A bit of weekend cheer for you all forwarded from SHAMROCK-L: "Two of my favorites, that I heard in Dublin, give I think a glimpse of the Irish word view: "Did you know that Adam & Eve were Irish?" "They had no clothes, no home, no jobs , and they thought they were in paradise!" " Did you know that Jesus was Irish?" "Thirty-three years old, unemployed, living with his mother? What else could he be?" The Irish sense of humor is their greatest trait and probably what has allowed them to survive so many centuries of oppression." Jana ;)

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------0C4DFA1C42E450A58361097C Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Just know that I am not the only person interested in this lovely piece of information! Thanks, Jack! Jana --------------0C4DFA1C42E450A58361097C Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from dewdrop2.mindspring.com (dewdrop2.mindspring.com [207.69.200.82]) by marin.marin.k12.ca.us (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id IAA04268 for <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us>; Sat, 22 Aug 1998 08:24:09 -0700 Received: from default (user-37kb96q.dialup.mindspring.com [207.69.164.218]) by dewdrop2.mindspring.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id LAA29268 for <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us>; Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:23:48 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19980822151852.00687744@pop.mindspring.com> X-Sender: jreidy@pop.mindspring.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (32) Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:18:52 -0400 To: jblack@marin.k12.ca.us From: Jack Reidy <jreidy@mindspring.com> Subject: Re: KIRWIN family and derivitives Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 10:49 PM 8/15/98 -0700, you wrote: > >I would definitely be interested in whatever you saved about the Gregg Castle - >I'll post it to the list and give you credit! Send it on... > >So far, so good, with the list - about 30 members in a week. I am pleased. Glad you are making progress. Here is my short blurb on Cregg Castle. ************** Cregg Castle in Corrandula, Co Galway was originally build by the KIRWANs. It is now run as a B&B. We visted in 1993 and I thought you might like some details. Hosts are Anne-Marie and Pat Broderick and their 2 children. Very friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Very reasonably priced for a castle. In 1993, it cost us 20 punts/person for a room with own bath. (1998 update: Saw it listed in a tourist book at 25-30 punts per night.) We saw several castles around Ireland fixed up as first class hotels where you could spend over a 100 punts per person per night. The rates here were maybe 25% higher than the average B&B in area but I think well worth the premium. Anne-Marie gave me a short history of Castle. (It was on a typed sheet, done by Anne-Marie's mother.) Castle was built in 1648 by Clement Kirwan & subsequently lost to Blakes in 18th century. Legend is it was lost in a card game. Richard Kirwan (1733-?), a famous chemist of the time, had laboratory behind castle. Building is there but it has no roof. The Castle stayed in Blake family until 1947 when the last of them died off. Meanwhile estate was broken up by Irish Gov't to give land to local farmers. Now (1993) only 165 acres are still with Castle. In 1972, Anne-Marie's parents, who own Salthill Hotel, bought it for farmland to supply hotel. In 1988 Anne-Marie and Pat moved in and started restoring. Opened as B&B in 1990. We enjoyed our stay very much. I hope as a KIRWAN, you find this interesting and maybe visit on trip to Ireland. ****************** Jack ________________________________________________________ Jack Reidy Atlanta, GA USA jreidy@mindspring.com http://www.mindspring.com/~jreidy/reidy.htm (A Gathering of REIDYs) http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6108/limerick.htm (LIM surnames) http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6108/linksurn.htm (Irish surnames) http://www.rootsweb.com/~irish (IGSI - Irish Genealogy on the web) --------------0C4DFA1C42E450A58361097C--

