Dermot MccomiskeyAdriana KosiorowskaRonan RichardsTracy O CallaghanKenny MehiganKatie Kelly-NoonanHarry TraffordDrew BarnessJennifer-Anne O ConnorSee allArtiTattoo CorkHey everyone! Michael is offering this piece at a very good price (depending on size and placement), so if anyone is interested call into the shop for a booking :DArtiTattoo CorkI presume everyone's new year resolution is to get more tattoos! In which case we are here to help :D Tattoo by Artur (fresh in picture)See allArtiTattoo CorkYou can ask Santa for a Skull Swing or a Tattoo! or why not both! We will be closed for Christmas and the New Year from the 21st of December until the 3rd of January, and we hope all our past and future customers have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :D Tattoo by ArturArtiTattoo CorkWho doesn't want a gangster skull? We have plenty vouchers for Christmas or If you would like anything original designed just call into the shop Tattoo done by Artur (fresh in the picture) ArtiTattoo CorkHey guys, just to remind everyone, we will be closed this Friday the 2nd and Saturday the 3rd, but open as usual on Tuesday following.

Tattoo by Artur, fresh in the pictureArtiTattoo CorkHey everyone! Just to let you guys know, the shop will be closed on Friday the 2nd and Saturday the 3rd of December. But we are open as usual the rest of the time, so if you would like a beautiful horror sleeve like this one! just call into us in the shop to get the ball rolling :D Tattoo (healed) by ArturArtiTattoo CorkThe Nurse will see you now! Tattoo by Artur, fresh in the pictureArtiTattoo CorkCover up by Artur (original tattoo inset) if you would like a cover up call into the shop to discuss it :DArtiTattoo CorkZombie Dolphin! No need for explanations Done by Artur, fresh in the pictureArtiTattoo CorkWednesday is a good day for a stroll in the woods, if you would like an original tattoo to accompany you, call into us in Mallow or contact us by PM. Tattoo (fresh in the picture) by ArturArtiTattoo CorkHooray for Friday! Here is an arm and chest dragon done by Artur, completely healed but still in progress! Call into the shop with your ideas if you would like something original designed!

ArtiTattoo CorkMerry Wednesday Everyone! We have some time free next week for anyone that would like to get something done, hurry now before it fills up :) Big chest piece, fresh in the picture, done by ArturArtiTattoo CorkHAPPY FRIDAY! It's getting rainy, it's getting dark, why not spend your time in a tattoo shop making yourself a bit brighter :D Tattoo by ArturArtiTattoo CorkHappy Wednesday lovely people, We are currently looking for someone interested in getting a Celtic half sleeve and for cheap too, so if you're interested call into the shop or send us a pm :) Tattoo by ArturArtiTattoo CorkHey Everyone! Just to let everyone know, the shop will be closed tomorrow, Saturday the 20th. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. We have teamed up with a small number of expert curtain makers and upholstery specialists that we trust to deliver a first class service to our customers. Peter & Paula Whyte have been successfully trading in their fabric shop 'Material World' for the past twenty five years on the main street of Naas in Co. Kildare.

"We source all of our curtain and upholstery fabrics, tiebacks, fringing, etc. directly from the manufactures and mills across the globe. Our motto is "If we cannot buy from source, then we don't buy at all", thus bringing our high quality and designer quality fabrics to our customers all over Ireland.bryce sheer grommet window curtain panels We stock over 50,000 meters of curtain and upholstery fabric at any given time and with our move to online retail trading, we now make our extensive range of high quality fabrics more readily available to you, no matter where you are."made to measure curtains skipton What our customers are saying:sailcloth cotton canvas grommet top curtain panel

"I have used Material Worlds fabrics for over 20 years. Peter and Paula are so professional in their attitude to all their customers. I couldn't but highly recommend them to anyone and everyone." Anne Dennehy, Curtain & Soft Furnishing Specialist, Portlaoisepadstow blue striped curtains "It's very simple really, any customer of ours that enquires about where to source quality fabric we advise them to take a trip down to Material World in Naas. For quality, for sheer range and value for money, we believe they are the best around." Joshua Duffy & Son, Upholsterers, Antique Restorers & French polishers for over 45 years "I have purchased fabric from Material World for over ten years now, availed of expertise from their in-house interior designer, their recommended curtain makers and all their staff. What delights me the most is that everyone I have recommended them to has nothing but compliments and praise for the service."

Anne Bannon, RE/MAX Royal CountyFor many years, Edward MacLysaght, in his book, Irish Families, Their Names, Arms and Origins, 1972, one of the most referenced works on Irish genealogy, has presented the Curtin name, though “popularly regarded as a Co. Cork surname,” as actually the name of an ancient sept of Thomond, present day Co. Clare. Those were MacCruitins and had their territory in the barony of Corcomroe, near Ennistymon. MacLysaght makes no further distinction between the Cork and Clare Curtins, and in his listing of notable Curtins of more modern times, seems to place them all under the same aegis. However, modern scholarship has cast doubt on MacLysaght’s supposition, and shows that today’s Curtins, spread around the world, fall into two distinct families, unrelated save through intermarriage! Our own Brian MacCurtain is a scholar of Onomastics, the study of proper names. Through his research, he has traced, in ancient texts and references, the various occurrences of the Curtin name, and demonstrates that the name has two different origins.

