SNIPPET: Readers of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine shared their thoughts in the Nov-Dec 2005 issue:. Katherine Russell WILSON, Hemet, CA wrote: "I just love your magazine - my son Steve gave me my first copy, after we returned home from Ireland last year. We both fell in love with your country, a place I never thought I would be able to visit. It was made even more special, because I was with family. I look forward to receiving each copy but I can read it all in one day and then I hate to think I have to wait two months before the next one arrives. I'd like a copy every month. I especially like reading all the letters which people send to you about their trips to Ireland and of their family history that brings them to your shores. Are we all realising the dream of our forefathers who could not return to their homeland? When I was growing up in AZ, my mother often spoke about her father, who left Ireland as a child, with his mother and two brothers. They were from Birr, King's County, now Offaly. Most of the information from my mother came in bits and pieces with many stories and not a lot of facts; it has been hard to research my roots in Ireland. We visited Cobh, as this is from where my grandfather had left for America. As I stood on the dock and looked out to sea, I felt I could see the ghost ships leaving with so many Irishmen for so many different countries, never to return. How sad, that they were leaving loved ones behind knowing they would never see them or their homeland again. In Birr, we visited St. Brendan's Catholic Church where I found records of the MANNION family - their dates of birth and where they lived. It's not easy to explain the emotions one feels seeing a true record like this; I just wish that I could have shared it with my mother and wished my grandfather had known that I made the journey back to his home. Birr is a great town to visit and Birr Castle is a must-see. It has the largest telescope in the world in its grounds; it still looks and moves just like it did over 150 years ago. I would like to go back to Ireland in a heartbeat. I'd like to come back to research my other grandfather's family, the RUSSELLs, who left Antrim back in the 1800s, however I don't know where they left from, so I just wish there was an easy way to do this research.". The editor suggested she contact the Ulster-American Folk Park Centre for Migration Studies.. Roger PETERSON, Ossining, NY shared: "After reading your wonderful magazine, I would like to find out one thing - what is a shillelagh? In your article about County Antrim, you say that Victor McLAGLEN in his part in 'The Quiet Man,' carried a shillelagh. But all I've ever seen him with is a rosewood walking stick. I was always told that a shillelagh was about two feet long with a knob on the end. Please let me know that I'm walking with a shillelagh and not a walking stick? I have been using this rosewood cane since 1975, following a car accident in 1974. This stick has helped me get around. My mother Kitty GRAHAM was born in Co. Cork around 1899. She married a Swede in the 'Roaring Twenties.' My lsat trip to Ireland was in 1993 and I can't wait to get there again. Everyone was so nice and polite, no matter where you went - day or night - and it was always as clean as a whistle. Your magazine is great and it makes you feel like you are in the heart of the Irish world." The editor wrote - "A shillelagh is indeed a walking stick with a knob on the end, it is traditionally made from Blackthorn and the natural growth of the wood gives its distinctive style, so no two shillelaghs are the same." John SAUNDERS, Argyle, NY wrote: "I've been receiving IOTW since 1972, when my company was doing business with Neodata headquarters, in Limerick. My gggrandfather came to America from Northern Ireland and I've visited there many times and will visit again soon. Unfortunately, I've lost contact with Mike McMAHON from Neodata but I hope to get in touch with him again on my next visit."

IRISH MOMENTS Men and Sheep and cattle stood in clumps along the one street. The men, in suits, white shirts and ties, circulated, inspecting and discussing each animal. There was wise counsel all round. One man fancied a little black cow, and the ritual began. The seller started high, the buyer started low. One praising the strength of shoulder, the other remarking the shortness of leg. "She gives the milk of two." "With ribs on her like a roof of a shed." Finally, the price agreed, the buyer spat on his palm, slapped the seller's hand and struck the bargain. Jill Freedman is one of the most renowned and respected documentary photographers of our time. Over the last 20 years her photographs have been included in the permanent collection fo the Museum of Modern Art, the International Centre of Photography, Eastman House, Smithsonian Institute and the Bibliotheque Nationale. She has published several books. One of her books of photographs, "A Time That Was," is a love poem to tiny Irish villages whose names appear on few maps; to a countryside of "wild and passionate beauty;" to a people of "gentleness, humour and conviviality, sharp wit and black moods." Her book captures Ireland of the old ways and traditions - it is a labor of love. (I recall some photos were taken around Drumkeerin and Dowra, Co. Leitrim). Perhaps your library has a copy of this circa 1996 book. Jill says, "As soon as I set foot on the land, I feel that I am home. The people often ask me if I'm Irish. Many tell me that I lived there in another life. I tell them I know."