-----Original Message----- From: LeotaG@aol.com <LeotaG@aol.com> To: KIRWIN-L@rootsweb.com <KIRWIN-L@rootsweb.com> Date: 22 August 1998 03:10 Subject: [KIRWIN-L] Re: KIRWIN-D Digest V98 #10 As far as I know the Carter in my line have remained in England, and mainly in the Nort East, in fact I was born in Gateshead myself. It would be nice to have an American cousin though, I think the best chance of that is with my Irish lot, there was a lot of migration in the middle 1800s as I expect you know, and I expect some of my ancestors could have swam over your way. The Kirwan - Carter connection is through the marriage of my parents. Josephin Kirwan - Arthur Herbert Carter Nov 1946. Josephine b 1926 dau of Joseph Kirwan & Sarah Flynn Joseph Kirwan b 1900 son of Joseph Kirwan & Ellen Cobbe Joseph Kirwan b 1864 son of Daniel, and thats as far as I`ve got. Thanks for the message though, I have not had a lot of response, At least I know I`m getting through. Good Hunting. Regards. George Carter. Also researching. LEIGH 1800s Cheshire COBBE 1600s Cheshire CHARLTON, CARR, CARTER, North Yorks & Durham. HALLIDAY, 1850 Nottingham FLYNN 1866 Galway IRE QUINN 1860 Queenstown, Cork. : > >My ggrandfather was born in Dublin, Ireland, c 1801 and came to America in the >mid-1800's. My mother told me that he had relatives named Carter living in >the Chicago area. Could you be part of those Carters? >LeotaG@aol.com > >

As far as I know the Carter in my line have remained in England, and mainly in the Nort East, in fact I was born in Gateshead myself. It would be nice to have an American cousin though, I think the best chance of that is with my Irish lot, there was a lot of migration in the middle 1800s as I expect you know, and I expect some of my ancestors could have swam over your way. The Kirwan - Carter connection is through the marriage of my parents. Josephin Kirwan - Arthur Herbert Carter Nov 1946. Josephine b 1926 dau of Joseph Kirwan & Sarah Flynn Joseph Kirwan b 1900 son of Joseph Kirwan & Ellen Cobbe Joseph Kirwan b 1864 son of Daniel, and thats as far as I`ve got. Thanks for the message though, I have not had a lot of response, At least I know I`m getting through. Good Hunting. Regards. George Carter. Also researching. LEIGH 1800s Cheshire COBBE 1600s Cheshire CHARLTON, CARR, CARTER, North Yorks & Durham. HALLIDAY, 1850 Nottingham FLYNN 1866 Galway IRE QUINN 1860 Queenstown, Cork. >My ggrandfather was born in Dublin, Ireland, c 1801 and came to America in the >mid-1800's. My mother told me that he had relatives named Carter living in >the Chicago area. Could you be part of those Carters? >LeotaG@aol.com > >

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------45BB55D25BD7DDF6F79A38FD Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit any Waterford Kirwins??? --------------45BB55D25BD7DDF6F79A38FD Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from bl-30.rootsweb.com (bl-30.rootsweb.com [207.113.245.30]) by marin.marin.k12.ca.us (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id OAA24691 for <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us>; Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:26:17 -0700 Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-30.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id OAA19791; Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:25:58 -0700 (PDT) Resent-Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 14:25:58 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <35DDADC3.7E1@email.com> Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 17:26:40 +0000 From: "I.G." <shamrock@email.com> Reply-To: shamrock@email.com Organization: Shamrock Services X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.04 (Macintosh; I; PPC) MIME-Version: 1.0 Old-To: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Waterford Heritage Center References: <199808210648.XAA10189@bl-30.rootsweb.com> X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by mail.lanline.com id RAA18708 X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by bl-30.rootsweb.com id OAA19757 Resent-Message-ID: <"NZUeiD.A.80E.kXe31"@bl-30.rootsweb.com> To: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/1477 X-Loop: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: SHAMROCK-L-request@rootsweb.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by bl-30.rootsweb.com id OAA19791 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I=92ve just returned from Ireland, and had the opportunity to visit the Waterford Heritage Center (the Family History Center for Waterford and Clonmel) in Waterford City. For a fee of 10 punts, I was able to spend the entire day pouring through copies of the old parish registrars... I found the staff most helpful and accomodating, and more than willing to give me several excellent suggestions.=20 I would suggest bring a good magnifying glass to help decipher some of the old handwritten entries. =20 Mary =3D=3D=3D=3D SHAMROCK Mailing List =3D=3D=3D=3D ** Want to know "How to Write a Successful Query"? Visit http://www.roots= web.com/~irlwat/instruct.htm ** --------------45BB55D25BD7DDF6F79A38FD--

