Hi, Ray, I have a Reed/Reid family that came from Ireland in 1849. We are not sure where they came from. Could you share what you have on your Reidy bunch? If you already have , I apologize for being asleep at the switch! My family settled in Washington County, NY -(Cambridge, White Creek, and Jackson). They farmed there until 1870, when they moved to Cohoes (Albany County) to work in the mills. The crowd that came from Ireland in 1849, consisted of: Thomas, b. 1789 Catherine, (wife), b. 1800 Thomas, b. @1825 (son) (my ggrandfather) Catherine, b.@ 1827(daug) Simon, b. 1836 - (son) -Simon went west to make his fortune, and died in Helena, Montana in 1881. He was a foreman at the Comet Mine. Censuses indicate that the elder Thomas and his wife had nine children -what happened to the other six is unknown -they may have died young, or chosen not to come to the U.S. Thomas (1825) m Catherine Pendergast, b. Ireland 1830 to Wm. Pendergast and Catherine O'Rourke. They married in NY state. There were 13 children. Names and spouses can be sent if any of this sounds familiar. Thanks, Ann

Fintan In Philodor's little book two Reidys from Knocknagoshel are listed as having wills from the 1750s and 1760s. They are probably, but not necessarily, my ancestors. I have always wondered what a poor Catholic renter in one of the most remote parts of Ireland, a roadless area in those days, would have been doing with a will. My theory is that they were made to either disinherit an eldest son or to provide for a dowry for a daughter wishing to go into a religious order. I have no evidence of that. Just a guess. Fintan, could you publish the terms of your ggf's will so we could all see what a will might look like from those days and what kind of provisions might be in it? Anybody else who has a will from those days or earlier, please feel free to post your will, too. Thanks in advance. Ray Marshall Minneapolis -----Original Message----- From: Fintan Sheehan [mailto:fintansheehan@yahoo.ie] Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 3:12 AM To: Ray Marshall; carole_watts@talk21.com; IRL-KERRY@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] LOVETT James b. c. 1817 Killarney >I believe most of the Wills of Ireland were also destroyed in the Four >Courts incident, Fintan. The National Archives in Kevin Street have index books for wills. Spotted a will from my great-grandfather from Keel-Kilgarrylander from 1860's (near castlemaine) and retrieved it with help from a professional. It was lodged in Limerick office in 1800's so just wondering if other Kerry wills survived? Initially when I filled out a 'seach request' in National Archives they couldnt find it but decided to hire a professional for one and only time for an hour and she found it. AFAIK kerry wills would have been deposited in Limerick or Cork. They may have been moved to four courts but some must have survived. In index books in National Archives cover all 'perogative'? wills for whole country. They are quite easy to search through from what I remember but just give a name and area. Regards Fintan http://www.myirishancestry.com ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail/winter07.htm l -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.9/832 - Release Date: 6/4/2007 6:43 PM

According to wikipedia, St. Mary's Cathedral was consecrated 22 August 1855. Which would mean, if your ancestors were roman catholic and were married there, records should be available. Mary Simpson <mary@msimpson.demon.co.uk> wrote: Would anyone know if records exist for marriages in or around Killarney in the years 1858-60? In am looking for the marriage certificate for Margaret SHEEHAN and Daniel SPILLANE, who arrived in London just before the 1861 Census ( where I found them ) with son, Thomas, aged 1. All were born in Kerry, Margaret was from Killarney, and Daniel was born in Glenflesk in 1841 ( I have Daniel's certificate ), but I cannot find a baptismal entry for Thomas. Mary Simpson ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

FYI to all on the list, in case some are unsure of the year that official registration of births in Ireland, it was 1864. Hope this helps anyone who may have had any questions. Fintan Sheehan <fintansheehan@yahoo.ie> wrote: Hi, birth certs werent destroyed in Four Courts fire afaik,just census returns. However dont think official registration of births began by time James left for England. You could try church records. National library in Dublin have microfilm of catholic church records. Not sure about Church of Ireland or presbeterian records. Best bet is to write or phone local church to see if they have any clues. Regards, Fintan ----- Original Message ---- From: carole_ watts To: IRL-KERRY@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, 5 June, 2007 1:14:15 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] LOVETT James b. c. 1817 Killarney James LOVETT was my GGGrandfather. He was a tailor and came to London sometime before 1838 because in that year he married in St Mary's Church, St Marylebone. He married a Lucy Moncrieffe from Cork b.c.1814. James signed with a mark and his name on marriage is recorded as LOVAT but thereafter he, his wife and all the offspring used the spelling LOVETT. I can track his life in England by census returns - he lived first in Somers Town [St Pancras], later in South London and died in a workhouse infirmary in Mile End New Town aged 75 years in 1892. Lucy died in 1859 aged 45 in Somers Town and James remarried and had more children. I've recently visited Killarney in the hopes of finding some information about James' family of origin and earlier life but I have drawn a blank so far, partly because the centrally held birth records for kerry were destroyed in Dublin in 1922 and partly because I don't know in which parish he was born. Since he was a tailor, I guess he likely lived in or near Killarney Town. I'm also not sure about his religion. At that time in Kerry almost everyone will have been Roman Catholic, but James married in a Church of England Church. His father is recorded on the marriage certificate as John LOVAT[sic], labourer. I've comissioned a search but will not hear anything until later in June. Any help would be much appreciated. I asked, while in Kerry, at Tourist Information Centres and Registrars and tried the advertised Genealogical Record Centre in Killarney which proved to be entirely inaccessible. Kerry is so beautiful and the people were so friendly and welcoming, I feel proud that my ancestors came from this part of the world. Surely they have left a mark somewhere? Carole --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your freeaccount today. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ___________________________________________________________ Inbox full of unwanted email? Get leading protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

Would anyone know if records exist for marriages in or around Killarney in the years 1858-60? In am looking for the marriage certificate for Margaret SHEEHAN and Daniel SPILLANE, who arrived in London just before the 1861 Census ( where I found them ) with son, Thomas, aged 1. All were born in Kerry, Margaret was from Killarney, and Daniel was born in Glenflesk in 1841 ( I have Daniel's certificate ), but I cannot find a baptismal entry for Thomas. Mary Simpson

