My Irish Harp

An Irish harper in exile, circa 1750, artist unknown This is a brief history of my ancestors the Cruitiri Uí Longargain – sadly forgotten for many hundreds of years. However, a little of their story emerged during my sister's search for our maternal grandmother's ancestors. As a child of ten I sat at a harp in the local school I attended, put the harp back on my shoulder and began to try and pick out a tune by playing the harp with my nails. Nobody knew where I got this from as, despite being a musical family, not one single person in the family had ever played the harp or indeed remembered anyone who did. A few years ago, my sister, who has a great interest in family history, having finished with my father's side, moved on to my mother's and began to research the Lonergans. She uncovered the initial link and I then carried on, trying to put a bit more flesh on the bones, so to speak. Excuse the pun! The name Lonergan comes from the Irish name Longargain, which in o