In the early 1920s Fr. John Nolan of Kirkcubbin began documenting his understanding of Nolan family history. At the end of the century, his manuscripts were resurrected by the Nolan Clan and used to complete, under their auspices, Fr. Nolan’s book. Although the book entitlled “O Nolan – The History of a People” is relatively recent (2000), upon reading it it soon becomes evident that the book still reflects an understanding of Nolan family history as it existed in the 1920s. Also the story and experiences of the many Nolan pioneers who settled around the globe is largely undocumented.

Recognizing the value of Fr. Nolan’s contribution in the 1920s and need to repeat such an exercise, I am challenging myself to document for future generations the current – 2020s – understanding of Nolan family history in a freely-accessible online Nolan family history book. A hard-copy version is also envisioned as a follow-on project.

A tentative title for the new book is ” The Nolans, a People from most Ancient Times to the Present” and you can already view the draft version of the new online book at this website (see “Nolan History Book” selection in main menu).

The target completion year for the baseline version of the new online Nolan family history book is 2025.

Over the course of the last 20 years, having written and published several articles on Nolan family history (Nolan Clan Newsletter, Ballon-Rathoe Chronicle, Carloviana) and collected many early Nolan family stories from around the world (see Family Stories in Archives), I feel up to the challenge of writing an up-to-date Nolan family history book. It is certainly a daunting task but I feel that it is feasible if we are of one one heart and work together (Cor unum, via una). If you would like to provide feedback or offer assistance do not hesitate to Email me.

Since the turn of the century many hard-to-access historical books and records have been digitized and shared via the Internet resulting in new findings. The results of human DNA analyses have also added our understanding of the history of the Nolans both in the distant past (e.g. early migrations ) and in the near past (e.g. confirmation of links or not between modern-day branches). All to say that the time has come to document for posterity our improved understanding of Nolan family history.

In the new book I hope to:

• shed light on the ancient origins of all known Nolan families (O Nuallain, O hUllachain, Nolan, Nowland, Noland, Nolins,  Knollin, Naulin,  …)

• provide an improved understanding of the forces and historical events which drove many Nolan families to immigrate

• provide an improved understanding of the forces and historical events which drove many Nolan families to immigrate

• document the story of many early Nolans who left Ireland and resettled in other parts of the world.

Roger Nowlan, Webmaster
and long-time Nolan Clan Member