Where the Wildgeese Roam: A Coyne Family History

Irish family history is not easy to pursue. This book took the author many years following the journey of his family from County Roscommon at the time of the Great Famine in the 1840s. They settled in Lancashire, became part of the Irish in Britain, while working as plasterers, house painters, and cotton weavers. We discover where they lived, how much they earnt, and how much rent they paid.

As they assimilated into British society in the last century family members contributed in both world wars. In the Second World War we follow the fortunes of three cousins in each of the three services.

The family name – O’Cadhain in Irish – translates as ‘wildgoose’. Their roaming continued after 1945 with further migrations to Canada.

As we discover from what happened to this one family of famine migrants there are plenty of surprises along the way.