Saturday, March 15, 2014
Happy St. Patrick's Day
We had an awesome day celebrating St. Patricks Day by doing family sealings in the Jordon River and Idaho Falls Temples. Thanks to Aunt Kathy and Cousin Sarah for setting it up.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
The End
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
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!
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| Famine Memorial in Dublin |
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?
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| Ready to get to work! |
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!
Wrapping Things Up
Monday, 29 July 2013
Our last full day in Ireland was spent wrapping some things up and starting on a new project. After checking out of our B&B, we spent 15 minutes at St McCarten's Cathedral in Monaghan. They were celebrating the ordination of a new priest, a rare occurrence these days. St. McCarten's is a beautiful church and has beautiful stained glass windows. It has no ties to our family, but it was still worth the stop. Kathy took some great photos, the best of the trip, but only she will be able to see them in her mind's eye because she discovered there was no memory card in her camera - about 10 miles down the road. Darn!
Our next objective was to talk with Eugene Hackett in Newtownsaville about burial records. When we reached the Hackett store, Aunt Kathy and Rich went into the store so we wouldn't overwhelm Eugene. Turns out Eugene isn't well, and so they talked to Patricia, his daughter. She showed them the burial records, and then told them that the records are not complete. To try to get a better record, they recorded the headstones and then set a date to meet at the cemetery where families could tell them about their family plots. Of course, many families did not show up - some because they had left the area, others because all the family members had died, and others for whatever reason. We went again to the cemetery (we'd been there before) just to look at the McKenna headstones one more time.
We tried to call Brendan McKenna to see if we could meet with him, but there was no answer. But you know how it is when a strange phone number shows up on caller id and you don't answer the phone? Well, we thought that might be the case, and so we drove over to his house, hoping that the third time would be the charm. And it was! Brendan was able to tell us his father and grandfather's names, Michael and Johnny, and wished he knew more. We told him that we would share whatever we found with him, and we hope that we can find something TO share! Once again, it was awesome to meet with a cousin, and we KNOW that he is one. That is our quinnly opinion (see previous post for definition of "quinnly"). Oh, and guess what? Besides being a farmer, Brendan is also the gravedigger for the Newtonsaville cemetery.
Next on our agenda was a visit to the Martin and Mary McKenna home in Clogher. Remember that their home is in the old church where perhaps Hugh and Mary were married? Mary was trying to help us connect with Father Dawson, the parish priest, about church records that might not be available in PRONI. Unfortunately, he had not returned her phone call, but she is going to continue to follow up with him. She very kindly gave us a tour of their home, and it is beautiful. They have done most of the work themselves or have designed what they've had built, like the front door. It is so cool! Mary is now family, and we wish we had had more time to spend with them. We wish them the very best of luck in the All Ireland competition.
Our goal was to leave for Dublin by 1:00 so that we might have time for one group to go to GRO to look for some records and the other group to go see the Book of Kells. We made it to everything, although the three of us at Trinity College had to wait in line in a downpour, sharing one small umbrella, for 30 minutes. We then met up in the Temple Bar region and had Todd's favorite lamb stew. Todd, it really was delicious.
That evening, the two Kathys and Liz filled out forms to order records at GRO, and Rich and Reed worked on the spreadsheet so that we could quickly order the remaining records in the morning. It was a race to the finish!
Our last full day in Ireland was spent wrapping some things up and starting on a new project. After checking out of our B&B, we spent 15 minutes at St McCarten's Cathedral in Monaghan. They were celebrating the ordination of a new priest, a rare occurrence these days. St. McCarten's is a beautiful church and has beautiful stained glass windows. It has no ties to our family, but it was still worth the stop. Kathy took some great photos, the best of the trip, but only she will be able to see them in her mind's eye because she discovered there was no memory card in her camera - about 10 miles down the road. Darn!
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| McKenna headstone at Newtownsaville Cemetery |
Our next objective was to talk with Eugene Hackett in Newtownsaville about burial records. When we reached the Hackett store, Aunt Kathy and Rich went into the store so we wouldn't overwhelm Eugene. Turns out Eugene isn't well, and so they talked to Patricia, his daughter. She showed them the burial records, and then told them that the records are not complete. To try to get a better record, they recorded the headstones and then set a date to meet at the cemetery where families could tell them about their family plots. Of course, many families did not show up - some because they had left the area, others because all the family members had died, and others for whatever reason. We went again to the cemetery (we'd been there before) just to look at the McKenna headstones one more time.
