A LEITRIM WOMAN People of Ireland -- I am an old woman; I am near my end; I have lived, now, for seventy-five years in your midst; I have grown up among you, toiled among you, suffered with you and enjoyed with you; I have given and received in faith and honour; what was to be endured I have endured, what was to be fought against I have fought against, what was to be done I have done; I have married in my country; I have borne two men-children and three women-children, two sons and three daughters of a Fenian father; I have brought them up to love and serve Ireland, to fight for her to death, to work for her at home and abroad, to cherish the old glory of Ireland and to strive manfully to bring in new light -- to go forward; I have brought them up in faith, to know freedom, and love justice, to take sides with the poor against their spoilers, against the leaders who say to a strong class "Hold all thou hast, take all thou canst," to unbind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne from men's shoulders, to render unto the people what is the people's; I have brought them up to believe in our Lord's prayer, to believe in the coming of his Kingdom upon earth and to labour that it come indeed; The strength of my body has gone into the soil of this land, and the strength of my children's bodies; the strength of my soul and the strength of my children's soul has been given in the cause of the people of this land; I have suffered, I have endured, when they were in exile and in danger of death -- now my husband and one son are dead, my last son deported without trial, uncharged -- the spoilers and their friends the strong and their helpers have taken him from me; I am old, now, and near to death; those who would have supported me and eased my going have been taken from me -- I looked for a little peace before the hour of my departure, my last son in the house with me, to see me into the grave, they have drive him forth -- may the curse of heaven, if there be a heaven, light on them; the curse of the widow and childless light on them; the curse of the poor without advocates, the curse of the old without protection, the curse of a mother light on them. -- Lyle Donaghy (1902-1949)

SNIPPET: The workhouse of Donaghmore is a range of two-storey buildings of grey limestone, built in 1853 to feed and house 400 paupers. It closed its doors in 1886, but the buildings survived and in 1993 they were opened officially as the Donaghmore Workhouse Museum. Refurbishment and adding to the collections is in progress all the time. Part of the complex now houses a fine display of horse-drawn farm implements and a wide selection of local household goods, many of them bringing back happy childhood memories to those in their 60s and older. The other part is the Workhouse itself. Its inhabitants had few material goods to leave, but the layout of the buildings and the surviving furnishings give a grim imprssion of how the destitute lived. Morality of the 19th century demanded that males and females be segregated, so family life came to an abrupt end once within the gates. The dormitories, though spacious, had few comforts, but there was a slightly elevated floor on which the inmates slept. In their waking hours, the able-bodied men, women and children engaged in working for their keep. It was better than the starvation offered by the outside world - but not much. Northwards is the village of Borris-in-Ossory, on the main road from Limerick to Dublin. It is noted that there is now a new Heritage Trail with delightful signposted tours of 13 places in Co. Laois of particular interest. From Borris-in-Ossory the trail goes south-west through green pastures with well-tended hedges to the ruins of the monastery of Aghaboe, a foundation of the great Saint Canice in the 6th century . History did not treat the foundation with any particular deference; it was plundered and burned with dismal regularity every 50 years or so by a variety of individuals, though it was bravely rebuilt each time until its final demise in the 16th century. The next stop on the trail is Durrow, a delightful village with generous green surrounded by neat houses. Then the trail follows a narrow, winding road to the angling museum and the tiny village of Attanagh. It is a rarity in that it is actually being built by the collector himself, Walter WHELAN, and visitors can see a swarm of fishing flies, an array of rods and reels, some tools of the trades of fly-tiers, gunsmiths and poachers. -- Excerpts, Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine.

