Jesuits, Monks, Friars, and all other Popish clergy shall depart out of this kingdom before the first of May, 1698 ..." (See MacManus p. 456. Interestingly, the law specified the Jesuits by name.)

If a Catholic clergyman attempted to return to Ireland after that date in 1698, he was subject to execution by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. (In this horrible form of execution, a person was partially hanged but not killed, then disemboweled or cut open, and then chopped into pieces with an ax.)

The Irish sometimes clandestinely broke these terrible laws by having "hedge teachers"  or "hedge school masters" who taught children while hiding behind trees or large hedgerow plants. Catholic religious services were also held in secret behind hedgerows or anywhere the British soldiers or officials could not find them. 

Catholic priest saying a Mass in secret in Ireland.
Original painting by Aloysius Kelly, 1883
"Mass in a Connemara Cabin"
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

A certain type of very small rosary called a Penal Law Rosary was devised which could be quickly hidden in case the British police came by. The Irish, thereby, attempted many ways to circumvent these unjust laws and follow their own religious faith.

The political statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke said of the Penal Laws, "... there was not a single right of nature or benefit of society which had not been either totally taken away, or considerably impaired." Edmund Burke became famous as an Anglo-Irish member of the British parliament who was overtly sympathetic to the American cause during the American Revolutionary War, supporting colonists' rights but opposing American independence. He also supported Catholic Emancipation or Catholic rights in Ireland. See Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke, statesman
and political philosopher
who denounced the Penal Laws and supported
the rights of American colonists
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Edmund Burke went on to say about the Penal Laws imposed on the Irish, "a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance, as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment, and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man ..." 

There was a legal scholar from France named Montesquieu who lived in the early 18th century, during the time of the Penal Laws. He is noted for advancing the concept of "Separation of Powers," where no one person or part of the government has absolute power. We see this principle in the US Constitution where we have equal powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It is a device to prevent tyranny, an evil with which he was gravely concerned. 

The French philosopher
Montesquieu
Photo from
Wikimedia Commons

Here is what the political philosopher Montesquieu said about the Penal Laws which tyrannized Irish Catholics in their own country: " [The Penal Laws were] conceived by demons, written in blood, and registered in Hell." (See MacManus p. 455.)


Why We Remember the Penal Laws

This then is what the Penal Laws were which sent Irish Catholics to Hell on Earth in their own country at the hands of British invaders. Indeed, one English judge, Lord Chancellor John Bowes, once remarked in an official capacity, "The law does not suppose any such person to exist as an Irish Roman Catholic." (See Mac Manus p.460.)

We should all learn more about the Penal Laws if we are interested in Irish history. They happened long ago, but they had profound affects on the people of Ireland to this day and on the Irish who sailed away to America long ago. 

The horrible story of the Penal Laws, however, is not just for a study of Irish history, but for all of human history. The story of the Penal Laws teaches us one clear lesson above all others: Persecution and tyranny anywhere and everywhere are always wrong and must always be opposed.  

(Note: This article is dedicated to the late professor of law 
Frederick Swaim of Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans. He was my teacher, my brother-in-law, and my friend.)


Sources and further reading:
The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, 1921, 1975. Devin Adair Co. New York;  Ireland: A Terrible Beauty by Leon Uris. History of the Penal Laws, Yale University. Penal Laws (Ireland) from Wikipedia. Irish Penal Law from the University of Minnesota Law Library. Library Ireland Article on Penal Laws.

Timothy Murphy: Revolutionary War Rifleman

Monument to
Timothy Murphy in
Middleburgh, New York
Cemetery Photo, edited, from
Wikimedia Commons 

By Adrian McGrath

One of the most renowned riflemen from the American Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783) was Timothy Murphy. He served as a scout and sniper during the war and is credited with having been highly skilled as a marksman in several battles, often playing a crucial role in American victories. He was of Irish descent and is a good example of the part played for the cause of Liberty by Irish Presbyterians whose origins were in Ulster.

Sometimes called Scots Irish or Ulster Scots, these people suffered under British tyranny in Ireland under the Penal Laws and fled to colonial America for a better life.

(The Irish Catholics were most severely oppressed by the British Penal Laws dating from the 17th century; but non-Anglican Protestants, like the Ulster Presbyterians, also were discriminated against.)

Timothy's parents were both from Donegal in Ireland but immigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania when Timothy was young. He grew up in rugged, frontier country and learned to live off the land and use a rifle both for hunting wild game for food and as a defense against Native American Indian raids. The frontier lands were disputed between European settlers and indigenous tribes, as the Europeans often encroached on Native American territory.

When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Murphy and his brother joined the American forces besieging the British troops at Boston, Massachusetts. Timothy fought in the battles around New York City as the massive reinforcements of British troops almost destroyed Washington's army and quickly ended the revolution.