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| With Brendan McKenna on the land where Hugh McKenna lived |
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| The group with Mary McKenna at her home, an old church where Hugh and Mary might have been married |
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| Liz and Aunt Kathy at Trinity College in Dublin |
That evening, the two Kathys and Liz filled out forms to order records at GRO, and Rich and Reed worked on the spreadsheet so that we could quickly order the remaining records in the morning. It was a race to the finish!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Return to Mullabrack
Sunday, 28 July 2013
It was back to Mullabrack on Sunday for church and to have another look at the records. Some of the records we photographed were ones we already had from PRONI, but the copies are so much better. The lines from the microfilm show up so badly on the printouts that it makes it hard to read, so we were glad to get photos of the originals.
Once again we were made to feel so welcome at the Mullabrack Church. The best thing about Ireland has been the people; they are friendly and kind. Reverend Neville Hughes gave another good sermon, which we enjoyed, and it was good to see the folks we'd met the previous week.
One of Rich's favorite comments of the trip was spoken by Lewis Singleton, one of the parishioners at Mullabrack. He said that all Americans want to know where they came from, and Rich asked if he thought we were mad (crazy). Lewis responded, "No, just insecure." But he also said that it makes them curious about their genealogy. So, we are a good influence, even if we ARE insecure!
After church, after copying records, after a very quick lunch, we met with Lewis Singleton. He shared information about his Singleton family and then took us to meet his Aunt Freda and Uncle William.
His aunt has done family history work on the Singleton family, and we wanted to learn from her. We had a wonderful visit and felt very blessed to be in their home. It's hard to describe how warm and inviting people are here. They are so willing to take time, and we have truly benefitted from that. When we left, we felt that we were leaving family.
After our visit, we drove to Newtownsaville to see if we could speak with Eugene Hackett about burial records and Brandon McKenna about the McKenna land. Neither one of them were home, and so we went on to Dromore to visit with the McKenna family band who had played on Friday night at the rally. The kids were performing at a big music festival, and their mother, Mary, had invited us to come if we were able. The competition was over by the time we arrived, and we learned that they were winners for all of Ulster. They will now go on to compete in the All Ireland competition. It is a really big deal. Pretty cool, eh? The kids played music in the street with their friends, and it was so fun to watch!
Lots of driving yesterday, and lots of talking. Liz said that the hallmark of this trip has been meeting and spending time in people's homes - making connections. We think she is spot-on.
We will know whether Quinn is reading this post if he comments. We have created a new word in his honor; it to "to quinn." To quinn means to speak authoritatively when making an educated guess on something you know relatively little about. Quinn has said that if you speak like you know something people will believe. So, we've been "quinning," and we have all been "quinned." We've acted "quinnly," and we've felt a sense of "quinness." And we've had a TON of fun with our new word. Here's to you, Quinn!
It was back to Mullabrack on Sunday for church and to have another look at the records. Some of the records we photographed were ones we already had from PRONI, but the copies are so much better. The lines from the microfilm show up so badly on the printouts that it makes it hard to read, so we were glad to get photos of the originals.
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| Our group being greeted by Rev Neville Hughes at Mullabrack Church |
One of Rich's favorite comments of the trip was spoken by Lewis Singleton, one of the parishioners at Mullabrack. He said that all Americans want to know where they came from, and Rich asked if he thought we were mad (crazy). Lewis responded, "No, just insecure." But he also said that it makes them curious about their genealogy. So, we are a good influence, even if we ARE insecure!
After church, after copying records, after a very quick lunch, we met with Lewis Singleton. He shared information about his Singleton family and then took us to meet his Aunt Freda and Uncle William.
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| Lewis Singleton and his aunt, Freda Singleton Mulldrew |
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| The McKenna kids playing with their friends in an impromptu session in the streets of Dromore |
Lots of driving yesterday, and lots of talking. Liz said that the hallmark of this trip has been meeting and spending time in people's homes - making connections. We think she is spot-on.
We will know whether Quinn is reading this post if he comments. We have created a new word in his honor; it to "to quinn." To quinn means to speak authoritatively when making an educated guess on something you know relatively little about. Quinn has said that if you speak like you know something people will believe. So, we've been "quinning," and we have all been "quinned." We've acted "quinnly," and we've felt a sense of "quinness." And we've had a TON of fun with our new word. Here's to you, Quinn!
