From Isle of Man to America - The Churko Genealogy

The Churko family from Canada has always felt that they were Polish. However, Churko was at one time O'Cuirc. During the Irish Potato Famine, the family moved from Dublin to Poland and changed their surname to appear more Polish, by moving the "O" to the end of the name. A generation later, they moved to Canada.

The family in Canada is well documented, thanks to the research of other Churko cousins, but it is only lately that we were able to trace the Church (O'Cuirc) back to Dublin, then to County Tipperary, and finally to the Isle of Man. The families of the Isle of Man are very unique, having been there for perhaps a thousand years. The ancient O'Cuirc clan had been on the island for centuries, through the Viking Age (900s) and into modern times. Quirk and Kirk families, (a derivative of O'Cuirc) still exist in the parishes of Isle of Man. In the 1500s, when the Covenanters were active, another group of O'Cuirc came from Scotland, knowing that their cousins were already there.

Enjoy the journey through time as you go back to the Isle of Man and see the ancient Viking crosses and runes, the fields of sheep, and the glorious beaches that surround the island.