A couple of thoughts - from Linda Merle a long time ago Topograhical Dictionary of Ireland, Vol II, pa 292. by Samuel Lewis, Genealogical Publishing Co, 1984. First published 1837. P 296 says that in the plantation of 1609 the English settlers were located on the borders of Lough Foyle and on the banks of the Roe and Bann. The Scotch were placed on higher lands as a military barrier between the English (I guess that who "their more favoured brethern" were) and the Irish. The Irish were removed to mountain districts. This book is rather amazing. It is on Family tree maker CD 270. Secondly, IRISH MANUSCRIPTS Irish Manuscripts can be the answer to all your genealogical questions if you manage to find the right one. Manuscript simply means that the words are in handwritten form. Many of those handwritten copies have been microfilmed by the LDS Library. After the Four Courts fire, the Irish government made a concerted effort to replace the items lost with copies. Known genealogist's collections were sought, whether that genealogist collected information on his own family or had amassed copies of families whose genealogy he had been paid to trace. All of these various collections were given names, usually that of the person who gathered the information. This has resulted in many "collections" in Ireland that are full of pure gold. The best favor you can do yourself, when it comes to Irish research, is to familiarize yourself with these collections and which ones might apply to your geographical area or time period! There are all sorts of places where these mss. (manuscripts) can be found. Some are listed in Irish and Scotch Irish Ancestral Research by Margaret Falley, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD c1960. Many are listed in Richard Hayes' Manuscript sources for the History of the Irish Civilization, available on microfilm thru the LDS Library and in hard copy in some university libraries, as follows: Vols. 1 through 4 LDS film #s 11440939 and 1440940 Vols 5 & 6 Subject Index LDS film # 1440941 Vol 7 & 8 LDS film #s 1440941 & 1440942 Vol 9 & 10 Dates Index LDS film # 1144094 and 1440943 Vol 11 Manuscripts LDS film # 1440943 First Supplement, includes some of all of the above LDS film #0994079 In the course of doing your genealogy, you will occasionally run into a collection which appears to have duplicates in other repositories, i.e., Burke's Collection of Wills which can be found in the National Archives, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Royal Irish Academy, etc.. Never assume that these are duplicates of one another. They may be, but they could also be individual portions of one collection OR, two of them can be duplicates and the third different from the first two. If you believe your family is included in a collection, it is imperative that all mentions of the collection be reviewed. Additionally, some of the collections cover an entire county; some, perhaps, just a townland. Check it out. The subject and dates indices may be your best bet to see what is available for the early 1600s. MdacLysaght in his Surnames of Ireland has the following listings: (Mac) Brannan Mac Branain (bran, raven) An important name in north Connacht, to be distinguished from Brennan, though that form is often used. There's more in his Irish Families and it is shown in Co. Roscommon. (O) Brannan O Brandin. An erenagh* family of Fermanagh, now often called Brennan. *erenagh (possibly too reduced a definition - check it out) By the 11th century, in the average church the abbot, either heir of the saintly founder or the "head", had became a lay lord whose family held the office and the church property from generation to generation. Linda, Genealogyforum.org Manager Irish and Scot chat host