A most interesting feature of the exercise is the wide range of surnames listed. A total of 113 surnames appear in the records. There are 34 different surnames that appear once in the register, while 10 names appear twice and 17 names appear three times. The 10 most popular surnames accounted for over half the pupils while 20 of the most popular surnames account for 70% of the pupils. The following were the 15 most popular surnames:
Figure 8: Principal Surnames
Figure 8: Principal Surnames
Clancy
Figure 9: Townlands occupied by Clancy pupils
The surname Clancy emerges as the most common name in the school over its 112-year existence. A total of 122 pupils registered with this surname or 1 in every 10 pupils. The surname Clancy is mainly identified with County Clare and is considered to be a branch of the McNamaras. The Clancys attending Lack School came from the following townlands:
Kelly
Figure 10: Townlands Occupied by Kelly Pupils
The surname Kelly emerges in second place with 96 entries or 1 in every 10 pupils. This is no surprise as Kelly is the second most popular surname in Ireland after Murphy. The Kellys came mainly from Tonlegee as the following graph shows:
Sheehan
Figure 11: Townlands Occupied by Sheehan Pupils
Sheehan, one of the most numerous surnames in the north Cork, Kerry and Limerick areas, comes third with 72 entries or 1 in every 15 pupils. A total of 80% of the Sheehans came mainly from Tonlegee with 64 entries, followed by Lack with 11, Leimnaleha with 3 and Glencanane with 2 entries.
Hehir
Figure 12 Townlands: Occupied by Hehir Pupils
Hehir, mainly a County Clare surname, is fourth with 65 entries or almost 1 in every 19 pupils. Hehirs residing in Lack encompassed 40 entries or 62% of the total. This is followed by Burren with 10, Glencanane with 7, Crahera with 5, and Ballycorick and Breafa with 1 entry each.
Honan
Figure 13: Townlands Occupied by Honan Pupils
Honan, a Munster surname, was the fifth most common surname with 60 entries. The Honans came from Lack with 36 entries, Coolsippeen with 20, Burren with 3, and Ennis and Tonlegee with 1 entry each.
Unusual Surnames
The records contain 34 entries with surnames that appear once. The following include the more unusual surnames which were not common to the area: Bourke, Coleman, Cotter, Cullinan, Doherty, Halloran, Mann, Rice, Torpy and Troy.