Dirrane origins

Libby,

Do you have any other info? Name, approx. dates, birthplace if known, names of parents/spouse/children?  

If your Dirrane ancestor was not born in the Aran Islands, it is possible he/she married someone who lived there.

Libby:

The surname in the mid-19th century was Derrane and the Griffiths Valuation shows that there were around 40 Derrane households on the big island Inis Mor. Not sure how and when the Derranes got to Inis Mor.

FYI. A famous Derrane was Joe Derrane  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Derrane whose father was from Inis Mor.

Roger McDonnell

Hi Libby-Jean,

It is possible that the name O - "Dirrane-Derrane" originated on the Aran Islands?

Dr. Edward MacLysaght - Surnames of Ireland - gives no explanation for the name, other than it was almost exclusively ol County Galway.

In relation to the surname O-Dirreen he states that it is a rare County Kilkenny name, possibly a variant of the foregoing.

Attached is a report by Tomas Oh-Ide on the film "Man of Aran" which has actors named "Dirrane".

Regards,