SNIPPET: Australian libraries have extensive biographical-type resources, and a "Google" search will turn up many websites devoted to this subject with updates. To celebrate the Australian Bicentenary of 1988, many convict records were microfilmed and a computerized database of the surnames they contained was created. Copies of the microfilms and the database were presented to the Australian Government and can now be found in many state archives. The National Archives, Ireland, Bishop St., also retains copies. The databases can save a great deal of time and effort and supply enough details from the originals to identify the relevant record. The LDS (Mormon) Family History Centers have similar information on microfilm. Because of the distance involved, very few emigrants to Australia and New Zealand could afford the journeys themselves, and most, whether assisted free settlers or transported convicts, are therefore quite well-documented. Transportation from Ireland, or for crimes committed in Ireland, lasted from 1791 to 1853, ending some 15 years earlier than transportation from England. The only mass transportation later than 1853 was of 63 Fenians who were sent to Western Australia in 1868 aboard the last convict ship from England to Australia. The records of the Chief Secretary's Office, which had responsibility for the penal system, are the major Irish source of information on transportees. Not all the relevant records have survived, particularly for the period before 1836, but what does exist can provide a wealth of information. The records were formerly housed in the State Paper Office in Dublin Castle, which is now part of the National Archives and is situated at Bishop St., Dublin 8, per John Grenham. The principal classes of relevant records are as follows: 1. Prisoner's Petitions and Cases, 1788-1836: Petitions to the Lord Lieutenant for commutation or remission of sentence, and record of crime, trial, sentence, place of origin and family circumstances. 2. State Prisoners' Petitions: Specifically concern those arrested for participation in the 1798 Rebellion, and record the same information. 3. Convict Reference Files from 1836: These continue the EARLIER petitions and may include a wide range of additional material. 4. Transportation Registers from 1836: Record all names of those sentenced to death or transportation, giving name, age, date, county of trial, crime and sentence. Other details sometimes given include the name of the transport ship or the place of detention. 5. Male Convict Register, 1842-47: This volume also gives physical descriptions in addition to that data supplied by the Transportation Registers. 6. Register of Convicts on Convict Ships, 1851-53. Gives names, dates and counties of trial of those transported to Van Dieman's Land and Western Australia for the period covered. 7. Free Settlers' Papers, 1828-52. Per John Grenham, after serving a minimum of four years, a male convict had the right to request a free passage for his wife and family. The Papers contain lists of those making such a request, along with transportation details and the name and address of the wife. A number of petitions from husbands and wives and prisoners' letters are also included. Records relating to free settlers are more scattered and less easily researched. The single most useful source for early settlers, also invaluable for convicts, is the 1828 census of New South Wales, published by the Library of Australian History in 1980. Although the precise place of origin is not recorded, the details include age, occupation, marital status and household. For later settlers, the University of Woolongong in Australia has produced on microfiche a complex index and transcript of all information concerning immigrants of Irish origin recorded on ships' passenger lists between 1848 and 1867. The Genealogical Office, Dublin, has a copy of this. The later lists in particular are extremely useful, often recording the exact place of origin as well as parents' names. Other resources: 1. David T. Hawkings, "Bound for Australia," Sussex: Phillimore and Co., 1987. This book, found in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin, contains some of the information in #2 below. 2. Colonial Office Papers of the United Kingdom Public Record Office at Kew, class reference CO 201. This class contains a wide variety of records including petitions for assisted passages, emigrants' lists, records of emigrants on board ship, petitions from settlers for financial assistance, etc. 3: Other books re Australia and New Zealand found in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin, and in large genealogy libraries elsewhere: Cleary, P. J. S., "Australia's Debt to Ireland's Nation-builders," Sydney, 1933. Coffey & Morgan, "Irish Families in Australia and New Zealand, 1788-1979", 4 vols., bio. dictionary, Melbourne, 1979. Curry, C. H., "The Irish at Eureka," Sydney, 1954." Hogan, J., "The Irish in Australia," Melbourne, 1888. Hughes, Robert, "The Fatal Shore," London, 1988. Kiernan, C. (ed.), "Australia and Ireland, 1788-1988," Dublin, 1986. Kiernan, T. J., "The Irish in Australia," Dublin, 1954. McDonagh and Mandle, "Ireland and Irish-Australians," Sydney, 1892. O'Farrell, P., "The Irish in Australia," New South Wales, 1987. Robinson, P., "The Hitch and Brood of Time: Australians 1788-1828," Oxford, 1985. Robson, L. L., "The Convict Settlers of Australia," Melbourne, 1965. "The Ulster Link," magazine of Northern Irish in Australia and New Zealand. Keneally, Thomas, "A Decent Set of Girls, The Irish Famine Orphans of the "Thomas Arbuthnot," 1849-1850. (In late Oct., 1849, 81 girls between the ages of 15 and 18 were rescued from workhouses of Ennis, Scarriff, Ennistymon, Co. Clare, and Cos. Galway and Kerry, given assisted passage, finally arriving in Yass, NSW, Feb. 1850; females survived in good condition and raised families in Tumut, Boorowa, Jugiong, Gundagai, Binalong, etc.) Contact Yass Heritage Project, POB 471, Yass, NSW, Australia 2582 for info. regarding copies of their publication regarding same. Also, copies of "Irish Roots" periodical with article on same may be requested from pub. of "Irish Roots," ask for issue #2, 1997. Johnson, K. and Saintly, M. "Genealogical Research Directory," pub. yearly, (1997 vol. has article on Convict Transportation from England to America, 1611-1776). POB 795, North Sydney, NSW, Australia 2060. Periodicals published in Ireland include Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes," interesting articles about Irish towns, people, past and present, with many colorful photos. Cork's "Irish Roots," genealogy publication regarding surnames, Irish counties and history. "History Ireland," for serious students of in-depth Irish history. "Gould Catalogue," yearly book catalogue with monthly supplements contains much information on genealogical material in Australia, also England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, several European countries, North America, India and New Zealand. Gould Books, POB 126, Gumeracha, South Australia 5233. (Also on the Internet, I believe). New Zealand Society of Genealogists, POB 8785, Auckland 3, NZ. Society of Australian Genealogists, Richmond Villa, 120 Kent St., Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia, publishers of "Descent." (Please check for recent changes in addresses!)

The story about Helen Keller brings tears to my eyes. Last Aug we went to the house she was raised in. It was very small and built next to her grand parents home. It was very large and when I went into that big dinning room I could almost most feel her presence. It is a wonderful place to visit and you can sit in the gardens. Carol in Tn "Jean R." <[email protected]> wrote: SNIPPET: Remarkable Anne SULLIVAN was to give Helen KELLER her cheerful spirit and perseverance as well as teaching her Braille and guiding her to understandable speech. (See Ms. KELLER's letter below). Their relationship is explored in the extraordinary film, "The Miracle Worker." Afflicted with poor sight herself, teacher Anne SULLIVAN(1866-1936), daughter of immigrants from Co. Limerick, arrived from Boston to meet the extremely wild and unruly 7-year-old Helen Adams KELLER (1880-1968) to help her conquer her physical handicaps. A serious illness, which was diagnosed as brain fever, had destroyed Helen's sight and hearing before she was two, leaving the beautiful little girl unable to communicate with others. (Helen was born in Tuscumbia, AL). Anne SULLIVAN was able to make contact with the girl's mind through the sense of touch. She worked out an alphabet of sorts by which she spelled out words on Helen's hand. Gradually, the child was able to connect words!with objects. Helen also "listened" to others speak by putting her middle finger on the speaker's nose, forefinger on the lips, and thumb on the larynx. Helen learned to speak herself and by the time she was 16, she could speak well en! ough to go to preparatory school and to Radcliffe college, from which she was graduated in 1904 with honors. Anne SULLIVAN stayed with Helen through these years, interpreting lectures and class discussions to her. The two women remained companions even after SULLIVAN married John A. MACY. When Anne died, Mary Agnes "Polly" THOMSON (1885-1950), who had been Miss KELLER's secretary, took her place. After college, Helen KELLER became concerned with the conditions of the blind and deaf-blind and became active on the staffs of the American Foundation for the Blind and of the American Foundation for Overseas Blind. She appeared before legislatures, gave lectures, and wrote books (including autobiographies) and articles and traveled to 25 countries promoting better conditions for the handicapped. During WW-II, Helen worked for soldiers who had been blinded in the war and received many honors from governments all over the world. Helen wrote a letter to an acquaintance in November of 1935 describing her meetings with two renowned operatic tenors - John McCORMACK (1884-1945)of Co. Westmeath,and Enrico CARUSO (1873-1921) and "hearing" them sing by feeling the vibrations of their voices. Excerpt from letter -- "Once we happened to be at the hotel where McCormack was staying. His publicity man arranged to have him sing "My Wild Irish Rose" for me. A number of the singer's friends and ours were gathered in the sitting-room for the performance. I was all expectation and excitement. My fingers were on his lips, but no sound came from them for several seconds. Then he cried, "I can't, I can't" his tears wet my hand, and turning away he ran into his bedroom. I loved him for that tenderness which seemed to me the flower of the Irish heart. How different Caruso was when we met under similar circumstances! ... When I entered his room, Caruso was being shaved. A pretty girl was manicuring his nails... "Ah! you have come," Caruso said, and seized my two hands and clapped them on his great chest, which was bare, and with almost terrifying intensity burst into Sampson's lament over his blindness. I never dreamed that a human chest could expand as his did, nor that a thro! at could emit such a volume of sound. ....To come back to "My Wild Irish Rose," I love it because I remember my teacher as a wild Irish rose when she came to me. It is no hyperbole to say that when I touched that rose, happiness skipped to my side. The wild-rose tells a wondrous story in my life of growth and beauty. Its perfume is the fragrance of God's Goodness and of a Love that passeth knowledge... Helen" ------------------------------- 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: Remarkable Anne SULLIVAN was to give Helen KELLER her cheerful spirit and perseverance as well as teaching her Braille and guiding her to understandable speech. (See Ms. KELLER's letter below). Their relationship is explored in the extraordinary film, "The Miracle Worker." Afflicted with poor sight herself, teacher Anne SULLIVAN(1866-1936), daughter of immigrants from Co. Limerick, arrived from Boston to meet the extremely wild and unruly 7-year-old Helen Adams KELLER (1880-1968) to help her conquer her physical handicaps. A serious illness, which was diagnosed as brain fever, had destroyed Helen's sight and hearing before she was two, leaving the beautiful little girl unable to communicate with others. (Helen was born in Tuscumbia, AL). Anne SULLIVAN was able to make contact with the girl's mind through the sense of touch. She worked out an alphabet of sorts by which she spelled out words on Helen's hand. Gradually, the child was able to connect words!with objects. Helen also "listened" to others speak by putting her middle finger on the speaker's nose, forefinger on the lips, and thumb on the larynx. Helen learned to speak herself and by the time she was 16, she could speak well enough to go to preparatory school and to Radcliffe college, from which she was graduated in 1904 with honors. Anne SULLIVAN stayed with Helen through these years, interpreting lectures and class discussions to her. The two women remained companions even after SULLIVAN married John A. MACY. When Anne died, Mary Agnes "Polly" THOMSON (1885-1950), who had been Miss KELLER's secretary, took her place. After college, Helen KELLER became concerned with the conditions of the blind and deaf-blind and became active on the staffs of the American Foundation for the Blind and of the American Foundation for Overseas Blind. She appeared before legislatures, gave lectures, and wrote books (including autobiographies) and articles and traveled to 25 countries promoting better conditions for the handicapped. During WW-II, Helen worked for soldiers who had been blinded in the war and received many honors from governments all over the world. Helen wrote a letter to an acquaintance in November of 1935 describing her meetings with two renowned operatic tenors - John McCORMACK (1884-1945)of Co. Westmeath,and Enrico CARUSO (1873-1921) and "hearing" them sing by feeling the vibrations of their voices. Excerpt from letter -- "Once we happened to be at the hotel where McCormack was staying. His publicity man arranged to have him sing "My Wild Irish Rose" for me. A number of the singer's friends and ours were gathered in the sitting-room for the performance. I was all expectation and excitement. My fingers were on his lips, but no sound came from them for several seconds. Then he cried, "I can't, I can't" his tears wet my hand, and turning away he ran into his bedroom. I loved him for that tenderness which seemed to me the flower of the Irish heart. How different Caruso was when we met under similar circumstances! ... When I entered his room, Caruso was being shaved. A pretty girl was manicuring his nails... "Ah! you have come," Caruso said, and seized my two hands and clapped them on his great chest, which was bare, and with almost terrifying intensity burst into Sampson's lament over his blindness. I never dreamed that a human chest could expand as his did, nor that a throat could emit such a volume of sound. ....To come back to "My Wild Irish Rose," I love it because I remember my teacher as a wild Irish rose when she came to me. It is no hyperbole to say that when I touched that rose, happiness skipped to my side. The wild-rose tells a wondrous story in my life of growth and beauty. Its perfume is the fragrance of God's Goodness and of a Love that passeth knowledge... Helen"

