The search for my Irish connection, part 2

 

                                                         A view of Dublin taken from the other side of the River Liffy

Some Irish surnames are more likely to come from particular parts of the country than others. Surname maps can give pointers as to where Irish roots come from. There are other names that defy placement and one of them happens to be Cavanagh, the one I'm looking for.

Not that Cavanagh is the only spelling of the name. The original Gaelic name, Caomhánach, has been anglicised in many ways and can often be found starting with a "K" rather than a "C". In fact, once when my father was signing in at a hotel in Dublin he was taken to task for the spelling of his name. When signing in with the surname Cavanagh, he was informed that his spelling was wrong. That the name was correctly spelt with a "K" as in Kavanagh (or perhaps Kavanaugh, he didn't mention the "u" controversy as part of the tale.)

That story cast doubts on my hunch that my family roots came from the area around Dublin. The English records I'd found for the family consistently spelled the name with a "C". There were variations, of course, Cavanagh, Cavanaugh and sometimes even Cavanah. But if the common spelling in the vicinity of Dublin was Kavanagh, maybe I was on the wrong track. So I let the search stall.

Sometimes though, nuggets of information show up unexpectedly. I'm a member of the BCGS (British Columbia Genealogy Society) and they had seminars planned for the spring. (Around Vancouver, spring is usually considered to start in February.) I debated whether to attend the one about Ireland. The speakers were from the Ulster Historical Foundation and I wasn't really interested in Northern Ireland. What could they possibly tell me that would help my personal research? I signed up anyway.

The sessions were informative and covered all of Ireland. So that was good. But it became more than good when Fintan Mullan shared an example slide from The Down Survey on the screen. The landowner featured was a Cavanagh spelt the right way! Moreover, the survey itself was taken in the mid-1600s and the example shown was in Carlow, a county to the south of Dublin. This looked promising. Now to figure out how to track down any possible links to my family. 

Sources:

BCGS  https://www.bcgs.ca/

Clann Chaomhánach https://www.clann-chaomhanach.com/

The Down Survey of Ireland https://downsurvey.tchpc.tcd.ie/