TTHHEE NNOOLLAANN The Newslletter of the O’’Nollan Cllan Famiilly Associiatiion March 2008 Dia dhibh go leir (God be with you all) Issue 18 I am really looking forward to meeting many of you at the Nolan Clan CONTENTS Gathering in Co. Carlow on July 25th. 1 Words from Carlow is the heartland of the Nolans ----- a beautiful county, one of the the Chief hidden gems of Ireland. 2 In Brief … 3 Prehistoric Beginnings 5 Early Nolan History 7 Nolan Family Name 9 Editor’s Corner 10 In Sickness & Health 11 Irish Proverbs I always get a thrill when driving down and seeing Mount Leinster and the 12 Irish Soda Bread Blackstairs mountains before me, knowing my ancestors lived here for thousands of years. 13 Nolan Gathering Invitation These old links are getting weaker, so let’s try to keep it going. 14 Membership Form Beannachtai na Feile Padraig and a happy Easter to you all. Slan agus beannacht, Mary Nolan-FitzSimons, Clan Chief 1 O’Nolan Clan In Brief … Family Association Next Clan Gathering Major Revamping of Nolan Website Chief – On the cover page our Chief, Mary In January, the NolanFamilies.org Mary (Nolan) Fitzsimons Nolan-Fitzsimons reiterates her website underwent a major upgrade "Orion", Crosschaple Blessington, Co. Wicklow invitation to members to gather on July which hopefully will make it easier for Republic of Ireland 25th. For the benefit of those who may visitors to the website to find have missed receiving the initial information on the Nolan Clan. TEL: +44 (117) 9737992 invitation sent out in December, a copy Although Nolan Clan information Secretary – of it is attached to the newsletter. Eamonn Fitzsimons and past newsletters are hosted at the (same address as above) NolanFamilies.org website, the main A look back at our Common Heritage TEL: +44 (117) 9737992 focus of this not-for-profit website, Email: [email protected] At the last Clan Gathering in 2006 owned and maintained by one of our it was recognized that the focus of the Treasurers & Membership – members, Roger Nowlan (current Sean & Mai Nolan modern-day O’Nolan Clan was family, newsletter editor) is genealogy and the Ardattin, Co. Carlow not genealogy, and the celebration of a preservation of Nolan family lore Republic of Ireland common heritage going back thousands worldwide. of years, rich and diverse, uniting us all TEL: +353 (59) 91 55666 The main resources available at the in heart and spirit. Editor - Roger Nowlan website include three databases, all 222 Ave. De La Colline Emphasizing this new-found focus, fully searchable: Gatineau, Quebec J9J 1T8 Canada I have written, for your benefit, a series of three articles which focus on our • a database of early Nolan family TEL: +1 (819) 684-2535 Nolan Roots, our common heritage. stories from around the world FAX : +1(819) 684-6321 Email: [email protected] After reading about the family’s • a database of Irish memorials prehistoric beginnings, early history in (including most Nolan tombstones The Nolan Clan Newsletter Ireland and the origins of the family found in Co. Carlow and bordering is published at least once a towns, some dating back to the 1700s) year by and for the name, you will no doubt emerge with a membership of the Nolan new-found sense of identity, more • a forums database meant to capture Clan Family Association. ready than ever to celebrate queries and tidbits of information Member input for St. Patrick’s Day and your Irish roots. provided by visitors to the website. publication in the next newsletter is welcome St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations at any time and To further help celebrate, I have To check out the improvements to indeed essential. pulled together a few Irish Proverbs the website visit: Letters, comments and which you should enjoy and a bit of http://NolanFamilies.org articles of interest should be sent to the editor either history and a recipe for Irish soda by regular mail, by FAX or bread. Dues are Due by E-Mail at the addresses st listed above. The Editor In Sickness & In Health … on the 1 of January each year reserves the right to If you have not already done so condense or edit for style Over the past year I have collected all items submitted for from members a few tidbits of please take the time to renew your Clan publication. information related to major events in membership. You will find a renewal form at the end of the newsletter. Editorial views and their lives, one birth, one family opinions expressed in this reunion and one marriage. publication are not By Roger Nowlan necessarily those of the Newsletter Editor Clan association. 