SNIPPET: In the May-June 2005 issue of Dublin's "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, readers commented: Peggy WALDON, Denver, CO: "For many years the pages of your magazine have allowed me to experience my long time dream of someday visiting Ireland. This longing was based on a letter dated 1861, which my great-great-great-grandmother wrote to my great-great-grandmother. I always wanted to find my roots in County Cork and the towns mentioned in her letter. In July 2004, after all those fifty-plus years of dreaming, the trip became a reality. My sister, cousin and I experienced a truly wonderful ten-day trip to Ireland. We chose to join the 'Best of Ireland' tour and it truly was the very best. On my return home, two large binders of pictures weren't enough to capture the wonder, colour and feel of the trip. Memories and mental pictures of Ireland kept filling my head, so I decided to capture them through the medium of my hobby -- stained glass. The phrase 'a picture speaks a thousand words' kept going around in my head. The completed piece contains castles, dancers, a claddagh ring made from old church glass, Connemara marble, a lace background and lots of green. I hung it in one of the windows in my workroom to remind me of the trip and encourage me to return to Ireland as soon as possible ....." Michael B. MERWICK, Seattle, WA, shared: I am compelled to report that a pervasive heart-wrenching sadness occurs when your brilliantly written magazine finally reaches my lap. (I've given up trying to be first reading it because my wife of fifty-four years, always wins the race for the treasured magazine). My sadness hardly diminished while reading every word on every page; however the fascination, awe and thankfulness for this piece of Ireland coming to our home quietly seeps into my bones. My sadness, apparently pathological, according to my physician friend DOWNEY from Killarney, is described by him as simply a mental hiccup that must be tolerated. I know exactly how to cure this phenomenon: move directly to Ireland immediately. My grandparents' parish credentials offer citizenship. My wife suggests that I will be moving alone, because of our seven grandchildren, but she assures me that she would positively visit on a regular schedule. Thus my affliction would vanish, as I spend my remaining years simply tracing, in person, the diverse and wonderful places you describe in each issue. Only twice in the bosom of your land, during our second trip we travelled for thirty days in the Southwest, mostly Cork. In Eyeries, we visited a cousin with the same first and last time who lived in the very stone house which was built by my great-great-grandfather circa 1700; another cousin also with the same name lives and teaches in Bandon. Riobard O'DWYER, of Eyeries, a bard, retired teacher, genealogist and great accordion player explained carefully, that his great-grandfather and mine escaped from a shipwreck off the Southwest coast while sailing from the east coast of Ireland; they swam to shore together and established themselves within the same parish. Among Riobard's credo's is his trio to Butte, Montana, as a quest of Irish folk there seeking his knowledge about their past in Ireland. With your Jan-Feb 2005 issue in my lap, featuring Cork City Gaol, Wooden Boats, the photographs and the wonderful advertisements bring lumps to our collective throats. Next year, when our number two grand-daughter moves to Dublin for her third college year, we pray that God willing, we and others of this clan may also enjoy the fresh air, spirit and people of home. God Bless you for your work."