I believe most of the Wills of Ireland were also destroyed in the Four Courts incident, Fintan. Since 1922, there has been a low key effort to recover copies of Wills that were not sent to Dublin, having been retained in the large estate manors and County cities and towns. There are some compiled indexes, Philidor for one, that give some information on lost wills, but nothing more than date, county, maybe the townland and the name of the grantor of the Will. Ray Marshall Where it's Summer in Minneapolis -----Original Message----- From: irl-kerry-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irl-kerry-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Fintan Sheehan Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 9:12 AM To: carole_watts@talk21.com; IRL-KERRY@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] LOVETT James b. c. 1817 Killarney Hi, birth certs werent destroyed in Four Courts fire afaik,just census returns. However dont think official registration of births began by time James left for England. You could try church records. National library in Dublin have microfilm of catholic church records. Not sure about Church of Ireland or presbeterian records. Best bet is to write or phone local church to see if they have any clues. Regards, Fintan ----- Original Message ---- From: carole_ watts <carole_watts@talk21.com> To: IRL-KERRY@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, 5 June, 2007 1:14:15 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] LOVETT James b. c. 1817 Killarney James LOVETT was my GGGrandfather. He was a tailor and came to London sometime before 1838 because in that year he married in St Mary's Church, St Marylebone. He married a Lucy Moncrieffe from Cork b.c.1814. James signed with a mark and his name on marriage is recorded as LOVAT but thereafter he, his wife and all the offspring used the spelling LOVETT. I can track his life in England by census returns - he lived first in Somers Town [St Pancras], later in South London and died in a workhouse infirmary in Mile End New Town aged 75 years in 1892. Lucy died in 1859 aged 45 in Somers Town and James remarried and had more children. I've recently visited Killarney in the hopes of finding some information about James' family of origin and earlier life but I have drawn a blank so far, partly because the centrally held birth records for kerry were destroyed in Dublin in 1922 and partly because I don't know in which parish he was born. Since he was a tailor, I guess he likely lived in or near Killarney Town. I'm also not sure about his religion. At that time in Kerry almost everyone will have been Roman Catholic, but James married in a Church of England Church. His father is recorded on the marriage certificate as John LOVAT[sic], labourer. I've comissioned a search but will not hear anything until later in June. Any help would be much appreciated. I asked, while in Kerry, at Tourist Information Centres and Registrars and tried the advertised Genealogical Record Centre in Killarney which proved to be entirely inaccessible. Kerry is so beautiful and the people were so friendly and welcoming, I feel proud that my ancestors came from this part of the world. Surely they have left a mark somewhere? Carole --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your freeaccount today. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ___________________________________________________________ Inbox full of unwanted email? Get leading protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.9/832 - Release Date: 6/4/2007 6:43 PM

Hi, birth certs werent destroyed in Four Courts fire afaik,just census returns. However dont think official registration of births began by time James left for England. You could try church records. National library in Dublin have microfilm of catholic church records. Not sure about Church of Ireland or presbeterian records. Best bet is to write or phone local church to see if they have any clues. Regards, Fintan ----- Original Message ---- From: carole_ watts <carole_watts@talk21.com> To: IRL-KERRY@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, 5 June, 2007 1:14:15 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] LOVETT James b. c. 1817 Killarney James LOVETT was my GGGrandfather. He was a tailor and came to London sometime before 1838 because in that year he married in St Mary's Church, St Marylebone. He married a Lucy Moncrieffe from Cork b.c.1814. James signed with a mark and his name on marriage is recorded as LOVAT but thereafter he, his wife and all the offspring used the spelling LOVETT. I can track his life in England by census returns - he lived first in Somers Town [St Pancras], later in South London and died in a workhouse infirmary in Mile End New Town aged 75 years in 1892. Lucy died in 1859 aged 45 in Somers Town and James remarried and had more children. I've recently visited Killarney in the hopes of finding some information about James' family of origin and earlier life but I have drawn a blank so far, partly because the centrally held birth records for kerry were destroyed in Dublin in 1922 and partly because I don't know in which parish he was born. Since he was a tailor, I guess he likely lived in or near Killarney Town. I'm also not sure about his religion. At that time in Kerry almost everyone will have been Roman Catholic, but James married in a Church of England Church. His father is recorded on the marriage certificate as John LOVAT[sic], labourer. I've comissioned a search but will not hear anything until later in June. Any help would be much appreciated. I asked, while in Kerry, at Tourist Information Centres and Registrars and tried the advertised Genealogical Record Centre in Killarney which proved to be entirely inaccessible. Kerry is so beautiful and the people were so friendly and welcoming, I feel proud that my ancestors came from this part of the world. Surely they have left a mark somewhere? Carole --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your freeaccount today. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ___________________________________________________________ Inbox full of unwanted email? Get leading protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

James LOVETT was my GGGrandfather. He was a tailor and came to London sometime before 1838 because in that year he married in St Mary's Church, St Marylebone. He married a Lucy Moncrieffe from Cork b.c.1814. James signed with a mark and his name on marriage is recorded as LOVAT but thereafter he, his wife and all the offspring used the spelling LOVETT. I can track his life in England by census returns - he lived first in Somers Town [St Pancras], later in South London and died in a workhouse infirmary in Mile End New Town aged 75 years in 1892. Lucy died in 1859 aged 45 in Somers Town and James remarried and had more children. I've recently visited Killarney in the hopes of finding some information about James' family of origin and earlier life but I have drawn a blank so far, partly because the centrally held birth records for kerry were destroyed in Dublin in 1922 and partly because I don't know in which parish he was born. Since he was a tailor, I guess he likely lived in or near Killarney Town. I'm also not sure about his religion. At that time in Kerry almost everyone will have been Roman Catholic, but James married in a Church of England Church. His father is recorded on the marriage certificate as John LOVAT[sic], labourer. I've comissioned a search but will not hear anything until later in June. Any help would be much appreciated. I asked, while in Kerry, at Tourist Information Centres and Registrars and tried the advertised Genealogical Record Centre in Killarney which proved to be entirely inaccessible. Kerry is so beautiful and the people were so friendly and welcoming, I feel proud that my ancestors came from this part of the world. Surely they have left a mark somewhere? Carole --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your freeaccount today.

