SURNAMES OF KILKENNY
The following is from a general discussion on the surnames of Co. Kilkenny:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ksurnam2.htm#dunne
Dunne - In Irish O Duinn or O Doinn (doinn is the genitive case of the adjective donn - brown) it is more often written Dunne than Dunn in English. The form O'Doyne, common in the seventeenth century, is now almost obsolete. In fact of 364 births registered for them in a given year, 313 had the final E and only 51 were Dunn. From this it can be estimated that the total number of people so called in Ireland to-day is approximately 15,000, giving them twenty seventh place in the list of commonest surnames in Ireland. This sept originated in Co. Leix (Queen's County, north of Co. Kilkenny) and formed one of the principal families of Leinster, their chief being lords of Iregan in that county. The sept is one of those specially mentioned in the mid sixteenth century official orders as hostile and dangerous to the English interest. It is in that part of the country that Dunnes are, appropriately, now to be found in greatest numbers, though they have spread far and wide. Nearly all those who spell the name Dunn came from Ulster. This is a name to which the practice during present century of resuming the discarded prefixes Mac and O does not apply - the form O'Dunn or O'Dunne is seldom if ever seen to-day. At least one of the name is to be found in the gallery of famous Irishmen, viz., Gillananaomh O Duinn (1102-1160), the historian and poet. One was killed at the battle of Aughrim in 1391. Another very active Jacobite was James O'Dunne (c. 1700-1758). Bishop of Ossory, most of whose life was spent in France, in the service of which country several of his relatives distinguished themselves as diplomatists and soldiers. In modern times Charles Dunn (1799-1872), was a notable judge in the U.S.A; and Col. Humphrey O'Dunne was famous for his bravery in the attack on Savannah in 1774. The Irish-American author Finlay Peter Dunn, has been noticed in the article on Dooley (q.v.). Sir Patrick Dun (1642-1713), five times President of the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland, and Irish M.P., whose memory is perpetuated in Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, Dublin, was of a Scottish family. In the 1659 census for Kilkenny the name Duin & Duing is noted as a principal Irish name in the baronies of Crannagh and Fassadinin. The name Dunne (not Dunn) was strong in Laois and Offaly in the mid-19th century, with a good showing in other Leinster counties such as Kildare and Kilkenny [and Dublin]. The 1890 census for Kilkenny noted 20 births in that year for the surname Dunne.
TITHE DATA
There is James? Dunn listed in the tithe records of 1825 living in a townland called Esker. Here is the link:
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/Kilkenny/MothellTithes.htm
Dunn |
James? |
4 |
Esker (2nd page), called Inchabride on Ord Survey |
GRIFFITH VALUATIONS
Also - there is a James and Patrick Dunn also from Esker in the Griffith Valuations:
http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/kilkenny/mothell.htm
Dunne James Esker Mothell Kilkenny
Dunne Patrick Esker Mothell Kilkenny
LAND RECORDS
This is a good resource but you will need to know the location of the family.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~registryofdeeds/by_name/name_index.htm
LOCATION - LOCATION - LOCATION
Finding the location of your ancestors is a very important step in the process. With this information it makes it easier to narrow your search.
Happy Hunting!