Discovering McKenna Country
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Saturday was a day of discovery and adventure. We felt like Liz discovered a gem when she found the Tullybryan B&B - comfortable accommodations and a fabulous Irish breakfast. You can't have breakfasts like that every day but we're enjoying it while we're here.
The McKenna Rally offered a bus tour of sites in Monaghan County, and we took advantage of that, at least for part of the day. It gave us a chance to continue to talk to our fellow McKenna cousins (not sure how we're related, but we're bound to be, don't you think?). And we saw things that we normally wouldn't see. First stop was to the Carrickmacross Workhouse. The first workhouses were built in 1841, and they were for the poorest of the poor. When the Great Hunger hit, this workhouse, originally built for 500, housed 2,000. At the height of the famine, on average 70 people died every day in Monaghan. At that time, there were 8.5 million people in Ireland; 1.5 million died and 3 million emigrated. The emigration had, of course, started before then and continued afterward, as we know because Thomas and Sarah emigrated in 1872. The country's greatest resource, its people, was reduced by half. To this day, Ireland has never reached the same level of population.
What was horrifying to discover was that while the potato crop, the mainstay of the common man's diet, was decimated during the famine, the rest of the crops and the animals were not. But they were grown to pay the rent on land owned by absentee English landlords, and food that could have saved lives was shipped annually to England.
We also learned that during the famine, Earl Grey devised a scheme to ship young girls, ages 14-18, from the workhouses to be wives and servants for men in Australia. Thirty-two girls were sent from the Carrickmacross Workhouse; they know the names of 19 of them. We'll never know if they went willingly, but it's not hard to imagine that most of them would want to escape the workhouse, which was set up very much like a prison. How do you decide between two bleak choices? Many children had been left orphans (think Oliver Twist - he was in a workhouse), and life was incredibly hard. Thinking about what our family had to endure during that trying time has helped us appreciate them so very, very much.
The next stop on the tour was a golf course. Rich and Reed might remember the name (Reed said it was Concran). It was beautiful. But it was then that we decided the tour wasn't going to take us to the McKenna sites that we wanted to see. As the tour was going back to Monaghan for a break, we decided to switch to our OWN tour. That's what the rental car is for, right?
So, we piled in and headed for Emyvale, the heart of McKenna Country. We needed to stop in Emyvale for an ATM, and as we were walking right by Seamus McCluskey's house, we thought we would stop in for a wee visit. We truly wanted to thank him for his hospitality previously. Oh, and let him know that we put his tour on YouTube! He didn't remember Liz and I, but when we told him about YouTube, he said, "Oh, that was you who did it!" He said that he wasn't up on that type of thing, but someone else had seen it and told him about it. Sounded like he was fine with it. Whew! Rich, Reed and Aunt Kathy were able to meet Seamus and had a picture taken with him. While we had no intention of asking him for a tour of the McKenna sites, he apologized several times that he couldn't take us on account of his having visitors. How kind was that? It was a pleasure for everyone to meet this truly fine gentleman - what a great day when we first discovered him. Thank you, Todd!
Seamus shared with us an article about a burial site for unbaptized babies, and we set out to discover the location. After a bit of a hiccup, we finally got on the right road and reached it. We also discovered the Blue Bridge, a beautiful stone bridge that was mentioned in a poem by one of Monaghan's famous sons, the poet William Carlton.
The next adventure was Tully Fort, the site of one of the McKenna ringforts. After crawling under (or over) a gate, climbing through stinging nettle, rolling under a barbed wire fence, and being zapped by an electric fence (so sorry, Reed), we reached the center of the ringfort - only to discover that there was a path into the ringfort and all you had to do was open a couple of gates and watch out for the cow pies! But how adventurous would that have been?
Donagh Cemetery was our next destination. This was the place Aunt Kathy was most anxious to see. The McKenna High Cross still guards the old graveyard - what stories it could tell!
We next journeyed to Castle Leslie, site of the original McKenna Castle (no longer there) for a quick visit. Didn't get out, took a couple of pictures through the window, and then continued on. The 2011 research team actually stayed at Castle Leslie, and they have lots of pictures to share on our SmugMug site - McKennaFamilyHistory.smugmug.com.
