SNIPPET: Horse racing in Ireland takes two main forms -- steeplechasing and flat racing. Steeplechasing began in Co. Cork in 1752. This racing over fences became popular amongst the county elites, encouraged by huntsmen and cavalrymen. The sport spread rapidly to England. The English rules were adopted in Ireland in 1864, but an independent Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (NHSC) was established in 1869. Permanent courses were built at Punchestown, Co. Kildare, and Fairyhouse, Co. Meath. Popular interest in steeplechasing exploded after the First World War, following the successes of Irish horses in English racing. Irish interest in English steeplechasing remains high. Flat racing is mentioned in 14th-century manuscripts, though its roots are probably much older. During the 18th century it was both encouraged as an important aspect of horse breeding and suppressed as promoting idleness and disorder. By 1790 the Turf Club of Ireland had been founded to improve the sport by introducing universal rules. Throughout the 19th century meetings, especially those at the Curragh (Co. Kildare), drew enormous crowds. Irish racing imitated English formats. An Irish Derby was run from 1886, and an Irish Oaks from 1895. While racing standards were extremely high, prize moneys remained lower than in England. All Irish racing enjoyed a boom during the First World War due to an influx of English stock and personnel. However from 1918 civil disorders began to disrupt meetings. Eventual partition did not affect the organization of racing and, despite the association of the ruling bodies with the military and the Protestant ascendancy, racing remained popular in independent Ireland. Always of some economic importance, racing and breeding in the Irish Free State was overseen from 1945 by the Racing Board, a government organization funded by a betting levy. Though said in 1986 to be in 'a perilous financial state,' the racing industry remains a major employer in the Republic, and a considerable earner of foreign income through training and the export of stock. -- Neal GARNHAM, Senior Research Fellow, University of Ulster. Further reading -- F. A. D'ARCY, "Horses, Lords and Racing Men: The Turf Club 1790-1990," (1991).

WHETHER OR NOT Whether the sky is Blue or leaden grey Whether it's veiled in mist Day after day. Whether there's a wintry wind Snow, or any icy thaw Whether it's frosty or not She holds each day in awe Whether it's Spring Bursting in buds and bird song It's a good day She is happy to plod along. Whether it's dressed in Summer sunshine or flowers Whether it's snappy cold And drenched in showers. Whether Autumn trees Are covered in gold or rust She loves each day God sends In Him she puts her trust. -- Maura O'Grady, native of Carracastle, Co. Mayo, has lived in Dublin for many years. The spirit of both places influences her writing and her painting. She is also a book illustrator.

THE CONNAUGHT JOURNAL Galway, Monday, February 7, 1825 The estate of Menlo, part of which lies in the Counties of Galway and Clare, is about to afford some employment to the Gentlemen of the long robe. Mr. F.B. Foster claims it, he says, as heir-at-law. -- Weekly Register. DARING OUTRAGE On Thursday night last, the pound of Moycullen, which is situate immediately opposite the pound-keeper's house, was broke open by some persons, and several head of cattle taken therefrom, seized on the lands of Killigaile, the estate of William Martin, Esq., and impounded for a large arrear of rent due to him. The owners of the cattle must, no doubt, have been the perpetrators of this daring outrage; and, strange to say, the pound-keeper nor his sons, who act for him, have not as yet come forward to lodge information against these persons, although they cannot be known to them - nor have they rendered any account to Mr. Martin for the property thus committed to their charge. We understand an investigation of this affair is to take place before P.M. Burke, Esq. a Magistrate of this County. FORT-HILL About Seven Acres of this Land, being part of the Estate of Thomas H. Royse, Esq., will be Set from the 25th of March next. A Lease of one or two hundred years will be granted. For further particulars apply (if by letter post paid) to A. Royse, Esq., Ougherterard, or Francis Leland, Esq. 6, Fitzwilliam square, Dublin. February 3d, 1825 ADVERTISEMENT The Franciscan Nuns having surrendered the Lease of their HOUSE in Market-street, Galway, commonly called the Franciscan Nunnery, Mr. MARTYN, will Set said House from the first to May next, with the large Plot, House and Garden, in the rere of it, for any term of Years that may be agreed on, or will give Lease forever to a solvent Tenant who will engage to Build a good, modern Slate House on it, and will give all the Materials of the Old House, in which there is a considerable quantity, of sound, valuable OAK, and other Materials, that will be a very great assistance to any Person inclining to build thereon. Proposals (if by letter, post paid), to Edw. Martyn, Esq., Tillyra, Gort. February 3, 1825. Cathy Joynt Labath Ireland Old News http://www.IrelandOldNews.com/

