HISTORY

The modern-day Nolan Clan (aka Clan O Nolan) was first established in 1995-1996 when a few Nolan descendants in Ireland, sharing a common interest in ancestral history and seeking to re-establish bonds of kinship and friendship with the rest of the world, banded together and established the Nolan Clan family organization. These early pioneers of the Clan were mostly from County Carlow, Ireland, the ancestral homeland of many Nolan families and were intrumental in organizing and supporting the publication in 2000 of a seminal book on Nolan family history entitled “O’Nolan – the History of a People”.

GOALS

TODAY

Today clan membership is global in scope, extending not only to other counties within Ireland but also to several countries around the world.

In 2004, information about the Nolan Clan was first propagated worldwide through the original incarnation of this website. Since that time the primary goal of this website remained and still remains that of exploring and documenting early Nolan history and faciltating family research by clan members and other interested parties within the Nolan diaspora.

In 2017, the Clan gained a new communication vehicle, the Clan O’Nolan Facebook group. to help desseminate information about the clan’s current-day activities such as upcoming clan gatherings or special projects.

The Clan also continues to organize Clan Gatherings every second year and to publish its Clan Newsletter at least once a year.

The Nolan Clan (aka Clan O Nolan) is a voluntary not-for-profit family organisation (first registered as Clann O Nuallain with the Clans of Ireland in 1996) based in Ireland and relies entirely upon its membership for fund-raising, building up its information base (e.g. this website), organizing clan activities and recruiting new members.

With a primary focus on fellowship and the promotion of Nolan family heritage, the Nolan Clan should appeal to anyone around the world bearing the family name Ó Nualláin, O’Nolan, Nolan, Nolen, Nolin, Noland, Nowland, Nowlan, Nowlin, Knollin, Knowlan, Knowland or a variant of any of the preceding family names.

COMMUNICATION

Since 2017 news from the Nolan Clan executive about about activities and upcoming events such as the biannual Clan Gatherings, is communicated via the “Clan O’Nolan” Group on Facebook page.  

MEMBERSHIP & EXECUTIVE

Membership in the Nolan Clan family association is open to anyone who supports its goals and aspirations.

As a voluntary, non-profit organisation, the association relies upon its members for fund-raising, organizing clan activities and recruiting new members. The membership fee per household is currently set at 10 Euros, $13 USD, $15 CAD or $17 AUD, depending upon which currency applies to you. For other local currencies the equivalent of 10 Euros is to be sent in as payment.

If interested in joining the O’Nolan Clan you are invited to print, fill out and mail in a Membership Application/Renewal Form.  Your Help and Support
would be greatly appreciated!

Appointments to the Executive Committee of the Nolan Clan family organization, including those of Chief and Tanaiste (chief-in-waiting) are made or re-affirmed every two years during a General Meeting held during the course of the Clan Gathering  held that year.

CURRENT CLAN EXECUTIVE

NEWSLETTERS

From 1996 to 2018 the Clan used the 8.5″x11″ page format. At first the newsletter was sent only by regular mail but, starting in 2004, some recipients began to receive their copy of the newsletter by Email as a PDF file attachment. Over time delivery of the newsletter shifted from mostly delivery by regular mail to delivery by Email. Starting in 2019, the Clan began using a new format for the delivery of the newsletter, namely the Email Newsletter format of the Mailchimp maillist service, a format which is easily viewable on most modern-day personal communication devices from hand-held phones to desktop computers. You can view all past Clan newsletters using the links provided below.

