People with these Irish surnames could inherit a fortune

You could be sitting on a big inheritance.

When a person passes away without leaving behind a will, their estate is monitored by the government to check if any heir has stepped forward to claim inheritence.

If nobody does come forward, the money lying dormant may instead be transferred to the government after a period of time.

In the UK, people have 12 years to claim an estate from the day of the estate holder's death in terms of money and 30 years otherwise.

People with these Irish surnames could inherit a fortune

Irish people aiming to claim an estate should check out the website unclaimedestates.ie, which aims to help the rightful heirs inherit estates.

The website says: "Each year many people die intestate (without leaving a will).

"Often the deceased's next of kin are unknown and the estate is eventually passed to the Government Legal Dept, Bona Vacantia Estates and released on the Bona Vacantia list in the hope that an heir or heirs to the estate will come forward."

The site has compiled more than 340 names of Irish-born people who have died in England or Wales and left behind estates that have yet to be claimed by their heirs.

You can check out the full list of names below.

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