Londonderry Journal; Tuesday, March 2, 1773 Dublin. Patrick Smith, parish of Killesher, Diocese of Kilmore and Samuel Taylor, Tulla, Co. Clare, converts to the Church of Ireland. Londonderry. _____ Thompson, a poor farmer of near Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, was shot and killed returning home with his bride. Londonderry Journal; Friday, March 5, 1773 The business of the late George Gordon is to be continued by his son, Gardner Gordon. Ship Hannah, 40 tons, Capt. James Mitchell, to sail Apr. 10 for Newcastle and Philadelphia. Londonderry Journal; Tuesday, March 9, 1773 Londonderry. Ship Walworth, Capt. Connolly M'Causland, 300 tons, to sail Apr. 6 for Newcastle and Philadelphia. Ship Jupiter, 300 tons, Alexander Ewing, for same on 20 April. Ship Betty, 250 tons, Richard Hunter, for Baltimore on March 19. The executors of Thomas Moore, deceased, to let (at the house of Mr. Lepper at Three Trees) the lands that John Quigley of Clenally formerly possessed in Glentaugher, held under William M'Ilwaine of Lisfanan. Londonderry Journal; Friday, March 12, 1773 The Alexander, James Hunter, 400 tons, to sail April 15 for Newcastle and Philadelphia; not six months old, at least six feet high between decks, and at all points calculated for the accommodation of passengers, redemptioners, or servants; Robert Alexander, owner. Londonderry Journal; Tuesday, March 16, 1773 Londonderry. Robert Gibson of Portaferry was washed overboard from the Acorn on Dec. 26. Died: in Grafton st., Dublin, George Harvey, of Maulin hall, County Donegal. Londonderry Journal; Friday, March 19, 1773 Londonderry. Died: a few days ago, John Harrison, at his house near Culmore; this morning, Mrs. Jonathan Nicolls, wife of one of the city sheriffs. Londonderry Journal; Tuesday, March 23, 1773 Dublin, Mar. 20. Thursday night the Richard of Corke, from the West Indies, ran on a bank and sank; all were lost except one sailor, including the master, Dennis Twohigg. Londonderry Journal; Friday, March 26, 1773 Dublin. Died: Sunday, Lt. Agnew of Prussia st. Cleared out, the Friendship, M'Culloch, for Philadelphia, with beef, etc. Died, a few days ago at Strabane, Mrs. Ingram, wife of Rev. Ingram, daughter of Mr. Porter, post-master of Strabane. Cathy Joynt Labath Ireland Old News http://www.IrelandOldNews.com/

