Karen, Reading your story brought back so many wonderful memories for me. I don't know about anyone else, but I enjoyed your report and would love to hear more. How many of your family did you invite compared to how many showed up? Did you make plans with the caterer before you left for Ireland? Where did you stay and were you happy with the place? Did you all stay at the same place? Would love to hear more... Kathleen~CT. From: Karen Bell <jessandrak@netscape.net> To: _IRL-TIPPERARY-L@rootsweb.com_ (mailto:IRL-TIPPERARY-L@rootsweb.com) Subject: Trip to Tipperary report Dear list, Just a short vacatiion report on my trip to Tipperary from May 2nd until May 9th. I just returned from my 1st genealogical visit to Tipperary and although the weather was cold, windy and rainy all week I had a wonderful time and have already fallen in love with the landscape and people of the area. It took two days to get used to driving on the wrong side AND the hedgerows and walls make it much worse BUT aftera few days I felt like a professional ... even with a stick shift and didn't really have a problem at all. I had organised a family reunion for Perry family descendants and we had almost 20 persons from Canada, the US and England that met along with the last of the Irish Perry descendants who showed us around and took us to places and cemeteries that no tourist ever would have found without help. I had organised a caterer and we had a wonderful dinner for everyone which included the best salmon (fresh from the river Suir) that any of us ever had. Everyone we met was more than helpful and soooo friendly and after the news spread of our groups' arrival we even received invitations to visit various families and estates because they "just wanted to meet us". I have never met such a friendly folk!! I admit I didn't get to as much genealogy as I had hoped to as I was busy welcoming the other descendants who were arriving and organising the activities and party but I made some great new acquaintances and have been invited back with my family this fall to really explore things. I did find the ruins of the old Perry homestead from 1763 until 1827 and Perry's Holy Well but was very dissapointed that the cemeteries are in such bad shape that many are almost unaccesable and the gravestones are literally unreadable. Even some stones from 1950 were practically illegible probably due to the wet climate and I realise I must learn to take rubbings or chalk if I want to read the old stones. I don't know how to do this yet and my newest project will be to learn more about that. I have never met so many friendly persons though and it was sad to leave so soon ... just as the sun came out :-) Regarding looking for records at a Heritage Center or at the Bolton Library etc ... I was rather dissapointed ... on the other hand, in Dublin at the Registry of Deeds I found alot of information, at least for the early ancestors (ca. 1700-1800) and this is what I was looking for. as the silly little things that happened or the Perry oriented info won't interest you all but I must add a few things .... sheep mow the lawns in some of the cemeteries .... we were chased by bulls while crossing to another cemetery .... and we were invited to tea by almost everybody. If anyone plans to visit the area I can also recommend some lovely accomodations ... and that's the end of my report. Karen

Hello everyone, I am posting some of the inscriptions I have pictures of. Please don't e-mail regarding other surnames as I don't have a photographic memory and only have pictures of the ones I am listing. I must still sort out which graves belong to which cemetery but if any of you are researching these people I will let you know. Karen This was at Kilcooly at the side of the church. Erected by James HAYDEN ST. JOHNSTOWN In Memory of my beloved Mary HAYDEN alias SUTCLIFFE Died March 20th 1884 Aged 36 years ALSO Their only son EDWARD died April 8th 1884 Aged 11 months ... They will be done ... > >