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------EFE01C1A089E51094A809C64 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit More good tips.... Jana --------------EFE01C1A089E51094A809C64 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from bl-30.rootsweb.com (bl-30.rootsweb.com [207.113.245.30]) by marin.marin.k12.ca.us (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id RAA07874 for <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us>; Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:03:04 -0700 Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-30.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA29616; Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:02:43 -0700 (PDT) Resent-Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:02:43 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <199808210002.UAA01197@blue.ct.net> From: "Richard B Connell" <rconnell@strato.net> Old-To: <SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com> Subject: Health Boards Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 20:05:18 -0700 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1157 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Resent-Message-ID: <"r62iKB.A.aOH.ikL31"@bl-30.rootsweb.com> To: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/1457 X-Loop: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: SHAMROCK-L-request@rootsweb.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I recently sent to the County Laois Health Board in Portlaoise for some death informations and had a nice timely reply. I would recommend it for anyone that needs it. Midland Health Board Health Centre Dublin Road Co. Laois, Ireland They need: name of deceased, apprx date of death, place of death, single,married or widowed and age of deceased. It costs about $1.50 in U.S. Dollars and send an extra $1.00 for postage. They accepted my personal check. ==== SHAMROCK Mailing List ==== ** Want to know "How to Write a Successful Query"? Visit http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlwat/instruct.htm ** --------------EFE01C1A089E51094A809C64--

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------8424372E90B4C7CABBAA6AC4 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit more on the same subject... Jana --------------8424372E90B4C7CABBAA6AC4 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from bl-30.rootsweb.com (bl-30.rootsweb.com [207.113.245.30]) by marin.marin.k12.ca.us (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id SAA09673 for <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us>; Thu, 20 Aug 1998 18:44:01 -0700 Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-30.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id SAA08135; Thu, 20 Aug 1998 18:43:41 -0700 (PDT) ETAsAhRJRvBFpM/mAfah6cAPzpMfzt3kHgIUaOHJpuAIC6bQ2dyPAmkm3kt3fwI= Resent-Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 18:43:41 -0700 (PDT) X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAsAhRJRvBFpM/mAfah6cAPzpMfzt3kHgIUaOHJpuAIC6bQ2dyPAmkm3kt3fwI= From: mpetzolt2@webtv.net (Maura Petzolt) Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 20:26:08 -0500 (CDT) Old-To: jak@brainiac.com (John & Sally Kelly) Old-Cc: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: Name /Variations Message-ID: <3315-35DCCCB0-7057@mailtod-121.bryant.webtv.net> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit MIME-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) Resent-Message-ID: <"ethc6B.A.t-B.MDN31"@bl-30.rootsweb.com> To: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/1463 X-Loop: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: SHAMROCK-L-request@rootsweb.com Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII try these.... Irish First Names http://www.hylit.com/info/Names First Name Basis http://www.hypervigilance.com/genlog/firstname.html and I checked them so I know they work <g> Maura mpetzolt2@webtv.net *********************************** Helpful Hints for Successful Searching http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlwat/instruct.htm To join the SHAMROCK list, send only the word subscribe in the body of an email to SHAMROCK-L-request@rootsweb.com or SHAMROCK-D-request@rootsweb.com for the digest version ==== SHAMROCK Mailing List ==== ** To unsubscribe from SHAMROCK send unsubscribe to SHAMROCK-L-request@rootsweb.com for regular mail or SHAMROCK-D-request@rootsweb.com for digest ** --------------8424372E90B4C7CABBAA6AC4--

