Hopkirks,Belfast,Ireland.

The Hopkirks in Ireland are decended from the Hopkirks,Glasgow,Scotland. We can accurately trace our ancestors back to about 1600. I have in my keeping the orig.Coat of Arms given to Thomas Hopkirk in 1784 and passed on to his eldest son,James, who updated it 1835. This appears on the Web site of Thomas and James Hopkirk. James Hopkirk's eldest son also Thomas,the botanist came to Ireland (Belfast in 1830). I(Eric Hopkirk) am the eldest and as the eldest surviving male descendant I(Eric Hopkirk) am the only one able to use the winged type horses on the outer ends of the coat of arms and when I die this passes to my son Peter as eldest boy. Other members of the Hopkirk can use the Coat of Arms without these.
There are several branches of the family in N.Ireland but by far the greater numbers were girls so many now married do not have name Hopkirk. Quite a few now live in England.
Thomas,the Botanist who founded the Botanical Gardens in Glasgow, younger brother,James,a Barrister,emigrated to Canada in 1835 and his descendants live in and around Toronto. The family home in Glasgow was called "Dalbeth" and there are houses in Belfast and Canada bearing the same name.