irl-kerry-request@rootsweb.com wrote: >Today's Topics: > > 1. FW: [Library Ireland] Last Conquest of Ireland, Scot in > Ulster, Larne Gun-running, etc (Ray Marshall) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2007 20:57:21 -0500 >From: "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net> >Subject: [IRL-KERRY] FW: [Library Ireland] Last Conquest of Ireland, > Scot in Ulster, Larne Gun-running, etc >To: "Kerry List" <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> >Message-ID: <JDEMLDCBLONGAEDEIEFOGEDFDJAA.raymarsh@mninter.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: libraryireland-bounces@booksulster.com >[mailto:libraryireland-bounces@booksulster.com]On Behalf Of Books Ulster >Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2007 7:13 AM >To: Library Ireland >Subject: [Library Ireland] Last Conquest of Ireland, Scot in Ulster,Larne >Gun-running, etc > >The following have been added to www.libraryireland.com ><http://www.libraryireland.com> > >Larne Gun-Running, April, 1914 ><http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/UVF/Larne-Gun-Running-1.php/index.ph >p> >Ulster Volunteer Force Mobilise, April, 1914 ><http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/UVF/Ulster-Volunteer-Force-1.php/ind >ex.php> >The North American Colonies till their Separation from Britain ><http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/American-Colonies/Colonization-Virgi >nia.php/index.php> >The Last Conquest of Ireland (Perhaps) ><http://www.libraryireland.com/Last-Conquest-Ireland/Contents.php/index.php> >Irish Ideas ><http://www.libraryireland.com/Irish-Ideas/Contents.php/index.php> >The Scot in Ulster: Sketch of the History of the Scottish Population of >Ulster <http://www.libraryireland.com/Scot-Ulster/Contents.php/index.php> >The Larne Gun-running and Ulster Volunteer Force articles are original >reports from the Belfast Evening Telegraph of April 25th, 1914. >This being the 400th Anniversary of the Jamestown settlement we continue our >series of articles on Virginia with "The North American Colonies till their >Separation from Britain", which gives a good, general overview of the >colonization of North America, and particularly of Virginia. >John Mitchel's "The Last Conquest of Ireland (Perhaps)" is a very good >source for information on the Repeal Movement, Catholic Emancipation, Daniel >O'Connell, the Young Ireland Movement,etc., and not least the Irish Famine. >"Irish Ideas" by William O'Brien is a series of addresses, mostly given >during 1893. Included are chapters on "The Influence of the Irish Language" >and "Are the Irish Evicted Tenants Knaves?" >John Harrison's "The Scot in Ulster" (1888) gives a brief 115 page overview >of the Scottish impact in Ulster, and includes chapters on the settlements >in Down and Antrim, the Plantation, and the 1641 Rebellion >For all the latest books and articles visit >http://www.libraryireland.com/latest.php > > > > > >------------------------------ > >To contact the IRL-KERRY list administrator, send an email to >IRL-KERRY-admin@rootsweb.com. > >To post a message to the IRL-KERRY mailing list, send an email to IRL-KERRY@rootsweb.com. > >__________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com >with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the >email with no additional text. > > >End of IRL-KERRY Digest, Vol 2, Issue 159 >***************************************** > > >

Carole, I don't know if this is helpful or not, but in Griffiths Valuation, April 23, 1853, there was only one Lovett in Killarney Parish. That was a James Lovett, in the townland of Coolclogher. Ord S 66. Lessor was John Leahy. House only. This was a small townland, only 119 acres, including a corn mill and flour mill in 1853. Today, there is a beautiful manor house, Coolclogher House, there and is supposed to be a short distance from Killarney town. Nan On Jun 5, 2007, at 7:14 AM, carole_ watts wrote: > James LOVETT was my GGGrandfather. He was a tailor and came to > London sometime before 1838 because in that year he married in St > Mary's Church, St Marylebone. He married a Lucy Moncrieffe from > Cork b.c.1814. James signed with a mark and his name on marriage is > recorded as LOVAT but thereafter he, his wife and all the offspring > used the spelling LOVETT. I can track his life in England by census > returns - he lived first in Somers Town [St Pancras], later in > South London and died in a workhouse infirmary in Mile End New Town > aged 75 years in 1892. Lucy died in 1859 aged 45 in Somers Town and > James remarried and had more children. > > I've recently visited Killarney in the hopes of finding some > information about James' family of origin and earlier life but I > have drawn a blank so far, partly because the centrally held birth > records for kerry were destroyed in Dublin in 1922 and partly > because I don't know in which parish he was born. Since he was a > tailor, I guess he likely lived in or near Killarney Town. I'm also > not sure about his religion. At that time in Kerry almost everyone > will have been Roman Catholic, but James married in a Church of > England Church. His father is recorded on the marriage certificate > as John LOVAT[sic], labourer. > > I've comissioned a search but will not hear anything until later > in June. > > Any help would be much appreciated. I asked, while in Kerry, at > Tourist Information Centres and Registrars and tried the advertised > Genealogical Record Centre in Killarney which proved to be entirely > inaccessible. Kerry is so beautiful and the people were so friendly > and welcoming, I feel proud that my ancestors came from this part > of the world. Surely they have left a mark somewhere? > > Carole > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, > sign up for your freeaccount today. > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

-----Original Message----- From: libraryireland-bounces@booksulster.com [mailto:libraryireland-bounces@booksulster.com]On Behalf Of Books Ulster Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2007 7:13 AM To: Library Ireland Subject: [Library Ireland] Last Conquest of Ireland, Scot in Ulster,Larne Gun-running, etc The following have been added to www.libraryireland.com <http://www.libraryireland.com> Larne Gun-Running, April, 1914 <http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/UVF/Larne-Gun-Running-1.php/index.ph p> Ulster Volunteer Force Mobilise, April, 1914 <http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/UVF/Ulster-Volunteer-Force-1.php/ind ex.php> The North American Colonies till their Separation from Britain <http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/American-Colonies/Colonization-Virgi nia.php/index.php> The Last Conquest of Ireland (Perhaps) <http://www.libraryireland.com/Last-Conquest-Ireland/Contents.php/index.php> Irish Ideas <http://www.libraryireland.com/Irish-Ideas/Contents.php/index.php> The Scot in Ulster: Sketch of the History of the Scottish Population of Ulster <http://www.libraryireland.com/Scot-Ulster/Contents.php/index.php> The Larne Gun-running and Ulster Volunteer Force articles are original reports from the Belfast Evening Telegraph of April 25th, 1914. This being the 400th Anniversary of the Jamestown settlement we continue our series of articles on Virginia with "The North American Colonies till their Separation from Britain", which gives a good, general overview of the colonization of North America, and particularly of Virginia. John Mitchel's "The Last Conquest of Ireland (Perhaps)" is a very good source for information on the Repeal Movement, Catholic Emancipation, Daniel O'Connell, the Young Ireland Movement,etc., and not least the Irish Famine. "Irish Ideas" by William O'Brien is a series of addresses, mostly given during 1893. Included are chapters on "The Influence of the Irish Language" and "Are the Irish Evicted Tenants Knaves?" John Harrison's "The Scot in Ulster" (1888) gives a brief 115 page overview of the Scottish impact in Ulster, and includes chapters on the settlements in Down and Antrim, the Plantation, and the 1641 Rebellion For all the latest books and articles visit http://www.libraryireland.com/latest.php

