Horgan is the most common spelling of this name. In the cities etc it is customary to pronounce the name as Horgan However in rural areas it is generally pronounced "horrigan" even when spelt "Horgan". In my view the "horrigan" pronunciation is closest to the original name in the Irish /Gaelic language. "Respectable" folk will insist the name is pronounced "Horgan". I guess it has been long and well established by usage. However the two are anglicized versions of the same Irish family name. The man from Killorglin was of course correct in saying what his people were called. But the same people could well and very possibly did spell it as Horgan. It is very unusual to find the Horrigan spelling in Ireland today. -----Original Message----- From: irl-cork-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irl-cork-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Mary Ellen Rossi Sent: 03 December 2010 06:24 To: irl-cork@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Irl-Cork] Hourigan family Hi Maureen!! I have some Cornelius' in my family tree but in my McCarthy line....My Horgan/Harrigan/Horrigan/Hourigan family line are from Killorglin, county Kerry and I have no information that goes back further than my gggrandfather Jeremiah Horgan/Horrigan/etc....I know that my ggrandfather,Patrick, who worked in the Peabody/Salem Mass leather industry was adamant that the family call themselves Horrigan, why he was adamant about this I don't know....but from what I know about the Irish naming system, there are no "Cornelius'" in my family tree....unless it the name of a "lesser" male relative....Jeremiah, then Joseph, then Patrick...this is all of the names that I know. Somewhere I have an email from another one of the Horgan/Hourigan/etc and I will, if I can find the link, send you her e-address. All the best, Mary Ellen --- On Fri, 12/3/10, Maureen Drake-Brockman <oneill1941@bigpond.com> wrote: > From: Maureen Drake-Brockman <oneill1941@bigpond.com> > Subject: [Irl-Cork] Hourigan family > To: irl-cork@rootsweb.com > Date: Friday, December 3, 2010, 12:04 PM > Hello MaryEllen, > > Very interesed in your Hourigan family i have been looking > for  gg/father Cornelius Hourigan a farmer > from Cork . > > Maureen > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CORK-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the > subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CORK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message