Transparency

Sources & research notes

Clan history is strongest when visitors can tell the difference between a document, an interpretation, a recollection and a tradition.

Core material used for this working site

  • Clans of Ireland registration certificates for 2018, 2019 and 2022.
  • The current 2026 Register of Clans maintained by Clans of Ireland.
  • Early Clan newsletters and research correspondence, 2018–2020.
  • The Rising Phoenix, Summer and Fall 2022, plus the unpublished Winter 2023 draft.
  • The planned 2020 Reunion Programme for Swinford.
  • Photographs, presentation images, attendee recollections and family social-media material from the July 2023 Westport Gathering.
  • The Clan research archive concerning historical surname forms, Mayo locations and DNA work.

Current public reference

Clans of Ireland · Register of Clans 2026

Evidence labels

This site uses four practical labels in its writing: documented fact, evidence-supported interpretation, family tradition and research hypothesis. That distinction is especially important for early surname origins and DNA-era historical theories.

Michael Brabazon's research

Brabazon's early newsletters contain important documentary discoveries as well as developing hypotheses. The site credits his work where relevant, but does not treat every proposition in those newsletters as established Clan history.

2023 Gathering reconstruction

The 2023 Gathering page is a working historical reconstruction based on the surviving program material, attendee recollections and photographs supplied to this project. The opening-night election, the July 18 presentations and church service, the July 19 Croagh Patrick outing and historical Mayo bus tour, and the July 20 departure sequence are presented from that combined evidence.

Photo-rights note: Some Gathering photographs were supplied from family or social-media sources. Before public deployment, confirm that the Clan has permission to republish images that were not taken by a Clan officer or otherwise licensed to the organization.

Corrections are part of the process

Historical work improves when a better source appears. Corrections should be documented rather than silently hidden.