The ancient graveyard, Eriggal Truah, was our last destination of the day and a great discovery. It is in this cemetery that the original McKenna crest can be found on a headstone - but we had no directions to where that headstone might be! Fortunately, it's a small cemetery. The grass had been cut down (sort of), and we were able to see most of the headstones. (FYI: it's a tad bit treacherous walking through the graveyard - be careful for hidden stones and holes.) Within 15 minutes, Aunt Kathy had discovered the headstone. We've all heard about it, right - the crest with the rider, the stag, the two hounds, and the two moons. But what we haven't heard is whose headstone it is. We looked on the other side, and the name of Hugh McKenna popped out! Yes, it did! We were so thrilled. We worked to get the moss off the stone so we could read what it said (where was a toothbrush when you need one?). "Here lyeth the body of Hugh McKenna. . .1723." It was so, so, so cool. We went on to find more and more McKenna headstones, some which could be read and others not so much. Finally, time just ran out, and we had to leave. But what a discovery! Someone has provided information on each of the headstones at this website: http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/monaghan/ cemeteries/errigal.txt. Note: We need to search the web for an article on this graveyard by Plunkett McKenna.
The McKenna Rally hosted a dinner at 8:00; it was tasty, and we were hungry. We have met many people, but we've really enjoyed talking with a couple from Australia, Richard and Ruth McKenna. We have a picture of the two Richard McKennas; the Australian one said that they were "identically different." We had a lovely visit with them and will be sharing information. Since they have retired, they have been to Ireland five times and to many other places as well. Interesting, kind people. Note: We need to see if we can find a copy of a book Seamus McCluskey wrote titled "Emyvale." Richard and Ruth found a copy online last year and showed it to us at the dinner. And they also know Seamus - have been communicating with him for several years.
At the end of the evening, we had our picture taken with Father McKenna. He gave the blessing on the food and the thanksgiving grace after the meal, and you could just hear him talking to God. A sweet spirit emanated from this man, and we felt very privileged to talk with him. Even after 50 years of serving in San Antonio, Texas, he still speaks with a delightful Irish brogue. He attended the dinner with his sister, and they told us how all nine of their family (brothers and sisters aged 73 to 93) get together one week a year to visit. Father McKenna said that when one of them passes away, they will spend three or four days together at the funeral, but he would rather spend the time with them now when they can share stories and reminisce. Inspiring.
And that ended another very busy day. While we are all enjoying the work tremendously, we are going to love being home and having a good night's sleep.
Saturday was a day of discovery and adventure. We felt like Liz discovered a gem when she found the Tullybryan B&B - comfortable accommodations and a fabulous Irish breakfast. You can't have breakfasts like that every day but we're enjoying it while we're here.
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| The Carrickmacross Workhouse |
What was horrifying to discover was that while the potato crop, the mainstay of the common man's diet, was decimated during the famine, the rest of the crops and the animals were not. But they were grown to pay the rent on land owned by absentee English landlords, and food that could have saved lives was shipped annually to England.
We also learned that during the famine, Earl Grey devised a scheme to ship young girls, ages 14-18, from the workhouses to be wives and servants for men in Australia. Thirty-two girls were sent from the Carrickmacross Workhouse; they know the names of 19 of them. We'll never know if they went willingly, but it's not hard to imagine that most of them would want to escape the workhouse, which was set up very much like a prison. How do you decide between two bleak choices? Many children had been left orphans (think Oliver Twist - he was in a workhouse), and life was incredibly hard. Thinking about what our family had to endure during that trying time has helped us appreciate them so very, very much.
The next stop on the tour was a golf course. Rich and Reed might remember the name (Reed said it was Concran). It was beautiful. But it was then that we decided the tour wasn't going to take us to the McKenna sites that we wanted to see. As the tour was going back to Monaghan for a break, we decided to switch to our OWN tour. That's what the rental car is for, right?
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| Reed, Aunt Kathy and Rich with Seamus McCluskey |
Seamus shared with us an article about a burial site for unbaptized babies, and we set out to discover the location. After a bit of a hiccup, we finally got on the right road and reached it. We also discovered the Blue Bridge, a beautiful stone bridge that was mentioned in a poem by one of Monaghan's famous sons, the poet William Carlton.
The next adventure was Tully Fort, the site of one of the McKenna ringforts. After crawling under (or over) a gate, climbing through stinging nettle, rolling under a barbed wire fence, and being zapped by an electric fence (so sorry, Reed), we reached the center of the ringfort - only to discover that there was a path into the ringfort and all you had to do was open a couple of gates and watch out for the cow pies! But how adventurous would that have been?
