| This name as le Norreys (i.e. the northman) is very frequent in
Irish records since the thirteenth century. It came into special prominence
with the arrival of Sir John Norris, who was responsible for the terrible
massacre at Rathlin Island in 1575. He became President of Munster in 1584 and
was succeeded by his brother Thomas in 1597. Another brother, Henry (d.1599),
is favourably mentioned by the Four Masters. The name is now found in
considerable numbers in all the provinces except Connacht. Some curious
synonyms of it have been reported by local registrars, e.g. Nowry in Co. Derry,
Nurse in Co. Kerry and Northbridge in west Cork. These three names are very
rare in Ireland; Nurse and Nourse are normal synonyms of Norris in England;
Northridge is an English name denoting residence at the north ridge. Bibl., Map
GLOSSARY
| Clan |
From the Gaelic clann which means literally
'children'. |
| Mac- |
From the Gaelic mac, meaning 'son' |
| O' |
From the Gaelic Ó, meaning 'grandson',
'grandchild' or 'descendant'; Ní is the femine form of Ó, meaning 'daughter' or
'descendant' |
| Plantation (Ulster) |
The redistribution of escheated lands after the
defeat of the Ulster Gaelic lords and the 'Flight of the Earls' in 1607. Only
counties Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Armagh, Fermanagh and Cavan were actually
'planted', portions of land there being distributed to English and Scottish
families on their lands and for the building of bawns. |
| Sept |
A family group of shared ancestry living in the
same locality |
| Undertakers |
Powerful English or Scottish landowners who
undertook the plantation of British settlers on the lands they were granted. |
| Gaelic |
This word in Ireland has no relation to
Scotland. As a noun it is used to denote the Irish language, as an adjective
to denote native Irish as opposed to Norman or English origin. |
| Erenagh |
From the Irish Gaelic airchinneach, meaning
'hereditary steward of church lands'. A family would hold the ecclesiastical
office and the right to the church or monastery lands, the incumbent at any one
time being the erenagh. |
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