20th Anniversary

2006 - 2026




                                                                    McGrath Genealogy
Shown above are the ruins of Corcomroe Abbey located a few miles west of Kinvarra, Co. Galway which date from at least the 12th century. A famous battle between two factions of the O’Brien family took place on this site in 1317. Members of the Macraith family fought on the side of the descendants of Turlough O’Brien. After the battle the dead were buried on the grounds of the abbey. A detailed account of the battle is contained in “The Battles of Turlough” (Caithreim Toirdhealbhaigh) written in about 1369 by Sean McCraith, a descendant of participants in the battle.
The Story Behind Upperchurch Connections

We arrived in Ireland, in the summer of 1997, knowing that Edmond McGrath had come from Upperchurch, Co. Tipperary around the early 1850s and that was about it. On a rainy day we visited Upperchurch, wandered through the graveyard where there was a sea of Ryan headstones and took a few pictures. During the second week of our trip, while wandering through the Ennis Bookshop on Church Street, an oversized magazine with a pen and ink drawing on its white cover caught my attention. The publication was the journal The Other Clare, published annually by the Ennis based Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society. An article named “Islandmagrath and the Macraith
Family” by Paddy Connors caught my eye. A reference at the end of the one page article on the history of the Macraith family led to the Local History Center there in Ennis, and to the Pedigree of the Macraith Family. The librarian, Maureen Comber, offered to make copies ……[More}
Copyright © 2006  Michael F. McGraw
 

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Site Overview

 

20th ANNIVERSARY - October 31, 2026

What's New? - UPDATED  10-22-26

Contact Info

Upperchurch Connections  

The Links to Upperchurch Families...

 

The Village of Upperchurch...  UPDATED 11-22-26


 Finding Michael McGrath of Moyaliff

 

The McGrath Family From Moyaliff

 

McGrath Common Origins

 

The McGrath Family

Coming to America - The Early Years  11-25-25

 

The McGraw Family of Truxton...  06-24-26

 

The Families of Cortland and Onondaga...

                                 UPDATED  10-22-26

 

The Families of Morgan Hill...  06-24-26

 

Moyaliff to Maple Ridge, Lewis Co ...

 

McGrath Books (PDF)...

 

McGrath Surname Distribution Maps...
 

Ireland 2006 - Trip Report...

        

The Stack Family...

 

Large Family Projects

The Conan Archival Project...

 

The McGrath - Long Trilogy... - 6-30-20

 

Connecting Across the Penal Times...  - 10-13-20

 

Finding the Ancestral Cottage...

 

Families From Irish Records

Families In Ireland From the Records...

 

Family Connections in Co. Tipp... - 2-26-22

 

McGrath Families of Clogher and Clonoulty...

                                                    - 08-12-22

                                                       

 

Old Mattydale Website...

 

Mattydale Historical Novels

Secrets in an Irish Diary - NEW

     By Michael McGraw and

           Colette Smolinski - Aug 2023

 

The Secret of the Gold Coins

     By Michael McGraw and

           Colette Smolinski - Aug 2021

 

The Young Ghost Searchers

     By Michael McGraw and

           Colette Smolinski - Aug 2019

 

Moving Molloy's Money

      By Michael McGraw - Aug 2015