SNIPPET: In Dublin's May-June 2004 "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine readers shared their thoughts: Harry and Ruth SICKLER, Williamstown, NJ, wrote: .... "My grandmother's family had many ancestors connected to Ireland. My wife has stronger Irish roots, as her father claimed to be full Irish. His mother was born in Kenmare in the 1870s, but we can't document her father's family, although a bay in Co. Clare and places in Co. Kerry have the BALLARD name. Last May, we spent ten days in Cos. Kerry, Kilkenny, and Dublin. The B&B owners and taxi drivers were extra friendly and informative ... We echo the many readers, who voice superlatives about the people and the countryside. The sight-seeing trips we took gave us memories of a lifetime. Of course, my wife was squirming in her seat as I drove on the left-hand side of the road but, fortunately, nothing bad happened to us. Now as we read IOTW, we can put sights, sounds and tastes to much of the writing." Charles J. BARAN, Greenlawn, NY, shared: "Neither my wife nor I have any Irish ancestry. By accident, I came across the PBS programme 'Out of Ireland' about eight years ago and I have been absorbed by Ireland and the Irish ever since ..." Referring to their magazine subscription - "The articles and photography are wonderful. They will always serve as reminders of the two times my wife and I have experienced your beautiful country, as well as provide inducements to return. The 2004 calendar, Breathtaking Ireland, is quite accurately titled. it is even more meaningful in that eight of the photographs depict places we have been to or near, in Counties Antrim, Mayo, Wicklow, Kerry and Galway." Kathleen E. FLANAGAN, Freehold, NJ, penned: "I am writing to tell you have much I enjoyed Jo KERRIGAN's stories about West Cork and in particular, Inchigeelagh. My great-grandparents, Johanna O'LEARY and Jeremiah McCARTHY, were both born there. They emigrated to Bayonne, NJ, in the 1890s. After researching my family's history and finding their birthplace, I visited Inchigeelagh for the first time in 2000. I can't describe the feeling I got when I was there. Every time I return to Inchigeelagh, I feel I am making the trip for my ancestors, because Johanna and Jeremiah left there in their twenties and never returned. The circle is now complete, as I was fortunate enough to reconnect with both families and so far I have met over sixty cousins. In fact, one of my cousins, Julia McCarthy KELLY, was in one of the pictures featured in Ms. KERRIGAN's story about Timmy Johnny O'SULLIVAN's unique store. Thank you for bringing Inchigeelagh, which is "on the banks of my own lov! ely Lee" to the attention of your readers. I have made many friends there. They treat me like one of their own. I am always told "welcome home" when I visit. It is truly a special place and I'd encourage visitors to stop at CREEDON's Hotel on a Sunday night for the music and the craic. You won't be disappointed." Sandy SNYDER/Pat GILCHRIST, Kingston, NY, shared: "We want to thank all of you at IOTW for helping to make this, our third trip to Ireland in three years, the very best yet ... We deliberately planned our itinerary around your recent articles - starting with Skerries to see the windmills at dawn (well, what else do you do when your plane lands in Dublin at five-thirty in the morning?). After the Hill of Tara and Kells, we went on our way following a route suggested in a Sligo Byways column, from a back issue which I had ordered. After visiting Boyle Abbey, we tried to find the Drumanone Dolmen on our own, but finally had to stop into a petrol station to ask directions. 'Go under the railway bridge, then park at the old stone house, then go up the path, open and close the gate - be careful because you're going to cross the rail track there - open and close the next gate, and you'll see it,' the fellow said. While there was not one signpost, everything was as he said i! t would be although he neglected to mention the ankle deep, very wet manure all the way up the path. As we shut the second gate, we saw the dolmen with cows lying in and around it. Then, as we started to take ... photos, one of the 'cows' stood up and faced us. It became obvious fairly quickly that this bull was guarding his harem, if not the dolmen. Quickly and quietly retracing our steps, we were almost oblivious to the muck sucking our boots into the ground with our every step back down the path. Only when we were back to the stone house, trying to figure out how to clean our boots before we got into the car, did we allow ourselves to laugh out loud! (Wet grass worked fine, by the way). For one of the six nights of our trip, we made sure that we stayed with Bernadette WALSH at Rocksberry B&B, the national winner of the 2002 'Lyons Tea Welcome of the Year' award. While all our hosts were super and gracious and offered excellent hospitality, Bernadette does go that step beyond: while I was struggling with my telephone credit card on her hallway phone, she asked when I had spoken to my children last. When I confessed that I hadn't yet been able to reach them since we'd arrived in Ireland three days earlier, she immediately dialed up my son's number on her own telephone and handed it to me. Later, that same evening, when Ireland was having its first November gale of the season, she knocked on our door and offered battery-powered lights for our night stands because the wind was creating power cuts. As with our two previous trips, everyone was more than gracious and welcoming - but I must say your magazine made this trip an extraordinary delight. A differen! t issue was on my lap along with our map, as I was the navigator each day...."