The Clare Curtins of old were of a learned and talented family, the MacCruitin. They were hereditary ollamh (bards) to the powerful O’Brien family, Lords of Thomond. The Cork Curtins, who are numerous in that county, and who comprise most of the present membership of our Clan, descend from the MeicCoirtein o Baili MeigCoirtein, hereditary landed proprietors of the barony of Fermoy, with their seat in Rahan, near Mallow. The name MacCruitin derives from the word cruit, which means “hunchback” Thus MacCruitin can be taken to mean, “son of the hunchback.” However, cruit is also the name given to the small, portable harp used by the bards and minstrels. Some contend that this shared meaning stems from the appearance of the small harp, with the rounded top of its forepillar resembling a hunched back. Today’s Irish Euro coin portrays such a harp, showing the similarity. Others point out that the bards, making their way from one seat of the O’Briens to another, with their harp slung over their shoulder, (as the Minstrel Boy of the familiar ballad) could appear from afar to be hunchbacks.

Thus, the name could also mean, “son of the harp,” a much more evocative, even romantic name. The black harp on our crest enhances this interpretation. The name MacCoirtein, in Brian’s estimation, is most probably derived from the word coirt, meaning, “tree bark.” By extension, he feels this would refer to the color tan, since bark was used in tanning and dying leather. In the name, it probably refers to hair color or complexion, thus “the son of the tan man.” Brian points out that it is linguistically impossible that the two ancient versions of the name could be derived from the same root. Both of these names became anglicized to “Curtin or Curtain” in the 18th century. He also dismisses the contention in some quarters that the Cork Curtins are a branch of the MacCartan family of Co. Down, who supposedly settled in East Cork before the end of the 16th century. He says that all the evidence suggests that the East Cork and Mallow families are related, and that there is no evidence connecting either of them to Co. Down.

The earliest reference Brian has found to a Curtin name is in a late 13th or early 14th century Co. Cork document called Crichad an Chaoill, which lists the hereditary landed proprietors of the territory of that name. Among these are, to use the more modern spelling, the MacCurtains of Ballymaccurtain, who were of the Rahan people. In Co. Clare, Brian has found mention of Curtins in the Irish Annals, dating from about the last quarter of the 14th century, a bit later than in Co. Cork. These are the distinguished learned family of Mac Cruitin, the hereditary historians to the O’Briens of Thomond. Some members of this family continued to be scholars and poets down to the 19th century. Among them were Hugh Buidhe MacCurtin (1680-1755), styled, “Chief of the Sept,” on whom was bestowed the coat of arms and crest we use for our clan symbol. Hugh was also a lexicographer as well as a poet. In more recent times, Andrew Gregg Curtin (1815-1894), the son of a Clare man, was the notable governor of Pennsylvania during the American Civil War.

Jeremiah Curtin, (1836-1906), a noted linguist, translator and collector of folk tales, was also secretary to the American Legation in Russia in 1864. The Cork MacCurtins have given us, in modern times, two notable men of government. Thomas MacCurtain (1885-1920) was Lord Mayor of Cork City, murdered for his political beliefs by the “Black and Tans” during the War for Irish Independence. John Curtin, of a Cork family, was the very effective Prime Minister of Australia during World War II. Curtin University in Western Australia is among many tributes to this larger-than-life man of the people. In our present times modern technology has contributed to our search for origins and relationships. The Clan has undertaken a DNA project to determine relationships among members. As of this writing, September 2011, a total of 77 males with the Curtin surname have been tested to varying degrees. Those tested are divided according to test results into “haplogroups,” which may be likened to branches of the vast tree of mankind.

The preponderance (75) of those tested fell into one of two haplogroups. Of these, 28 are in Haplogroup R1b1a2, which originated in the in the middle east, is the most common group in Western Europe, and includes 80% of the people in the British Isles. However, this group of our members includes descendents of both Clare and Cork Curtins. The majority of those tested (47), who are descended from Curtins in the Feale valley, in Cork, Kerry and Limerick, fall into haplogroup J2. This haplogroup is very unique for Ireland. Less than 5% of the Irish population are in J2, which was centered in the Near East, and can be found all along the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and from Spain and Italy eastward to Israel and Pakistan. All of this, at first glance, might seem to shoot holes in our earlier conclusions about relationships, but we must realize that these haplogroups cover many dozens of modern nationalities and indicate origins and migrations as well. They indicate probable relationships through common ancestors many hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, before the adoption of surnames.

Thus we find that our two famous political Curtin/MacCurtain men are from two different haplogroups. Thomas MacCurtain, Lord Mayor of Cork, was in the R1b1 group, while John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, was from a Feale Valley J2 group. To add further complexity, we have learned that Liam Curtin, a member from Brosna, Co. Kerry, shares the Y chromosome of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the progenitor of the mighty O’Neill family of Ulster, and possibly the ancestor of one in twelve of today’s Irishmen in group R1b! To further refine and define these relationships requires much more testing. We urge all men who bear the surname Curtin to join the Clan DNA project and submit samples for testing. It is a very simple process, and painless, except perhaps to your wallet! In this regard, the Clan’s policy is to offer one year’s free Clan membership for any man with the Curtin surname taking at least the 67-marker test, or any male or female with Curtin ancestors taking the Family Finder test