Start stocking up before the Greens get into govenrment next week with Fianna Fail and put a carbon tax on it. Timber logs are carbon neutral through.Gov are giving 4k grants for wood pellet boilers 1k for wood burning stoves if yer planning to install heating system in refurbished house. F ----- Original Message ---- From: "Noreen910@aol.com" <Noreen910@aol.com> To: raymarsh@mninter.net; fintansheehan@yahoo.ie Cc: IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, 1 June, 2007 3:32:46 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! In a message dated 6/1/2007 9:48:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time, raymarsh@mninter.net writes: Soon they will be spending millions (of other people's money) establishing turf cutting demonstrations so folk will be able to learn how it was done in the "olden days." Our equivalent geniuses live in New York City and Washington, D.C. Ray You know, this summer will be the first that my husband and I will be able to stay in our own refurbished house in Kerry and one of the things we really looked forward to was finding out if we had our own section of bog to cut turf - not that we were actually planning to, but it's nice to know and we have a solid fuel burning stove for heat. It's really quite a shame that the old ways are being phased out, the smell of turf burning is just wonderful. I suppose I'll be able to find some, since some of the old timers still heat with it, but it's sad that something so wonderful is now frowned upon. Just wait twenty years or so and they'll be telling everyone that the fuel used in lieu of turf (for the environment) is causing some new dread disease! Lord, I do sound cranky - sorry! Noreen in NY See what's free at AOL.com. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/

In a message dated 6/1/2007 9:48:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time, raymarsh@mninter.net writes: Soon they will be spending millions (of other people's money) establishing turf cutting demonstrations so folk will be able to learn how it was done in the "olden days." Our equivalent geniuses live in New York City and Washington, D.C. Ray You know, this summer will be the first that my husband and I will be able to stay in our own refurbished house in Kerry and one of the things we really looked forward to was finding out if we had our own section of bog to cut turf - not that we were actually planning to, but it's nice to know and we have a solid fuel burning stove for heat. It's really quite a shame that the old ways are being phased out, the smell of turf burning is just wonderful. I suppose I'll be able to find some, since some of the old timers still heat with it, but it's sad that something so wonderful is now frowned upon. Just wait twenty years or so and they'll be telling everyone that the fuel used in lieu of turf (for the environment) is causing some new dread disease! Lord, I do sound cranky - sorry! Noreen in NY ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

Hi, turf cutting in many area has stopped due to EU-directive I think. We used to cut turf every year in Glencar but was phased out in late 1990s to ensure preservation of blanket bogs and habitats. Regards, Fintan http://www.myirishancestry.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Ray Marshall <raymarsh@mninter.net> To: Kerry List <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, 31 May, 2007 9:08:48 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:08:55 -0700 From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> Subject: [IRELAND] The Irish Boglands - Habitat Rich in Plant Life, Birds, Insects, Creatures, Peat, Preserved History To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> SNIPPET: There is something timeless about the Irish boglands with their wide landscapes of soft brown, stretching into the foothills of the distant blue mountains, broken only by occasional small figures stooping to a cutting or piling sods into a neat rick. Visitors encountering them for the first time gaze at the heather and bog cotton blowing in the breeze, watch a hare leaping lightly, hear the cry of a curlew and breath in the scent of the sharp peaty soil. Small wonder that artists and writers have immortalised the boglands of Ireland, from the paintings of Jack YEATS and Paul HENRY, to the poetry of Seamus HEANEY and the nostalgic images of a writer for children, Patricia LYNCH. Many birds make the bog their home, and the plaintive cry of the curlew, lapwing or redshank overhead is characteristic of spring or autumn, while the joyous song of the skylark and echoing call of the cuckoo is found in summer. The old country name for the grey heron is Molly-the-bogs. The brown or Irish hare is part of this kingdom, as is the cautious red fox, shy rabbit and tiny bank vole. Butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies are plentiful in summer, when the bog spider spins his web to catch the unwary. The Irish boglands are rich in plant life and at most times of the year you can see a range of flowers, heathers, grasses and shrubs which are only happy in this special habitat. One of the most unusual is the butterwort with a tall, brilliant blue flower. Its hairy basal leaves are slightly sticky and trap insects so that the edges of the leaf can then roll over the digest their prize. The golden-red sundew captures prey in the same manner. Orchids, too, enjoy the acid soil, while yellow iris paints bright patches of colour. Cross-leaved and St. Dabeoc's Heath grow in sturdy clumps. You will have to stoop very close to the ground to see the tiny blue flowers of milkwort, marsh violet or speedwell. The fragile ecosystem includes bogbean, bog asphodel, bog rosemary and bog myrtle. The latter is an insignificant little waterside shrub, but once you crush a leaf and get the spicy scent, you realise why it gained its alternative name of sweet gale. Folks of old used bunches of bog myrtle to discourage moths and other pests from their linen cupboards, just as they gathered bilberries and cranberries from the low-growing bushes for their food and lichens from the rocks to dye their cloth. Turf-cutting is big in Kerry. The drying black stooks of turf stand in the summer bogs among the yellow flat irises, the white bog cotton and the deep and bronze pools. However, to strip the bogs seems a pity. It takes a million years to make a bog and its unique flora, once gone, is irreplaceable. Bogs are estimated to have covered up to 3 million acres, or approximately one-seventh of Ireland's land area in the past. They have acted, variously, as a major constraint on the human exploitation of the Irish environment during later prehistoric and early historic times and in more recent centuries, as a reservoir of colonizable land and as a source of fuel. Only with the rise in population since the early modern period, and improvements in drainage, have bogs come to be regarded as land to be reclaimed rather than wasteland to be avoided. Many unusual and interesting objects from the bronze age, etc., have been found preserved in the bogs, as well as human remains. In one of HEANEY's poems about the bog, "Strange Fruit," are found these lines: "Here is the girl's head like an exhumed gourd/Oval-faced, prune-skinned, prune-stones for teeth/They unswaddled the wet fern of her hair/And made an exhibition of its coil/Let the air at her leathery beauty/Pash of tallow, perishable treasure/Her broken nose is dark as a turf clod/Her eyeholes blank as pools... Murdered, forgotten, nameless ...." The Jan-Feb 2002 issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, published in Dublin, featured a several-page story on the boglands with colorful photographs to include: A donkey-cart in Co. Mayo; a hen harrier in flight; delicate wisps of bog cotton; exposed stone walls of Ceide Fields, near Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, which have disclosed ancient farming methods; blanket bog near Ballyhoura, Co. Limerick; Nad Bog in Cork with recent snow-fall; commercial turf-cutting machines in the boglands of Co. Offaly; a delicate glimmer of turquoise, a damselfly on a blade of grass; a perfectly camouflaged snipe with long beak treading carefully through the undergrowth; a red grouse against a background of heather and scrubland; a smiling woman with her traditional bastable pot making delicious soda bread, hot turf ash piled on top of bastable which hangs over a turf fire; a kestrel seeking prey swooping across the land; gnarled stumps of bog oak exposed over the years near Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohill, Co. Kerry; gorgeous red and black peacock butterfly on the stalk of a purple-blue scabious; a curlew making a comeback after being threatened with extinction because of changing farm practices; a little creature called a bank vole; the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, with local guides showing visitors how to try their hand at turf-cutting in the traditional way; bushy bog myrtle; the vast brown expanse of commercial bogland in the midlands punctuated by yellow gorse bushes; a common lizard soaks up sunshine while stretched out on a warm rock amongst purple flowers; a close-up of a bog spider spinning an intricate and strong web. Speaking of gorse bushes - I recall reading that the colorful little stone-chat bird can be found throughout Ireland, especially on golden gorse bushes (perhaps also in the bogland?), its name derived from its distinctive call which is reminiscent of two stones being rubbed together. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ___________________________________________________________ New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://mail.yahoo.net/uk