SNIPPET: Altamont House, located eleven miles southeast of Carlow town, just off the road to Bunclody and close to the village of Ballon, was featured in the Nov-Dec 1988 issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes." Shared with the readers at that time was some of the interesting history of this beautiful house and grounds in the gentle Carlow landscape where only the fashions and horse-drawn carriages have changed compared to photographs taken of the house a hundred years earlier. The view from the front door leads on over the lush grassy fields of Carlow to the distant Blackstairs Mountains, crowned by the gentle peak of Mount Leinster. The earliest part of the house is circa 1600, and over the years generations of owners have added and adjusted to suit expanding families or current tastes. Mr. and Mrs. NORTH were the current owners in 1988 and the drawing room appeared to have hardly changed in appearance since the middle of the 19th century. A glimpse through the double doors leading to the garden revealed a rectangular lily pool down the long walk lined with yews planted in 1850 which at one point had become "deliciously bulgy" with age, prompting Mrs. NORTH's mother, who died in the 1980s at age 102, to say that they "needed corsets." One of the NORTHs' favorite roses is "Celeste", with its shell-pink flowers and blue-grey leaves. There are breath-taking flowers seen everywhere and carefully tended including the old surviving Irish primrose "Guinevere" bred in Ireland in the thirties, forming several robust clumps of bronze leaves and pink flowers with lemon eyes. Still heard were the calls of the chiff-chaff, willow-warbler, blackcap warbler, cuckoo, heron, wild duck, rook, pheasant and fantail dove, and on the premises were found three elegant peacocks. Stories and memories attached to many of the trees at Altamont include a balsam popular, now a hundred feet tall, brought back in a spongebag from Dame Flora MacLEOD in Skye, a silver fir, the tallest in the county. Rolling lawns lead to the back of the house down to the lake created by Mrs. NORTH's ancestors which she has been restoring almost single-handedly. The lake was excavated during the famine to give employment and has three islands, Pearl Island, so-called as it was originally planted with Rhododendron "Pink Pearl" and "White Pearl," Swan Island where swans sometimes nested and the third island, which used to be Mrs. NORTH's secret garden as a child where she would whistle for otters and they would come. The ever-changing light and ever-moving reflections on the water all add to the tranquility of the scene. One can follow the Nun's walk back to the house; in the faint gloom one can imagine the nuns who lived here in the 17th century, gliding under the arch of the trees, past the periwinkles, lent lilies and cyclamen. Mr. and Mrs. NORTH shared that her father, Fielding Lecky WATSON, had planted the "Rhododendron augustinii" (found in China by the Irish plant collector, Augustine HENRY) on the west wing of the house. He had been one to exchange seeds with the great Irish gardeners of his day, including Sir Frederick MOORE, the curator of Glasnevin, and LORD HEADFORT. The rhododendron, whose gnarled stems unfailingly display its lavender-blue flowers each year, is fully twenty feet tall. Luxuriating wisteria and Virginia creeper are seen to soften the angular contours of the house facade and one can hear the lowing of cattle in nearby fields and the resonant bell of the angelus coming from afar. In the elegant surroundings of her 18th century drawing-room, Mrs. NORTH relaxed with her dogs after a hard but enjoyable day's work among the plants. A dedicated gardening enthusiast, she has been restoring life and beauty to the landscape transformed by her forebears.

SNIPPET: "Lorum Old Rectory stands close to the road half-way between Bagenalstown and Borris in Co. Carlow. Lorum is a place known to a few - but in the 19th century, when the protestant church of Ireland enjoyed wealth and state patronage, it was the spiritual hub of a parish which included an exceedingly comfortable and spacious rectory. The clergy have departed and the rectory is now the property of Bobbie SMITH, who provides guests with fantastic dinners in a dining room which retains its hint of 19th century opulence. Antique bedrooms with modern comforts provide for rest, to be followed by a most splendid breakfast. The lady of the house, incidentally, is a mine of information on Carlow and the organiser of bicycle tours in the region." -- Excerpt, 'Valleys and mountains of Carlow'/Byways rather than Highways' column by Christopher Moriarty (charming illustrations by Willem Van Velzen), May-June 2006 issue, Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine.

