Hello- I have been doing years of research on my husband's and my own Irish ancestors. Generally they come from Cork and Limerick (not sure if that make a difference). I am having t-shirts created for my children that have all the surnames of our ancestors on the back and want to put the Gaelic word for "Family" on the front. I want this word to denote family in the sense of our ancestors and the people we love dearly. Is Muintir the correct word to use for this purpose? Clann doesn't seem to have the emotional quality that I am looking for...

In this case, I would suggest muintir as being the best fit. Clann is more like "kids".

The other word for "family" is teaghlach but it more connotes "household". It's difficult that there are so many terms used for the same English word with so many nuances, but there it is!

I agree that "muintir" is the best for your use; I would suggest putting your last name with it because then it denotes your ancestry rather than just a bunch of people with an undefined relationship. So if your last name was Sullivan, or O'Sullivan, the Irish would be Muintir Shúilleabháin with the first letter of the name lenited as you see there. Not all letters lenite, so if the name were "Lynch" you would use Muintir Loingsigh. The Ó or Mac, when present at the beginning of a family name, is replaced by "Muintir" when referring to the family or ancestry.

The foregoing was garnered from the book "Teach Yourself Irish" by Myles Dillon and Donncha Ó Cróinín, pp 130-133, first published 1961, reprinted 1973. However, no direct quotes were used.

Good luck!

Dale D