Irish Connection & Origins

The Name
The McGann surname orignates from Ireland, and should not be confused with the name McCann, which has a different meaning and origin.

McGann is an Anglicized form of Gael.  "Mag Annaidh"

Annaidh being from the personal name Annadh, meaning 'son' of 'Annadh'.

Information Sources
Mag ANNAIDH—Maganye, Maganay, Magan, MacGann; a variant of Mac Annaidh, in use in  Co. Roscommon.   http://bit.ly/HJJ2sH

McGann; this old Irish surname is the Connacht variant form of the original "Mac Canna", which translates as "the son of Wolf Cub". The earliest known records show that the original clan chiefs were the Lords of Clanbrassil in the 10th Century, a place on the southern shore of Lough Neagh, County Antrim. It appears that they were still holding this title in 1598, when they apparently supported the uprising led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. O'Neill was successful for nearly nine years, but he was finally defeated at Kinsale in 1602. Most of his supporters were dispossessed and driven from their homelands and this would seem to include the branch of the McCanns, who became the McGanns. One of the earliest emigrants who fled from the effects of the Irish Famine (1845 - 1851) was Owen McGann, aged 18 yrs., who was a passenger on the ship "Liverpool" out of Liverpool on March 13th 1846, bound for New York. The Coat of Arms is a blue field, a silver chevron between three silver boars courant. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Amhlaibh MacCanna, which was dated circa 1155, Lord of Clanbrassil, as recorded in the "Annals of the Four Masters", during the reign of Turlough Mor O'Conor, High King of Ireland, 1119 - 1156. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.  http://bit.ly/HpCPcf

Ireland Census Records
Full government censuses were taken of the whole island from 1821 to 1911. The first four, from 1821 to 1851, were largely destroyed in 1922 in the fire at the Public Record Office, Dublin. In addition those records for 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 were completely destroyed earlier, by order of the government, for reasons that deserve more investigation. This means that the earliest surviving comprehensive returns are for 1901 and 1911.

Roscommon Castle

Roscommon Descent?
Due to the lack of Irish records I am unable to confirm that our descendants were from Roscommon, Ireland.  Roscommon being quoted by family members and not stated as fact.  The only confirmed link to Ireland is the 1871 census record for James McGann (and his wife Mary Hendron), listed with Ireland for place of birth.

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The Great Potato Famine 

Between 1841 and 1851 many Irish families had to leave Ireland to escape the extreme poverty and disease caused by the Great Potato Famine.  I can only guess that this is the reason James McGann left Ireland (possibly with his parents) and settled in Warwickshire, England.

Great Potato Famine - Ireland 1841

The marriage of James McGann and Mary Hendron, December 1851, is where this line of the McGann family begins and hopefully after further investigation, will reveal my family origins.