SNIPPET: Co. Meath has much to offer in the way of history and archaeology, but it is half forgotten by people who comes to Ireland for the scenery. Mountainless, and with only a few miles of coastline, it compensates by offering lazy rivers and lush green pastures, spectacular hills and valleys with remarkable rock formations. Its gardens are equal to the best in any Irish county. There is a grandeur of the 12th century castle at Trim (said to be the finest anywhere in Ireland!) with an outstanding collection of craft work offered to visitors. Wandering around the town (which has retained its delightful medieval plan of narrow winding streets) you will discover charming 18th and 19th century town houses, shops, good food and a splendid pub where you can eat and drink overlooking the waters of the River Boyne as it flows beneath one of the oldest bridges in Ireland - so old that it has gothic arches rather than the round-topped ones that were seen from the 17th century onwards. The ancient bridge still carries traffic. Butterstream Gardens has been transformed from a few acres of pasture with a small stream and magnificent ancient willow trees due to the efforts of a dedicated, self-confessed amateur gardener named Jim REYNOLDS. This gentleman has worked to create more than a dozen contrasting and colorful gardens within a small space over a period of many years which are separated from each other by hedges of Beech, Yew and Hawthorn. Athboy has a tree-shaded village green. The town of Oldcastle, surrounding its church, has a scene of pastoral beauty. In Co. Meath you will hear skylarks singing overhead, feast your eyes on expanses of rolling green hillsides and brilliant yellow gorse bushes and enjoy time spent at Lough Bane. The Loughcrew Cairns and Historic Gardens are a must. The gardens have traces of 17th century garden planning and ancient Yew trees; the demesne was once the property of the PLUNKETT family and the childhood home of its most distinguished member, the 17th century Oliver, archbishop, martyr and saint. It has been the property of the NAPER family since the 17th century, and Charles and Emily NAPER in 1997, set to work to create a new garden amongst the remnants of the old, which appeared in the Nov/Dec 2001 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine. Old buildings are being restored. The great classical house built in 1823 was burned at least three times, the last fire in the 1960s destroying it. Some of the stonework is being re-erected to form an ornamental feature. The oldest part of the demesne, an earthen mound created by Anglo-Norman invaders, has been planted with daffodils and heelbores. There is an extraordinary complex nearby hill-top cairns, standing stones, ring forts and ancient dwellings if you follow the sign to the passage grave cemetery at Carnblane East, standing at the summit of the long ridge called Slieve na Calliage - the Hag's Mountain. There are many Loughcrew cairns, and although small you will have the entire hilltop to yourself to spend as long as you like on the site. Newgrange and Knowth, in the Boyne Valley, some miles away, have more splendid examples of Stone-Age monuments with tour guides and information. Lough Lene, in neighboring Westmeath, proudly holds the Blue Flag for the purity of its waters.