CLAN “eNEWSLETTERS” for 2019 Onwards

• View current eNewsletter Archive
• Subscribe to the Clan’s eNews Mailing List

Earlier “PDF NEWSLETTERS” for 1996-2018

• March 2018 – Issue 28
• March 2017 – Issue 27
• March 2016 – Issue 26
• March 2015 – Issue 25
• March 2014 – Issue 24
• March 2013 – Issue 23
• March 2012 – Issue 22
• March 2011 – Issue 21
• March 2010 – Issue 20
• March 2009 – Issue 19
• March 2008 – Issue 18
• December 2006 – Issue 17
• December 2005 – Issue 16
• March 2005 – Issue 15
• Spring 2004 – Issue 14
• Spring 2003 – Issue 12
• May 2002 – Issue 11
• November 2001 – Issue 10
• December 2000 – Issue 09
• May 2000 – Issue 08
• December 1999 – Issue 07
• July 1999 – Issue 06
• November 1998 – Issue 05
• April 1998 – Issue 04
• May 1997 – Issue 03
• November 1996 – Issue 02
• August 1996 – Issue 01

GATHERINGS

The  next worldwide Clan Gathering will be held in Carlow Ireland in September 2021.  As plans for the next gathering develop further information will be posted in the  Clan O’Nolan Facebook Group

The last Nolan Clan Gathering 2th one in the Clan’s history, took place in September 2019 in County Carlow and you may view the report on this gathering in the March 2018 issue of the Clan newsletter.

The first Gathering of the modern-day Nolan Clan was held in 1996 shortly after the creation of the Clan organization. For the first few years, Gatherings were held annually and, since 2000, they have been held every second year.

Given that planned activities for any clan gathering usually cover only one, two or at most three days, clan members planning to attend a gathering are strongly advised to coordinate their attendance with a broader programme of activities for themselves and their party while in Ireland, including perhaps making visits to friends, conducting personal family research, sightseeing, visiting museums, historic theme parks, etc.

Click on the following link to view some  Recommendations for visiting Ireland. You may also wish to consult the travel links found at the end of the “Genealogy in Ireland” article in the “Family Stories” knowledge base.

PUBLICATIONS

Besides the Clan Newsletter, the Clan publishes ad-hoc material related to Clan administration and the organisation of biannual gatherings. A few of the more significant ones are listed below:

• Application Form for Membership in the Nolan Clan

• Corrected Index for first edition (2000) of
  the Nolan history book “O Nolan – the History of a People”
  (due to the late addition of extra pages in the first edition, the page numbering in the index at the back of the book is in error)

• Information Booklet on The Barony of Forth (1997)
• Write-Up for Launch of Millenium Year Nolan book (2000)
• Programme for Clan Gathering (2015)
• Programme for Clan Gathering (2017)
• Recommendations for visiting Ireland
• …

“O Nolan – the History of a People” (2000)

In its early years (1996-2000) the Clan was also involved in bringing to print the first Nolan family history book begun in the early 1900s by a Father John Nolan of Kirkcubbin. Unfortunately, due to an early death, Fr. Nolan never completed his history book but his manuscripts were passed on from genration to generation, the Nolans of Ballaghmore being the last family, to take possession of his manuscripts and notes.

Upon becoming a Clan member, Mary (Nolan) Fitzsimons, a Ballaghmore Nolan, made the other members aware of Fr Nolan’s notes and a project was launched to finish his book. Thanks to the efforts of the Clan and the help of Art Kavanagh, a well-known historian iand author, the first Nolan history book based largely on Fr Nolan’s notes was completed and launched in 2000, the Millenium year.

The book entitled “O Nolan – the History of a People”, with an initial print run of 1000, was launched in the context of the Nolan Clan’s Millenium year gathering in 2000. Since then there have been two print runs and now the book,in its third printing, albeit as a “Print-On-Demand” book is available through Amazon.com.

“The Nolans, a People from Ancient Times to the Present” (2021)

Recognizing that the Nolan family history book published in the Millenium year largely reflects the understanding of Nolan family history as it existed in the 1920s, Roger Nowlan, a member of the Clan O Nolan since 1997 and Newsletter Editor for Clan O Nolan from 2004 to 2018, is undertaking to write a follow-on Nolan family history book reflecting the now much broader understanding of Nolan family history which has emerged since the advent of the Internet age. You can read more about Roger’s plan for a new Nolan history book in this post.