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------79494DB2332462BA3A04B1A5 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit FYI everyone - thought this was interesting and might come in as handy info along the way. Also, you can note the address for the SHAMROCK in case you want to subscribe to it (if you want to see much more about Irish research for other surnames...). Jana --------------79494DB2332462BA3A04B1A5 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Received: from bl-30.rootsweb.com (bl-30.rootsweb.com [207.113.245.30]) by marin.marin.k12.ca.us (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id SAA09730 for <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us>; Thu, 20 Aug 1998 18:47:59 -0700 Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-30.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA03955; Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:59:39 -0700 (PDT) Resent-Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:59:39 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980820204852.008185b0@brainiac.com> X-Sender: jak@brainiac.com X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 20:48:52 -0400 Old-To: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com From: John & Sally Kelly <jak@brainiac.com> Subject: Name /Variations Mime-Version: 1.0 Resent-Message-ID: <"vjaNSD.A.d9.6ZM31"@bl-30.rootsweb.com> To: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/1460 X-Loop: SHAMROCK-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: SHAMROCK-L-request@rootsweb.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Is there a list which would list the various uses for Irish names. For instance Bridget and Della are somewhat interchangeable. Peter and Patrick are often substituted for each other. What other names are so used . Are John and Hugh replacements for each other. Is there a list somewhere which gives these alternatives? Thank you for your response and cooperation.. J.A.K. *************************************************************** John and Sally Kelly jak@brainiac.com When It's Springtime in the Rockies ==== SHAMROCK Mailing List ==== ** To contact the SHAMROCK listowner, send a private message to mpetzolt2@webtv.net - put SHAMROCK problem in the subject line ** --------------79494DB2332462BA3A04B1A5--

In a message dated 98-08-21 06:47:15 EDT, you write: << X-Message: #3 Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 20:07:00 +0100 From: "George Carter" <genealogy.george@virgin.net> To: KIRWIN-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <000801bdcc6d$edf686a0$9f40a8c2@default> Subject: Re: [KIRWIN-L] Kirwan in Dublin Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit My great grandfather Joseph KIRWAN was born in in Dublin circa 1864 his father was Daniel Kirwan, Joseph left Dublin and married my g grandmother Ellen Cobbe in Manchester 1893, I cannot trace either of them in Manchester in the 1891 census, so he may have still been in Dublin, Has anyone come accross either of my names. Any help would be gratefuly received. >> My ggrandfather was born in Dublin, Ireland, c 1801 and came to America in the mid-1800's. My mother told me that he had relatives named Carter living in the Chicago area. Could you be part of those Carters? LeotaG@aol.com

My great grandfather Joseph KIRWAN was born in in Dublin circa 1864 his father was Daniel Kirwan, Joseph left Dublin and married my g grandmother Ellen Cobbe in Manchester 1893, I cannot trace either of them in Manchester in the 1891 census, so he may have still been in Dublin, Has anyone come accross either of my names. Any help would be gratefuly received. Regards. George Carter. Also looking for relatives of WILLIAM FLYNN born Galway 1866 and MARIA QUINN born Queenstown, Cork 1862

...and you are inviting all the rest of us to join you where and at what time for a short snort????? You know, loaves and fishes was a good story about there always being enough to share! BTW, one of our list members hinted awhile ago that plans are tentatively beginning for a KIRWAN/KIRWIN/KERWIN/CURWIN (whatever!) Family Reunion in Denver for the Summer of 1999. Perhaps we should all mark our calendars and Gerald and Tom can start collecting the Chateau Kirwan for us all??? Not wanting to blow her cover prematurely, I am sure that this list member will update us as information becomes available? Jana Gerald Kirwan wrote: > At 03:58 PM 8/13/98 , Tom Fitzsimmons wrote: > >Has anyone ever had a bottle of Chateau Kirwan? I bought a case in a > >Pennsylvania State Liquor Store in 1970 for my cousin's wedding. > > > >Tom Fitzsimmons. > > It is the only wine I buy and having just come back from a very successful > week of visiting family and friends with lots of good "roots" information, > it seems like a good time to use the 1994 bottle that I have. > > Gerald Kirwan

