Kirrane History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Kirrane family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Kirrane Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• Mr. John Kirrane, aged 8 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Bridgetown" departing 3rd July 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 29th August 1847 but he died on board 2

Kirrane Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Michael Kirrane, aged 35, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Reliance" 3

• John Joseph "Jack" Kirrane Jr. (1928-2016), American Olympic ice hockey player, inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987