2 Nolan Roots: Part 1 - Prehistoric Beginnings Based upon worldwide DNA sampling of the from eastern France at the western end to Korea at male population, geneticists are now able to identify the eastern end. During this time one group of to which “haplogroup” a particular male individual descendants pursued the herds of animals eastward belongs and also to retrace in time the prehistoric until they encountered the massive mountains of migrations of his group’s ancestor and his south Central Asia, splitting at that point into two descendants. subgroups, one moving southward into Pakistan and the Indian sub-continent and the other one, the one DNA tests performed so far (by FTDNA) seem of interest, pushing northward into the game-rich to indicate that most modern-day Nolans belong to steppes of Central Asia in the area of present-day “haplogroup” R1b, the most prevalent DNA Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and southern Siberia. This grouping in Europe with the highest concentrations is where the next significant ancestor, M45, was being in southern England (Cornwall) and parts of born at a time when glaciers in the north were Spain (Basque country) and Ireland (Connacht). gradually expanding southward and the large Eurasian steppe was experiencing near desert-like In the following paragraphs we will retrace the conditions due to reduced rainfall. ancestral journey of the R1b haplogroup ancestor and his descendants from their prehistoric 35,000 – 30,000 years ago beginnings in Africa to the time during the last ice age when the group was mainly concentrated in the As climatic conditions worsened in Central Iberian Peninsula, just prior to the ultimate Asia the large herds of animals upon which they migration of some of its descendants to Ireland. depended migrated ever northward and M45s descendants followed, developing weaponry and 60,000 – 40,000 years ago adjusting their hunting skills and techniques to the animals and conditions which they encountered. M168, the ancestor of the R1b haplogroup (and They also learned to build animal-skin shelters and hence of most Nolans) was born some 60,000 years perfected their skills at surviving under harsh ago in north-eastern Africa at a time when the winter-like conditions. climate was becoming increasingly unfavourable to human life and former fertile grasslands were Towards the end of this period, part of the reverting to desert. In the face of such harsh Central Asian group of R1b descendants began environmental conditions many migrated out of the heading westward following the Eurasian steppe. continent, some settling in the Middle East where This is when M207 was born and, as the group M89, a descendant of M168, was born towards the approached Europe, some of them turned south end of this period around 40,000 years ago. eventually making it as far as India. The others, including the next descendant of interest, M173, 40,000 – 35,000 years ago continued on into Europe. They were amongst the first modern humans (Cro-Magnons) to set foot in Some of M89’s descendants followed the great Europe where the Neanderthals, a race of hominids, herds of buffalo, antelope, woolly mammoths, and had reigned for hundreds of thousands of years other game further north, making their way through beforehand. The latter, however, were no match for what is now modern-day Iran and ending up on the the more resourceful and agile Cro-Magnons who vast steppes of Central Asia where M9 was born out-competed them for resources and within a few around 35,000 years ago. thousand years drove them to extinction. Over several thousand years M9’s descendants multiplied and spread out over the vast expanse of the Eurasian steppe which, at that time, extended 3 30,000 – 20,000 years ago and into formerly occupied areas of Europe, M343’s descendants again followed. This usually meant Shortly after the arrival of M173’s descendants following river valleys or beaches. in Europe, M343 was born and his descendants spread even further into Europe. This seems to have In this time period between the end of the last been a time of relative peace and tranquility during ice age and the introduction of farming techniques which M343’s descendants found time to spend on around 9000 years ago, descendants of the R1b artistic endeavours creating such masterpieces as haplogroup followed the game in whichever the spectacular cave paintings found in southern direction it went, east, west, north or south, some, France. more than likely, returning to the pre-ice age homeland of their ancestors on the European steppe. 20,000 – 18,000 years ago 9,000 – 6,000 years ago Between 20,000 and 18,000 years ago, expanding ice sheets forced the herds of animals to In the comparatively short period of 3000 move further south in search of pasture. M343’s years, from 9000 to 6000 years ago (7000 - 4000 descendants who depended on the herds naturally BC), the knowledge and practice of agriculture followed moving ever further south.