Irish settlers arrived in small numbers over the years. Henry Nourse, a shipowner at the Cape, brought out a small party of Irish settlers in 1818. In 1823, John Ingram brought out 146 Irish from Cork. Single Irish women were sent to the Cape on a few occasions.

Find records here for surnames such as  Kincaid, Carleton, O’ Callaghan,  Moran, Brady, Thompson, Hughes, Casey, Flynn, Donnelly, Kane, Griffin, Kenny, Sheehan, McKenna, Hogan and Mahoney

Twenty arrived in November 1849 and 46 arrived in March 1851. The majority arrived in November 1857 aboard the Lady Kennaway. A large contingent of Irish troops fought in the Anglo-Boer War on both sides and a few of them stayed in South Africa after the war. Others returned home but later came out to settle in South Africa with their families. Between 1902 and 1905, there were about 5,000 Irish immigrants. Places in South Africa named after Irish people include Upington, Porterville, Caledon, Cradock, Sir Lowry’s Pass, the Biggarsberg Mountains, Donnybrook, Himeville and Belfast.

Many of them were illiterate and came from small villages not found in a gazetteer. The Irish may also have been vague about their county borders. Anyone wishing to trace ancestors in Ireland will at least have some clue to the actual name of the place and a local genealogist will probably be able to determine what place was meant. The clerk probably wrote down what he had heard phonetically and his task was made difficult if the speaker had an accent. Even if the names are misspelt they do provide clues to the actual place names.

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