Thank you so much. When I start a new allowance of MB I will download it. What I was hoping for was that somewhere the records of the sailors might be kept. I need to confirm that he himself was aboard these ships, or my neat theory goes unproven. Teresa ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 8:02 AM Subject: Re: [IRELAND] Roderick KENNEDY (Seaman) > Hi Terri, Below in an excerpt found on a book transcribed on the Internet > that mentions your ship of interest and the general make-up of the crew. At > the end of the on-line full-book there is a bibliography with names of books > that might provide you some lists of names, I don't know. > > Listers interested in the subject might consult Another book, Lindsay's > "History of Merchant Shipping" is considered "the most elaborate English > work of the kind." > > Excerpt, "The Old Merchant Marine, A Chronicle of American Ships and > Sailors," by Ralph D. Paine. > > CHAPTER VIII. THE PACKET SHIPS OF THE "ROARING FORTIES" > > It was on the stormy Atlantic, called by sailormen the Western > Ocean, that the packet ships won the first great contest for > supremacy and knew no rivals until the coming of the age of steam > made them obsolete. Their era antedated that of the clipper and > was wholly distinct. The Atlantic packet was the earliest liner: > she made regular sailings and carried freight and passengers > instead of trading on her owners' account as was the ancient > custom. Not for her the tranquillity of tropic seas and the > breath of the Pacific trades, but an almost incessant battle with > swinging surges and boisterous winds, for she was driven harder > in all weathers and seasons than any other ships that sailed. In > such battering service as this the lines of the clipper were too > extremely fine, her spars too tall and slender. The packet was by > no means slow and if the list of her record passages was superb, > it was because they were accomplished by masters who would sooner > let a sail blow away than take it in and who raced each other > every inch of the way. > > They were small ships of three hundred to five hundred tons when > the famous Black Ball Line was started in 1816. From the first > they were the ablest vessels that could be built, full-bodied and > stoutly rigged. They were the only regular means of communication > between the United States and Europe and were entrusted with the > mails, specie, government dispatches, and the lives of eminent > personages. Blow high, blow low, one of the Black Ball packets > sailed from New York for Liverpool on the first and sixteenth of > every month. Other lines were soon competing--the Red Star and > the Swallow Tail out of New York, and fine ships from Boston and > Philadelphia. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 the > commercial greatness of New York was assured, and her Atlantic > packets increased in size and numbers, averaging a thousand tons > each in the zenith of their glory. > > England, frankly confessing herself beaten and unable to compete > with such ships as these, changed her attitude from hostility to > open admiration. She surrendered the Atlantic packet trade to > American enterprise, and British merchantmen sought their gains > in other waters. The Navigation Laws still protected their > commerce in the Far East and they were content to jog at a more > sedate gait than these weltering packets whose skippers were > striving for passages of a fortnight, with the forecastle doors > nailed fast and the crew compelled to stay on deck from Sandy > Hook to Fastnet Rock. > > No blustering, rum-drinking tarpaulin was the captain who sailed > the Independence, the Ocean Queen, or the Dreadnought but a man > very careful of his manners and his dress, who had been selected > from the most highly educated merchant service in the world. He > was attentive to the comfort of his passengers and was presumed > to have no other duties on deck than to give the proper orders to > his first officer and work out his daily reckoning. It was an > exacting, nerve-racking ordeal, however, demanding a sleepless > vigilance, courage, and cool judgment of the first order. The > compensations were large. As a rule, he owned a share of the ship > and received a percentage of the freights and passage money. His > rank when ashore was more exalted than can be conveyed in mere > words. Any normal New York boy would sooner have been captain of > a Black Ball packet than President of the United States, and he > knew by heart the roaring chantey > > It is of a flash packet, > A packet of fame. > She is bound to New York > And the Dreadnought's her name. > She is bound to the west'ard > Where the stormy winds blow. > Bound away to the west'ard, > Good Lord, let her go. > > > There were never more than fifty of these ships afloat, a > trifling fraction of the American deep-water tonnage of that day, > but the laurels they won were immortal. Not only did the English > mariner doff his hat to them, but a Parliamentary committee > reported in 1837 that "the American ships frequenting the ports > of England are stated by several witnesses to be superior to > those of a similar class among the ships of Great Britain, the > commanders and officers being generally considered to be more > competent as seamen and navigators and more uniformly persons of > education than the commanders and officers of British ships of a > similar size and class trading from England to America." > > It was no longer a rivalry with the flags of other nations but an > unceasing series of contests among the packets of the several > lines, and their records aroused far more popular excitement than > when the great steamers of this century were chipping off the > minutes, at an enormous coal consumption, toward a five-day > passage. Theirs were tests of real seamanship, and there were few > disasters. The packet captain scorned a towboat to haul him into > the stream if the wind served fair to set all plain sail as his > ship lay at her wharf. Driving her stern foremost, he braced his > yards and swung her head to sea, clothing the masts with soaring > canvas amid the farewell cheers of the crowds which lined the > waterfront. > > A typical match race was sailed between the Black Ball liner > Columbus, Captain De Peyster, and the Sheridan, Captain Russell, > of the splendid Dramatic fleet, in 1837. The stake was $10,000 a > side, put up by the owners and their friends. The crews were > picked men who were promised a bonus of fifty dollars each for > winning. The ships sailed side by side in February, facing the > wild winter passage, and the Columbus reached Liverpool in the > remarkable time of sixteen days, two days ahead of the Sheridan. > > The crack packets were never able to reel off more than twelve or > fourteen knots under the most favorable conditions, but they were > kept going night and day, and some of them maintained their > schedules almost with the regularity of the early steamers. The > Montezuma, the Patrick Henry, and the Southampton crossed from > New York to Liverpool in fifteen days, and for years the > Independence held the record of fourteen days and six hours. It > remained for the Dreadnought, Captain Samuel Samuels, in 1859, to > set the mark for packet ships to Liverpool at thirteen days and > eight hours. > > Meanwhile the era of the matchless clipper had arrived and it was > one of these ships which achieved the fastest Atlantic passage > ever made by a vessel under sail. The James Baines was built for > English owners to be used in the Australian trade. She was a full > clipper of 2515 tons, twice the size of the ablest packets, and > was praised as "the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered > the river Mersey." Bound out from Boston to Liverpool, she > anchored after twelve days and six hours at sea. > > There was no lucky chance in this extraordinary voyage, for this > clipper was the work of the greatest American builder, Donald > McKay, who at the same time designed the Lightning for the same > owners. This clipper, sent across the Atlantic on her maiden > trip, left in her foaming wake a twenty-four hour run which no > steamer had even approached and which was not equaled by the > fastest express steamers until twenty-five years later when the > greyhound Arizona ran eighteen knots in one hour on her trial > trip. This is a rather startling statement when one reflects that > the Arizona of the Guion line seems to a generation still living > a modern steamer and record-holder. It is even more impressive > when coupled with the fact that, of the innumerable passenger > steamers traversing the seas today, only a few are capable of a > speed of more than eighteen knots. > > This clipper Lightning did her 436 sea miles in one day, or > eighteen and a half knots, better than twenty land miles an hour, > and this is how the surpassing feat was entered in her log, or > official journal: "March 1. Wind south. Strong gales; bore away > for the North Channel, carrying away the foretopsail and lost > jib; hove the log several times and found the ship going through > the water at the rate of 18 to 18 1/2 knots; lee rail under water > and rigging slack. Distance run in twenty-four hours, 436 miles." > The passage was remarkably fast, thirteen days and nineteen and a > half hours from Boston Light, but the spectacular feature was > this day's work. It is a fitting memorial of the Yankee clipper, > and, save only a cathedral, the loveliest, noblest fabric ever > wrought by man's handiwork. > > The clipper, however, was a stranger in the Atlantic and her > chosen courses were elsewhere. The records made by the James > Baines and the Lightning were no discredit to the stanch, > unconquerable packet ships which, year in and year out, held > their own with the steamer lines until just before the Civil War. > It was the boast of Captain Samuels that on her first voyage in > 1853 the Dreadnought reached Sandy Hook as the Cunarder Canada, > which had left Liverpool a day ahead of her, was passing in by > Boston Light. Twice she carried the latest news to Europe, and > many seasoned travelers preferred her to the mail steamers. > > The masters and officers who handled these ships with such > magnificent success were true-blue American seamen, inspired by > the finest traditions, successors of the privateersmen of 1812. > The forecastles, however, were filled with English, Irish, and > Scandinavians. American lads shunned these ships and, in fact, > the ambitious youngster of the coastwise towns began to cease > following the sea almost a century ago. It is sometimes forgotten > that the period during which the best American manhood sought a > maritime career lay between the Revolution and the War of 1812. > Thereafter the story became more and more one of American ships > and less of American sailors, excepting on the quarter-deck. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Terri" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:54 PM > Subject: [IRELAND] Roderick KENNEDY (Seaman) > > > >I have a question regarding seaman. > > My ancestor Roderick KENNEDY married Margaret O'HALLORAN in Melbourne > > Australia in 1854. The only Roderick KENNEDY that came to Australia did so > > in 1855. However, checking the microfiches at the Victorian Archives, I > > found his occupation to be seaman. His death certificate states his > > birthplace as Ireland, yet the manifest of the "Indian Queen" says he is > > English. The age fits with his death age. > > So, I am going to assume he is a sailor and that he travelled to Australia > > a > > number of times, and that in 1854 he married. He would then be listed on > > the > > immigration records for the trip when he stayed. > > My problem is now, where are the lists of sailors on the various ships? > > The ship on which he immigrated belonged to the Black Ball Line. > > Given that it was unassisted passage, he may have worked for them. > > How do I find out? Does anyone know? > > Teresa > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 1759 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