Murphy fought along side General Washington at the crucial battles of Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey in late 1776 and earned the designation as an expert marksman. (The term "expert marksman" meant a soldier could hit a seven inch target at a distance of 250 yards.)

A"Long Rifle," the type of weapon
Timothy Murphy may have used
Photo from Wikimedia Commons and
Walters Art Museum

Rifles in those days fired a round lead ball from a barrel which have grooves in it which made the ball spin, going straighter and farther than a ball from a musket, the typical weapon of a regular infantry soldier.

The "Brown Bess" musket,
typical smoothbore weapon
used by British soldiers
in the war.
Photo from Wikimedia
Commons and the US Army
Center for Military History

The musket could be fitted with a bayonet and because it was smooth-bore, it could be loaded faster than the grooved rifle. The rifle, however, had the advantages of greater accuracy and range -- muskets being accurate in battle only up to about 50 yards to 100 yards, while rifles could accurately hit targets at ranges of 200 to 300 yards.

Daniel Morgan, American
leader of Morgan's Riflemen,
of which Timothy Murphy was
a member Photo
from Wikimedia Commons  

As Murphy's reputation became known, he was admitted to an elite group known as Daniel Morgan's Riflemen. Dan Morgan was a tough, smart, and daring leader who specialized in troops using the long rifle. His men were deadly accurate with their weapons.

In the Autumn of 1777, Timothy Murphy was selected by Dan Morgan to be in a crack unit to join the American forces assembling for the Battle of Saratoga in New York state near Albany.  This battle proved to be the turning point of the entire war. The Americans under Horatio Gates defeated the British and their German Hessian allies in two battles -- Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights -- which together are today known as the battle of Saratoga.

Benedict Arnold, the real
hero of the Battle of Saratoga,
who became an infamous
traitor to the American cause
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
and the US National Archives

Oddly enough, the real American hero of the battle was the man whose name later became synonymous with the word "traitor," General Benedict Arnold. At Bemis Heights, while Gates wavered, Arnold personally led a daring charge, rallying the Americans and crushing the British. Arnold was seriously wounded in the leg, but he did not get the proper credit for this victory from Gates or Congress.

British General
Simon Fraser

But there is another story too about
Bemis Heights. A highly capable British general named Simon Fraser was spotted on the battlefield by Arnold. If Fraser could be eliminated, the British troops could be seriously disrupted. Arnold told Dan Morgan to have one of his marksmen shoot him. Morgan chose Timothy Murphy who in turn climbed a tree and shot and killed Fraser at 300 yards, reportedly with a double-barreled rifle. However, some historical research says that this story is apocryphal or may or may not have happened, despite its being reported throughout history as accurate over and over again. It is possible the story is a myth. (See Myth of Murphy.)

Whatever the case, Fraser was indeed killed on the battlefield probably by a marksman, and possibly by Murphy. Murphy allegedly also shot and killed another British officer named Sir Francis Clerke at Bemis Heights, throwing the British into confusion and disarray.

With the situation seemingly hopeless after Benedict Arnold's charge and the loss of key British officers, the British leader, General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, surrendered.

British general "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne surrenders
to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, NY, 1777
Benedict Arnold was largely responsible for the
American victory, aided allegedly by the shooting
of British General Simon Fraser by Timothy Murphy
Photo from Wikimedia Commons 

Murphy was also at Valley Forge for the brutal winter where Washington's army suffered from hunger, lack of supplies, and freezing weather.

Murphy distinguished himself in skirmishes and battles against pro-British Tories and their Native American allies on the frontier in New York.

Schoharie Creek in modern times in New York state,
Photo from Wikimedia Commons, original by
Daniel Case, 2006, Creative Commons

In New York state in 1780, in the Schoharie Valley, a source of vital grain and food supplies for the Americans, at the Defense of the Middle Fort (near present-day Middleburgh, NY), Murphy used his rifleman's skill to help the Americans win. Murphy steadfastly refused to surrender the fort to the invading British over the objections of his American commander who wanted to give up. The British invaded the Schoharie region aided by Tory troops (Americans loyal to Britain), Hessians (German mercenaries), and pro-British Native American Indians. They planned to destroy the crops and food supplies in the area, while eliminating any American forces there.

The Americans had only a few troops there, mainly composed of local militia. Murphy and the other American militiamen put up such a fight that the British eventually withdrew. The commanding American officer, a regular Army officer named Woolsey who wanted to surrender, eventually relinquished command to the militia leader.

But it was Murphy's refusal to surrender that led militia to stand and fight and win. He reportedly fired rifle shots over the heads of the British truce party seeking to offer surrender terms to the Americans in the Middle Fort. Murphy's heroic stand made him a local hero to this day in that part of New York state.

Murphy later served with General Anthony Wayne and fought at the siege of Yorktown,Virginia in 1781, where Washington defeated British General Cornwallis, effectively winning the war for the Americans.