Thanks, Fintan Isn't it wonderful how those folks in Brussels and Strassburg learned so quickly that they know better than anyone what is needed and wanted everywhere? Soon they will be spending millions (of other people's money) establishing turf cutting demonstrations so folk will be able to learn how it was done in the "olden days." Our equivalent geniuses live in New York City and Washington, D.C. Ray -----Original Message----- From: Fintan Sheehan [mailto:fintansheehan@yahoo.ie] Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 3:56 AM To: Ray Marshall; Kerry List Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! Hi, turf cutting in many area has stopped due to EU-directive I think. We used to cut turf every year in Glencar but was phased out in late 1990s to ensure preservation of blanket bogs and habitats. Regards, Fintan http://www.myirishancestry.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Ray Marshall <raymarsh@mninter.net> To: Kerry List <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, 31 May, 2007 9:08:48 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:08:55 -0700 From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> Subject: [IRELAND] The Irish Boglands - Habitat Rich in Plant Life, Birds, Insects, Creatures, Peat, Preserved History To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> SNIPPET: There is something timeless about the Irish boglands with their wide landscapes of soft brown, stretching into the foothills of the distant blue mountains, broken only by occasional small figures stooping to a cutting or piling sods into a neat rick. Visitors encountering them for the first time gaze at the heather and bog cotton blowing in the breeze, watch a hare leaping lightly, hear the cry of a curlew and breath in the scent of the sharp peaty soil. Small wonder that artists and writers have immortalised the boglands of Ireland, from the paintings of Jack YEATS and Paul HENRY, to the poetry of Seamus HEANEY and the nostalgic images of a writer for children, Patricia LYNCH. Many birds make the bog their home, and the plaintive cry of the curlew, lapwing or redshank overhead is characteristic of spring or autumn, while the joyous song of the skylark and echoing call of the cuckoo is found in summer. The old country name for the grey heron is Molly-the-bogs. The brown or Irish hare is part of this kingdom, as is the cautious red fox, shy rabbit and tiny bank vole. Butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies are plentiful in summer, when the bog spider spins his web to catch the unwary. The Irish boglands are rich in plant life and at most times of the year you can see a range of flowers, heathers, grasses and shrubs which are only happy in this special habitat. One of the most unusual is the butterwort with a tall, brilliant blue flower. Its hairy basal leaves are slightly sticky and trap insects so that the edges of the leaf can then roll over the digest their prize. The golden-red sundew captures prey in the same manner. Orchids, too, enjoy the acid soil, while yellow iris paints bright patches of colour. Cross-leaved and St. Dabeoc's Heath grow in sturdy clumps. You will have to stoop very close to the ground to see the tiny blue flowers of milkwort, marsh violet or speedwell. The fragile ecosystem includes bogbean, bog asphodel, bog rosemary and bog myrtle. The latter is an insignificant little waterside shrub, but once you crush a leaf and get the spicy scent, you realise why it gained its alternative name of sweet gale. Folks of old used bunches of bog myrtle to discourage moths and other pests from their linen cupboards, just as they gathered bilberries and cranberries from the low-growing bushes for their food and lichens from the rocks to dye their cloth. Turf-cutting is big in Kerry. The drying black stooks of turf stand in the summer bogs among the yellow flat irises, the white bog cotton and the deep and bronze pools. However, to strip the bogs seems a pity. It takes a million years to make a bog and its unique flora, once gone, is irreplaceable. Bogs are estimated to have covered up to 3 million acres, or approximately one-seventh of Ireland's land area in the past. They have acted, variously, as a major constraint on the human exploitation of the Irish environment during later prehistoric and early historic times and in more recent centuries, as a reservoir of colonizable land and as a source of fuel. Only with the rise in population since the early modern period, and improvements in drainage, have bogs come to be regarded as land to be reclaimed rather than wasteland to be avoided. Many unusual and interesting objects from the bronze age, etc., have been found preserved in the bogs, as well as human remains. In one of HEANEY's poems about the bog, "Strange Fruit," are found these lines: "Here is the girl's head like an exhumed gourd/Oval-faced, prune-skinned, prune-stones for teeth/They unswaddled the wet fern of her hair/And made an exhibition of its coil/Let the air at her leathery beauty/Pash of tallow, perishable treasure/Her broken nose is dark as a turf clod/Her eyeholes blank as pools... Murdered, forgotten, nameless ...." The Jan-Feb 2002 issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, published in Dublin, featured a several-page story on the boglands with colorful photographs to include: A donkey-cart in Co. Mayo; a hen harrier in flight; delicate wisps of bog cotton; exposed stone walls of Ceide Fields, near Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, which have disclosed ancient farming methods; blanket bog near Ballyhoura, Co. Limerick; Nad Bog in Cork with recent snow-fall; commercial turf-cutting machines in the boglands of Co. Offaly; a delicate glimmer of turquoise, a damselfly on a blade of grass; a perfectly camouflaged snipe with long beak treading carefully through the undergrowth; a red grouse against a background of heather and scrubland; a smiling woman with her traditional bastable pot making delicious soda bread, hot turf ash piled on top of bastable which hangs over a turf fire; a kestrel seeking prey swooping across the land; gnarled stumps of bog oak exposed over the years near Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohill, Co. Kerry; gorgeous red and black peacock butterfly on the stalk of a purple-blue scabious; a curlew making a comeback after being threatened with extinction because of changing farm practices; a little creature called a bank vole; the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, with local guides showing visitors how to try their hand at turf-cutting in the traditional way; bushy bog myrtle; the vast brown expanse of commercial bogland in the midlands punctuated by yellow gorse bushes; a common lizard soaks up sunshine while stretched out on a warm rock amongst purple flowers; a close-up of a bog spider spinning an intricate and strong web. Speaking of gorse bushes - I recall reading that the colorful little stone-chat bird can be found throughout Ireland, especially on golden gorse bushes (perhaps also in the bogland?), its name derived from its distinctive call which is reminiscent of two stones being rubbed together. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ___________________________________________________________ New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out more at the Yahoo! Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://mail.yahoo.net/uk -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.5/826 - Release Date: 5/31/2007 4:51 PM