Hey, thanks Gerald! Every little bit helps! This could help me - my search is so dubious right now that even clues to folks who are born at approximately the same time as my Patrick count... this record is not only within three years of his birth, it is in a part of Dublin (the county, parish, city Patrick lists as home) and the given name is one that Patrick used in naming his own children! They could be cousins, brothers, who knows... this gives me a specific Parish location to search for records knowing Kirwin(an)s were there. I think this is the kind of info that will help us all eventually - I encourage us all to share whatever you find! Jana Black Listowner, KIRWIN-L Gerald Kirwan wrote: > I have not been able to connect this Thomas Kirwan to one of my Kirwans but > I thought I would post the tombstone information that I recently found in > the event it helps someone else: > > Thomas Kirwan > Born 1804 > Belle Soaddan Parish, Dublin Co., Ireland > Died January 21, 1885 > Carbondale, Lackawanna County, PA > Buried St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Carbondale, Lackawanna County, PA > > Gerald Kirwan

Searching for MARY KIRWIN born 1799 in Ireland. She married JOHN KEEGAN and they went to Quebec and had daughter ANN b 1833 and a daughter Mary b 1840. Both were born in Frampton, Quebec. If your KIRWIN's were in Quebec, please email. Karen

Here are the Kirwan entries I found for Roscrea and nearby listed in Slaters Directory for 1881. Lancelot Kirwan, emigration agent, china, glass & earthenware dealer Shinrone, Roscrea Edward Kirwan, boot & show maker Borris-in-Ossory, Co. Tipperary William Kirwan, boot & shoe maker, leather seller Borris-in-Ossory, Co. Tipperary Kate Kirwan, clothes dealer, pawnbroker Rosemary Street, Roscrea Martin Kirwan, grocery & spirit dealer, ironmonger, hardware Abby Street, Roscrea Ann Kirwan, milliner & dressmaker Borris-in Ossory, Co. Tipperary Tom Fitzsimmons 6 Chestnut Grove, Western Road Clonakilty, County Cork Ireland

Greetings! I am searching for an elusive part of my grandmother's family - those pesky, disappearing Kerwins! Edward Kerwin was born in Java Center, New York in 1870. His father, James, was born in 1835 in Java Center as well. James married Kate O'Brien (b. 1837 in Co. Wexford) and had at least two sons. Edward married Mary Eleanor Dodge on 25 Dec. 1902 in Kinzua, PA. I believe James owned a store in Java; my mother has the daybook. I haven't found them in Wyoming County census records. If anyone has any information, I would be much obliged! Cheers!! TIA! Jennifer L. Williams The road to success is always under construction.

Hi Fellow want-a-be Irish: The following family is listed in the Township or City of (?)Lempster, County of Sullivan, State of New Hampshire census for 1850. The location is right on the Connecticut River. Hugh Kerwin age 62 farmer born in Ireland Bridget Kerwin age 50 born in Ireland Timothy Kirwin age 21 farmer born in Ireland Ann Kirwin age 19 born - Ireland Celia Kirwin age 17 " " Bridget Kirwin age 15 " " John Kirwin age 10 " " I had felt the young John might be my John Kirwin-- -a wee bit older maybe -- but then we have established that they don't know when they were born. Does anyone know this family? Also, Edward Kerwin settled in Lyndeborough (Massachusetts?) in March 1779. Has anyone had any success with records from the Catholic Church? I get very unsatisfactory answers to every query. Usually, they state that they didn't keep records until 1900 something, or the records aren't in any order, or I have to have all kinds of info to give them, or --- and I love this one --- we have the names of professional genealogists whom you may contact!! I'm going to a upload a photo of a man and a small child, taken about 1880, which I believe is my g-g-grandfather John W. Kirwin and my grandmother Rose Ellen Kirwin. A newspaper article about his death described him as "stocky", with chin whiskers. The photo was given to my mother by Rose Ellen. I'll scan it and get it up in a day or two. Carole Kirwin Gaskill Conner Beckner Shanahan