Murphy died in 1818 in New York state. A frontiersman, he never learned to read or write; but he played a key role in the history of America.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish cultural society, memorialized Murphy with a plaque in 1913 at the site of the Battle of Saratoga.

The state of New York in 1929 also put up a memorial to Murphy at the Saratoga battlefield. The man who was then governor of New York state made a speech on that occasion. Some of his words were as follows: "This country has been made by Timothy Murphys, the men in the ranks ... Our histories should tell us more of the men in the ranks, for it was to them, more than the generals, that we were indebted to our military victories."

The governor of New York state who
honored Timothy Murphy in a speech
and who later became President of the
United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Photo from Wikimedia Commons and
the Library of Congress

The governor of New York who made that speech was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who would later become president of the United States.

Timothy Murphy, a descendant of the Irish, was an American hero.


Sources and further reading:

"Timothy Murphy: Frontier Rifleman: New York State Military museum; Murphy at wikitree; photo of Murphy monument; Murphy at Irishcentral; Wikipedia article on Timothy Murphy. AOH article on Murphy.

Irish Ancestry Search: Your Irish Family and Mine

Hugh Byrne, circa 1915, my grandfather on my mother's
side, who had roots back to Ireland
Photo -- family photo

By Adrian McGrath

Where did your family come from in Ireland? Do you
know? I’m not an expert in ancestry research or
genealogy, so I can’t help you too, too much.
But maybe I can help you a little to get started

in your search.

Yes, there are places online where you can
search for professional help, and I’m sure they
are good sources. But you can start on your
own too, and see what you can find out.
Then get experts to help you

later on.

To start, ask your relatives where did your
parents and grandparents come, getting as
much detail as possible? Where did their
parents come from, and so on. But
remember, they did not exist in a vacuum.

Historical and even dramatic historical events
may have occurred which

led your distant relatives to leave Ireland and
come to America. And other historical events
happened in America that your

relatives might have participated in.

Did they leave Ireland because of the Famine,

as many did? Were any of your relatives
soldiers in any American wars?

All of this can lead to historical documentation
and more information about your ancestors.

A baptism certificate is
a good source of info
-- my relatives
from a family photo

For many of you, your relatives came during the Irish
Potato Famine

(or Great Hunger as they say in Ireland) or near that time.
Ask your relatives about this.  Some distant relatives
may have witnessed incredible events in American history --
especially for the Irish this

could be the American Civil War where so many Irish
immigrants and early generation Irish Americans served.
(My family had a relative in the Union Army,
although I was born in the South, because part of my
ancestry is from the North.)

Your ancestors might

date back in America even to the time of the
Revolutionary War.

Many Irish were in the Mexican-American war since that
happened around the time of the Great Famine in the mid 1840s.

A relative of mine --
"Hugh Byrne a native of Ireland" --
words written on this legal document
show a clear tie to Ireland
Family photo

Were your ancestors here during World War I, the Great
Depression, or World War II? Just ask your relatives
what they know and make a

list of the facts you find. Military records are a good source
of information.

Other sources of information could be birth certificates,
marriage licenses, and church wedding documents,
baptism documents, school records, and

death notices in newpapers, or death certificates.  

Look at old family photographs. Who are the people in
them? What are

the places in the photos and the surroundings? What can
they tell you about your family’s past?

Old photographs can sometimes
indicate the time of year or an approximate date.
By observing something

in the background of the photo like an old appliance,
a tool, a machine, a car, or certain buildings, or farms,
or the countryside you can get clues.

Hugh Byrne -- A marriage license from 1877
Family photo of my relative

Much like doing a jigsaw puzzle, put all the disjointed pieces
together to see the big picture.

You can also check the history of your last name. Many
last names give us a clue as to where our most
distant ancestors came from.

Some will probably be an Anglicized version of an
ancient Irish Gaelic name or word.

A very old family document
from the 1870s gives us ancestry clues
Family photo of my relative

You might find, most likely, that your ancestors were

Irish and something else. Mine are mainly Irish
(McGrath and Byrne),

but also some German (Bahl) and Scandinavian (Andersen).

But for some unknown reason we seem to cling emotionally
to the Irish.

I can’t explain why. Maybe you know or have your own views
on why we focus our emotions on the history of an exiled
people who were so badly treated for so long,
but who survived and later prospered in America?

One source you can use which is free of charge is the
website of the National Library of Ireland
http://www.nli.ie/ which has

a free Genealogy Advisory Service.
( See more information at NIL )

The website says a good way to start your family history

search is to ask family members, check old photographs,

newspaper articles, old letters, family Bibles, and family
grave sites. Try to focus in on approximate dates, names, and
places your ancestors were. Also, check for religious
or church records for

births, marriages, and deaths.