Good morning all. Discussions of Irish bogs is in line with my second interest, History of Ireland. The bogs as we know them emerged from the last ice age as Eskers. You can see the extent 10,000 years ago of the Eskers on the Irish landscape on this map. http://www.rootsweb.com/~irluie2/history/oldulster.htm I hope you all enjoy the view. Don Kelly ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net> To: "Fintan Sheehan" <fintansheehan@yahoo.ie> Cc: "Kerry List" <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 6:47 AM Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! > Thanks, Fintan > > Isn't it wonderful how those folks in Brussels and Strassburg learned so > quickly that they know better than anyone what is needed and wanted > everywhere? > > Soon they will be spending millions (of other people's money) establishing > turf cutting demonstrations so folk will be able to learn how it was done > in > the "olden days." > > Our equivalent geniuses live in New York City and Washington, D.C. > > > Ray > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Fintan Sheehan [mailto:fintansheehan@yahoo.ie] > Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 3:56 AM > To: Ray Marshall; Kerry List > Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! > > Hi, > turf cutting in many area has stopped due to EU-directive I think. We used > to cut turf every year in Glencar but was phased out in late 1990s to > ensure > preservation of blanket bogs and habitats. > > Regards, > Fintan http://www.myirishancestry.com > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Ray Marshall <raymarsh@mninter.net> > To: Kerry List <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, 31 May, 2007 9:08:48 PM > Subject: [IRL-KERRY] FW: Something for you Kerry Bog-Trotters! > > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:08:55 -0700 > From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> > Subject: [IRELAND] The Irish Boglands - Habitat Rich in Plant Life, > Birds, Insects, Creatures, Peat, Preserved History > To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> > > > SNIPPET: There is something timeless about the Irish boglands with their > wide landscapes of soft brown, stretching into the foothills of the > distant > blue mountains, broken only by occasional small figures stooping to a > cutting or piling sods into a neat rick. Visitors encountering them for > the > first time gaze at the heather and bog cotton blowing in the breeze, watch > a > hare leaping lightly, hear the cry of a curlew and breath in the scent of > the sharp peaty soil. Small wonder that artists and writers have > immortalised the boglands of Ireland, from the paintings of Jack YEATS and > Paul HENRY, to the poetry of Seamus HEANEY and the nostalgic images of a > writer for children, Patricia LYNCH. > > Many birds make the bog their home, and the plaintive cry of the curlew, > lapwing or redshank overhead is characteristic of spring or autumn, while > the joyous song of the skylark and echoing call of the cuckoo is found in > summer. The old country name for the grey heron is Molly-the-bogs. The > brown > or Irish hare is part of this kingdom, as is the cautious red fox, shy > rabbit and tiny bank vole. Butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies are > plentiful in summer, when the bog spider spins his web to catch the > unwary. > > The Irish boglands are rich in plant life and at most times of the year > you > can see a range of flowers, heathers, grasses and shrubs which are only > happy in this special habitat. One of the most unusual is the butterwort > with a tall, brilliant blue flower. Its hairy basal leaves are slightly > sticky and trap insects so that the edges of the leaf can then roll over > the > digest their prize. The golden-red sundew captures prey in the same > manner. > Orchids, too, enjoy the acid soil, while yellow iris paints bright patches > of colour. Cross-leaved and St. Dabeoc's Heath grow in sturdy clumps. You > will have to stoop very close to the ground to see the tiny blue flowers > of > milkwort, marsh violet or speedwell. The fragile ecosystem includes > bogbean, > bog asphodel, bog rosemary and bog myrtle. The latter is an insignificant > little waterside shrub, but once you crush a leaf and get the spicy scent, > you realise why it gained its alternative name of sweet gale. Folks of old > used bunches of bog myrtle to discourage moths and other pests from their > linen cupboards, just as they gathered bilberries and cranberries from the > low-growing bushes for their food and lichens from the rocks to dye their > cloth. > > Turf-cutting is big in Kerry. The drying black stooks of turf stand in the > summer bogs among the yellow flat irises, the white bog cotton and the > deep > and bronze pools. However, to strip the bogs seems a pity. It takes a > million years to make a bog and its unique flora, once gone, is > irreplaceable. > > Bogs are estimated to have covered up to 3 million acres, or approximately > one-seventh of Ireland's land area in the past. They have acted, > variously, > as a major constraint on the human exploitation of the Irish environment > during later prehistoric and early historic times and in more recent > centuries, as a reservoir of colonizable land and as a source of fuel. > Only > with the rise in population since the early modern period, and > improvements > in drainage, have bogs come to be regarded as land to be reclaimed rather > than wasteland to be avoided. Many unusual and interesting objects from > the > bronze age, etc., have been found preserved in the bogs, as well as human > remains. In one of HEANEY's poems about the bog, "Strange Fruit," are > found > these lines: "Here is the girl's head like an exhumed gourd/Oval-faced, > prune-skinned, prune-stones for teeth/They unswaddled the wet fern of her > hair/And made an exhibition of its coil/Let the air at her leathery > beauty/Pash of tallow, perishable treasure/Her broken nose is dark as a > turf > clod/Her eyeholes blank as pools... Murdered, forgotten, nameless ...." > > The Jan-Feb 2002 issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, published in > Dublin, featured a several-page story on the boglands with colorful > photographs to include: A donkey-cart in Co. Mayo; a hen harrier in > flight; > delicate wisps of bog cotton; exposed stone walls of Ceide Fields, near > Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, which have disclosed ancient farming methods; > blanket > bog near Ballyhoura, Co. Limerick; Nad Bog in Cork with recent snow-fall; > commercial turf-cutting machines in the boglands of Co. Offaly; a delicate > glimmer of turquoise, a damselfly on a blade of grass; a perfectly > camouflaged snipe with long beak treading carefully through the > undergrowth; > a red grouse against a background of heather and scrubland; a smiling > woman > with her traditional bastable pot making delicious soda bread, hot turf > ash > piled on top of bastable which hangs over a turf fire; a kestrel seeking > prey swooping across the land; gnarled stumps of bog oak exposed over the > years near Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohill, Co. Kerry; gorgeous > red and black peacock butterfly on the stalk of a purple-blue scabious; a > curlew making a comeback after being threatened with extinction because of > changing farm practices; a little creature called a bank vole; the > Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, with local guides showing visitors > how > to try their hand at turf-cutting in the traditional way; bushy bog > myrtle; > the vast brown expanse of commercial bogland in the midlands punctuated by > yellow gorse bushes; a common lizard soaks up sunshine while stretched out > on a warm rock amongst purple flowers; a close-up of a bog spider spinning > an intricate and strong web. Speaking of gorse bushes - I recall reading > that the colorful little stone-chat bird can be found throughout Ireland, > especially on golden gorse bushes (perhaps also in the bogland?), its name > derived from its distinctive call which is reminiscent of two stones being > rubbed together. > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > New Yahoo! Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out > more > at the Yahoo! Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. > http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://mail.yahoo.net/uk > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.5/826 - Release Date: 5/31/2007 > 4:51 PM > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.5/826 - Release Date: 5/31/2007 > 4:51 PM > >

