Using Irish road and tourist signs as a Rosetta stone
Posted: 22 May 2017 Filed under: Sue's News | Tags: Clans and Surnames, irish family history, Irish Gaelic, Irish geneaology 5 CommentsYou know you are in a different country when you fail to understand all of the content of road signs. Fortunately most are in both English and Irish Gaelic, so navigation adventures of my trip to the Clans and Surnames Family History Conference in Nenagh, County Tipperary last week were not due signage.

Silvermines nature trail
I photographed a selection of signs once I had parked the car. On a walk around Silvermines, a small village a few miles from Nenagh, I found a nature trail, a National Looped Walk or Lúb Náisiúnta, so learned some names of local wildlife and features.

Silvermine Trailhead Sign
Irish | English |
Colm Coille | Woodpigeon |
An Spideog | Robin |
Smólach Ceoil | Song Thrush |
Buíóg | Yellowhammer |
Droichead | Bridge |
Eidhneán | Ivy |
Ailleán | Painted Lady Butterfly |
Broc | Badger |
Fia Rua | Red Deer |
Druid | Starling |
Mhóna Riabhóg | Meadow Pipit |
Eaglais | Church |
gnáthóg fiáin | Wildflower habitat |

National School, Nenagh
Single word signs give a direct translation, but where there are more words it isn’t obvious what each word means. Walking around Nenagh, I photographed some more signs and made a bit more progress. I heard about national schools during the conference, so the word for national, náisiúnta, appears in both on the trailhead sign and the school in Nenagh.

Nenagh Abbey on Abbey Street or sráid na mainistreach
From sráid na mainistreach for Abbey Street and sráid an mhistéalaigh for Mitchel Street, I can deduce that sráid means street and mainistreach means abbey, but I am not sure what the difference is between the prepositions na and an.

Nenagh Courthouse

Nenagh Castle Tourist Information
The sign outside Nenagh Courthouse reads ‘teach cúirte an aonaigh’ and the information board at Nenagh Castle is headed ‘Caisleán an Aonaigh’, so the Irish form of Nenagh is Aonaigh. One of complexities of Irish genealogy is navigating the geography in both English and Irish.

Nenagh Castle
This was my first visit to Ireland, so I have much to learn. I am only beginning to connect written Irish with how the words are pronounced by native Irish speakers. A week ago, I had no idea how to pronounce Portlaoise, the venue for Clans and Surnames 2018.
© Sue Adams 2017
Tutoring in Tipperary at the Clans and Surnames Irish Genealogy Program
Posted: 14 May 2017 Filed under: Sue's News | Tags: Appearances, irish family history, Irish geneaology, tutor Leave a comment
Lough Derg, near Nenagh, Tipperary
I will spend the next week, the 15 – 19 May 2017, tutoring at the Clans and Surnames Irish Family History Research Program in Nenagh, Tipperary, Ireland.
So, why would an English researcher pay attention to Irish Family History, and what skills do I offer?
The two countries have connections going back many centuries. The complex and often difficult relationship between England and Ireland has been marked by conquests and rebellions, most notably in Norman, Tudor, Stuart periods (from my English viewpoint), with the whole of Ireland under English rule between 1801 and 1922. In consequence, records of Irish people are in English archives and vice versa.
Comparison of how two countries deal with common issues is a fruitful way of understanding the administrative and legal systems of both countries. My particular interest in land and property records is about to be expanded, and I am sure I can offer insights to attendees.
Research methods and skills are not restricted to any one location. My higher education has prepared me to apply a broad range of techniques to genealogical research problems.
Most of all, I anticipate an adventure!