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| With the McKenna High Cross at Donagh Cemetery |
We next journeyed to Castle Leslie, site of the original McKenna Castle (no longer there) for a quick visit. Didn't get out, took a couple of pictures through the window, and then continued on. The 2011 research team actually stayed at Castle Leslie, and they have lots of pictures to share on our SmugMug site - McKennaFamilyHistory.smugmug.com.
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| Here lyeth the body of Hugh McKenna who departed this life on May 7th 1723 aged 58 years |
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| The McKenna crest on Hugh McKenna's headstone |
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| Richard McKennas - identically different |
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| At the McKenna Rally with Father McKenna and his sister |
And that ended another very busy day. While we are all enjoying the work tremendously, we are going to love being home and having a good night's sleep.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
The North
Friday, 26 July 2013
Do you want interesting reading or just the facts? If you want poetic, check out Liz's blog - her poetry and prose have left us speechless (but in stitches), especially when spoken with an Irish accent. Here, we're just going to give you the facts.
Fact number one: Ireland is beautiful and green. There is a reason they call it the Emerald Isle, even in a drought. People have told us that this summer is the driest and hottest it has been in many years. We can't tell it, though, because we've felt the humidity. And it's rained practically every day! Not all day, but every day.
Fact number two: Dunluce Castle is still there, we are happy to report. Nothing else has fallen off into the sea. Aunt Kathy really enjoyed the history and the antiquity and explored every nook and cranny. She is going to tell her grandkids that she went to a castle just like the one in the movie "Brave." Liz, on the other hand, guarded the car because our neighbors in the car next to us had been robbed. They were gone for about 10-15 minutes, came back, and their daughter's backpack, with her phone, passport, and credit cards, in essence, her life, had been stolen. She is a reporter for Bloomberg News in London (they were all Americans), and so losing her phone meant that she'd lost all of her contacts. It was really sad. The boys climbed down into a cave underneath the castle. Never mind the sign read "No Entry;" Rich said that that was just "a suggestion." The cave was used millennium ago by early inhabitants of the region.
Fact number three: The Giant's Causeway was created by an Irish giant named Finn McCool. We have all bought a book that says so, and we know that books don't lie. Fact number three.1: We really liked the Giant's Causeway, even if it WASN'T created by Finn McCool. The site was crawling with a million people, but we still managed to get pictures without all of them in it. The boys went on a hike and then we headed back on the bus to Bushmills. We talked with the bus driver, who is a Harley biker (we gave him a card for the Ride for the Fallen), and he told us about a place where the locals eat in Ballintoy.
Fact number four: Ballintoy is a quaint wee town. We ate with all the local day trippers in a restaurant down by the harbor. It was a beautiful place. We'd passed a wedding at a church down the road, and lo and behold the wedding party showed up to take pictures at the harbor. The place just felt happy. The food was good, and we expanded their culinary knowledge by asking for ice cream on the rhubarb and apple crumbles and apple pie. The waitress said they had never done that before.
Fact number five: You cannot drive very fast in Ireland. So, if the GPS says you will arrive by 6:00pm, add 45 minutes.
Fact number six: The McKenna Clann International Rally started off with a rousing show. We registered and then started to mix and mingle. The musical entertainment was provided by a McKenna family from Clogher who now live in the church where possibly Hugh and Mary were married. Rich got all their names and contact information, and the mother, Mary McKenna, has said that she will help us in our search. She's going to talk to their priest about the Catholic records. We think there were about 75-80 people there, and they came from South America,
Australia, the U.S., Europe, and, of course, Ireland. A new chieftain was inaugurated, a woman, and we all had our picture taken with the new clan chieftain - or is that chieftainess? We think we will be in the next Clann McKenna book - so now we're famous. Oh, by the way, we were able to accomplish another of our objectives by buying Vol. 1 of the Clann McKenna books. At the end of the night, everyone joined hands and danced around the room. It's too bad we don't have a video of that!
Fact number seven: Liz doesn't have a blog. Sorry. You are missing out on her poetry and pose, but you really need "to be there" to enjoy it. And we're not sure that Rich enjoyed it even then.
Do you want interesting reading or just the facts? If you want poetic, check out Liz's blog - her poetry and prose have left us speechless (but in stitches), especially when spoken with an Irish accent. Here, we're just going to give you the facts.
Fact number one: Ireland is beautiful and green. There is a reason they call it the Emerald Isle, even in a drought. People have told us that this summer is the driest and hottest it has been in many years. We can't tell it, though, because we've felt the humidity. And it's rained practically every day! Not all day, but every day.
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| Aunt Kathy at Dunluce Castle |
Fact number two: Dunluce Castle is still there, we are happy to report. Nothing else has fallen off into the sea. Aunt Kathy really enjoyed the history and the antiquity and explored every nook and cranny. She is going to tell her grandkids that she went to a castle just like the one in the movie "Brave." Liz, on the other hand, guarded the car because our neighbors in the car next to us had been robbed. They were gone for about 10-15 minutes, came back, and their daughter's backpack, with her phone, passport, and credit cards, in essence, her life, had been stolen. She is a reporter for Bloomberg News in London (they were all Americans), and so losing her phone meant that she'd lost all of her contacts. It was really sad. The boys climbed down into a cave underneath the castle. Never mind the sign read "No Entry;" Rich said that that was just "a suggestion." The cave was used millennium ago by early inhabitants of the region.
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| Liz at the Giant's Causeway |
Fact number three: The Giant's Causeway was created by an Irish giant named Finn McCool. We have all bought a book that says so, and we know that books don't lie. Fact number three.1: We really liked the Giant's Causeway, even if it WASN'T created by Finn McCool. The site was crawling with a million people, but we still managed to get pictures without all of them in it. The boys went on a hike and then we headed back on the bus to Bushmills. We talked with the bus driver, who is a Harley biker (we gave him a card for the Ride for the Fallen), and he told us about a place where the locals eat in Ballintoy.
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| Rich and Reed We feel sorry for their mother. Was she ever able to get a serious picture of them? Then, again, maybe she didn't want to! Would you? No, really!?! |
Fact number five: You cannot drive very fast in Ireland. So, if the GPS says you will arrive by 6:00pm, add 45 minutes.
Fact number six: The McKenna Clann International Rally started off with a rousing show. We registered and then started to mix and mingle. The musical entertainment was provided by a McKenna family from Clogher who now live in the church where possibly Hugh and Mary were married. Rich got all their names and contact information, and the mother, Mary McKenna, has said that she will help us in our search. She's going to talk to their priest about the Catholic records. We think there were about 75-80 people there, and they came from South America,
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| Reed and Liz with Chieftain Maria, the new Clann McKenna leader |
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| Kathy as we normally see her |
Fact number seven: Liz doesn't have a blog. Sorry. You are missing out on her poetry and pose, but you really need "to be there" to enjoy it. And we're not sure that Rich enjoyed it even then.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Thursday 25 July 2013
We started the day with a visit to the Belfast City Cemetery. Rich had pulled a list of locations of the burial sites of many family members, and it was our goal to locate each and every one. What we thought would take an hour to an hour and a half turned into a three-hour project. We started with a visit to the cemetery office where a really nice girl helped us locate the plots on a map. With photos of the maps on Rich's phone and a spring in our step, we ventured forth. Finding them wasn't as easy as we thought, though, and thankfully Rich has a VERY cheap data plan so he was able to call back and forth with the office until we located all of the plots. It probably was annoying the girl in the office a tremendous amount, but she sounded very kind on the phone. If we had had a box of chocolates, we'd have given it to her as a thank you. The big find at the cemetery was that there was a headstone on one of the graves! John and Elizabeth McKenna had placed a headstone for their son, John, who died when he was 25. They are also buried in that plot, but no one put up a headstone for them. Something for us to do, right? By the way, we found no other headstones. Rich and Reed gathered the GPS coordinates for each of the sites, and we took pictures as well.
We ate lunch in Belfast's oldest pub, White's, and then returned to PRONI for our final mad push. We worked frantically until they closed. Reed kept the collection desk busy buying copy cards - they couldn't believe how much we were copying. I think they liked the business, though, and the folks were so kind. We all love PRONI, and it was hard to leave.
We made it to Portrush about 10:30, and shortly before 11:00 several of us went to Mr. Chips for fish and chips. It really hit the spot! Liz said it was "too late to eat," and Rich said "it's NEVER too late to eat." Everyone got what they wanted.
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