All that is missing in the address is: .html Just add that to the clickable address and you will get the pictures, etc. FRANK GEBHART <[email protected]> wrote: The page has moved, geniebugged. Have any idea where it went??? ----- Original Message ----- From: "geniebugged" To: Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:48 AM Subject: [IRELAND] A great book site - download-able reads > > At this link - > > http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/ABL/etext/irish/pictures/irelandpictures303. > html > > fantastic photographs > Right click when in main page and choose 'create short-cut' that will pop > up > on desktop > > Here you will have some of the Greatest "Arm-chair Travel" available [and > no > ads] > > > When there - click on each picture to enlarge and read the info - > > Mimi Taylor > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Trish [email protected] Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once.

The page has moved, geniebugged. Have any idea where it went??? ----- Original Message ----- From: "geniebugged" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:48 AM Subject: [IRELAND] A great book site - download-able reads > > At this link - > > http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/ABL/etext/irish/pictures/irelandpictures303. > html > > fantastic photographs > Right click when in main page and choose 'create short-cut' that will pop > up > on desktop > > Here you will have some of the Greatest "Arm-chair Travel" available [and > no > ads] > > > When there - click on each picture to enlarge and read the info - > > Mimi Taylor > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

SNIPPET: Frank O'CONNOR was the pen name of a well-known writer born in Cork in 1903, the only child in the family. Michael O'DONOVAN was very close to his mother Minnie, and took her maiden name for his literary work. He is best known for his tender short stories about life in Ireland, much of his material taken from his own experiences. Born into poverty with an abusive, alcoholic father, he was to go on to become a librarian, a member of the IRA during Ireland's Civil War, director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, translator of Gaelic poetry and self-taught in several languages, a talented writer. He lived and taught in the USA in the 1950s, dying at his Dublin home in 1966. O'CONNOR's bittersweet short story, "Christmas Morning," is about a poor Irish family with two boys - the narrator, Larry, who doesn't do well in his studies, skips school, gets into fights and other minor trouble, and his "perfect" little brother, Sonny, who likes school, is good at spelling and is never in trouble - a fact, that Sonny loves to point out to his mother, much to Larry's chagrin! Their father is a moody alcohol who spends his money at the pubs, angering his wife who now finds herself worrying how they are going to get through Christmas with so little. She manages to scrimp and save for a candle, a little cake and a present or two for the children. Meanwhile, Larry reasons that if he is going to get anything from Santa in his stocking he had better stay up all night so he can explain away his bad behavior and convince Santa to give him a model railway. He is counting on the fact that Santa is "a reasonable guy." Father hasn't come home by the time Larry and Sonny go to bed, and Larry falls asleep despite his best efforts to stay awake. At dawn he gets out of bed to see what is in his stocking and is bitterly disappointed ... "Santa had come while I was asleep, and gone away with an entirely false impression of me, because all he had left me was some sort of book, folded up, a pen and pencil, and a tuppeny bag of sweets. For a while I was too stunned even to think. A fellow who was able to drive over rooftops and climb down chimneys without getting stuck - God, wouldn't you think he'd know better? Then I began to wonder what that foxy boy, Sonny, had. I went to his side of the bed and felt his stocking.... he hadn't done so much better than me, because, apart from a bag of sweets like mine, all Santa had left him was a popgun, one that fired a cork on a piece of string and which you could get in any shop for sixpence. All the same, the fact remained that it was a gun, and a gun was better than a book any day of the week. The Dohertys had a gang, and the gang fought the Strawberry Lane kids who tried to play football on our road. That gun would be very useful to me in many ways, while it would be lost on Sonny who wouldn't be allowed to play with the gang, even if he wanted to. Then I got the inspiration, as it seemed to me, direct from heaven. Suppose I took the gun and gave Sonny the book!. .... He was fond of spelling, and a studious child like him could learn a lot of spellings from a book like mine. As he hadn't seen Santa any more than I had, what he hadn't seen wouldn't grieve him. I was doing no harm to anyone; in fact, if Sonny only knew, I was doing him a good turn which he might have cause to thank me for later ... Perhaps this was Santa's intention the whole time and he merely became confused between us. It was a mistake that might happen to anyone. So I put the book, the pencil, and the pen into Sonny's stocking and the popgun into my own, and returned to bed and slept again. As I say, in those days I had plenty of initiative. It was Sonny who woke me, shaking me to tell me that Santa had come and left me a gun. I let on to be surprised and rather disappointed in the gun, and to divert his mind from it made him show me his picture book, and told him it was much better than what Santa brought me. As I knew, that kid was prepared to believe anything, and nothing would do him then but to take the presents in to show Father and Mother. That was a bad moment for me. After the way she had behaved about my lying, I distrusted Mother, though I had the consolation of believing that the only person who could contradict me was now somewhere up by the North Pole. That gave me a certain confidence, so Sonny and I burst in with our presents, shouting: 'Look what Santa Claus brought!' Father and Mother woke, and Mother smiled, but only for an instant. As she looked at me her faced changed. I knew that look; I knew it only too well. It was the same she had worn the day I came home from playing hooky, when she said I had no word. 'Larry,' she said in a low voice, 'where did you get that gun?' 'Santa left it in my stocking, Mummy,' I said, trying to put on an injured air, though it baffled me how she guessed that he hadn't. 'He did, honest.' 'You stole it from that poor child's stocking while he was asleep,' she said, her voice quivering with indignation. 'Larry, Larry, how could you be so mean?' 'Now, now, now, ' Father said deprecatingly, ' 'tis Christmas morning. 'Ah,' she said with real passion, 'it's easy it comes to you. Do you think I want my son to grow up a lair and a thief?' 'Ah, what thief, woman?' he said testily. 'Have sense can't you?' He was as cross if you interrupted him in his benevolent moods as if they were of the other sort, and this one was probably exacerbated by a feeling of guilt for his behavior the night before. 'Here, Larry,' he said, reaching out for the money on the bedside table, 'here's sixpence for you and one for Sonny. Mind you don't lose it now!" But I looked at Mother and saw what was in her eyes. I burst out crying, threw the popgun on the floor, and ran bawling out of the house before anyone on the road was awake. I rushed up the lane behind the house and threw myself on the wet grass. I understood it all, and it was almost more than I could bear; that there was no Santa Claus, as the Dohertys said, only Mother trying to scrape together a few pence for the housekeeping; that Father was mean and common and a drunkard, and that she had been relying on me to raise her out of the misery of the life she was leading. And I knew that the look in her eyes was the fear that, like my father, I should turn out to be mean and common and a drunkard. After that morning, I think my childhood was at an end."

