Huguenots in Ireland
Photo by Hohenloh (Wikimedia Commons)
Following the Revoking of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685, Protestant Huguenots were subjected to appalling violence in their native France and fled persecution. Many made their way to both mainland Britain and to Ireland, where they set up communities. This included building their own French churches - Portarlington in Co. Laois being a very fine example serving a significant community of Huguenots.
The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland's Irish Section is a good place to find out more about the history and pick up some advice on research. "Researching Huguenot Settlers in Ireland" by Vivien Costello, also appears to be a fairly comprehensive research guide, published in the BYU Family Historian journal in 2007. The Representative Church Body Library in Dublin has a page on the history of items deposited with them over the years to form their Irish Huguenot Archive, which you will have to consult there in person. There is a link to a PDF well hidden at the bottom of the page that takes you to a table that very usefully describes in detail what is held in the collection along with an index of surnames mentioned.
I have also found a couple of e-books online which appear to be transcripts of the church registers of some of their churches in Dublin;
Speaking of names, there is also a charming little Huguenot Cemetery off Merrion Row, Dublin, sandwiched between later buildings. There is a large wall plaque, just visible on the left through the gates, listing the family names of all the people who are believed to have been buried there from 1693 onwards - the link above will take you to a document listing them.
Whilst virtually all the names are recognisably French, I'm also working on a theory that a branch of my own family tree, Brass, may have been derived from the De Brasselay family mentioned on this plaque. They intermarried with the Revell family, another name I'm wondering might have a French root? So be sure to do a bit of lateral thinking around these names as they may have morphed into something more Anglicised later perhaps?
John Grenham has more to say on the subject of Huguenot Surnames in his YouTube video.
The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland's Irish Section is a good place to find out more about the history and pick up some advice on research. "Researching Huguenot Settlers in Ireland" by Vivien Costello, also appears to be a fairly comprehensive research guide, published in the BYU Family Historian journal in 2007. The Representative Church Body Library in Dublin has a page on the history of items deposited with them over the years to form their Irish Huguenot Archive, which you will have to consult there in person. There is a link to a PDF well hidden at the bottom of the page that takes you to a table that very usefully describes in detail what is held in the collection along with an index of surnames mentioned.
I have also found a couple of e-books online which appear to be transcripts of the church registers of some of their churches in Dublin;
- Registers of the French non-conformist churches of Lucy Lane and Peter Street, Dublin (Publ. 1901)
- Registers of the French conformed churches of St. Patrick and St. Mary, Dublin (Publ. 1893)
Speaking of names, there is also a charming little Huguenot Cemetery off Merrion Row, Dublin, sandwiched between later buildings. There is a large wall plaque, just visible on the left through the gates, listing the family names of all the people who are believed to have been buried there from 1693 onwards - the link above will take you to a document listing them.
Whilst virtually all the names are recognisably French, I'm also working on a theory that a branch of my own family tree, Brass, may have been derived from the De Brasselay family mentioned on this plaque. They intermarried with the Revell family, another name I'm wondering might have a French root? So be sure to do a bit of lateral thinking around these names as they may have morphed into something more Anglicised later perhaps?
John Grenham has more to say on the subject of Huguenot Surnames in his YouTube video.
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2023