The recent posts reminded me of a few paragraphs from my father's reminiscences. He spent his childhood in Kilkeel, Co Down, before going to New Zealand with hi mother and younger brothers and sister in 1920, at the age of 12. His father went out in 1914, and died in 1922, leaving the family virtually destitute. I've sent this to the paveepoint website as well. Paddy in Tasmania ••• There were gypsies around then too. I remember they always seemed to be in black old-fashioned clothing and they seemed as though they needed a wash. They lived in big horse-drawn caravans. They were good at repairing pots and pans and things like that. When they were in the district people used to say you had to watch everything; they were terrible thieves. They had a notable ability to handle horses. One night when they were in the district I remember seeing a horse walking on its hind legs. The music was going and the ringmaster cracked his whip and the horses then moved round in circles. We children stood on the verge and watched and listened. It was all so weird to us. We used to imagine they were casting spells. There was something mysterious about it all that fascinated us. Some were on the trapeze as well. It fascinated me how they let go and reached out to catch the flying bar. One time, before she got word from Dad about going to New Zealand, Mum, (much against her better judgement - she didn't approve) went to a gypsy fortune-teller with Ellen Mitchell (Dad's cousin) when they were at a fair. Ellen went first and had her palm read and then convinced Mum to have hers read too. Mum didn't want to because she didn't believe in that sort of thing. Ellen gave the woman threepence - crossing the palm with silver - and asked her to tell her friend's fortune. The woman began to turn up the cards. She said to Mum "You'll get a letter soon that will change your life forever; you'll take a long journey to a far away country and be met by a dark man with a beard. You'll be very happy for a short while, then tragedy." She dealt the next card. It was the joker (or maybe the ace of spades, I can't remember which) and closed up the pack and said "I can't tell you anything more". In the next few days a letter came from Dad saying that the farm had been sold, telling her to pack up and move out right away. When Mum met Dad again in New Zealand he had grown a beard and was tanned by the sun. I probably remember that story better than Mum would have because it made such an impression on me at the time. •••

------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:08:55 -0700 From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> Subject: [IRELAND] The Irish Boglands - Habitat Rich in Plant Life, Birds, Insects, Creatures, Peat, Preserved History To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> SNIPPET: There is something timeless about the Irish boglands with their wide landscapes of soft brown, stretching into the foothills of the distant blue mountains, broken only by occasional small figures stooping to a cutting or piling sods into a neat rick. Visitors encountering them for the first time gaze at the heather and bog cotton blowing in the breeze, watch a hare leaping lightly, hear the cry of a curlew and breath in the scent of the sharp peaty soil. Small wonder that artists and writers have immortalised the boglands of Ireland, from the paintings of Jack YEATS and Paul HENRY, to the poetry of Seamus HEANEY and the nostalgic images of a writer for children, Patricia LYNCH. Many birds make the bog their home, and the plaintive cry of the curlew, lapwing or redshank overhead is characteristic of spring or autumn, while the joyous song of the skylark and echoing call of the cuckoo is found in summer. The old country name for the grey heron is Molly-the-bogs. The brown or Irish hare is part of this kingdom, as is the cautious red fox, shy rabbit and tiny bank vole. Butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies are plentiful in summer, when the bog spider spins his web to catch the unwary. The Irish boglands are rich in plant life and at most times of the year you can see a range of flowers, heathers, grasses and shrubs which are only happy in this special habitat. One of the most unusual is the butterwort with a tall, brilliant blue flower. Its hairy basal leaves are slightly sticky and trap insects so that the edges of the leaf can then roll over the digest their prize. The golden-red sundew captures prey in the same manner. Orchids, too, enjoy the acid soil, while yellow iris paints bright patches of colour. Cross-leaved and St. Dabeoc's Heath grow in sturdy clumps. You will have to stoop very close to the ground to see the tiny blue flowers of milkwort, marsh violet or speedwell. The fragile ecosystem includes bogbean, bog asphodel, bog rosemary and bog myrtle. The latter is an insignificant little waterside shrub, but once you crush a leaf and get the spicy scent, you realise why it gained its alternative name of sweet gale. Folks of old used bunches of bog myrtle to discourage moths and other pests from their linen cupboards, just as they gathered bilberries and cranberries from the low-growing bushes for their food and lichens from the rocks to dye their cloth. Turf-cutting is big in Kerry. The drying black stooks of turf stand in the summer bogs among the yellow flat irises, the white bog cotton and the deep and bronze pools. However, to strip the bogs seems a pity. It takes a million years to make a bog and its unique flora, once gone, is irreplaceable. Bogs are estimated to have covered up to 3 million acres, or approximately one-seventh of Ireland's land area in the past. They have acted, variously, as a major constraint on the human exploitation of the Irish environment during later prehistoric and early historic times and in more recent centuries, as a reservoir of colonizable land and as a source of fuel. Only with the rise in population since the early modern period, and improvements in drainage, have bogs come to be regarded as land to be reclaimed rather than wasteland to be avoided. Many unusual and interesting objects from the bronze age, etc., have been found preserved in the bogs, as well as human remains. In one of HEANEY's poems about the bog, "Strange Fruit," are found these lines: "Here is the girl's head like an exhumed gourd/Oval-faced, prune-skinned, prune-stones for teeth/They unswaddled the wet fern of her hair/And made an exhibition of its coil/Let the air at her leathery beauty/Pash of tallow, perishable treasure/Her broken nose is dark as a turf clod/Her eyeholes blank as pools... Murdered, forgotten, nameless ...." The Jan-Feb 2002 issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, published in Dublin, featured a several-page story on the boglands with colorful photographs to include: A donkey-cart in Co. Mayo; a hen harrier in flight; delicate wisps of bog cotton; exposed stone walls of Ceide Fields, near Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, which have disclosed ancient farming methods; blanket bog near Ballyhoura, Co. Limerick; Nad Bog in Cork with recent snow-fall; commercial turf-cutting machines in the boglands of Co. Offaly; a delicate glimmer of turquoise, a damselfly on a blade of grass; a perfectly camouflaged snipe with long beak treading carefully through the undergrowth; a red grouse against a background of heather and scrubland; a smiling woman with her traditional bastable pot making delicious soda bread, hot turf ash piled on top of bastable which hangs over a turf fire; a kestrel seeking prey swooping across the land; gnarled stumps of bog oak exposed over the years near Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohill, Co. Kerry; gorgeous red and black peacock butterfly on the stalk of a purple-blue scabious; a curlew making a comeback after being threatened with extinction because of changing farm practices; a little creature called a bank vole; the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, with local guides showing visitors how to try their hand at turf-cutting in the traditional way; bushy bog myrtle; the vast brown expanse of commercial bogland in the midlands punctuated by yellow gorse bushes; a common lizard soaks up sunshine while stretched out on a warm rock amongst purple flowers; a close-up of a bog spider spinning an intricate and strong web. Speaking of gorse bushes - I recall reading that the colorful little stone-chat bird can be found throughout Ireland, especially on golden gorse bushes (perhaps also in the bogland?), its name derived from its distinctive call which is reminiscent of two stones being rubbed together.

