I’ve just started a new service here on the site, interactive surname maps of all Irish Catholic baptisms. They’re nice to look at and certainly confirm just how localised (some) Irish surnames are. But how useful are they?
Like everything to do with Irish genealogy, the answer is that it depends. In cases where you need a quick grasp of how common or concentrated baptismal records for a particular family might be, the map is your only man. Once again, a decent picture is worth a thousand words.
I also like having click-through lists of variant spellings and totals, making it clear where the pitfalls are and how big they are. The variants also show just how localised some spelling variations can be, a valuable potential clue to a place of origin.
And of course being able to click straight through to the FindMyPast transcripts and the National Library microfilm images is the ultimate lazy shortcut, always welcome.
Flaws? I know where most of the bodies are buried, and I’m not telling.
Suffice to say that the transcriptions on which the maps are based can only be as good as the microfilms they’re based on. Which can be dreadful. And the variants are mine, not FindMyPast’s.
My heartfelt thanks to FindMyPast for sharing the data with me so generously. Unlike other large genealogy companies, they make a particular point of being collaborative, and this is spectacular collaboration. And particular thanks to Brian Donovan and Fiona Fitzsimons, the principals of Eneclann and the Irish faces of FindMyPast. Eneclann is now in its 20th year, a record for any commercial Irish genealogy company. It’s not an accident that they’ve lasted so long. Their commitment to high standards and sheer dogged hard work has earned them everything they have.
This is great, John. Thanks for sharing this and for your hard work in putting this together.
John, I have Hession relatives in the Ballymacward Parish, the area indicated on your map. There is quite a concentration of Hessions in that area as wall as my surname, Kelly. I was able to meet relatives from both families on my visit their for the filming of Tar Abhaile. Thanks for all your hard work.
Mike Kelly
I have my great grandmother, Catherine Kelly, born in Ballymacward 1864. Her parents are John Kelly and Honoria Tressy or Treacy or Tracey. Are they on your tree please.
I’m in Australia and would appreciate any advice
Kerry
There’s just no end to this man’s talent and ingenuity !
Thank you yet again, John !
Amazing – thanks so much for your great efforts!
John, the link you provided is for a specific surname.
Do you have a link for the page where you enter the surname to search for?
https://www.johngrenham.com/surnames/
dermotb –
https://www.johngrenham.com/surnamescode/rc_fmp_map_full.php?surname=xxxxxxxx&search_type=full
replace the x string with your surname of interest.
John – thank you, again and again!
Brilliant, just brilliant!
I look forward to featuring this at Milwaukee Irish Fest this summer!
Kris Mooney
John Grenham is God.
p.s. Thank you.
This is Great! Thank you so much!
And of course ….my family’s parish records were never microfilmed in the first place!
I suspect a fire in the town in the late 19th Century…..or rampaging rodents…….or just a lack of interest by the aged parish priest of the time.
John, you’re a life-saver. Many thanks.
I believe I was on this page yesterday and was able to navigate to the surname I am searching. Was I dreaming? now I do not know how to get past the surname that pops up.
Wow! This is great, just incredibly useful. Thank you, Mr. Grenham.
Very nice. It seems simple now, but why didn’t someone think of this before?
Thank you for your easy to use interactive map. Because of poor immigration records in Nova Scotia before 1800, I may never be able to locate the origins of our DUGGAN family. I appreciate all your hard work making it so easy to track family names.
Jan