Per "Irish Counties," by J. J. Lee: The town of Portarlington, which lies on a bend in the River Barrow not far from the border with neighboring Co. Offaly (King's Co.), is now a quiet backwater of Co. Laois. Co. Laois is also known as Queen's Co. and Leix . In the last paragraph below, is mentioned the survival of Portarlington's church records. After the revocation in 1685 of the Edict of Nantes, which had ensured religious tolerance, French Protestant refugees flocked to what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in search of places in which they could live in peace. One of the many places they settled was Portarlington, and nowhere did their culture, religion and language survive more tenaciously. Portarlington was surrounded by bogs and forest and therefore sufficiently isolated from the rest of the countryside to maintain a separate identity. Second, the settlement was large enough to be self-sufficient and third, the place had a distinctive character in that an astonishingly high proportion of its families were of noble origin. The establishment of the French communities took place at a time when, in another Irish paradox, Roman Catholic Irish soldiers were fleeing to France after the Jacobite defeat at the hands of King William III, and it was one of William's senior lieutenant's, the Huguenot Henri Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny, later styled Earl of Galway, who got the Portarlington project under way. Portarlington had been laid out for English settlers with a market square and four streets leading from it. But the little town had suffered severe damage during the war, and de Ruvigny personally financed the construction of over 100 houses of unique design. The entrances and gardens were to the rear and blank walls faced the streets. The first wave of French immigrants arrived in 1692, many of whom were pensioned-off soldiers and their families. Most came from the officer class, which, at that time, was made up of sons of noble families. There were six ensigns, one cornet, 16 lieutenants, 12 captains and one lieutenant-colonel. The most elegent and magnificient of all, with his scarlet cloak and silver-buckled breeches was Robert d'Ully, Vicomte de Laval, a man of the royal blood line of King Henri de Navarre. However, the nobles of that era could hardly have been expected to fend for themselves, and a second group of "laboureurs," 13 families in all, arrived from the Swiss cantons where they had taken refuge, and gave the colony a more balanced character. So by the start of the 18th century the foundations of a lasting settlement were laid. There were stories from visitors from neighbouring areas of noblemen sipping a strange drink called :tea" from china cups under trees in the village square; of the wine of Bordeaux being favored over the whiskey of the surrounding countryside. Henri Massue became the undisputed leader of the Huguenot community in Britain and Ireland and was directly involved in the settlement of Portarlington in 1692. A number of forces combined to change the situation, too lengthy to go into here. Please read about high-church bishop William Moreton, from England, and the minister of the Eglise Francaise de St. Paul (Church of St. Paul), Reverend Benjamin de Daillon, and army chaplain Antoine Ligenier de Bonneval in your library reference books or on the Web. Suffice it to say, there was a major split in the religous community which lasted 26 years, and the turning point came when 37 families left for Dublin to worship at the French Calvinist churches in the capital, where their distinct language and customs were overwhelmed in a city which was quickly growing to become of the populous in Europe. Meanwhile, Portarlington was becoming increasingly Anglican, and therefore, more an Anglo-Irish town. Today, there are still Irish and Catholic families in the county who bear names such as Blanc and Champ, and families in other parts of the province of Leinster, both Catholic and Protestant, whose Huguenot forebears gave them names such as Dubois, Perrin, Du Moulin and De Mange. All that remains of the Portarlington French connection now are its meticulous records, a few of the old noble houses and an annual French Festival at which the wine of Bordeaux is imbibed in great quantities and snails and frog legs are eaten in abundance. Huguenots made a remarkable contribution to Irish history. The less noble branches of the immigration, notably the weavers who established the Irish poplin industry, now vanished like the immigrants themselves, contributed greatly to the economy of a country which had been ravaged by more than half a century of warfare prior to their arrival. Their memory survives in a county of moorland and bog, pasture and parkland, in the heart of Ireland's Central Plain; a county of level land, except in the northwest where the Slieve Bloom mountains once housed rebel Gaelic chieftains. Portarlington is now a backwater marked by cooling towers of a peat-powered electricity plant. The county town, Portlaois (formerly Maryborough) houses a giant prison, but the best place in which to lock yourself away with the memories of the French and their descendants is the town of Abbeyleix, planned in the 17th century by the local landlord, Viscount de Vesci, a nobleman of Norman descent. Here you will find Morrissey's pub, one of the most convivial and best-preserved bars in Ireland, a place to raise a glass of Bordeaux to the French who have passed on. Morrissey's bar and grocery was founded by E. J. Morrissey in 1775. Almost all the old furnishings remain. In 1876 an additional story was added to the house and according to the manager in 1997, John Lanigan, this was the last time the place was touched. Abbeyleix was the town in which workers made the carpeting for the "Titanic." There is evidently a new Huguenot memorial inscribed with names in Dublin, as well as a Huguenot museum. The records of Portarlington's Eglise Francaise de St. Paul were kept in French from their first entry in 1694, until finally being superseded by English in 1816. Fortunately, thse records were retained locally rather than sent to the Public Record Office in the Four Courts in Dublin, many of whose priceless papers were destroyed in a fire during the civil war in the 1920s. As a result, more is known about the French who peopled Portarlington than is known of the Irish and Anglo-Irish who inhabited the rest of the county. Jean

SNIPPET: Perhaps you'll find just the right resource here for your research: 1. Post Office Directory, 1844-45 (National Library (Dublin) reference Joly Collection Pamphlet J 914145. 2. W. WEST, Directory and picture of Cork, 1810, J 914145. 3. Windele manuscripts: Info. on Cork and Kerry families, including COPPINGER, COTTER, CROSBIE, O'DONOVAN, O'KEEFFE, McCARTHY, SARSFIELD, others NL Positive (microfilm) 5479. 4. QUINLAN, P., "Old Mitchelstown and the KINGSTON family. 5. MacSWINEY Papers, Royal Irish Academy: Historical notes and will abstracts, mainly from Cos. Cork and Kerry. 6. TUCKY, Francis, "The County and City of Cork Remembered," ?date. 7. WINDELE, J., "Cork historical and descriptive notices ... to the middle of the 19th century," pub. Cork 1910, NL Ir. 94145 W 3. 8. Ballydesmond emigration: Quit Rent Papers, National Archives, also "Analecta Hibernica (journal) vol. 22. 9. Trade directories with Cork data from 1787 to 1894 by Richard LUCAS, John NIXON, HOLDEN, William WEST, John CONNOR, J. PIGOT, PIGOT & CO., SLATER, and Francis GUY. (Likely in NL of Dublin but also may be photocopied by LDS FHCs. 10. BARRY, E., "Barrymore, the records of the BARRYS of Co. Cork, NL Ir 9292 b 19. 11. DARLING, John, "St. Multose Church Kinsale, " Cork, 1895. 12. The Ven. Archdeacon DENNEHY, "History of Queenstown," Cork, 1923. 13. GROVE-WHITE, Col. James, "Historical and Topographical Notes, etc., on Buttevant, Castletownroche, Doneraile, Mallow and places in their vicinity," Cork, 1905-16. 14. HOLLAND, Rev. W., "History of West Cork and Diocese of Ross, " Skibbereen, 1949. 15. McLYSAGHT, "The Kenmare Manuscripts," Dublin, 1942. 16. O'SULLIVAN, Florence,"The History of Kinsale," Dublin 1916. 17. CUSACK, Mary F., "A History of the City and County of Cork," Dublin, 1875. 18. BENNETT, G., "The history of Bandon and the principal towns of the West Riding of Cork," Cork 1869, NL Ir 94145 b 1. 19. CAULFIELD, R. (editor of many old reference books regarding 17th and 18th century Cork). 20. BRADY, W. Maziere, "Clerical and Parochial Records of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, 3 vol. , pub. London, 1864. 21. HARTNETT, P. J., "Cork City, its History and Antiquities," pub. 1943. 22. JEPHSON, M. D., "An Anglo-Irish Miscellany," NL Ir. 9292 j 23. HORE, H. J., "The Social State of the Southern and Eastern Counties of Ireland in the Sixtieth Century," 1870. 24. COLLINS, J. T., "Co. Cork families 1630-35,' JCHAS (Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society) #204 (1961). 25. Research Guide, "Tracing Your Irish Ancestors," by John GRENHAM, with eight pages on Cork listing available census returns and substitutes including but not limited to Tithe Books (1820s/30s), Voters lists, Freeman records, Protestant parishioners (1834) in the Ballymodan part of Bandon, also Valuation of Bandonbridge, Kinsale, Youghal towns, Houses valued over five pounds (householders), 1834-37, also Houseowners, St. Mary's Shandon (1830). Also lists of journals and other resources for local history, gravestone inscriptions for particular towns, other records going back to 164 1. Also info. on Estate Records of Landlords LORD ARDEN, the EARL of BANTRY, BARRYMORE, BENNETT, Sir John BENN-WALSH, the BISHOP of CORK, BOYLE/CAVENDISH, Richard COX, the EARBERY estates, Robert Hodges EYRE, James GRAHAM, Rev. Edmund LOMBARD, NEWENHAM (?), Richard NEVILLE, O'MURCHADHA, D., 'Diary of Gen. Richard DONOVAN, 1819-23 (lands in West Cork), Lord Egmont PERCEVAL, George PUTLAND, Thomas RONAYNE, SHULDAM, etc..

Here are three interesting-sounding new books published in 2006: 1. "Northern Ireland, A Walking Guide," by Helen FAIRBAIRN, (Collins Press) ISBN 1-905172-21-4 p/b. Per review - "Thirty-four fine routes from Rathlin Island to Cuilcagh Mountain and the Binnians are clearly and precisely detailed by Helen FAIRBAIRN-co-author of 'The Lonely Planet - Walking in Ireland' guide which came out in 2003. In the case of each walk, distance, estimated time, grade, elevation and the relevant map references are given. Almost all walks are circular or looped (from parked car back to parked car). Remember, in mid-December daylight is limited to about seven hours, whilst the mid-June walker can rely upon some 17 daylight hours. Happy walking!" 2. "Stories From A Sacred Landscape, Croghan Hill to Clonmacnoise," by Caimin O'BRIEN, (Mercier Press) ISBN 1-85635-489-X, Large format h/b. Per review - "Illustrated by the wonderful photographs of James FRAHER, professional archaeologist Caimin O'BRIEN describes the monuments of County Offaly (King's Co.), drawing on history, poetry, folklore and legend. Exquisite photographs, splendidly placed, record the monastic landscape of the ancient territory of County Offaly and its discovered treasure of bronze, silver and gold artworks and splendid illuminated manuscripts. The Church of the Welshmen, the Church on the Long Ridge, Ciaran's Shining City, the Church on the Land of Ferns, Manchan's Grey Lands and the Islands of Tranquility - landmarks of stunning beauty in a topography of dreams. The introductory pages list editor, designer, director and producer and many more - and all of them are worthy of the honour. This publication will be valued by anyone lucky enough to buy, or better still be given, a copy." (My comment - marvelous photograph on cover). 3. "Ireland's Ancient Stones, A Megalithic Heritage," by Kenneth McNALLY, (Appletree Press), ISBN 0-86281-996-2, h/b. (Again, gorgeous photograph on cover). Per review - "Each of Kenneth McNALLY's 100 personally chosen locations is illustrated with a combination of really good photographs, drawings and maps. All are carefully described by the author, recently retired from Ulster Television and well known for many talents including a lifelong interest in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Well produced, a fine book."

SNIPPET: The county of Offaly (King's) is best known for its stretches of bogland and for its wild Slieve Blooms, which, rare for Irish mountains, are not close to the sea. It is also the site of 'St. Kieran's City' at Clonmacnois, on the banks of the Shannon, where the impressive remains of a large and significant monastic settlement, dating from 545 AD, describe a time when it was a centre of Celtic learning, literature and art, an era when most of the rest of Europe was being engulfed by the barbarian invasion. Another of Offaly's sources of repute rests in the demesne of the Birr Castle, home of the PARSONS family, earls of Rosse for 14 generations. Here in its Gothic-style housing lies the tube of what was, from the 1840s until 1917, the greatest telescope in the world, the 'Leviathan of Birr' which was constructed by Lord Oxmantown (later the 3rd Earl of Rosse) in 1845. An enthusiastic and observant traveller to Ireland, Englishman Richard LOVETT, wrote in 1888 -- "Many interesting tombstones exist at Clonmacnois, and many interesting objects of antiquity have been found there. Among these the museum of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin possesses a crozier which once belonged to the bishops of Clonmacnois, and which is a very fine specimen of this kind of Irish art. .... The situation is very lovely, the view of the Shannon very fine, the ride or the row from Athlone enjoyable, and even the most superficial inspection of the towers and arches and ruined churches can hardly fail to enrich the visitor with new and deep impressions of the vigorous religious life of Ireland eight hundred or a thousand years ago. Leaving Clonmacnois and following the course of the great river, Shannon-bridge and Banaghel are passed, and finally we reach Portumna. Here a swivel bridge, 766 feet long, has replaced an earlier wooden structure built by Lemuel COX, the architect of the still extant Waterford Bridge. There is nothing of special interest in Portumna, but the district around has become notorious in recent years on account of its agrarian troubles. Into these, however, it is not our function to enter. A few miles to the east of Portumna is Birr or Parsonstown, the residence of the late Earl Rosse, whose achievements in connection with the telescope are well known. Birr Castle is a fine pile of buildings, some portions of which are very ancient. About 1610 it came into the possession of the present family by a grant on the part of James I. to Sir Lawrence PARSONS. The great telescopes were built by the father of the present earl some fifty years ago. They are three in number, and are all reflectors; one 18 inches in diameter, one 3 feet in diameter, and the Great Telescope, six feet in diameter and 60 feet long, the largest astronomical instrument in the world. It was first erected in 1842, and although some improvements have been made in the mounting, these are not very important. The concave mirrors are metal in all three, that of the Leviathan weighing nearly four tons. By the aid of these splendid instruments the late and the present earls have added greatly to our knowledge of the nebulae and of some branches of astronomical physics..."

SNIPPET: Kinnitty, is 8 miles (13 km) east of Birr, a charming village at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. William BULFIN, in the 19th century "Rambles in Erin," wrote: 'Kinnitty is probably the most beautifully situated village I have ever seen, embowered in woods, a sheltered Eden in the hills.'

SNIPPET: An emigrant from King's Co, Ireland (Offaly) - Patrick Bernard DELANY (1845-1924) became one of the most important contributors to the rapidly developing field of telegraphy. He eventually held dozens of patents for inventions and improvements in telegraph technology, including a synchronous, multiplex telegraph that permitted up to six messages to be sent simultaneously on a single wire. Excerpt, "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History," E. T. O'Donnell (2002).

SNIPPET: "In times of trouble, life is all about casting light into the darkness. The ability of the arts to inspire us is something that we all understand, and it is an honour for me to introduce the Ulster Orchestra to New York and to help New Yorkers rediscover their spirit of hope and optimism," words spoken by Michael McGIMPSEY, the Northern Ireland Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, as he set the tone for the opening concert of a major United Kingdom-New York Festival just a month after the hi-jackings of aircraft in America on September 11, 2001, when emotions were still raw after the deaths of almost 4,000 innocent people. The devastation and loss of life in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in PA added a special poignancy to the visit of the Orchestra which itself had survived more than 30 years of terrorist violence in Northern Ireland. The concert, before an invited audience in the City College in Harlem, was a moving musical recognition of a special occasion at a time of distress. The opening piece by Belfast-born composer Deirdre GRIBBEN, 'The Unity of Being' was a thoughtful evocation of suffering, and was described by the composer herself as a 'a sort of peace anthem.' This was followed by a performance of spirituals by the NY Collegiate Choir, which itself had lost a member in the attack on the WTC. The final scheduled work was a powerful and sensitive performance of Felix MENDELSSOHN's mighty Second Symphony, also called 'The Hymn of Praise,' with occasional flavourings of BACH. After a special encore of the 'The Londonderry Air,' known as Northern Ireland's unofficial Na! tional Anthem, the evening finished with the Orchestra, choir and audience joining in 'America the Beautiful.' The concert, attended by Britain's PRINCE ANDREW and other leading figures, was the opening event in a two-week long 'UK with NY' Festival organised by the British Council. Earlier in the day Michael McGIMPSEY had visited a NYPD station with Lesley HATFIELD, leading violinist, and later a NYC fire station which had lost several colleagues in the WTC. Mr. McGIMPSEY's nephew, a NY fireman, had been trapped in the WTC and escaped from the 14th story by emergency chute after helping to shepherd scores of people to safety. Ms. HATFIELD said, "You can put across a message very effectively with music, and we were aware that we were in a city where terrible events had happened. We had met people who had experienced great trauma, and it was important to be there.... It is also very much part of our role as an orchestra to present the positive aspects of life in Northern Ireland. Before I took up my present post six years ago, I was with an orchestra in the north of England.... Since I came to Northern Ireland, I have not had a single bad experience. The province is a very pleasant place in which to live, the schools are good, and we have had no problems....We are up there with the major British orchestras... It is part of our role to develop artistically and to reach out to bigger audiences, but also to remind people in Northern Ireland that we are available to the entire community." There is a close liaison with 26 local councils, and also with Protestant and Catholic schools in all areas where the players visit classes, and involve the children in their music. The Ulster Orchestra performs regularly in Dublin, and it has taken part in Wexford and Kilkenny Festivals, and has also toured the west of Ireland. Formed in 1966, it has made more than 60 recordings and has toured Europe, Asia and America, as well as performed at the BBC Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, London. When they are at home in Belfast, the orchestra is based in the Ulster Hall. There is more on the Orchestra by Alf McCREARY, journalist and author who lives and works in Northern Ireland, in the March-April 2002 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine. Besides several colorful photos taken on their NY tour, there is an especially nice one of Swiss-born Thierry FISCHER (its new Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser), at Laganside, near Belfast's Waterfront Hall. Relaxed and smiling, he is all but dominated by a clever large blue mosaic fish created by sculptor John KINDNESS. Per Mr. FISCHER, "... It is our role to take pieces from other centuries and to give them fresh sound, but also to keep an open mind about the music of our time. MOZART was not afraid of contemporary music, and neither are we." Of September 11th, he said that when he heard the new, "I was shocked and miserable... At the same time I felt great comfort at being able to work with the MENDELSSOHN score, as it gave me the assurance that despite everything, music can still offer hope."

SNIPPET: Rathfriland and Castlewellan, Co. Down, both go against the usual behavior of Irish towns by being perched on hilltops rather than lying in valleys. Downpatrick, likewise, began on a hilltop, but expanded into the valley below. Patrick BRUNTY (the father of the literary BRONTE sisters) was born and raised there. Tradition tells us that the nearby hamlet of Saul was the location of St. Patrick's first church and the centre of his operations. The spot is marked by a beautiful little church with a round tower that was dedicated in 1933 when the official 1500th anniversary of the Saint's mission was celebrated. The cathedral on the hill is one of the number of spots which claim to be his burial place. There are many conflicting traditions about the 6th century holy man who introduced himself as 'I Patrick, a sinner.'

AN ULSTERMAN I do not like the other sort; They're tricky an' they're sly, An' couldn't look you in the face Whenever they pass by. Still I'll give in that here an' there, You'll meet a decent man; I would make an exception, now, About wee Michael Dan. But, then, he's from about the doors, An' lived here all his days, An', mixin' with us in an' out, He's fell into our ways. He pays his debts an' keeps his word An' does the best he can. If only all the Papishes Were like wee Michael Dan! A better neighbour couldn't be, He borrows an' he lends; An' -- bar a while about the Twelfth When him an' me's not friends -- He'll never wait until he's asked To lend a helpin' han'. There's quite a wheen of Protestants I'd swop for Michael Dan. Of course he'd burn me at the stake, I know that very well; An' told me one day to my face I'm not too safe from hell. But when I backed a bill for him He met it like a man. There's sparks of Christianity About wee Michael Dan. So, while I have my private doubts About him reachin' heaven, His feet keeps purty near the pad On six days out of seven; An' if it falls within the scope Of God Almighty's plan To save a single Papish sowl, I hope it's Michael Dan. -- Leslie Alexander MONTGOMERY, comic writer under pseudonym 'Lynn C. DOYLE,' born Downpatrick, Co. Down (1873).

NEAR BALLYCONNEELY, CO. GALWAY I A stony stretch. Grey boulders Half-buried in furze and heather, Purple and gold -- Connemara's Old bones dressed in colours Out of a royal past. Inshore the sea is marbeled And veined with foam. The Twelve Pins Like thunderclouds hewn from rock Or gods in a cloudy fable Loom through the overcast. The roofless dwellings have grown Back to the earth they were raised from, And tune with those primordial Outcrops of grey stone Among the furze and the heather. Where man is dispossessed Silence fills up his place Fast as a racing tide. Little survivors of our West But stone and the moody weather. II Taciturn rocks, the whisht of the Atlantic The sea-thrift mute above the corpse-white strand Pray silence for those vanished generations Who toiled on a hard sea, a harsher land. Not all the bards harping on ancient wrong Were half as eloquent as the silence here Which amplifies the ghostly lamentations And draws a hundred-year-old footfall near. Preyed on by gombeen men, expropriated By absentee landlords, driven overseas Or to mass-burial pits in the great famines, They left a waste which tourists may call peace. The living plod to Mass, or gather seaweed For pigmy fields hacked out from heath and furze -- No eye to spare for the charmed tourist's view, No ear to heed the plaint of ancestors. Winds have rubbed salt into the ruinous homes Where turf-fires glowed once: waves and seagulls keen Those mortal wounds. The landscape's an heroic Skeleton time's beaked agents have picked clean. -- Cecil Day-Lewis

SNIPPET: In the March-April 2006 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, readers shared their impressions: Harry McENTEE, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales wrote: "I have been a subscriber to IOTW for many years now and I just want to tell you that your Sept/Oct 2005 issue was one of your finest yet. From your ten-page spread on the 'Inspiring Crafts' in Clare to 'Oystering in the West,' exploring our wonderful coastline, calling in at beautiful Bandon on the way and ending up on the 'Precious Waters' of Loughs Ennell, Owel and Derravaragh, where I spent my summer school holidays many years ago, trying to fish and wandering along the winding lanes and stopping for a rest in Fore. You gave a name to the places you depicted, which made your writings more interesting -- I would never have recognised the lakes pictured, had you not named them. Thank you for helping me recall happy memories of boyhood." Ann Healy SCOTT, Stamford, CT penned: "I so enjoyed your article on 'The Butter Road' which you featured in your July/Aug 2005 issue. My father, John HEALY, was born and raised in Carriganima (The Rock of the Butter), a village between Millstreet and Macroom - obviously on the butter route. I've been there many times in the past 40 years and have always felt very much at home in that lovely part of West Cork. My cousin Ned WALSH and family are still dairy farmers in Carriganima as they have been for over a hundred years. Thanks for bringing back lots of fond memories." Don and Eileen RICHMOND, Franklin, CT wrote: "My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in a special way last summer. We returned to Ireland for the second time, only on this occasion we travelled there without our kids! Could our high expectations be met a second time? Absolutely. While our small CT town was melting during a scoring heat wave, we felt ocean breezes and enjoyed the pleasant weather. It is an over-simplification to say that the people are friendly and speak in such musical tones, that you can't help but smile. And it is all too obvious to say that Ireland is a photographer's paradise. Driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, while shifting gears with the wrong hand sitting in the wrong seat on roads that are only meant for one car, is actually more fun than terrifying. Ireland is a time-traveled adventure. Always travelling back in time and driving into the unexpected. Never expecting to find a sign that read 'Quiet Man Bridge.' Driving down narrow roads and finding a holy well, round tower, megalithic tomb or castle ruins in places that I could never have imagined is all part of the thrill. The fact is that there is so much to see and do, so we feel that we have only scratched the surface in our two visits. Finally, your magazine allows us to read and enjoy parts of Ireland that we may never see and what a delight to see a donkey behind a stone-wall on the cover of your Nov/Dec 2005 issue." Patrick O'TOOLE, Peekshill, NY penned: ,,, "I'll start by singing the praise of IOTW!. I've been a subscriber for a few years and enjoyed it so much that I took out a gift subscription for my daughter and son-in-law, and likewise they are taken with the breathtaking informative publication. As a second generation Irishman on my father's side, although my mom described her heritage as 'melting pot' so I delight in all my background especially my Irish line. I've been known to start training for St. Patrick's Day two months in advance. It takes that long at my age - 76. I'm still confused about shillelaghs. I have two walking sticks, Blackthorn and a third shorter handheld one which I'm told that it's a cudgel." Doraine Wall RILEY, Old Saybrook, CT wrote: "I am an avid Fan of IOTW, but reluctantly I take issue with your response to Roger PETERSON, Ossing, NY, when he asked you about the shillelagh. I owned an Irish import store in the USA for 15 years and purchased many shillelaghs and walking sticks from Irish vendors. While I learned that many things Irish are over romanticised by some people, here is my take on the shillelagh and walking stick as represented to me over the years: The shillelagh is an Irish cudgel used by faction fighters in years past. These sticks were sometimes tempered in slack lime and very often they were rubbed in butter and put up the chimney, where they were left seasoning for months. The world-famous Irish walking stick is cut from the Blackthorn tree which grows all over Ireland. The stick is seasoned for two to three years, steamed, straightened, sanded and polished before grading for weight, balance, taper, size and shapeliness. The spacing and regularity of the characteristic thorns (which are up to six inches long before cutting) enhances the appearance and value of the Blackthorn. Only one or two sticks in every thousand are nearly perfect and many fine Blackthorns become presentation pieces after travelling thousands of miles from Ireland to their final resting place. Alas, Mr. PETERSON has been walking with a walking stick and not a shillelagh all this time." (The editor responded that depending on which source he consults, he seems to find a different explanation.)

O Ireland, isn't it grand you look -- Like a bride in her rich adornin'? And with all the pent-up love of my heart I bid you the top o' the mornin'! John LOCKE, "The Exile's Return" "We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English." Winston CHURCHILL In the Nov-Dec 2004 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine readers shared their thoughts on the Emerald Island: Aine/Dick WALDRON, Ocean Pines, MD wrote: "My husband and I, both of recent Irish descent, have been travelling to our 'spiritual home' almost every year since 1991. We have seen many wonderful changes and are so pleased for the people of Ireland at their new prosperity. On several of our trips, we acted as guides for family and friends who accompanied us and, in May 2004, we took 45 friends, neighbours and relatives on a most extraordinary two-week odyssey to visit all our favourite places, including the Blasket Island Centre at Slea Head, Clonmacnoise, Dun Aengus on the Aran Islands, the National Stud Farm and so many other magnificent sites and major cities. Everything, including the weather, was perfect. In fact, the only thing we had promised that we couldn't deliver was a rainbow, but then how can you have a rainbow when there is not a drop of rain! We especially want to compliment CIE Tours International who provided a customised trip for us. We simply gave them a list of places we wanted to visit, the type of accommodation we required and the dates. They did everything else including providing us with a very special bus driver/guide, John McINTYRE, whose knowledge, good humour and helpfulness was exceptional. We had always heard that those of recent descent could have dual citizenship and on further inquiry discovered that because my husband's parents were both born in Ireland, he is already an Irish citizen! This was absolutely thrilling to us as we hope to spend six months or more in Ireland in the very near future and I'm sure having an EU Passport will be very helpful. We have subscribed to IOTW for many, many years and keep every copy, frequently referring to articles of interest before we set off on another Irish adventure. Thank you for a fantastic publication. It helps to ease the longing between visits." Joyce THOMPSON, Spencerport, NY shared: .... "I am not of Irish descent but my husband is. But even years before I met him, I was quite fascinated by your country and made it the subject of my Social Studies report in the 8th grade. That was a long time ago and I nurtured the dream of visiting Ireland someday. After I married, I got interested in family history and with the current explosion of interest in genealogy, I felt it was time to make that long-awaited trip. I devoured all the stories in your publication and yearned to see the landscapes and meet the people. I have just returned from my first trip and it was wonderful -- truly a dream which became a reality. Your magazine proved to be so informative; for example, a recent story on the roadside sculptures in County Kerry came to life right before my eyes. Our tour bus stopped to let us take pictures and I was able to have a much better understanding of the background, having read the article before I left. I appreciate your magazine so much; I feel that I am in touch with the people of Ireland. Obviously, I hope to return to Ireland again someday soon, maybe after I have discovered more of my husband's Irish roots." --- "The English language brings out the best in the Irish. They court it like a beautiful woman. They make it bray with donkey laughter. They hurl it at the sky like a paint pot full of rainbows, and then make it chant a dirge for man's fate and man's follies that is as mournful as misty spring rain crying over the fallow earth." T. E. KALEM "Everywhere in Irish prose there twinkles and peers the merry eye and laugh of a people who had little to laugh about in real life." Diarmuid RUSSELL "There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting." John SYNGE "Ah, Ireland ... that damnable, delightful country, where everything that is right is the opposite of what it ought to be." Benjamin DISRAELI, Earl of Beaconsfield

ASS IN RETIREMENT Ass orbits a firm stake: each circle round the last one is stamped slow and unmomentous like a tree-trunk's annual rings. He does not fancy himself as a tragedian, a circumference mystic or a treadmill hero, nor takes he pride in his grey humility. He is just one more Irish ass eating his way round the clock, keeping pace with his own appetite. Put out to grass, given a yard more rope each week, he takes time off from what's under his nose only to bray at rain-clouds over the distant bog; relishes asinine freedom -- having to bear no topple of hay, nor cleeves crammed with turf; ignorant that he'll come in time to the longest tether's end, then strangle or accept that stake. Either way on the endless grass one day he'll drop dead. -- The late Anglo-Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis was born in Ballintubbert Queen's (Co. Laois), his father a Protestant clergyman. After his mother died he was brought up in London by his father with the help of an aunt. He graduated Wadham College, Oxford, in 1927. Day-Lewis also wrote detective stories under the name "Nicholas Blake" He was married twice and fathered five children, one of whom is Academy-Award winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis. C. Day-Lewis received the honor of England's poet laureate.

SNIPPET: The small town of Mountmellick, Co. Laois is the traditional home for Mountmellick raised embroidery. Treasured, old pieces are collected, and displayed, and the craft is taught and practised far beyond the shores of Ireland. The embroidery is done in white knitting cotton on a heavy white satin jean. Motifs include a variety of natural floral designs, usually fairly large in scale, and pieces are often finished with buttonholed and fringed edges. There are three embroidery stitches specific to Mountmellick work - the cable plait stitch, the Mountmellick stitch and the Mountmellick thorn stitch. Other commonly used stitches include bullion, long cable or cable chain, thorn, French knot, stem, blanket stitch or button hole (can be sawtooth, houndstooth or plain with French knots in some cases), leaf fill, satin (can be padded or couched), snail trail, chain, seeding, lazy daisy and feather stitch.. Although many stitches are available, some of the best work make use of only two or three. Designs were originally inspired by plants growing along the Owenass River bank: blackberries, acorns, dog rose, ivy , oak, barley, woodbine, wild clematis Cultivated plants such as passion flower,, cyclamen, tiger lily, snowdrop and daffodils also appear frequently in the designs, and even butterflies, seashells, birds and bird nests appear in the designs. The passion flower is a particular favorite among current works. The cloth may be a natural color, although bright white is traditional. The cloth is steeped overnight in cold water and then vigorously boiled to bring it up snowy white. Pieces are very serviceable and are meant to be used. Repeated washings of the older work give them a particular softness and a "patina." Much work has gone into their creation. Many pieces are viewed as family heirlooms and passed down from generation to generation. Joanna CARTER is generally credited with creating Mountmellick Embroidery. In 1816, she received an award for developing new embroidery stitches at a prominent London exhibition, and by 1825 was running a small school in a thatched cottage in Mountmellick, teaching young girls the craft. Mountmellick Embroidery seems to have been set up originally as a way to provide a trade for poor girls. The craft had a long association with a Society of Friends (Quaker) school opened in Mountmellick in 1786. Another woman associated with its early development was Quaker Margaret BEALE, an accomplished lacemaker from Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Mountmellick Embroidery became a popular Victorian pastime for middle-class ladies, then saw a decline. Sister Theresa Margaret McCARTHY, born in Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, in the Presentation Convent in Mountmellick since 1936, an authority on embroidery, sparked a revival of the art in the 1970s with her expertise and enthusiasm and has taught stitches to countless others. Sister Theresa was named a Laois Person of Year in 2000, for her contribution to local customs and craft. Please consult the Mountmellick Embroidery page at the Island Ireland website for further history (including donated Quaker patterns from a trunk by the Quaker PIM family of Mountmellick), very old (London) and recent publications, classes at various venues including An Grianan (the sunny place) Irish Countrywomen's Association College in Termonfechin, Co. Louth, an hour's drive from Dublin. Included is information on various museums in Ireland and England with examples of work on display, ideas for applications from christening gowns to framed work, mechanism for possibly purchasing these labor-intensive embroidered pieces. .