Purcell;
Variant Spellings; Purcill, Pursell, Purtill.
The name Purcell is common both to Ireland and England; even so it is of Norman origin. Though Norman, the Irish Purcells came to Ireland much later than the Norman invasion. They became adherents of the Butler family and settled in the area where Counties Tipperary and Kilkenny meet.
In Irish the name is translated as Purseil; it is from the Norman French, porcel, a boar.
This Norman sept became thoroughly Irish and was ever prominent in the struggle against the English aggressor. Major-General Purcell was noted in the 1651 defense of Limerick. Col. Nicholas Purcell was prominent in Sarsfield's defense of the city in 1691 and was instrumental in negotiating the Treaty of Limerick. This family took flight to the continent as 'Wild Geese' and was active in Clare's Dragoons and Purcell's Horse.
John Baptist Purcell (1800-1883) was Archbishop of Cincinnati, while his brother Fr. Edward Purcell was involved in the failure of the 'Purcell Bank'.
Coat of Arms
Purcell
Where the Family Lived (Blue Area)
Addresses for More Information
Ireland
Centre for Irish Genealogical and Local Studies, Carraig, Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. (Sean Murphy, MA, Director)
General Register Office, 8-11 Lombard Street East, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 671 1000
Website http://www.doh.ie/manual/chap4/gere.htm
National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 478 3711
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 603 0200
Website www.heanet.ie/natlib
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Street, Belfast BT9 6NYY, Northern Ireland
Telephone (01232) 251319.
Website http://proni.nics.gov.uk/index.htm
University College Dublin, Adult Education Office, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Website http://www.ucd.ie/delltti
Britain
Family Records Centre, London, England.
Website http://pro.gov.uk/about/frc/default.htm
Public Records Office, Kew, Surrey, England.
Website http://www.pro.gov.uk
General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Website http://www.open.gov.uk/index.html
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales.
Website http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.htm
North America
Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, Family History Information, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Website http://lds.org/en/ 2 how do I begin/0- how do I begin.html
Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Site
Website http://www.familytreemaker.com/index.html
The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), P.O. Box 619 Sudbury, MA 01776, USA.
Website http://tiari.ie
Irish Genealogical Society International, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Website http://www.rootsweb.com irish/index.html
New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston Massachusetts, USA.
Website http://nehgs.org/main-01.htm
Australasia
Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Website http://www.alphalink.com/au/esv
National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Website http://www.aa.gov.au/AA_WWW/AA_Home_Page.html
National Archives of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
Website http://www.archives.dia.gov.nz
List of Links
Cyndi’s List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet: Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Website http://www.cyndilist.com/ireland.htm
UK and Ireland Genealogical Information Service.
Website http://www.genuki.org.uk
Copyright © 1998 by A. MacDarragh Burke, MD
All Rights Reserved.