There are few countries that celebrate a cozier, put-your-feet-up Christmas than Ireland. With its family-oriented culture and the legendary friendliness of its people, spending the holidays in Ireland is one of the most rewarding decisions you could ever make.

Although the surname Joyce may automatically be associated with author James Joyce, the name has an ancient past, with both Irish and Norman antecedents. Derived from the Brehon personal name Iodoc, which is a diminutive of iudh meaning lord, the name was adopted by the Normans in the form Josse.

The Moran clan have produced some very interesting folk. The anglicized "Moran" can be traced to multiple distinct Irish names, and though commonly linked to County Mayo, forms of the name originated throughout middle Ireland in Counties Leitrim, Galway, Kildare, Offaly, and more. Moran is so heavily anglicized - from the French "Morrin" to the Irish "Moran" - that exact knowledge of each Moran's lineage may be hard to trace.

Irish and Irish-Americans alike tend to be immensely proud of their surnames. But which last names win in the battle of Irishness? Here are the top 10 most popular Irish last names.

O'Flaherty (also Flaherty) ancestors have been documented since the time of Christ. One of the first Irish historians, Roderick O'Flaherty, recorded their history in Ogyia, published in London in 1685, in which he said they originated from Scythia and came to Ireland with a traveler called Milesius.

At one time or another, many of us have sketched our family tree, either for a school project or for our own pleasure. But, despite the help of my grandparents, I could only trace back to my great great-grandparents’ generation. The rest seemed lost to history or accessible only to professional genealogists. However, the Internet has opened up a whole new world to the amateur

If you're an expectant parent looking for an Irish name, or you just want to figure out what your own means, you've come to the right place. We've done all the hard work of gathering the top Irish names in America into one place. All you have to do is sit back and choose one, or two...

Kevin Mangan was fortunate to play the Old Head Golf Links on his most recent trip to Ireland. The Links is a unique golf course. It is built on a 220-acre diamond of land, jutting out over two miles into the Atlantic Ocean.

Ever thought about Ireland just for a weekend? Well, now you can. Especially if you live in the Boston area. On May 2, 2005, American Airlines began scheduled flights from Logan to Shannon, and in so doing opened up a gateway to a myriad of leisure possibilities in the Shannon region: Clare, Galway, Limerick, Tipperary and Offaly.

There are plenty of great festivals coming up in Ireland this year - some are centuries old; others are more recent arrivals. Either way, they cater for a wide variety of tastes, as our guide shows.

WITH the club season winding down, the New York senior team will be commencing their training for the arrival of Galway for the FBD Championship encounter on October 19.

On this same day the New York County Board will honor the New York hurling squad that won the 1958 St. Brendan Cup.

The Power family are of Norman origin, the name being originally le Poer, meaning poor. They were prominent among the early Norman settlers and had large estates in Wicklow and Waterford. The family is among the top 50 most common names in Ireland and is very much associated with Waterford county.

The names O'Byrne and O'Beirne (or Byrne and Beirne), often regarded as variants of the same root, are, in fact, totally different. O'Byrne is derived from the Gaelic O'Broin meaning "descended from Bran", the 11th century King of Leinster. The O'Byrnes were chieftains of what is now County Kildare until the Norman invasion when they were driven from their lands into the mountains of County Wicklow.

The names Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick and others with the prefix "Fitz" are numerous in Ireland. The name-form, however, is Norman and most of the families arrived in Ireland during the 12th century. The Normans, who were French in origin, conquered many parts of Ireland but gradually adopted the Gaelic language and customs and to a great extent assimilated with the native population, becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.

The name Walsh or Welsh is one of the most numerous of the Norman associated names found in Ireland. It seems to have been the name used independently by the many different groups of Welsh people who arrived in Ireland with the Normans during the 12th century. The name simply means Welshman and its early Norman form was "Le Waleys" but this became gradually anglicized to Walsh.

Although Reynolds is also an English name of Norman origin, almost all of the Irish Reynolds are derived from the Gaelic name MacRaghnaill which means "Son of Ragnall", a form of Fandal or Reginald. The name is most commonly anglicized as Reynolds, but it also occurs as Mac-Rannal and Grannell. The MacRaghnaill or Reynolds family were a prominent clan in the southern half of County Leitrim where they held the territory of Moylish, which included their castles at Lough Scur and Rinn.

Irish literature and lore shows Mulligan little respect. The very opening sentence of James Joyce's acclaimed Ulysses introduces Buck Mulligan, a ribald braggart who, before many pages, is borrowing a quid to "get gloriously drunk so as to astonish the druidy druids," making an utter fool of himself in a "jester's dress of puce and yellow and a clown's cap" and identifying Shakespeare as "the chap that writes like Synge."

Prof.

Tobin is not an indigenous Irish name, but the family can be regarded as having become completely hibernicized. Its Irish form, Toibn, is a gaelicized version of the Norman 'St Aubyn.' Another interpretation is that the name was first called de St.

The O'Connor name, with its varied spellings, doesn't spring from a common source. The name arose in five areas of Ireland: Connacht, Kerry, Derry, Offaly, and Clare and split into six distinct septs, five of which are still in existence.

The Irish surname Maher, appearing also as O'Meagher, Meagher, O'Maher and Mahir, originated in County Tipperary. The name stems from the surname O'Meachair, a derivation of the word "meachar" meaning hospitable.

Over fifty percent of Mahers can trace their family history back to County Tipperary, where the ancient clan held control of the territory near Roscrea at the foot of Devil's Bit Mountain for centuries.

Ireland is a land rich with mystery and myth, intriguing sites and stories - and we're not just talking leprechauns and pots of gold.

Ireland's long and troubled past make it a good choice for history buffs. Its history is far more complex than might first appear - as such, it's the type of place where a bit of local knowledge can go a long way.

The Boyne Valley is home to some of Ireland's most important archeological landscapes. The most famous - Newgrange - predates the Pyramids by hundreds of years. Not to mention the river which runs through the area giving the Boyne Valley its name. Join Andy Spearman on a stroll through this heritage area.