SNIPPET: Victorian traveller, Englishman Richard LOVETT, kept notes of his visit to Ireland; they were first published by The Religious Tract Society in 1888. Some excerpts: .... "Donegal is the gate to the beautiful southern district of the county. The ride long the north coast of Donegal Bay is exceedingly lovely. Fine sea views are obtained on the one hand, and on the other very extensive and very fine mountainous landscapes everywhere occur. The mail-car route to Killybegs is a splendid example of a fine Irish road. The first place of interest is Mount Charles, situated on the slope of a hill, from which, above the village, a most magnificent view is obtained over the demesne of the Marquis of CONYNGHAM, over the bay, and over the wild highland region of the Blue Stack Mountains, and on very favourable days even the Connaught coast may be clearly seen in the distant south. Passing by Bruckless, a pretty village, and leaving the ruins of MacSwyne's Castle.on the left hand, after a pleasant ride of some miles, Killybegs is reached. This is a snug little seaport, well situated on the shore of a fine land-locked harbour. The road from this place to Kilcar hugs the coast at a considerable elevation above the sea, and thus affords the traveller a constant succession of superb views. He is, of course, largely dependent upon the weather. If the sun is shining, nothing can be more delightful than this ride; and even if it be seen through a Donegal 'smirr' (a drizzling rain) -- and here the writer speaks from experience -- it can still impart pleasure to the traveller. Not far from Kilcar is Muckross, a mountain nearly 1,000 feet high, with a promontory jutting out boldly into the sea. The rocks here, and especially the mass known as the Market House, will delight the lover of cliff scenery. Yet all but leisurely travellers will be eager to push on to Slieve League, now only a few miles distant. The road after leaving Kilcar crosses the Ballyduff river, passes over a high moorland -- and if the traveller meets the 'smirr' here one is apt to remember it --and then runs along the eastern bank of Teelin Bay and River, with splendid views of the bay in the foreground, and with the mightily mass of Slieve League shutting in the distant view across the valley. At the village of Carrick most comfortable hotel accommodation is to be found, and no better centre for exploration of the Slieve League district could be found. For this country, fine weather is almost essential; but alas! it is not often granted to those whose time is limited. In short, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that, in order to enjoy Donegal scenery properly, time is essential. A fair idea may be obtained by rushing through the county and if the visitor has to choose between seeing it under these conditions and not seeing it at all, the author would say by all means visit it even thus. But let all who wish really to enjoy what is unquestionably the freshest, most unconventional, and in many respects most beautiful part of the Emerald Isle allow considerable time to it. Three weeks or a month spent in doing Donegal thoroughly will be at once a better education in appreciating Ireland and the Irish, and a more complete rest to the mind than six weeks spent in skimming over the greater part of the kingdom. The full enjoyment of a visit to Slieve League, for instance -- and by this is meant the careful and repeated study of those stupendous cliffs, with all their rich colouring, and the grand views afforded from different points of vantage, and the leisurely exploration of the five or six miles of headlands, in order to appreciate the wondrous variety of expression they present -- can only be obtained in fine weather, and by an expenditure of at least two or three days. The changes of weather, also, are very rapid. A seemingly hopeless day will often rapidly clear, and the visitor not too much hampered by dates and the daily tale of completed miles, can avail himself of these changes. Slieve League is a huge mountain mass, presenting on the land side lofty slopes and valleys,but no forms that specially strike the eye. The sea face has been beaten by the storms of ages into the most superb cliffs in the British Islands. The easiest and best method of exploring it is to walk or drive along the west bank of the Teelin River for a couple of miles, and then turn up the path leading to what is known as Bunglas. The path winds up by easy ascents through a valley leading at length to Carrigan Head. This is a magnificent piece of cliff scenery, a suitable introduction to the greater wonders beyond. Leaving Carrigan Head on the left, and following the path which winds along the cliffs, Bunglas is soon reached, and one instantly appreciates why the spot obtained the name Awark-More, meaning 'the fine view,' The visitor stands upon a point of rock, many hundreds of feet above the sea level. From his right hand there sweeps away a grand semicircle of cliff, rising higher and higher above the sea until opposite where the observer stands it reached an altitude of nearly 2,000 feet. Beyond this point, the cliffs stretch away for six miles, extending to Malin Beg and Malin More. The sharp bend in the cliffs to the observer's right is sometimes called 'the lair of the whirlwinds,' and the face of the cliffs is exceedingly fine. Their very extent detracts to a large degree from the impressiveness of their height, and it is hard at first to realise that the wave breaking slowly at the foot is, in some places, almost perpendicularly 2,000 feet below the crown of the ridge. Unlike the lofty cliffs of Kerry, this gigantic wall is warm in its colouring. Reddish tints abound, and quartz veins, and bands of shining white quartz, bared and polished by the storms of untold ages, combined with the red-brown bogs, and green mosses, produce colours, which contrast magnificently with the water below and the sky above. Undoubtedly the best way to comprehend the full grandeur of the cliffs is to come round by boat from Teelin Point; but for this trip the finest weather is essential. The summit of Slieve League is reached by a narrow way known as 'One Man's Path .... for those bold enough to tread it must pass in single file over the sharp ridges...."

SNIPPET: For your information, Paddy DEVLIN died at the age of 77 in 1986, leaving behind a typescript of nearly 170,000 words describing a career which began in a place called The Rock near Buncrana in Co. Donegal. He had a great memory and a good command of words to describe a life which saw the War of Independence and the Civil War, work as a servant boy for Ulster farmers, work as a laborer for British building firms, a spell in the British Army, another period doing all sorts of jobs and picking up enough educational certificates to "paper a bedroom." War brought his recall to the colors which took him to northern France in World War II and to the retreat from Dunkirk. After demobilization, work as a post office engineer, in trade unionism and as a small farmer brought him at last to retirement and the making of a record of his life. His niece Kathleen BARR edited the manuscript and saw to it that Paddy DEVLIN and the many men and women he represents were not, in their turn, destined for oblivion. "That Was The Way Of It," by P. J. DEVLIN (ed. Kathleen BARR), published a handful of years ago by Mercier Press (ISBN 1-85635-354-0) paperback. Perhaps you can still locate a copy if the subject interests you.

