Surveys

Contents:-

O’Beirne or Beirne, or Byrne

A brief Review of Griffith's Valuation Published in 1857,

By John E. O'Beirne

So many of our O’Beirne or Beirne ancestors emigrated from Roscommon and became Byrne in their new land. Most correspondents expressed the opinion that this was because of real or perceived discrimination in their new country. Perhaps! Or may be not .A review of six parishes in Griffith's Valuation of Roscommon, published in 1857, reveals another possibility. While not scientific because of its limited scope, this review may give some insight.

*Excludes Corracreigh (now Curcreigh) which was not available.

[There was only one O'Beirne listed, Hugh of Emlagh, parish of Elphin. Even my great-great grandfather, married January 1826 as Fergus O'Beirne, is listed as Beirne.]

Note that all listings in Kilkeevin (now spelled Kilkeevan and the current parish of Castlerea) are spelled Byrne. The same phenomenon is visible in the current parishes of Croghan and Eastersnow, as one approaches the heavily "settled" town of Boyle. For any unaware, Byrne is a Leinster name based primarily in Wicklow.

Perhaps these spellings were the fault of Griffith' s enumerators and surveyors. However, one should also keep in mind the extraordinary desire to learn English that built in the Gaelic speaking population in the aftermath of the Great Famine. Many blamed themselves for their tragedy. Many wanted to escape and build a new life elsewhere, and they continued to do so for the next century. If a name change, or spelling change, could facilitate this desire, who could reasonably blame them?

O'Beirne v. Beirne Down Under

A Survey of Telephone Listing

*In NZ there are more than 200 McDermotts and over 700 O'Neills listed.

John  E. O'Beirne