While the stories of ancient Irish origins of the Bowe and Bowes names in Ireland are centered in County Cork, more "recent" records since 1664 show them more scattered among the south central and southeast counties of Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford, Queens (Laois) ... (see "Distribution and Frequency"). After that records reveal a scattered distribution throughout Ireland but with a higher frequency remaining in the south central and southeast parts.
Many have concluded that those descendants of the ancient O'Buadhaigh sept in Cork whose name was anglicized as Bowe and Bowes spread eastward from Cork but generally stayed south. With modern families of these names living in close and relatively close proximity in this region, and many other modern families in other countries having roots in the same areas, it is often concluded these lines must be related.
But our DNA research, as well as the many different stories passed on to me from descendants of these families, show that some are not related after all. I have begun to collect information on the families from these counties on the county pages in the link menu to the right.
Since the paper trails in Ireland only go back so far, the DNA study is a critical tool in discerning:
- which and how many of the lines in and from this region are related,
- which (if any) can be traced to likely roots with O'Buadhaigh in Cork,
- what the real and differing histories are of those that don't descend from O'Buadhaigh, and
- which lines from counties outside this region may have originated with a line in this region
Please help if you can by having a *male* in your line, with last name Bowe or Bowes (or other variant) Join the DNA Project!
You can also help by donating to the DNA Project GENERAL FUND for the specific purpose of providing financial assistance to males with our names from this region so they can participate.