Marleta Childs of Lubbock, Texas, has been writing her column, “Kinsearching, for upwards of three decades. As we have learned over the time, she knows a good book when she sees one. Check out her review below of our recent publication, Clan Callaghan: The O Callaghan Family of County Cork: A History, by Joseph F. O. Callaghan.

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KINSEARCHING

by

Marleta Childs

P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
kinsearching@gmail.com

The best kind of family history book is one that intertwines genealogical details with historical background. From this blend of materials, descendants gain a better understanding of their ancestors and their place in the   happenings of particular eras. A fine example of such a work is CLAN CALLAGHAN: THE O CALLAGHAN FAMILY OF COUNTY CORK: A HISTORY by Joseph F.  O Callaghan, distinguished professor emeritus of medieval history at Fordham University.

O Callaghan follows the history of his paternal line from their mythic beginnings in ancient Ireland to their present-day progeny in County Cork, Australia, Spain, the United States, and elsewhere in the world. The family claims descent from the tenth-century king, Cellachån of Cashel, who is celebrated in the annals and mists of legend. Documented details, however, did not emerge until the sixteenth century when historians were able to obtain a clearer picture of the territory occupied by the clan and the names of the clan chieftains.

The narrative then historically traces the Clan Callaghan’s fortunes, both good and bad, from the extension of English control throughout Ireland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through the great Irish diaspora during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During the ensuing years, the family migrated from their original homeland around Cashel to County Cork, where they now form one of the largest family groups. Individuals possessing the following surnames in their lineage are likely to have O Callaghan connections: BARRY, BUTLER, CALLAGHAN, CALLAHAN, CONDON, FITZGERALD, GILLMAN, GOULD, GREHAN, LACY, LISMORE, LOMBARD, MacAULIFFE, MacCALLAGHAN, MacCARTHY, MacSWEENEY, O BRIEN, O CONNELL, O KEEFFE, O MULLANE, O NEILL, O SULLIVAN, ROCHE, and WHITE.

Originally published in 2005 in Dublin, the revised 2020 edition provides much new miscellaneous material, like an extensive study of the O Callaghan lordship, and additional data on Robert and Cornelius, the sons of Cornelius O Callaghan, the progenitor of the Tipperary line; and information concerning Daniel Callaghan of Lotabeg, an early nineteenth-century merchant in Cork. If you have the surname in your lineage, you will want a copy of CLAN CALLAGHAN: THE O CALLAGHAN FAMILY OF COUNTY CORK: A HISTORY in your genealogical library.

Scholarly written and impeccably researched, the 281 -page paperback has a colorful front cover, a patron’s address, a foreword, prefaces, numerous illustrations, maps, charts, footnotes, appendices, seventeen pages of genealogical tables, a list of abbreviations used in the work, a nineteen-page bibliography, and separate indexes for persons, places, and subjects. To the book’s price of $39.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order 8575) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website HERE

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