SNIPPET: Maureen QUIGLEY recalls days long ago and happy Christmases spent in the County Leitrim village of Drumsna. "It was an exciting time, looking with eyes in delight as soon as the different shops began their Christmas preparations. With the sound of a gaggle of geese from John NOTLEY's passing lorry, one was reminded of how near the festive season was. Usually for us children, it was around the village to view the shop windows dressed for the season. In the window of Johnny McMANUS's bakery were trays of green and yellow candied peel, currants, raisins, nutmeg and whatever else the baker needed. On the other side of the street was Gerry DUNLEAVY's. The shop was divided in two parts, one with groceries and the other side was drapery and Mrs. DUNLEAVY being a warm and hospitable woman never deprived me of sweets at Christmas. Then it was up the road to MAHONEY's where a train on a track was in motion in the window with each carriage carrying different sweets and chocolates. FITZMAURICE's was next and if one had a few pennies we bought mouth watering homemade ice-cream. Further up the road was Tom McMANUS's shop. Mrs. McMANUS had the place adorned with berried holly and greenery from the garden whilst she was putting the finishing touches to the most beautiful Fair Isle jumpers she had knit. A visit to the Church was a must, to view the crib and admire the brass candlesticks and vases - how they sparkled after being polished, and the altar-rails draped with a snow-white cloth. Down the road to DALY's where James PATRICK was busy with his festive preparations. He had multi-coloured paper chains hung from the ceiling and rows of Christmas cards at 2d, 3d, and 6d hanging on a string from one corner of the shop to the other. Bridgie DALY had her cards hung in the same way and her window display contained jars of conversation lozenges, liquorice pipes, bull's-eyes and slabs of toffee. As a child my grandmother would send me to Bridgie's for the Christmas cards and my orders were get only Brian O'HIGGIN's, they were the only ones she sent overseas. While the cards were got ready I was sent to the kitchen to get tea from Kate and Bee ... The Post Office was such a busy place prior to Christmas as people were sending turkeys, geese and hams to friends abroad, especially to England. The wooden empty cheese box was used for sending butter overseas. The postmistress Baby HEALY had to seal all the knots on the parcels with red wax. Surrounded by letters and parcels, many a time I watched from outside the window as she proceeded to do this task. Her brother Sonny helped her, while Charlie, her other brother, was on hand to deliver any telegrams. The postman Liam COSTELLO had a busy task. He had to get all the mailbags to Corlara railway station on his white pony and trap for the Dublin train and maybe wait hours for the Sligo train to bring mail back for sorting. Apart from post he had to bring messages to people. In later years he used his bicycle for postal deliveries. Again he was loaded with parcels, but every letter and parcel was delivered on time. TOUHY's, the drapery and footwear shop, had two large windows, which were beautifully decorated, one with all the nice things for the ladies and children, and the other displaying all the menswear. Mrs. KILGALLEN always gave me handkerchiefs and ribbons for my hair for Christmas. My father's butcher shop was next door, it was decorated with berried holly, which was stapled around the window (which had no glass), and hanging from hooks was beef, mutton, oxtails, tongues, etc. At night the shutters were put up. They were fitted with wire grills for ventilation. Michael BEIRNE's shop was next and who could forget Mrs. BEIRNE, the gentle, kind and generous lady who would come from the shop and give us children sweets as we played outside. Miss HIGGINS was another kind lady who lived on the street, and she had her uncle, Rev. Father HIGGINS staying with her. Some weeks before Christmas the Bishop of the day would visit. I would be told in advance and invited to tea. I was very nervous going to visit that evening. As a nine or ten year old meeting the Bishop was a big event. Anyway I need not have worried. Miss HIGGINS made me feel at home, but I was still relieved when his Lordship was gone, and was happy to help with the washing up. Our local blacksmith, Willie GILROY, at the time had plenty of geese; and weeks before Christmas he organised raffles. So the local 25 card players would be busy playing on the run up to Christmas. FERGUSON's had a window displayed with bicycles, radios, grocery and hardware, as did Richard TANSEY years later." -- Excerpts, "Leitrim Guardian" annual magazine 2004

