THE ULSTER HISTORICAL FOUNDATION,BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND Pg
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REF: THE ULSTER HISTORICAL FOUNDATION,BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND pg. 19 (Thanks to Mrs. Angie(Carnahan) Vail, Hillsboro,Texas for this report) REPORT ON THE CARNAHANS OF ULSTER ,dr The name Carnahan or Kernaghan is a very ancient one, being derived from the • Gaelic 0 Cearnachain. The bearers of this name in the Plantation Period, (the seventeenth century) would all have been native Irish and Roman Catholic. However intermarriage with the settlers has led to most Ulstermen of today being a mixture of races, and the Carnahans too have their share of Scottish and English ancestors and support, as we shall see, a variety of religious beliefs. In Edward MacLysaght's book 'More Irish Families' (1960) he says that the name Kernaghan was found principally in Co. Donegal in the middle ages, but 'now beloni to Co. Armagh and also the adjacent parts of Co. Antrim where it is often spelt Kernohan'. In the index to the Hearth Money Rolls for Antrim (1669), Londonderry (1663) Tyrone (1666) and the Subsidy Roll for Down (1663), the only county for which the name Carnahan is listed was Co. Antrim. The entries are as follows: Carnacan, James Kinkelts estate Carnagan, And Grange Carnahan, Roger Carrickfergus Thomas Belfast Cornegon, Wm Tickmacrevan Carnekan, Allex Connor James Connor Wm Donaghy Carnigan, Andrew Kinkelts estate Kenegan, Robert Larne • Kenighane, Wm Ballymoney Koncicgam. James Killead Kinigaine, Munno Ballymoney Kinigam, John Magheragall Kinigham, Thos Finvoy Kinighane, James Balleymoney Here we see thirteen variant spellings, and all of them coming from Co. Antrim. We turned next to the Householders Index. This is an index to names found in the tithe applotment books of 1820s to 1830s and the rating valuations of 1850s to 1860s. We started with the index for Co. Antrim and found ten variant spellings: Canahan, Carnaghan, Carnahan, Carneham, Carnoghan, Kenahan, Kernaghan, Kernahan, Kernihan, and Kernohan. There were eleven references to the name in the tithe applotment books and s xty-six in Griffiths Valuation. The valuation references are each to the head of). a household, paying rates. The tithe references are to a name appearing in the applotment book for a particular parish. There is no indication as to how many times it appears so a tithe reference may indicate one family - or twenty. The Householders Index must not be considered as a complete record of the incidence of a particular name - a fair number of people did not pay tithes. The seventy-seven references to Carnahans relate to a mere twenty parishes: Ahoghill, Antrim, Ballinderry, Ballyclug, Ballycor, Blaris, Camlin, Carnmoney, Carrickfergus, Connor, Craigs, Glenavy, Grange of Doagh, Grange of Shilvodan, Kilbride, Killead, Magheramesk, Portglenone, Rashee and SKerry. All these parishes are in mid- and south Antrim. The greatest concentrations of the name were in Ahoghill, Carrickfergus and Connor. There were twenty-six families c • Kernohans in Ahoghill alone. Turining to the other counties of Northern Ireland we looked first at Co. Down, which is adjacent to Co. Antrim. Here we found the name spelt five ways: Carnaghan, Carnahan, Cornaghan, Kernaghan, Kernahan. There were seven references in th 'ithe applotment books and 38 in the rating valuations. These were in.