Joe, In reference to your question about COMERFORD & CUMMISKEY, I offer you the reply of my Dublin contact, a Mr John O'GRADY, who writes: _________________________________________________________________ "The Bible" in these matters, is Dr. Edward MacLysaght's "The Surnames of Ireland", published in 1973. I quote exactly, Comerford Comartún. A hibernicised English family, prominent in Ireland since 1210, the name is occasionally used for Comiskey in the Cavan-Longford area. [Mac] Comiskey, Cumesky Mac Cumascaigh (cumascach, confuser) Originally of Co.Monaghan, but now mainly found in Cos. Longford, Cavan and Westmeath. The Irish pronunciations are as follows, Comartún, Cum’ er’ toon Mac Cumascaigh, Mock Cum’ oss’ skee. Far be it from me to criticize the work of the good Doctor Lysaght, but in this case he is probably wrong. Anglicising, and its corollary Hibernicising, of surnames frequently led to disasters which corrupted the actual meaning of the name. The Gaelic name of Comiskey/Cummiskey, coming from the North Leinster region has nothing to do with the English name of Comerford, based in South Leinster. The confusion [probably caused in no small part by the “confuser” Cumascach] arose by efforts of put Irish onto an English surname, and English onto an Irish surname. My brother-in-law, Patrick Comerford, has conclusively proved that the Comerfords of County Kilkenny were descended from ancestors who came from the village of Quemerford in the County of Wiltshire, England. They arrived here as De Quemerford. The first of them noted in Ireland is Philip de Quemerford, who was fined [with others] in Kilkenny in 1326. There was very little “outbreeding” of the Comerfords, and they tended to stay close Kilkenny, where they allied themselves to the Butler family. Sergt.-Major John Pigott was a childhood friend of James Butler, Duke of Ormonde. [Source, the Carte Mss.] John’s daughter, Thomasine Pigott, married Foulk Comerford. Foulk was of a family of lawyers and judges who served in the South-East of Ireland in Tudor times. It was probably a “political” marriage made by John and his father Sir Robert Pigott, to advance the family in that part of the country into the fringes of the old Ormonde Palatinate. So I don’t believe the alleged Comiskey/Comerford connection. At the time that the Cumascaighs were becoming Comiskeys, the Quemerfords were becoming Comerfords. If I am wrong, show me the proof! __________________________________________________________________ I trust this may be of interest. Regards, Chris.