There is one rosebush in my yard that has not yet gone to sleep for the winter. It is not one of the bushes beside the house so gets no extra warmth from that source, yet it is budding out two red roses. It make me feel better to see them, and wonder about how they manage to develop. donkelly ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 2:52 PM Subject: [IRELAND] "The Christmas Rose" -- C. DAY-LEWIS (1904-72) b. Queen'sCo. (Laois). IRE - Anglo-Irish Poet Laureate England > THE CHRISTMAS ROSE

THE CHRISTMAS ROSE What is the flower that blooms each year In flowerless days, Making a little blaze On the bleak earth, giving my heart some cheer? Harsh the sky and hard the ground When the Christmas rose is found. Look! its white star, low on earth, Rays a vision of rebirth. Who is the child that's born each year -- His bedding, straw: His grace, enough to thaw My wintering life, and melt a world's despair? Harsh the sky and hard the earth When the Christmas child comes forth. Look! around a stable throne Beasts and wise men are at one. What men are we that, year on year, We Herod-wise In our cold wits devise A death of innocents, a rule of fear? Hushed your earth, full-starred your sky For a new nativity: Be born in us, relieve our plight, Christmas child, you rose of light! -- Late Poet Laureate England - C. DAY-LEWIS only child of Rev. F. C. DAY LEWIS was born in Ballintubbert House, Queen's Co, Ireland (now Co. Laois) in 1904. When Cecil was four, his mother died and the family moved to England. The Helleborus niger (Christmas Rose) can bloom in the darkest months of the year. From "C. Day-Lewis, The Complete Poems," Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA (1992).

At this link - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/ABL/etext/irish/pictures/irelandpictures303. html fantastic photographs Right click when in main page and choose 'create short-cut' that will pop up on desktop Here you will have some of the Greatest "Arm-chair Travel" available [and no ads] When there - click on each picture to enlarge and read the info - Mimi Taylor

I have a question regarding seaman. My ancestor Roderick KENNEDY married Margaret O'HALLORAN in Melbourne Australia in 1854. The only Roderick KENNEDY that came to Australia did so in 1855. However, checking the microfiches at the Victorian Archives, I found his occupation to be seaman. His death certificate states his birthplace as Ireland, yet the manifest of the "Indian Queen" says he is English. The age fits with his death age. So, I am going to assume he is a sailor and that he travelled to Australia a number of times, and that in 1854 he married. He would then be listed on the immigration records for the trip when he stayed. My problem is now, where are the lists of sailors on the various ships? The ship on which he immigrated belonged to the Black Ball Line. Given that it was unassisted passage, he may have worked for them. How do I find out? Does anyone know? Teresa -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 1752 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

