Celtic Ancestry Blog

United Irishmen rebels with pikes on Vinegar Hill overlooking Enniscorthy during the 1798 Irish Rebellion.
The Battle of Vinegar Hill 1798: Wexford, the United Irishmen & Ireland's Fight for Freedom
On 21 June 1798, the rebel camp at Vinegar Hill outside Enniscorthy became the final great stand of the Wexford Rising. The defeat was devastating, but the memory of Vinegar... Read more...
Irish heritage family crest mug celebrating Ernest Walton of Waterford, the Nobel physicist who first split the atom
Ernest Walton and the Splitting of the Atom
In 1932, two physicists at Cambridge split the atom for the first time by artificial means — and one of them was an Irishman from Dungarvan. Ernest Walton's feat confirmed... Read more...
Irish heritage woven family crest blanket celebrating John Tyndall, the County Carlow physicist who explained why the sky is blue
John Tyndall and the Question of Why the Sky Is Blue
Why is the sky blue? A shoemaker's son from County Carlow gave the answer. John Tyndall explained the scattering of light that colours the sky, and his experiments on heat-trapping... Read more...
Irish heritage family crest mug celebrating Robert Boyle of Lismore, the founder of modern chemistry
Robert Boyle and the Birth of Modern Chemistry
Born at Lismore Castle in County Waterford, Robert Boyle helped drag chemistry out of the murk of alchemy and into the light of rigorous experiment. The father of Boyle's Law... Read more...
Irish heritage woven family crest blanket celebrating John Philip Holland, the County Clare inventor of the modern submarine
John Philip Holland and the Invention of the Submarine
The first practical submarine came from the mind of a schoolteacher from County Clare. John Philip Holland carried his obsession across the Atlantic, solved the puzzle of underwater propulsion, and... Read more...
Irish heritage family crest mug celebrating Ireland's great inventors and scientists who changed the world
Irish Inventors and Scientists Who Changed the World
Ireland is famed for its writers and music — but its inventors and scientists deserve celebrating too. From the father of modern chemistry to the man who split the atom,... Read more...
Scottish heritage woven clan tartan blanket celebrating James Young Simpson, the Scottish doctor who pioneered chloroform anaesthesia
James Young Simpson and the Discovery of Chloroform Anaesthesia
On a November evening in 1847, a group of Edinburgh doctors inhaling chemicals around a dinner table slumped unconscious — and James Young Simpson had found chloroform. His discovery transformed... Read more...
Caithness and far north Scottish clans — Sinclair tartan woven blanket with clan crest, representing the Norse and Gaelic families of Scotland's far north
Scottish Clans of Caithness and the Far North: Norse Roots, Great Earldoms & Highland Heritage
Meet the clans of Scotland's far north — Gunn, MacKay, Sinclair and Sutherland — where the Norse and Gaelic worlds met. Explore their earldoms, feuds, the Strathnaver Clearances, and the... Read more...
Scots-Irish heritage woven blanket — Armstrong family crest on tartan, representing the Scottish clan names that travelled from the Borders to Ulster and Appalachia
Scots-Irish Surnames: The Scottish Clans of Ulster and Appalachia
If your family says "we're Scots-Irish," your surname likely ran from the Scottish Borders to Ulster to Appalachia. Discover the clan roots behind Armstrong, Graham, Johnston, Bell, Campbell and dozens... Read more...
McGrath family gifts - McGrath family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the McGrath Irish heritage gift collection
McGrath Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the McGrath Name
Shopping for a McGrath? The Mac Craith were master poets to the O'Brien kings and keepers of the pilgrim lands at Termon McGrath. From family crest woven blankets to everyday... Read more...
Griffin family gifts - Griffin family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Griffin Irish heritage gift collection
Griffin Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Griffin Name
Shopping for a Griffin? The Ó Gríofa of Clare carry a name meaning 'fierce as a griffin,' risen in the shadow of the O'Briens. From family crest woven blankets to... Read more...