Map of Ireland, Jeffreys and Kitchen
1804, from Wikimedia Commons

Also check for

census data, the website advises. The website has a free booklet

too which may help in your initial search. You can find the pdf file

link at this site
https://www.nli.ie/en/intro/family-history-introduction.aspx  

To search for where your family came from is a fascinating
puzzle. And it might suggest where you might want your family to
go in the future. The future is built on the past.

As for me, I know only a few things; but I will share some

of this with you and perhaps you will  find it interesting.

Maybe you can use this as a guide in your own search.

From Ireland to Wisconsin to New Orleans

My mother and father during
the War years, World War 2
John and Isabella McGrath
Family Photo

My mother’s side is Byrne; my father’s side is McGrath.

Both, of course, are Irish names.

Let’s start with some general information which is fairly easy

to find online about the name “Byrne.” It is an English language

variant of the old Gaelic name O’Broin. This was a descendant of

a son of the King of Leinster, a province in ancient Ireland.

(See more about that here.) It might also be from O Beirn

which was from the Northwest of Ireland around Mayo or Donegal.

Variations of the name in English could be Burns, Byrnes, or

O’Byrne.

In general, “O’ means the “grandson of”; and “Mc” or

“Mac” means the “son of”.

It is possible the different locations were the result of various

invasions of Ireland over centuries by different people like

the Vikings, the Normans, and, of course, the English.

(See more on that here.)

What I know is that my mother was a Byrne; and she had

six brothers, a mother, and a father who all lived in New Orleans,

Louisiana. I also know the Byrne family arrived in America after

the American Civil War. But I don’t know exactly when.

Several

of her brothers served in the US military during World War II.

One in the US Army Air Force, one in the US Merchant Marine,

and one was a US Army medic. This information can be helpful

in further research as the US government has information on military

service to some degree.

All were raised Catholic, and so that is

another source of good ancestral research -- marriage certificates,

birth certificates, baptism records, etc. Church records are a good

source of information.

My father, Master Sergeant John McGrath
(center) at the US Army LaGarde General Hospital
c. 1943. "You're in the army now ..."

The other side of my family, my father’s, is McGrath
(which is my name).

This is an ancient Irish name from the Gaelic “Mac Craith.”
It came from

a place called the Kingdom of Thomond in Munster, Ireland.

This was before the Norman invasion in the 12th century.
(See more here.)

The McGraths were Dalcassians, who lived in Southern Ireland.

“Craith” means divine grace, and “Mc” means son of, so

McGrath means “son of divine grace.” How about that!

Different versions of the name in English are McGraw, Mac,

Crae, McKray, and so on.

School records are a good source of info
My father's high school diploma from Highland High School in
Highland, Wisconsin (70 miles west of Madison), 1936 
Family photo

Some sources indicate that the original McGraths were descendants

of a group called “Cenneide.” In English that is Kennedy. And they

were somehow related to the High King Brian Boru, who united

Ireland but was killed in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf by the Vikings.

(See more here.)

My father,
Master Sergeant
John McGrath
US Army, c. 1943

Some sources say the McGraths were

originally poets, dating back to 1086 AD.

And, of course, as every pub crawler
knows there are at least two Irish pub songs
about McGrath.

One is an anti-war song

called “Mrs. McGrath,” and the other is

about and Irish dog who beats an English

dog in a dog race. The Irish dog and the

song are named “Master McGrath.”

My McGrath side came from Wisconsin;

my father was born in a small town

named Highland, WIsconsin about

70 miles west of Madison. ( See more about Highland
at the Facebook page for the Highland, Wisconsin
Area Historical Society. See more about Highland at
their website and Village of Highland.)

In the mid 1800s,
many Irish immigrants settled in Wisconsin and in the farming
areas west of present-day Madison, where Highland is.

My father was a farmer, a US army soldier in World War II,

and an accountant. He eventually moved to

New Orleans where he met my mother. Tracing his line back,

we can find connections to Boston,

Canada, and ultimately Ireland.

My father had a sister named Mary and a brother named Glen.
Glen went to the University of Wisconsin at Madison and
became a journalist. He was a member of the Wisconsin Press
Association and wrote for newspapers in Madison and also
Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Like my father, my Uncle Glen grew up in Highland, WI and
graduated from Highland High School. I corresponded with him
by snail mail -- before we had computers and the internet.
Uncle Glen was always interested in Irish history,
and he encouraged me to write more and create a journal.

My father John McGrath (standing)
and my Uncle Glen (sitting)
circa 1991

If you are searching for your family history,

then that is a good way to start. Look for

general information about your Irish last name,

then look for church records and military records.

The search can take awhile and can be frustrating at times.

But give it a try and you might find out some interesting

things about your Irish background.

I hope this helps a bit to get you started in your search.

Sources and further reading:

National Library of Ireland (NLI) Genealogy Advisory Service