Inch Island: Seven Miles Around and Around

Inch Castle in silhouette - Inch Island, Co. Donegal

An Uncommon Name
"Sometimes you come across a name in Irish genealogical research that stops you in your tracks. Is it an Irish name whose modern form masks its ancient Gaelic roots, or is it one of those interlopers - brought in through colonialism, war, trade, or simple immigration? One such name landed on my desk recently: Lenny.

According to my usual go-to handbook on the subject:  "The Surnames of Ireland" by MacLysaght, there was no specific entry for "Lenny", and no real reference to possible derivatives, other than O'Lennon or Lennan, from the Irish "Ó Leannáin" or Lunny, from the Irish "Ó Luinigh" which was "originally from Co. Donegal, but now strongly associated with the adjoining Co. Fermanagh".

The Lenny surname, in this case, was that of a family who was believed to have originated on Inch Island near Buncrana in County Donegal from at least the mid-1700s. My client, Tracey from near Portland, Oregon, reached out to trace her ancestor James Lenny, son of Daniel and Ann Lenny. James emigrated from Ireland in 1840 and settled in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. A fragment of family memory survived through a single line of song passed down through generations: "Inch Island, seven miles around and around."  That line became the anchor to an intriguing investigation. ​

Read More