Cunningham family gifts - Cunningham clan tartan woven blanket, a heritage gift for Scottish and Irish Cunningham families
Cunningham Family Gifts: Heritage Gift Ideas for a Name Shared by Scotland and Ireland
Shopping for a Cunningham? It's a true two-nation name — the Ayrshire clan that championed Robert Burns, and the Gaelic families of Ulster and Connacht. From tartan woven blankets to... Read more...
Mullins family gifts - O'Mullins family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Mullins Irish heritage gift collection
Mullins Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Mullins Name
Shopping for a Mullins? The Ó Maoláin of Munster carried their name across the world — as Mullins, Mullane, and Moylan. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here... Read more...
Cleary family gifts - O'Cleirigh family crest woven blanket on tartan background, heritage of the scribes of the Four Masters
Cleary Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Cleary Name
Shopping for a Cleary? The Ó Cléirigh were Ireland's hereditary scribes — the family behind the Annals of the Four Masters. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here... Read more...
Doherty family gifts - O'Doherty family crest woven blanket on tartan background, lords of Inishowen heritage gift collection
Doherty Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Doherty Name
Shopping for a Doherty? The Ó Dochartaigh ruled Inishowen for four centuries, and the peninsula is still theirs. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most... Read more...
McDonnell family gifts - McDonnell family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Lords of the Glens of Antrim heritage gift collection
McDonnell Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the McDonnell Name
Shopping for a McDonnell? The Lords of the Glens of Antrim defied an empire from Dunluce Castle. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most meaningful... Read more...
Dunne family gifts - Dunn family crest garden flag on Irish national tartan, Seven Septs of Laois heritage gift collection
Dunne Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Dunne Name
Shopping for a Dunne or Dunn? The Ó Duinn of Iregan stood among the Seven Septs of Laois who fought longest for their land. From crest garden flags to tartan... Read more...
Boyle family gifts - O'Boyle family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Tyrconnell heritage gift collection
Boyle Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Boyle Name
Shopping for a Boyle? The Ó Baoighill stood with the O'Donnells and Sweeneys as one of Tyrconnell's three ruling families. From family crest woven blankets to garden flags, here are... Read more...
McKenna family gifts - McKenna family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Lords of Truagh heritage gift collection
McKenna Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the McKenna Name
Shopping for a McKenna? The Mac Cionáith were Lords of Truagh, holding their Monaghan borderland for centuries. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most meaningful... Read more...
Hogan family gifts - O'Hogan family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Hogan Irish heritage gift collection
Hogan Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Hogan Name
Shopping for a Hogan? The Ó hÓgáin rose within Brian Boru's own Dál Cais kindred in Tipperary. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most meaningful... Read more...
Sheehan family gifts - O'Sheehan family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Sheehan Irish heritage gift collection
Sheehan Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Sheehan Name
Shopping for a Sheehan? The name means 'peaceful' — carried by a family of Brian Boru's own Dál Cais kindred. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are... Read more...
Whelan family gifts - O'Whelan family crest woven blanket on tartan background, princes of the Déise heritage gift collection
Whelan Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Whelan Name
Shopping for a Whelan? The name means 'little wolf' — and the Ó Faoláin were princes of the Déise before the Normans landed. From family crest woven blankets to everyday... Read more...
Keane family gifts - O'Kane family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Keane Irish heritage gift collection
Keane Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Keane Name
Shopping for a Keane? The Ó Catháin held the hereditary right to inaugurate the O'Neill kings of Ulster. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most... Read more...
Hayes family gifts - Hayes family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Hayes Irish heritage gift collection
Hayes Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Hayes Name
Shopping for a Hayes? The name comes from Ó hAodha — 'fire' — and it's the very same Gaelic name as Hughes. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs,... Read more...
Hughes family gifts - Hughes crest woven blanket, a heritage gift for Welsh and Irish Hughes families
Hughes Family Gifts: Heritage Gift Ideas for a Name Shared by Wales and Ireland
Shopping for a Hughes? It's one of the great two-nation Celtic names — Welsh ap Hugh on one side, Irish Ó hAodha on the other. From crest woven blankets to... Read more...
