The End

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

It was sad to say goodbye to Ireland, especially because there is still so much work that can be done.  But we need to leave things for others to do, right?  

Tuesday morning, we enjoyed our last full Irish breakfast.  For those of you who have had full English breakfasts, they are one and the same.  And they are awesome.  The B&B might not have been the best in the world (no air conditioning), but the location and the breakfasts were great.  And parking was free.  And talk about secure!  

We had prepared forms for ordering 40 records the night before, and Rich and Reed had worked late into the night to organize the requests for the remaining records we needed from GRO.  We were worried about finding parking at GRO, but Liz's parking fairy, Celeste, was with her.  For a moment we thought Celeste had deserted her post when a Mercedes pulled right into the spot where Liz was parallel parking (that was not a nice thing to do, sir), but the taxi parked right in front of that pulled out, and Liz was able to park. Thank you, Celeste!  

Famine Memorial in Dublin

We were so anxious to get to work that we walked right into the lobby, ready to head up in the elevator, but we were stopped short by the receptionist - not open yet!  We arrived at 9:05, and the doors don't open until 9:30.  So, we hustled over to the Quays and took pictures of the Famine Memorial statues.  They are haunting.  Then back to GRO, right at 9:30 (Reed timed us for everything). 

Okay, here's the low-down on GRO:  

• If you want to use the books to do a general search, it's 20 euros per person.  
• If you want to do a search for only a five-year period, it's 2 euros.  
• If you only want to order copies of records, there is no search charge, BUT there is a charge of 4 euros per copy - always.
• If you want the copies that day, you can only get five per person, BUT if you leave the order forms and pay the 4-euro per copy charge they will mail you the copies. 
• There is no extra charge for mailing.
• You have to give them the order forms in person; you cannot request them by mail or via email.  WHAT?  In this day and age?

Ready to get to work!

So, we got our 25 copies (plus the 10 Rich and Reed had picked up the night before), and left orders for 60 more records, which will be mailed to Rich - 95 records ordered in total.  We also picked up extra forms because orders could be filled out here in Utah, ready to drop off at GRO by the next group; we could save some time that way.  Of course, there would be no instant gratification (holding the records in your hands), but it's an option to consider.  

And, then it was time to head to the airport, turn in the car, and do a little last minute shopping at WH Smith and Irish Memories in the terminal before going through U.S. pre-clearance customs.  Yes, in Dublin, you clear U.S. customs right there in the airport so that you don't have to do it at JFK.  It was slick.  The best part of the whole trip for Liz was when she was upgraded to first class on the Dublin-JFK leg of the trip.  Can you believe that?  Celeste was making up for allowing that Mercedes to pull into her parking spot.  Way to go, Celeste!

That is our report.  We are anxious to share photos and videos with you and will be putting them on the SmugMug and YouTube accounts soon.  We feel like we had a very successful trip, even though we didn't find some of the records we hoped to for Hugh's family.  We eliminated certain avenues and have documented those avenues carefully so that others will not waste time researching them. That's important as well.  We will present a full report at the family meeting in September, and Liz will be contacting all of you to arrange that meeting.

We appreciate all of your support and the many prayers that were said on our behalf.  Love you all!