Mary , These people traveled Australia during the great depression 1929 to 1935 looking for work I remember as a small child , we were luckey enough to own a small car. My dad would always give them a lift and a feed. They wore felt hats with corks dangleing from the brim to keep the flies off and carried their swag[bedding] But then most people were hit hard , those days have gone where people would lend a hand to others. At the time of the Depression my Dad was fairly comfortable , he married late at 42 in 1929. He was first violinest with the Sydney Orchestra , as it was then called . He some times lent money to friends before the depression and got very badley burnt He lent 12.000 pounds [a lot of money in those times] to Sir Isack Isack's who took advantage of the Moratorium Act and never repaid one penny. This broke my dad and he seem to go down hill from then on . Some times you wonder where the young ones are going. They never knew hardship and want everthing TODAY , not tomorrow when they can pay for it Trish Hello Jack, Checked the word in the Concise Oxford Dictionary and it reads " Tinker. A mender (esp. itinerant) of kettles and pans etc"., and a few other meanings also. When I was a little girl (many many years ago) I remember the rhyme "Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Sailor,Rich man, Poor man, Beggarman and Thief". This rhyme was used on a circle of friends, to pick out the one who had to be "in" for Hidey. My Welsh Dad used to say they were men who wandered around and did mending or patching of pots and pans or anything you wanted fixed. Over here in North Queensland, I remember as a child, seeing what we called "Swageys" who were men who were out of work and called at houses to do this type of work or sharpen knives and scissors etc. All they wanted was some tea, sugar, and maybe a little butter and bread which they put into their little tins and Swaggy Bags they carried over their shoulders. The ones who called at our house were very respectful old men and I often wondered what had happened in their lives to send them out on the road looking for little jobs like this, and camping in the sheds around the area, while I was so comfy in my own home. If their work was good, they also got a few pounds from Dad to help them on their way. They had many stories to tell about their travells and Dad and Mum heard also of terrible tradegies that had sent some of them out on the road. My parents always had a handout for any of these poor people as they had both come from families who had struggled to bring up their large families in Wales and Ireland and knew what it was like not to have much money. In our town, we never heard of any Swaggys causing any trouble with any person or property. In those bygone days, we could leave our houses open and were never pestered or robbed. How things have changed!! Well you can go to bed now Jack after hearing my idea of the word "Tinker." Kind regards, Mary ----- Original Message ----- From: "John L. Sweeney" <sweelab@enter.net> To: "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net>; "Kerry List" <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:09 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] Subject: [IRELAND] Tinker Tribes - CLAFFEY, SHERLOCK,DRISCOLL, CASEY, CARTHY, COFFEY, McQUEEN > Good Evening All: > > "Traveller" is an American expression. "Tinker" is what I knew for so > many > years and is still applied to those of us who are what we know are > "Tinkers" > in our homeland. > > Contributed by Jack Sweeney, [one of my favorite people], who still lives > in > Palmer, Pennsylvania. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.8.0/818 - Release Date: 25/05/2007 12:32 PM

Very interesting Donal. I thought all Gypsies came from Russia or Romania. One is never too old to learn! Kind regards, Mary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donal O'Kelly" <ocollaugh@comcast.net> To: "John L. Sweeney" <sweelab@enter.net>; "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net>; "Kerry List" <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:34 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-KERRY] Subject: [IRELAND] Tinker Tribes - CLAFFEY, SHERLOCK,DRISCOLL, CASEY, CARTHY, COFFEY, McQUEEN > More: http://www.gypsyloresociety.org/cultureintro.html Don > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John L. Sweeney" <sweelab@enter.net> > To: "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net>; "Kerry List" > <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 8:09 PM > Subject: [IRL-KERRY] Subject: [IRELAND] Tinker Tribes - CLAFFEY, > SHERLOCK,DRISCOLL, CASEY, CARTHY, COFFEY, McQUEEN > > >> Good Evening All: >> >> "Traveller" is an American expression. "Tinker" is what I knew for so >> many >> years and is still applied to those of us who are what we know are >> "Tinkers" >> in our homeland. >> >> Contributed by Jack Sweeney, [one of my favorite people], who still lives >> in >> Palmer, Pennsylvania. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message