Much of what follows comes courtesy of The Annals of the Four Masters, which I’m about to explain in a forthcoming article. In brief these Donegal-based monks of the seventeenth century transcribed many ancient manuscripts and so preserved the early history of Ireland for posterity. These have been edited and translated by John O’Donovan (Dublin 1990) in seven volumes so the modern historian has no excuse not to consult them.

Of course they prominently feature an auspicious family like the O’Hanlons who were rulers of Orier for many centuries. However there are numerous other sources, in addition to general histories – such as Dymmock’s “Treatise on Ireland 1599”: Church Registers, of the Archbishop of Armagh, for example; State Papers of Ireland; various Inquisitions (land audits) such as at the Plantation of Ulster 1609; Acts of Confiscation [e.g. 1569]; lists of pardons and of attainted (those not pardoned and named as outlaws) persons – and finally there exists a pedigee of O’Hanlons from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries.

It ought to be straightforward for any enthusiastic family historian to trace his line back to the nineteenth century (Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Church Records, family records, PRONI, Mormons etc) so it’s the hard work I’ve done for you!

All this will be serialised from now.

 And no, I am unable to fit your particular line into the general pedigree or undertake any genealogy work for individuals!