Hi Terri, Below in an excerpt found on a book transcribed on the Internet that mentions your ship of interest and the general make-up of the crew. At the end of the on-line full-book there is a bibliography with names of books that might provide you some lists of names, I don't know. Listers interested in the subject might consult Another book, Lindsay's "History of Merchant Shipping" is considered "the most elaborate English work of the kind." Excerpt, "The Old Merchant Marine, A Chronicle of American Ships and Sailors," by Ralph D. Paine. CHAPTER VIII. THE PACKET SHIPS OF THE "ROARING FORTIES" It was on the stormy Atlantic, called by sailormen the Western Ocean, that the packet ships won the first great contest for supremacy and knew no rivals until the coming of the age of steam made them obsolete. Their era antedated that of the clipper and was wholly distinct. The Atlantic packet was the earliest liner: she made regular sailings and carried freight and passengers instead of trading on her owners' account as was the ancient custom. Not for her the tranquillity of tropic seas and the breath of the Pacific trades, but an almost incessant battle with swinging surges and boisterous winds, for she was driven harder in all weathers and seasons than any other ships that sailed. In such battering service as this the lines of the clipper were too extremely fine, her spars too tall and slender. The packet was by no means slow and if the list of her record passages was superb, it was because they were accomplished by masters who would sooner let a sail blow away than take it in and who raced each other every inch of the way. They were small ships of three hundred to five hundred tons when the famous Black Ball Line was started in 1816. From the first they were the ablest vessels that could be built, full-bodied and stoutly rigged. They were the only regular means of communication between the United States and Europe and were entrusted with the mails, specie, government dispatches, and the lives of eminent personages. Blow high, blow low, one of the Black Ball packets sailed from New York for Liverpool on the first and sixteenth of every month. Other lines were soon competing--the Red Star and the Swallow Tail out of New York, and fine ships from Boston and Philadelphia. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 the commercial greatness of New York was assured, and her Atlantic packets increased in size and numbers, averaging a thousand tons each in the zenith of their glory. England, frankly confessing herself beaten and unable to compete with such ships as these, changed her attitude from hostility to open admiration. She surrendered the Atlantic packet trade to American enterprise, and British merchantmen sought their gains in other waters. The Navigation Laws still protected their commerce in the Far East and they were content to jog at a more sedate gait than these weltering packets whose skippers were striving for passages of a fortnight, with the forecastle doors nailed fast and the crew compelled to stay on deck from Sandy Hook to Fastnet Rock. No blustering, rum-drinking tarpaulin was the captain who sailed the Independence, the Ocean Queen, or the Dreadnought but a man very careful of his manners and his dress, who had been selected from the most highly educated merchant service in the world. He was attentive to the comfort of his passengers and was presumed to have no other duties on deck than to give the proper orders to his first officer and work out his daily reckoning. It was an exacting, nerve-racking ordeal, however, demanding a sleepless vigilance, courage, and cool judgment of the first order. The compensations were large. As a rule, he owned a share of the ship and received a percentage of the freights and passage money. His rank when ashore was more exalted than can be conveyed in mere words. Any normal New York boy would sooner have been captain of a Black Ball packet than President of the United States, and he knew by heart the roaring chantey It is of a flash packet, A packet of fame. She is bound to New York And the Dreadnought's her name. She is bound to the west'ard Where the stormy winds blow. Bound away to the west'ard, Good Lord, let her go. There were never more than fifty of these ships afloat, a trifling fraction of the American deep-water tonnage of that day, but the laurels they won were immortal. Not only did the English mariner doff his hat to them, but a Parliamentary committee reported in 1837 that "the American ships frequenting the ports of England are stated by several witnesses to be superior to those of a similar class among the ships of Great Britain, the commanders and officers being generally considered to be more competent as seamen and navigators and more uniformly persons of education than the commanders and officers of British ships of a similar size and class trading from England to America." It was no longer a rivalry with the flags of other nations but an unceasing series of contests among the packets of the several lines, and their records aroused far more popular excitement than when the great steamers of this century were chipping off the minutes, at an enormous coal consumption, toward a five-day passage. Theirs were tests of real seamanship, and there were few disasters. The packet captain scorned a towboat to haul him into the stream if the wind served fair to set all plain sail as his ship lay at her wharf. Driving her stern foremost, he braced his yards and swung her head to sea, clothing the masts with soaring canvas amid the farewell cheers of the crowds which lined the waterfront. A typical match race was sailed between the Black Ball liner Columbus, Captain De Peyster, and the Sheridan, Captain Russell, of the splendid Dramatic fleet, in 1837. The stake was $10,000 a side, put up by the owners and their friends. The crews were picked men who were promised a bonus of fifty dollars each for winning. The ships sailed side by side in February, facing the wild winter passage, and the Columbus reached Liverpool in the remarkable time of sixteen days, two days ahead of the Sheridan. The crack packets were never able to reel off more than twelve or fourteen knots under the most favorable conditions, but they were kept going night and day, and some of them maintained their schedules almost with the regularity of the early steamers. The Montezuma, the Patrick Henry, and the Southampton crossed from New York to Liverpool in fifteen days, and for years the Independence held the record of fourteen days and six hours. It remained for the Dreadnought, Captain Samuel Samuels, in 1859, to set the mark for packet ships to Liverpool at thirteen days and eight hours. Meanwhile the era of the matchless clipper had arrived and it was one of these ships which achieved the fastest Atlantic passage ever made by a vessel under sail. The James Baines was built for English owners to be used in the Australian trade. She was a full clipper of 2515 tons, twice the size of the ablest packets, and was praised as "the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered the river Mersey." Bound out from Boston to Liverpool, she anchored after twelve days and six hours at sea. There was no lucky chance in this extraordinary voyage, for this clipper was the work of the greatest American builder, Donald McKay, who at the same time designed the Lightning for the same owners. This clipper, sent across the Atlantic on her maiden trip, left in her foaming wake a twenty-four hour run which no steamer had even approached and which was not equaled by the fastest express steamers until twenty-five years later when the greyhound Arizona ran eighteen knots in one hour on her trial trip. This is a rather startling statement when one reflects that the Arizona of the Guion line seems to a generation still living a modern steamer and record-holder. It is even more impressive when coupled with the fact that, of the innumerable passenger steamers traversing the seas today, only a few are capable of a speed of more than eighteen knots. This clipper Lightning did her 436 sea miles in one day, or eighteen and a half knots, better than twenty land miles an hour, and this is how the surpassing feat was entered in her log, or official journal: "March 1. Wind south. Strong gales; bore away for the North Channel, carrying away the foretopsail and lost jib; hove the log several times and found the ship going through the water at the rate of 18 to 18 1/2 knots; lee rail under water and rigging slack. Distance run in twenty-four hours, 436 miles." The passage was remarkably fast, thirteen days and nineteen and a half hours from Boston Light, but the spectacular feature was this day's work. It is a fitting memorial of the Yankee clipper, and, save only a cathedral, the loveliest, noblest fabric ever wrought by man's handiwork. The clipper, however, was a stranger in the Atlantic and her chosen courses were elsewhere. The records made by the James Baines and the Lightning were no discredit to the stanch, unconquerable packet ships which, year in and year out, held their own with the steamer lines until just before the Civil War. It was the boast of Captain Samuels that on her first voyage in 1853 the Dreadnought reached Sandy Hook as the Cunarder Canada, which had left Liverpool a day ahead of her, was passing in by Boston Light. Twice she carried the latest news to Europe, and many seasoned travelers preferred her to the mail steamers. The masters and officers who handled these ships with such magnificent success were true-blue American seamen, inspired by the finest traditions, successors of the privateersmen of 1812. The forecastles, however, were filled with English, Irish, and Scandinavians. American lads shunned these ships and, in fact, the ambitious youngster of the coastwise towns began to cease following the sea almost a century ago. It is sometimes forgotten that the period during which the best American manhood sought a maritime career lay between the Revolution and the War of 1812. Thereafter the story became more and more one of American ships and less of American sailors, excepting on the quarter-deck. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Terri" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:54 PM Subject: [IRELAND] Roderick KENNEDY (Seaman) >I have a question regarding seaman. > My ancestor Roderick KENNEDY married Margaret O'HALLORAN in Melbourne > Australia in 1854. The only Roderick KENNEDY that came to Australia did so > in 1855. However, checking the microfiches at the Victorian Archives, I > found his occupation to be seaman. His death certificate states his > birthplace as Ireland, yet the manifest of the "Indian Queen" says he is > English. The age fits with his death age. > So, I am going to assume he is a sailor and that he travelled to Australia > a > number of times, and that in 1854 he married. He would then be listed on > the > immigration records for the trip when he stayed. > My problem is now, where are the lists of sailors on the various ships? > The ship on which he immigrated belonged to the Black Ball Line. > Given that it was unassisted passage, he may have worked for them. > How do I find out? Does anyone know? > Teresa