Daly family gifts - O'Daly family crest woven blanket on tartan background, heritage of Ireland's great bardic poet family
Daly Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Daly Name
Shopping for a Daly? The Ó Dálaigh were the most celebrated bardic family in Gaelic Ireland — poets to kings for five centuries. From family crest woven blankets to tartan... Read more...
Power family gifts - Power family crest Irish tartan blanket, eight centuries of Waterford heritage in the Power gift collection
Power Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Power Name
Shopping for a Power? The le Poer family took Waterford in the 1170s and never left — eight centuries in the Déise. From crest tartan blankets to everyday mugs, here... Read more...
Kavanagh family gifts - Kavanagh family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Kings of Leinster heritage gift collection
Kavanagh Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Kavanagh Name
Shopping for a Kavanagh? It's the only great Irish surname with no O' or Mac — the royal house of Leinster needed neither. From the Kings of Leinster woven blanket... Read more...
Farrell family gifts - O'Farrell family crest woven blanket on tartan background, princes of Annaly heritage gift collection
Farrell Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Farrell Name
Shopping for a Farrell? The Ó Fearghail — 'men of valour' — were princes of Annaly, and the town of Longford is named for their fortress. From family crest woven... Read more...
Irish family crest gifts complete guide - family crest woven blanket on tartan background, the heirloom centerpiece of Irish heritage gifting
Irish Family Crest Gifts: The Complete Guide to Heritage Gifts by Surname
The complete map to Irish family crest gifting: how to choose between the heirloom woven blanket, the everyday crest mug, the garden flag, and the ornament — plus dedicated gift... Read more...
McMahon family gifts - McMahon family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Lords of Oriel heritage gift collection
McMahon Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the McMahon Name
Shopping for a McMahon? The name means 'son of the bear' — carried by the lords of Oriel, the chiefs of Clare, and a President of France. From family crest... Read more...
O'Connell family gifts - O'Connell family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the O'Connell Irish heritage gift collection
O'Connell Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the O'Connell Name
Shopping for an O'Connell? From the Gaelic gentry of Derrynane came the Liberator himself — the name on Dublin's main street. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here... Read more...
Fitzpatrick family gifts - FitzPatrick family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Kings of Ossory heritage gift collection
Fitzpatrick Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Fitzpatrick Name
Shopping for a Fitzpatrick? It's the only Fitz name in Ireland with fully Gaelic roots — the Mac Giolla Phádraig kings of Ossory. From family crest woven blankets to everyday... Read more...
Foley family gifts - Foley family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Foley Irish heritage gift collection
Foley Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Foley Name
Shopping for a Foley? The name means 'plunderer' — and the family wore it like a medal, then produced the sculptor of Dublin's O'Connell Monument. From family crest woven blankets... Read more...
Barry family gifts - Barry family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Barry Irish heritage gift collection
Barry Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Barry Name
Shopping for a Barry? From the Norman knights of Barryscourt to the father of the American Navy, Cork's great name carries serious history. From family crest woven blankets to everyday... Read more...
Sweeney family gifts - Sweeney family crest ceramic ornament on tartan background, gallowglass warrior heritage of the Mac Suibhne
Sweeney Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Sweeney Name
Shopping for a Sweeney? The Mac Suibhne came from Scotland's isles as gallowglass warriors and won three lordships in Donegal. Here are the most meaningful Sweeney heritage gift ideas —... Read more...
Donovan family gifts - O'Donovan family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Donovan Irish heritage gift collection
Donovan Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Donovan Name
Shopping for a Donovan? The Ó Donnabháin carry one of Europe's oldest surnames — a kingdom lost on the Shannon, a lordship rebuilt in west Cork. From family crest woven... Read more...
Casey family gifts - O'Casey family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Casey Irish heritage gift collection
Casey Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Casey Name
Shopping for a Casey? The name means 'vigilant' — and six separate Casey families rose across Ireland to earn it. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are... Read more...