Now on CD-ROM (see below) (Forwarded from another Irish list with permission) Clergy Relief Fund and the Tithe Defaulters, 1831: A clergyman of the Established Church who was in financial difficulties due to nonpayment of tithes could apply for funds to the Lord Lieutenant. With the refusal of many to pay tithes, many Church of Ireland rectors and vicars found themselves in financial difficulty. In order to alleviate this, the Government created a "Clergy Relief Fund, 1831." Each document is on a standardized form but varies slightly in the amount of information provided; generally speaking, the tithe defaulter's name, his occupation, his address, the amount of tithe due, the amount of arrears, the name of the land for which tithes were due, the address of this tithe land and the barony in which the land lies was recorded, as well as the name of the Rector or Vicar. These and other documents that pertain to defaulters and the "Clergy Relief Fund" can be found at the National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin. These records were "discovered" a few years ago in boxes of "miscellany," and were being indexed in 1997. They are a valuable resource for researchers and often contain more detailed information than the earlier Tithe Applotment books. Information from fifty-four parishes in Co. Tipperary has been located, (per article, "Irish Roots" periodical), as well as much data for Co. Kilkenny, some for Cos. Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Limerick, Laois, and Carlow; there is also a small amount of data pertaining to Co. Offaly. Extraction below of some information for The Parish of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Diocese of Killaloe includes the names of the occupiers of land and/or their representatives for whom the arrears of composition for the year 1831 are due: 1, John Hanly, Surveyor, Pound St. Nenagh, one year, Drummin, 8 shillings, Drummin, Lower Ormond. 2. Dennis Brien, Schoolmaster, Batchelors Walk, one year, Drummin, 8 shillings, Drummin, Lower Ormond. 3. Mr. John Egan Grace, Gent. Atty., Pound St. Nenagh, one year, Drummin, 17 shillings, Drummin, Lower Ormond. 4. James Firth, Farmer, Burrisokane Rd., one year, Burriskokane Rd., 17 shillings, Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 5. James Firth (the same), for a garden, Burrisokane Rd., one year, old Turnpike Birr Road, less than a shilling, Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 6. Dennis O'Brien, Gentleman, or his undertenants, Michael White, and Dennis Harmery (sp.?), Castle St. Nenagh, half year, Ballyvelane, 2 pounds 16 shillings, Ballyvelane, Lower Ormond. 7. Wm. Cleary, Publican, Old Turnpike Nenagh, one year, Burrisokane Rd., 4 shillings, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 8. Wm. Cleary (the same), Old Turnpike Nenagh, one year, Birr Road, 19 shillings, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 9. Wm. Cleary (the same), Old Turnpike Nenagh, one year, Birr Road, 2 shillings, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 10. Wm. Cleary (the same), Old Turnpike Nenagh, for 2 gardens, one year, Birr Road, less than one shilling, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 11. Wm. Cleary (the same), Old Turnpike Nenagh, for 1 garden, one year, Birr Road, less than one shilling, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 12. Patrick Hough, Publican, address Castle St. Nenagh, one year, Birr Road, 5 shillings, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 13. Patrick Hough (the same), Castle St. Nenagh, one year, Castle St. Nenagh, less than one shilling, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 14. Patrick Houragan, Mason, Chapel Lane Nenagh, one year, Birr Road, 8 shillings, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 16. William Houragan, Mason, Old Turnpike Nenagh, one year, Birr road, 8 shillings, Towland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 17. John Clancy, Farmer, Birr Road, one year, Birr Road, 1 shilling, Townland of Nenagh, Lower Ormond. 18. Darby Moloughry, Farmer, Coolholloga, balance of half year, Cooloholloga, 16 shillings, Coolholloga, Lower Ormond. 19. Michael Moloughry, Farmer, Coolholloga, one year, Cooloholloga, 2 pounds 2 shillings, Coolholloga, Lower Ormond. 20. Patrick Gleeson, Farmer, Cooloholloga, balance of half year, Cooloholloga, 1 pound 8 shillings, Cooloholloga, Lower Ormond. 21. Michael Corbin, Quit Rent Driver, Barrack St., one year, Tyone, 13 shillings, Tyone, Upper Ormond. 22. John Cunningham, Farmer, (place of abode not given), one year, Tyone, 9 shillings, Upper Ormond. 23. James Poe, Labourer, Birr Rd. Nenagh, one year, Garden on the Birr Road, 2 shillings, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 24. John Kennedy, Gardiner (sp? gardener), Birr Road Nenagh, one year, Garden on the Birr Rd., 2 shillings, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 25. Michael Andrews, Pensioner, Birr Rd. Nenagh, Garden on the Birr Road, 1 shilling, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 26. Timothy Murnane, Labourer, Birr Rd. Nenangh, one year, Garden on the Birr Road, 1 shilling, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 27. Widow Thaddock, Butcher, Birr Rd. Nenagh, one year, Garden on the Birr Road, 3 shillings, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 28. James Flaherty, Clerk, Birr Road, one year, Garden on the Birr Road, 8 shillings, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 29. James Flaherty, Clerk, Birr Road, one year, Birr Road, 5 shillings, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 30. Timothy Magrath, Labourer, Birr Road, one year, Birr Road, less than one shilling, Nenagh, Upper Ormond. 31. Timothy Magrath (the same) for a 2nd garden, Birr Road, one year, Birr Road, less than one shilling, Nenagh, Upper Ormond Added Note - Thanks Brian! Dear Jean, You posted the following message to a newsgroup which was kindly forwarded to me by a colleague. This source is exceptionally important, and you are right to highlight it. However, you may not know that the 1997 transcript you mention by Stephen McCormac was re-edited by him and published by this company a couple of years ago on CD-ROM. It contains all 30,000 names and the information relating to each, along with an enormous amount of additional information regarding the Clergy Relief Fund. If you would like to find out more have a look at our web CD catalogue at: http://www.eneclann.ie/pub-cat.htm You might like to mention this resource to your contacts on the mailing list, as the CD and Stephen's work deserves greater publicity. Regards, Brian Donovan CEO Eneclann Ltd./Archive CD Books Ireland Unit 1, Trinity Enterprise Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2 Ireland Tel: +353 1 6710338 Fax: +353 1 6710281 www.eneclann.ie www.archivecdbooks.ie :

