American author says decade exploring 700 years of his Irish roots was ‘like running a marathon’
“In a literary context, writing this book was like running a marathon.”
Over the course of ten years, Virginia-based lawyer and writer Patrick C. Jordan researched, travelled, and traced his family’s history through the fields, castle ruins, and archives of County Mayo, all in pursuit of a story that began with a marriage record from 1834.
What started as a project looking into his family history, turned into a 700-year-long historical account: The Rise, Fall and Aftermath of the Gaelicized Norman-Irish Lordship - a book rooted in Mayo’s medieval past and shaped by the knowledge and generosity of the local people Mr Jordan met.
Mr Jordan’s research revealed that his family’s story stretched back into Mayo’s medieval history, to two lordships from the 12th century.
His journey began with a curiosity about his father’s side of the family, which traced back to Crossmolina. A marriage record between Peter Jordan and Bridget Fox, dated 1834, offered him a glimpse into his family history, but beyond that, the trail went cold.
“The US story was well known, I didn’t have to go back too many generations to know who people were, the mystery was the Irish side," he explained.
The turning point in his research came from his reading of 19th-century Crossmolina historian John O’Hart, who wrote about the pre-Cromwellian Gaelic and Norman-Irish families of Ireland.
Through reading O’Hart’s work, Mr Jordan discovered that his surname had derived from a Norman family, either de Courcy or de Angulo, and that his ancestors were linked to two medieval Jordan lordships in County Mayo.
One branch, the de Exeter Jordans, descended from Jordan de Courcy, a Norman knight who came to Ireland around the year 1176 and is said to have taken part in the Crusades.
The second branch, known as the Jordan Dubh line, emerged from the Costello (de Angulo) family, another Anglo-Norman lineage that settled in Mayo and gave its name to the Barony of Costello.
Although his research began as a personal exploration of family history, Mr Jordan’s project grew into something far larger than he had planned.
“It’s really a history of Ireland from the arrival of the Normans,” he explained, “with enough background information so that if the reader has no orientation in Irish history, they at least know who the Normans were, and who the Gaelic people were. From 1169 forward, it becomes a history of the west of Ireland and of Mayo.”
Mr Jordan’s research wasn’t confined to books, documents, and old records. He spent years visiting castle sites across Mayo, Ballylahan, Ballyvary, Currane, Raith, and others, often navigating electric fences, bulls, and overgrown ruins.
His first impression of Mayo was its natural beauty and serene landscapes, and what struck him the most was the timelessness of the ruins.
Ballylahan Castle, for example, dates back to 1240, and when he stood on its grounds, he thought about his ancestors walking along the same grounds almost 800 years ago.
“For me, there was undeniably a connection, call it spiritual or something else,” he said.
Accessing these sites wasn’t always straightforward. One memorable visit was to Castle Lacken, a site linked to the Palmers family, who owned land on which some of the Jordan family became tenants.
“The location is a beautiful site in North Mayo facing Killala Bay. To access the ruins, there is a prominent sign on a stone wall warning trespassers of the presence of a bull,
“Now, I did not grow up in a rural or farming environment, so the threat of the bull certainly was in the back of my mind when I climbed the wall and very cautiously took some photos of the ruins,” he remembered.
“The photos were not the best, because I struck a balance between taking some limited photos and being able to sprint to the fence before the bull would be able to reach me.”
In most cases, accessing the sites required crossing farmland, and Mr Jordan recalled that local landowners were consistently accommodating in allowing him access onto their property.
Mr Jordan spoke warmly of the considerable support he received from the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide during his research.
“The museum provided me with accounts from the Four Masters' works detailing the late medieval military engagements involving the de Exeter Jordans and Ballylahan Castle,
“John Reid was always very encouraging and helpful in relation to my research, and in terms of completing the project,” he said.
Mr Jordan recalled an outing with Mr Reid to Rathslevin House, where ruins linked to the de Exeter Jordans were believed to be located.
The estate had recently been sold, and with the new owners yet to move in, the pair decided to climb the gate and explore the grounds - part historical detective work, part rural adventure.
He also praised Mr Reid’s former colleague, Justyna Gruszczyk, for her help and general enthusiasm about the ruins and antiquities of Mayo.
“She accompanied me to visit the ruins of Currane Castle, introduced me to the landowners, and helped me with the GPS coordinates for finding other Jordan castle ruins.”
During his various research trips to Mayo, Mr Jordan was helped by many members of the local community, including Eddie Jordan, a descendant of the de Exeter Jordans, who shared stories of the family’s history in Rathslevin.
He recalled a chance encounter in a Westport bookstore that led to one of the more memorable moments of his time in Mayo.
While discussing his book at the counter, Mr Jordan was overheard by a man standing nearby.
“When I finished speaking to the owner of the bookstore and turned to exit the shop, he stopped me and introduced himself. He told me that he would be very interested in interviewing me for his evening radio program for Midwest Radio.”
A few days later Mr Jordan met Joe Byrne in Ballina, and their interview about his book was aired on the Ceol agus Ealaion show.
“He put together a really nice story about my book. I was, and remain, very grateful for his interest and the fine work that he did,” Mr Jordan said.
He credits much of the success of being able to bring his book to fruition to the generosity of the Mayo community. Pat Higgins of the Ballyhaunis Trust, whose maternal family descends from the Jordans, arranged interviews and gave Mr Jordan a private tour of Ballyhaunis Abbey, where he photographed 14th-century stone carvings that now feature in the book.
At Westport House, curator Kathryn Connolly offered similar help. She provided a private tour of parts of the house and allowed Mr Jordan to photograph a portrait of Denis Browne, former MP for Westport, who was infamous for his use of the gallows during the 1798 rebellion.
For Mr Jordan, the book became more than a historical study, it was a journey of reconnection, resilience, and remembrance.
“My father passed away in June 2019, and that was one of the main incentives for me when I had times where I questioned if it was worth continuing the effort,” he said.
What began as a family genealogy project grew into a decade-long investigation into Ireland’s medieval and early modern lordships, but it also became a way to honour his father’s memory and deepen his connection to Mayo.
“I have always had a lot of interest and curiosity about my family's history, and after having visited Ireland many times over the last decade plus, I do feel a real connection to the place,” he said.
“In fact, when I am driving in Mayo now, I feel that I cannot get lost, having traversed so much of the county over the years in relation to the research of my book.”
Writing the book, he says, was like running a marathon, “You get that same feeling where you reach various points where you have to push through, even though all the other factors are against you.”
Mr Jordan’s tireless research, strengthened by the knowledge and generosity of the Mayo community, gives the book a sense of connection to the county, the local community and to the history of the area.
Across Mayo, ‘The Rise, Fall and Aftermath of the Gaelicized Norman-Irish Lordship: The Jordans (MacSiúrtáin) of County Mayo, Ireland’, can be found at the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide, Books at One in Louisburgh, and at the Foxford Woollen Mills in Foxford.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme