SNIPPET: In the Nov-Dec 2007 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, Marty ORTLER, Plymouth, MN, shared her thoughts on the Emerald Isle. "My dear mother, Grace, often spoke of the 'old country' (Ireland) and she made it sound like heaven. I recently bought a piece of sheet music in an antique store and it was named: 'Ireland Must Be Heaven As My Mother Came From There.' How true that was. My mother's parents, Julia (O'DRISCOLL) and John KELLY traveled from Ireland by boat to America in the 1850s. They made their home on a farm in French Lake, Minnesota where they raised 12 children but sadly, two died in childbirth. No one in their family ever went back to Ireland and I made a promise to myself and my mother that one day I would go to Ireland. My mother often spoke of travelling to Ireland with me but it never happened as she entered a nursing home in her 70s and passed away before our dream could come true, so sadly, we never made this trip together. When I was in my 20s I started researching my genealogy and besides asking relatives for information, I spent time at the historical society and other libraries searching for information about my family. I spent years dwelling over old maps, ship manifests, marriage, birth and death records but it was well worth the time and effort. My cousin still lives on the old farm where the KELLYs settled in French Lake, MN, and he has the American and Irish flag flying on his farm. He also has the original deed to the farm from the 1850s. My husband and I finally too our first trip to Ireland and indeed it was 'heaven' to us. We flew into Shannon, rented a car and went out on our own to visit your lovely country. Some of my relatives came from Cork and others from County Sligo. We visited a little town of Baltimore in Wets Cork and were greeted very cordially. I asked if there were any O'DRISCOLLs in this area and they replied, 'If you name isn't O'DRISCOLL, you are sleeping with one.' (I assume that meant they were all O'DRISCOLLs!). They showed us around the little town and we saw some of the thirteen O'DRISCOLL castles located in the area. I felt like I was in another world and we were so blessed to have found this area - it really was a high point in our trip. We also saw where Michael COLLINS was buried, as he is in my family history. We made another trip to Ireland a few years later and are hoping to return again shortly. A friend of mine said, 'once you go to Ireland you will want to return again and again.' She is so right, as that is how we feel. We have subscribed to your lovely and informative magazine for years and look forward to receiving it and dream about returning to this gorgeous land of my ancestors. Thank you for making IOTW a real joy for us to receive and read again and again."