SNIPPET: Long before the Great Famine, running, jumping, and the throwing of weights were well-established peasant pastimes, while the cross-country nature of some hurling and football (caid) contests, spiced with interparish or intercounty rivalry, added a further dimension to this sporting fervor. These activities, though governed by local rules, lacked any central controlling organization. Such a structure only emerged in the second half of the 19th century with the establishment of the Irish Champion Athletic Club, although this was more of an offshoot of the English Amateur Athletics Association, confining its membership to "gentleman" and the professional classes. The ICAC had a lease on a field at Lansdowne Road, but at the end of 1870s was beset by many problems: falling standards, betting and increasing professionalism, as well as class antagonisms. Consequently, the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded to introduce a democracy into Irish sport and to dispel any fears that traditional Irish sports might be neglected. The GAA ensured that Irish sport would be organized by Irishmen and that rules were drafted to aid the revival of Irish pastimes. It is not known exactly how many men responded to Michael CUSACK's invitation and met in Hayes' Hotel, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, November 1, 1884, to establish the Gaelic Athletic Association. Some accounts put the number as high as 13, but it is generally accepted that the organization was launched by a group of seven: CUSACK,, a native of Co. Clare with a keen interest in hurling, track and field and having played cricket and rugby as a schoolteacher in Dublin, the first secretary; the international athlete, Maurice DAVIN, Carrick-on-Suir, first president; John McKAY, a Belfast-born journalist with the "Cork Examiner;" John Wyse POWER, a Waterford-born journalist with the "Leinster Leader" in Naas; J. K. BRACKEN, a stonemason from Templemore whose son, Brendan BRACKEN, became a Cabinet Minister in Winston CHURCHILL's war-time government in Britain; Thomas St. George McCARTHY, an RIC inspector from Kerry who played rugby for Ireland; and a Tipperary solicitor, Joseph O'RYAN. Dr. Thomas CROKE, Archbishop of Cashel, Charles Stuart PARNELL,, Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and Michael DAVITT, Mayo, founder of the Land League, were invited to become patrons of the new association and they accepted. The infant GAA devoted all of its attention to the promotion of athletics for two whole years before the first All-Ireland hurling and football championships were played in 1887. The name adopted at the initial meeting was the Gaelic Athletic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of National Pastimes. >From the beginning it was more than a sports organization. Strongly nationalistic from its inception, it also was and still is, a social and cultural movement. The social revolution it created transfigured the face of rural Ireland. The GAA survived a brief take-over by the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the late 1880s and reasserted its own nationalistic stance. It also survived the political controversy around PARNELL, though badly shaken by it. Through the comradeship of its games it has played a major role in healing many of the wounds of the worst split in Irish history, the civil war of 1922/23. The expense of traveling far from home as well as allegiance to radical GAA ideals prevented some athletes from competing at the Olympic Games until 1908. Although not without flaws, the London games of 1908 established the festival firmly in the sporting calendar. Tipperaryman, Tom KIELY, Carrick-on-Suir, was all-round decathlon gold medal winner at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, having refused the offer of expenses to represent the English AAA and competed as "Tom KIELY of Tipperary and Ireland." - Excerpts from "History of Ireland" and "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazines.

SNIPPET: Ireland's last veteran of the Great War, Mr. Thomas SHAW, of Belfast, died at the age of 102 on 2 March 2002. He was buried 7th March at Clandeboye Cemetery, Bangor, Co. Down. More than a quarter of a million Irishmen fought in WW-I (1914-1918). While 35,000 Irish survived, they came home to a country in violent upheaval fiercely fighting its own battle between the north and the south. Many returning soldiers faced unemployment and prejudice - some were murdered for having served in the British Army. Over the years, in the Irish consciousness, the poppy and Remembrance Day have been associated with respect for those who died in the war and memorials and museums honor them. Please see the piece at the "Irish Culture & Customs" website entitled 'The Irish Soldiers Killed in WWI,' by Bridget HAGGERTY, honoring her Galway-born father who survived the war and others who served - in particular, those who died. There is also a stirring poem and a fine painting there. "Irish Voices from the Great War," H/c (1995) book by Myles DUNGAN along with his companion volume, "They Shall Not Grow Old: Irish Soldiers Remember the Great War," H/c (1997) chronicle the experiences of the soldiers in the trenches, their boots rotting off their feet, exposed to malaria and other diseases, their experiences as POWs, role of chaplains, trials back home, through first-hand accounts. Below are lines from poems in "The Best Loved Poems of the American People," ed. Hazel Felleman (1936) IN FLANDERS FIELDS In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We loved, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. -- John McCRAE REPLY TO IN FLANDERS FIELDS Oh! Sleep in peace where poppies grow; The torch your falling hands let go Was caught by us, again held high, A beacon light in Flanders sky That dims the stars to those below. You are our dead, you held the foe, And ere the poppies cease to blow, We'll prove our faith in you who lie In Flanders Fields. Oh! rest in peace, we quickly go To you who bravely died, and know In other fields was heard the cry, For freedom's cause, of you who lie, So still asleep where poppies grow, In Flanders Fields. As in rumbling sound, to and fro, The lightning flashes, sky aglow, The mighty hosts appear, and high Above the din of battle cry, Scarce heard amidst the guns below, Are fearless hearts who fight the foe, And guard the place where poppies grow, Oh! sleep in peace, all of you who lie In Flanders Fields. And still the poppies gently blow, Between the crosses, row on row, The larks, still bravely soaring high, Are singing now their lullaby To you who sleep where poppies grow In Flanders Fields. -- John MITCHELL ANOTHER REPLY TO IN FLANDERS FIELDS In Flanders Fields the cannons boom, And fitful flashes light the gloom; While up above, like eagles, fly The fierce destroyers of the sky; With stains the earth wherein you lie Is redder than the poppy bloom, in Flanders Fields. Sleep on, ye brave! The shrieking shell, The quaking trench, the startling yell, The fury of the battle hell Shall wake you not, for all is well; Sleep peacefully, for all is well. Your flaming torch aloft we bear,, With burning heart and oath we swear To keep the faith, to fight it through, To crush the foe, or sleep with you, In Flanders Fields. -- J. A. ARMSTRONG AMERICA'S ANSWER Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead. The right that ye so bravely led We've taken up. And we will keep True faith with you who lie asleep With each a cross to mark his bed, In Flanders fields. Fear not that ye have died for naught. The torch ye threw to us we caught. Ten million hands will hold it high, And Freedom's light shall never die! We've learned the lesson that ye taught In Flanders fields. -- R. W. LILLIARD

SNIPPET: Researchers with an interest in the Royal Munster Fusiliers may wish to read the following literature: S. McCANCE, "History of the Royal Munster Fusiliers" (Aldershot 1927). R. G. HARRIS, "The Irish Regiments: A Pictorial History 1683-1987" (Tunbridge Wells 1989). Tom DOOLEY's several-page article in the Spring 1998 issue of Dublin's "History Ireland" magazine that is accompanied by sketches, paintings, posters, old photographs. THE MUNSTER FUSILIERS Come pass the call 'round Munster. Let the notes ring loud and clear. We want the merchant and the squire, The peasant and the Peer. For we mean to whip those Germans, So away with your paltry affairs And come join that grand Battalion Called the Munster Fusiliers The Kaiser knows each Munster By the shamrock on his cap And the famous Bengal tiger Ever ready for a scrap. With all his big battalions, Prussian Guards and Grenadiers, He feared to face the bayonets Of the Munster Fusiliers When marching up through Belgium Sure we thought of days of old. The cruel sights that meet your eyes Would make your blood run cold To see the ruined convents And the Holy nuns in tears. By God on high avenge or die Cried the Munster Fusiliers God rest our fallen comrades, May they take their long last sleep On the fields of France and Flanders, Sure, we have no cause to weep, For their deeds will live in history And the youth of future years Will read with pride Of the men who died, The Munster Fusiliers.

Hi Jean Thankyou for posting the poem. Keep them coming :-) Angela ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 2:00 AM Subject: [IGW] "The Short Cut to Rosses" (Donegal) -- Mrs. Nora (Jane)Hopper CHESSON > THE SHORT CUT TO ROSSES > > By the short cut to Rosses, a fairy girl I met; > I was taken by her beauty as a fish is in a net. > The fern uncurled to look at her, so very fair was she, > With her hair as bright as seaweed new-drawn from out the sea. > > By the short cut to Rosses ('twas on the first of May) > I heard the fairies piping, and they piped my heart away; > They piped till I was mad with joy, but when I was alone > I found my heart was piped away and in my breast a stone. > > By the short cut to Rosses 'tis I'll go never more > Lest I be robbed of soul by her that stole my heart before, > Lest she take my soul and crush it like a dead leaf in her hand, > For the short cut to Rosses is the way to Fairyland. > > -- Nora Hopper Chesson > > ------------------------------- > 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 > > > __________ NOD32 1.1859 (20061108) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > >

Hi Pat - Yes - I wish someone on the list knew how to best research passports!! I have one from 1925 issued in Liverpool for my father. ----- Original Message ----- From: "PJU" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 4:00 AM Subject: [IGW] old (1932) passport > I have been searching my wife's family history, without any real > success in finding when, where and how her mother and siblings got to > the USA. Most of what I know is based on her memory; that was OK > until she died (December 2005). She was the last living member of her > family, and that really has hampered (virtually stopped) my > searching. Since my wife's death, other USA-born relatives have found > a few old records that might help fill-in some now missing information. > > The most significant information concerns her mother's Irish Passport. > > A copy of that document shows her passport number as A-13866" as > issued by the Irish Free State. My copy does not show a date of issue. > > My best guess is that the passport might have been issued between the > dates of March 1932 and July of 1932. The passport was issued under > the authority of Mr. Patrick McGilligan as Minister for External > Affairs of the Irish Free State. It might help if the dates of Mr. > McGilligan's service as a Minister could be found. > > I sent a similar query to the Passport Office at Cork City. Their > response stated that such records were generally destroyed after > 10-years. Might anyone know of any other way to find information > about such a passport? > > I would appreciate any help or advice that you might provide in > helping to continue my search. > > "Thank You" > ... Pat

GRANDMITHER, THINK NOT I FORGET Grandmither, think not I forget, when I come back to town, An' wander the old ways again an' tread them up an' down. I never smell the clover bloom, nor see the swallow pass, Without I mind how good ye were unto a little lass. I never hear the winter rain a-pelting all night through, Without I think and mind me of how cold it falls on you. And if I come not often to your bed beneath the thyme, Mayhap 'tis that I'd change w' ye, and gie my bed for thine, Would like to sleep in thine. I never hear the summer winds among the roses blow, Without I wonder why it was ye loved the lassie so. Ye gave me cakes and lollipops and pretty toys a score, I never thought I should come back and ask ye now for more. Grandmither, gie me your still, white hands, that lie upon your breast, For mine do beat the dark all night and never find me rest; They grope among the shadows, an' they beat the cold black air, They go seekin' in the darkness, an' they never find him there, An' they never find him there. Grandmither, gie me your sightless eyes, that I may never see His own a-burning' full o' love that must not shine for me. Grandmither, gie me your peaceful lips, white as the kirkyard snow, for mine be red wi' burnin' thirst, an' he must never know. Grandmither, gie me your clay-stopped ears, that I may never hear My lad a'singin' in the night when I am sick wi' fear; A-singin' when the moonlight over a' the land is white -- Aw God! I'll up an' go to him a-singin' in the night, A-callin' in the night. Grandmither, gie me your clay-cold heart that has forgot to ache, For mine be fire within my breast and yet it cannot break. It beats an' throbs forever for the things that must not be, An' can ye not let me creep in an' rest awhile by ye? Ye'll know it's under rue an' rose that I would like to be, That I would like to be. -- American author Willa Sibert CATHER was born circa 1873 in a small farming community (Gore) close to the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA and raised on a farm in Webster Co., NE. (The first Cathers originally came from Ireland to PA in the 1750's - I believe they were Scots-Irish). Cather is one of America's greatest writers. She grew up among the immigrants who appear in her works. After graduating from the University of NE in 1895, she taught in a high school in Pittsburgh for several years. Her stories and poems speak eloquently of the great pioneers of the prairies of the Midwest who sacrificed their lives to build this country, other stories are set in the SW. Willa moved to NY and joined the staff of McClure's magazine (Samuel Sidney McCLURE born Antrim 1857), and Cather later becoming managing editor, leaving the magazine in 1912. In her fiction Miss Cather portrayed the beauty of the land and the simplicity of pioneer life, as well as the bitter, hard existence of the pioneers. "O Pioneers!" (1913) and "My Antonia" (1918) are probably her best-known works, although her first novel (1912) was "Alexander's Bridge." She won the 1923 Pulitzer prize for "One of Ours" (1922), but many critics consider "Death Comes for the Archbishop" (1927) Miss Cather's finest work. She died in 1947 and is buried in NH.

I have been searching my wife's family history, without any real success in finding when, where and how her mother and siblings got to the USA. Most of what I know is based on her memory; that was OK until she died (December 2005). She was the last living member of her family, and that really has hampered (virtually stopped) my searching. Since my wife's death, other USA-born relatives have found a few old records that might help fill-in some now missing information. The most significant information concerns her mother's Irish Passport. A copy of that document shows her passport number as A-13866" as issued by the Irish Free State. My copy does not show a date of issue. My best guess is that the passport might have been issued between the dates of March 1932 and July of 1932. The passport was issued under the authority of Mr. Patrick McGilligan as Minister for External Affairs of the Irish Free State. It might help if the dates of Mr. McGilligan's service as a Minister could be found. I sent a similar query to the Passport Office at Cork City. Their response stated that such records were generally destroyed after 10-years. Might anyone know of any other way to find information about such a passport? I would appreciate any help or advice that you might provide in helping to continue my search. "Thank You" ... Pat