Brady family gifts - O'Brady family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Brady Irish heritage gift collection
Brady Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Brady Name
Shopping for a Brady? The Mac Brádaigh were chiefs of Breifne's lakelands, and the name is Cavan's the way Murphy is Cork's. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs,... Read more...
Nolan family gifts - O'Nolan family crest woven blanket on tartan background, kingmakers of Leinster heritage gift collection
Nolan Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Nolan Name
Shopping for a Nolan? The Ó Nualláin of Carlow held the honour of inaugurating the kings of Leinster. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most... Read more...
Maguire family gifts - McGuire family crest woven blanket on tartan background, Maguire Lords of Fermanagh heritage gift collection
Maguire Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Maguire Name
Shopping for a Maguire or McGuire? The Maguires ruled Fermanagh for three centuries from their island castle at Enniskillen. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the... Read more...
Flynn family gifts - O'Flynn family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Flynn Irish heritage gift collection
Flynn Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Flynn Name
Shopping for a Flynn? The Ó Floinn — descendants of 'the ruddy one' — rose in every corner of Ireland. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are... Read more...
O'Donnell family gifts - O'Donnell family crest woven blanket on tartan background, princes of Tyrconnell heritage gift collection
O'Donnell Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the O'Donnell Name
Shopping for an O'Donnell? The princes of Tyrconnell gave Ireland Red Hugh and one of its greatest epics. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are the most... Read more...
Duffy family gifts - O'Duffy family crest woven blanket on tartan background from the Duffy Irish heritage gift collection
Duffy Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Duffy Name
Shopping for a Duffy? It's one of the most distinctly Irish names there is, with its great heartland in Monaghan. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here are... Read more...
Clarke family gifts - Clarke family crest woven blanket on tartan background, heritage of the Ó Cléirigh scribes of Ireland
Clarke Family Gifts: Meaningful Irish Heritage Gift Ideas for the Clarke Name
Shopping for a Clarke? The name descends from the Ó Cléirigh — the scribes and historians who wrote Ireland's story down. From family crest woven blankets to everyday mugs, here... Read more...
Clan Sinclair tartan woven blanket — the heirloom pick in our Sinclair heritage gift guide
Clan Sinclair Gifts: Meaningful Heritage Gift Ideas for the Sinclair Name
Shopping for a Sinclair? Theirs is the family of Rosslyn Chapel and the Norse earldom of Orkney — the most storied name in the north. From the heirloom woven blanket... Read more...
Crawford clan tartan woven blanket — the heirloom pick in our Crawford heritage gift guide
Clan Crawford Gifts: Meaningful Heritage Gift Ideas for the Crawford Name
Shopping for a Crawford? William Wallace's mother was one, and the clan motto — I Will Keep You Safe Through Strength — is what a family blanket is for. Here's... Read more...
Clan Hunter crest tartan throw blanket — the heirloom pick in our Hunter heritage gift guide
Clan Hunter Gifts: Meaningful Heritage Gift Ideas for the Hunter Name
Shopping for a Hunter? The family served as hereditary huntsmen to Scotland's kings for eight centuries, and the motto — I Finish the Course — gifts brilliantly. From the crest... Read more...
Duncan clan tartan woven blanket — the heirloom pick in our Clan Duncan heritage gift guide
Clan Duncan Gifts: Meaningful Heritage Gift Ideas for the Duncan Name
Shopping for a Duncan? It's a king's name — the real King Duncan of Macbeth fame — with Donnachaidh roots in Perthshire. From the heirloom woven blanket to the everyday... Read more...
Ferguson clan tartan woven blanket — the heirloom pick in our Ferguson heritage gift guide
Clan Ferguson Gifts: Meaningful Heritage Gift Ideas for the Ferguson Name
Shopping for a Ferguson? Their motto — Dulcius Ex Asperis, "Sweeter After Difficulties" — may be the most giftable in Scotland. From the heirloom woven blanket to the everyday crest... Read more...