According the local lore, six Langan brothers arrived from Donegal in the 18th century and settled in Doonfeeny and the Ballycastle area. The six Langan brothers are credited with building the picturesque Palmerstown bridge about 1788, which was subsequently used by General Humbert's invading French troops that came to assist the Irish rebellion in 1798. Langan was a relatively common name in County Mayo by the time of the Griffiths Valuation (c1850), with 77 families recorded. The author's Langan ancestors come from Ross, Ballyknock (Townland), in Doonfeeny parish.
The author's maternal ancestors from about 1800 are shown on the chart below, including Bourke, Collins, Connor, Langan, Lavelle, McDonnell, Sweeney, and Tomas. Clicking on the link will open a descendants chart for that ancestor with an index of names at the back. Names of living relatives have been omitted for reasons of privacy.
The following lists indicate how common each of the above surnames was by county during the 1848-1864 Griffiths Valuation. If the surname is very rare, then you can be more certain that a name which matches your ancestor's is more likely to be the correct person. If the name is common, then you may need more details to verify the match. This information is available for most surnames at the Irish Times web site.
Copyright notice: You are welcome to download any information or images from this website for personal use. Private individuals and non-profit organizations are welcome to re-publish any images and information from this website provided due acknowledgement to the author is given where appropriate; e.g. "Reproduced courtesy of C. M. Golden, www.GoldenLangan.com". Commercial organizations may not publish or reproduce information or images from this website without written permission from the author. Anyone is welcome to link to pages on this website.
While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of the information presented, no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions.
Family History in Ballycastle County Mayo, Ireland
The picturesque Palmerstown Bridge near Killala,
built by the six Langan brothers