GDAY Judy:) Thanks for your reply Yes i Have seen that Thomas Doody/Margaret Lyons Lot before On the Newspaper Listing herre re his Marriage it stated he was second son of Thomas Doody of Listowel Talking with family Members they thought he may have been from Co Clare, A place called Kilrush, Maybe????The family moved maybe from Clare to Kerry? My grandmothers Name , Johns First Born and Only Daughter was Named CAtherine, so im wondering with irish Naming Patterns could that be after Johns Mother??? Regards from Australia Cathy:) Is there any film from LDS i can order in perhaps that might pick up Johns Sister Mary Josephine Doody as she was born in 1864 Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

How beautiful!! Thank you. Mary McCanney Finley ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 4:13 PM Subject: [IGW] Anon. (13th c.) - "Hospitality in Ancient Ireland' - trans.Kuno MEYER > HOSPITALITY IN ANCIENT IRELAND > > Oh King of stars! > Whether my house be dark or bright, > Never shall it be closed against any one, > Lest Christ close His house against me. > > If there be a guest in your house > And you conceal aught from him, > 'Tis not the guest that will be without it, > But Jesus, Mary's Son. > > -- Translated by Kuno Meyer - From the Leabhar Breac, or Speckled Book. A > marginal note. > > ------------------------------- > 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 >

THE SHORT CUT TO ROSSES By the short cut to Rosses, a fairy girl I met; I was taken by her beauty as a fish is in a net. The fern uncurled to look at her, so very fair was she, With her hair as bright as seaweed new-drawn from out the sea. By the short cut to Rosses ('twas on the first of May) I heard the fairies piping, and they piped my heart away; They piped till I was mad with joy, but when I was alone I found my heart was piped away and in my breast a stone. By the short cut to Rosses 'tis I'll go never more Lest I be robbed of soul by her that stole my heart before, Lest she take my soul and crush it like a dead leaf in her hand, For the short cut to Rosses is the way to Fairyland. -- Nora Hopper Chesson

I love that, I'd also like to see it in the original language. Susan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 1:10 PM Subject: [IGW] "Blessed Be The Holy Will Of God" - (Anon. 19th c.),Trans. Douglas HYDE, Pres. Ireland 1938-45 > BLESSED BE THE HOLY WILL OF GOD > > A morning prayer of Connemara; it has been heard in many places in Galway, > and Dr. Hyde heard it in Roscommon. > > The will of God be done by us. > The law of God be kept by us. > Our evil will controlled by us. > Our tongue in check be held by us, > Repentance timely made by us, > Christ's passion understood by us, > Each sinful crime be shunned by us, > Much on the End be mused by us, > And Death be blessed found by us, > With Angels' music heard by us, > And God's high praise sung to us, > For ever and for aye. > > -- Anonymous (19th century) - Translated by Douglas HYDE (1860-1949), > academic and cultural revivalist. Son of a Church of Ireland clergyman, > brought up first in Co. Sligo and then, from 1867, at Frenchpark, Co. > Roscommon, both areas rich in antiquities and where some spoken Irish > survived. He entered Trinity College in 1880, switching from an initial > course of divinity to law. Though not the founder of the Gaelic League, > HYDE became its first president in 1893. He was professor of Irish at > University College, Dublin, a member of the Irish Free State Senate from > 1925, and first president of Ireland 1938-45. HYDE published extensively, > drawing both on oral tradition and on manuscript sources. His most > important collections included "Love Songs of Connacht" (1893), and "The > Religious Songs of Connacht" (1906). He collaborated with YEATS and LADY > GREGORY on a number of theatrical productions. His political sympathies > were nationalist. > > ------------------------------- > 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 >

HOSPITALITY IN ANCIENT IRELAND Oh King of stars! Whether my house be dark or bright, Never shall it be closed against any one, Lest Christ close His house against me. If there be a guest in your house And you conceal aught from him, 'Tis not the guest that will be without it, But Jesus, Mary's Son. -- Translated by Kuno Meyer - From the Leabhar Breac, or Speckled Book. A marginal note.

BLESSED BE THE HOLY WILL OF GOD A morning prayer of Connemara; it has been heard in many places in Galway, and Dr. Hyde heard it in Roscommon. The will of God be done by us. The law of God be kept by us. Our evil will controlled by us. Our tongue in check be held by us, Repentance timely made by us, Christ's passion understood by us, Each sinful crime be shunned by us, Much on the End be mused by us, And Death be blessed found by us, With Angels' music heard by us, And God's high praise sung to us, For ever and for aye. -- Anonymous (19th century) - Translated by Douglas HYDE (1860-1949), academic and cultural revivalist. Son of a Church of Ireland clergyman, brought up first in Co. Sligo and then, from 1867, at Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon, both areas rich in antiquities and where some spoken Irish survived. He entered Trinity College in 1880, switching from an initial course of divinity to law. Though not the founder of the Gaelic League, HYDE became its first president in 1893. He was professor of Irish at University College, Dublin, a member of the Irish Free State Senate from 1925, and first president of Ireland 1938-45. HYDE published extensively, drawing both on oral tradition and on manuscript sources. His most important collections included "Love Songs of Connacht" (1893), and "The Religious Songs of Connacht" (1906). He collaborated with YEATS and LADY GREGORY on a number of theatrical productions. His political sympathies were nationalist.