SNIPPET: FYI -- Per www.pensear.org: "We provide something in the nature of an Irish census 1841 and 1851 substitute. The reason for this is simple. Ireland's Old Age Pension Act was introduced in 1908, entitling anyone over a certain age to a state pension. Pension claimants had to prove their age - but because the compulsory registration of births had begun only in 1864 they had no birth certificates as proof. The government therefore searched the 1841 and 1851 census returns to find their age at that time. That is, you get to see some of the information collected in 1908 from the 1841 and 1851 censuses, now themselves gone."

I was interested in Jeans posts on Tinkers. I wondered if anyone has any photo's of gypsies or tinkers taken in the C20? Thanks Gill

THE FAIR AT WINDGAP There was airy music and sport at the fair And showers were tenting on the bare field, Laughter had knotted a crowd where the horses And mares were backing, when carts from the wheelwright Were shafted: bargains on sale everywhere and the barmen Glassing neat whiskey or pulling black porter On draught -- and O the red brandy, the oatmeal And the whiteness of flour in the weighing scale! Calico petticoats, cashmere and blouses, Blankets of buttermilk, flannel on stalls there, Caps of bright tweed and corduroy trousers And green or yellow ribbon with a stripe; The tanner was hiding, the saddler plied the bradawl; Barrows had chinaware, knives and blue razors, Black twisted tobacco to pare in the claypipe And the ha'penny harp that is played on a finger. Soft as rain slipping through rushes, the cattle Came: dealers were brawling at seven-pound-ten, On heifers in calf a bargain was clapped When ewes, that are nearer the grass, had taken Two guineas; the blacksmith was filing the horn in his lap For the fillies called up more hands than their height, Black goats were cheap; for a sow in the stock O'Flaherty got but the half of her farrow. Balladmen, beggarmen, trick o' the loop men And cardmen, hiding Queen Maeve up their sleeve, Were picking red pennies and soon a prizefighter Enticed the young fellows and left them all grieving: While the marriageable girls were walking up and down And the folk were saying that the Frenchmen Had taken the herring from the brown tide And sailed at daybreak, they were saying. Twenty-five tinkers that came from Glentartan, Not counting the jennets and barefooted women, Had a white crop of metal upon every cart; The neighbours were buying, but a red-headed man Of them, swearing no stranger could bottom a kettle, Leaped over the droves going down to the ocean, Glibbed with the sunlight: blows were around him And so the commotion arose at the fair. -- Austin CLARKE (b. 1896) -- (from the Irish) Windgap is apparently in Co. Kilkenny

SNIPPET: Voices of Irish Tinkers: "If you ask: What's the time? do you have the time?, people do be vexed and they stare at you with their calculations as if you were riding about in a painted dream on the old horse & cart. We have black teeth but we dream just the same as the people that live in houses. Just to be born on the side of the road is to go down in disrepect. I know a man went down in Australia and he came back in Ireland as a tinker but they still had no respect for him..." "When I was small and went for water up the ditch where my Mammy sent me I saw the houses, standing up high over the hills and trees, some of them. I often thought betimes to meself I wonder why we're sitting outside waiting for to go inside. Mammy brought me inside houses with her when she went every Thursday . Sometimes they'd sprinkle holy water on us and sometimes they'd harm us with a few hard knocks and curse us passing..." "Betimes it do be peaceful on the road. I get a queer feeling when I do hear the goats scratching on the bark of the trees and they hop around in the branches and they rock the caravan of an evening & I lean out & tell them get off heifer, get off rooster, get off, get off, and don't be rocking the old caravan. The wind does have the best job in doing that. There's no need for you to scratch me ears out with your midnight goings on." -- Excerpts of conversation from " Irish Tinkers," Wiedel & O'Fearadhaigh

That's probably where all my brick wall ancestors are from! Phyllis ;) >I just received a naturalization file with place of birth as "County of >Domerick". This is from a Boston court. Has anyone seen this before? >It looks like a combination of Limerick and Donegal. >

This is for James M. White. He arrived in Boston, age 11 in 1884 and settled in Chelsea, MA. Also, he was catholic. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jean R. Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 8:11 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [IRELAND] County Domerick Hi Elaine -- My vote is for Co. Limerick. Any other defining data on it? Year? What is the individual's surname? If found far more often in a particular county, might be a good clue. Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elaine Shuman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 6:35 AM Subject: [IRELAND] County Domerick >I just received a naturalization file with place of birth as "County of > Domerick". This is from a Boston court. Has anyone seen this before? > It looks like a combination of Limerick and Donegal. > > Any suggestions on how to figure this out? > > I will contact NARA-Waltham to see if they have any ideas. > > Thanks > Elaine Shuman > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message