Irish begrudgery? Nothing like a sweeping statement is there? If you look on the Griffiths valuation you will find very little use of the O'. Did they all convert? Regards,Kevin, Co Cork. > > > "Zizek, Candi (DHS-DCDC-IDB)" <CZizek@dhs.ca.gov> said: > > >All Irish struggled to keep their O's-which were required to be removed > >to get jobs and soup from the soup kitchen. Only the most stubborn held > >on to them. But records could be your people either with or without the > >O', depending upon who was writing the records (like the English). > > In all the years I've been researching Irish history and genealogy, this > is the first time I have ever heard this explanation of disappearing "O"s. > While there are apocryphal tales from Famine times of Irish Catholics > being forced to convert to Protestantism before "taking the soup" from > non-Catholic relief organizations, I've never seen it alleged that a > change in surname was part of the deal. Those who did convert were > derided by their co-religionists as "soupers" but this is likely due to > the nature of Irish begrudgery, where whenever one's fellows gain some > advantage or advancement it is alleged that they did so by nefarious means. > > -dja > > > ==== IRL-CORK Mailing List ==== > Threaded archives for IRL-CORK can be found at > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/irl-cork > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- Find the home of your dreams with eircom net property Sign up for email alerts now http://www.eircom.net/propertyalerts

As from Irish history I interpret it from both English and Irish authors: The O was part of the overall celtic clan structure which was governed by brehon laws. The Normans first, then the English, wanted the Irish to live under their laws, and do away with the brehon laws which harked back to the druid days hundreds of years before. In one effort to break the clans and force them to become english, use of the O was considered treason and punishable by death. So those who continued to use the O, or the Mc, or the Mac, etc. etc. were the true Irish patriots. As Winston Churchill once said, "The Irish don't make very good Englishmen." I am personally happy to see the O and other precepts to surnames still used. Donal O'Collaugh/O'Collaigh O'Kelly ----- Original Message ----- From: "kevin mccormack" <kevinmcc59@eircom.net> To: <IRL-CORK-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 7:12 AM Subject: Re: > Irish begrudgery? Nothing like a sweeping statement is there? If you look > on the Griffiths valuation you will find very little use of the O'. Did > they all convert? Regards,Kevin, Co Cork.