THE IRISH EMIGRANT _______________________________________________________________________ Editor: Liam Ferrie August 17, 1998 Issue No.602 ======================================================================= +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Copyright 1998 The Irish Emigrant Ltd | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ Who would have thought five months ago, when the Good Friday Peace Agreement was being signed, that the North still had to go through even greater agony than it experienced at any time in the past 30 years. The Omagh bomb has claimed more lives than any other incident throughout the troubles. Since the first news of the blast came through, little else has been covered in news bulletins and it is obviously the first item of conversation whenever people get together. There seems no doubt that the bomb was the work of the "Real IRA" and many questions are being asked as to how they are to be dealt with. Even before Saturday's atrocity, death seemed to be the main theme of the week's news. Two young Irish men were killed in a construction site accident in Boston; at least five people drowned in four separate incidents; four people died in motorcycle accidents; a Donegal girl was killed when she was struck by a runaway truck wheel, while others died in road accidents, fires and falls and one person was murdered. CARNAGE IN OMAGH We thought we had seen it all but not in the darkest days of the Northern troubles did we witness an atrocity to match the bombing of Omagh on Saturday afternoon. The blast came at 3:10pm when the streets were crowded with shoppers enjoying one of the better days of the summer and just before a carnival was scheduled to pass along the street. News of the outrage will already have reached every corner of the world but I must still record the main details. The first indication that a tragedy had taken place came with messages flashing on television screens urging all available medical staff to report to the Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh. News bulletins confirmed that a car bomb had exploded in the town and many injuries were predicted. Within two hours we were told that at least 12 people had died and this number increased rapidly. By Sunday morning it was put at 28, with a total of 220 injured. The high death toll is attributed to the fact that the telephone warning to the RUC claimed that the bomb had been left outside the courthouse but it exploded 40 minutes later on Market Street, near the junction of Dublin Road, at a point where many of those moved by the RUC had congregated. Eyewitness provided harrowing accounts of those who were killed and injured. There were stories of a boy lying quietly with half his leg missing, of the 17-year-old pregnant girl who lost both legs, of the young woman in a wheel chair screaming for assistance, and of dead bodies and limbs scattered about the road. The local hospital could not treat all who arrived and after the injured were stabilised some were transferred, by both helicopter and ambulance, to hospitals in Derry, Enniskillen, Dungannon and Belfast. The distressing stories continued throughout Sunday. The more seriously injured were in Altagelvin in Derry and the Royal Victoria in Belfast where amputations and neurosurgery were carried out. The latest figures show that 104 people have been detained in hospital and 10 are in a critical condition. THE DEAD Of those who died six were men, 13 were women, four were boys and five were girls. The youngest victim, 18-month-old Maura Monaghan, died alongside her mother Avril Monaghan (30), who was heavily pregnant, and her grandmother Mary Grimes (65). They were from Augher. A group of Spanish students were caught up in the blast; a 12-year-old male student and a woman teacher, aged 24, died, and at least eleven others were injured. The dead also included three boys from Buncrana; Oran Doherty (8), Sean McLaughlin (12) and James Barker (12). They, and their friends, were the hosting the Spanish group who were in Co. Donegal on a language exchange visit. The entire party was on a day trip to the nearby Ulster-American Folk Park and decided to do some shopping on the way back. The Spanish Government is sending a plane to bring the party back to Madrid. Some other names those who died have emerged: Lorraine Wilson (15), