Our Story
Where did the Nunans come from?
County Cork
At 2,878 sq. miles, Cork is the largest of Ireland’s counties. In the most southern part of the island, County Cork has a total population of a little over 420,000 of which approximately 127,000 live in Cork City. The concentration of such a large proportion of the population in Cork City, contributes to large rural area of the county being sparsely populated.
The scenery offers stunning beauty with swathing glacial valleys and a dramatic rugged coastline. The latter makes all forms of seafaring an ever popular pastime. The oldest yacht club in the world is based in Crosshaven, a pretty village in Cork’s huge natural harbour.
Because of its proximity to the Gulf Stream, the county has a temperate climate which enhances the fertility of the land. There are activities available of every description which cater to a wide variety of interests and budgets. One of the most popular is simply walking amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe.
Early Ireland was divided into five kingdoms. One of these, the Kingdom of Meath, was merged with Leinster, to become the Province of Leinster, one of the four provinces of Ireland. The other three provinces are Ulster, Munster, and Connaught. After the Norman invasion the English introduced the "shire" or county system to Ireland. Since 1605 all of Ireland has been divided into 32 counties. The Republic of Ireland as formed in 1949 consists of twenty-six counties which formed the Irish Free State. The Nunan family name is identified in Special Report on Surnames in Ireland by Sir Robert E. Matheson, LL.D. as Noonan with 83 occurrences in the birth indexes of 1890 in the counties of Cork, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary in the Province of Munster.
During the Second World War John Francis Nunan received a letter from a person identifying herself as a cousin. Shirley Nunan Bacchini and her daughter, Judy Woods, traveled in Ireland and visited a "cousin" Molly, living in Crosshaven near Kinsale in the Southeast part of County Cork.
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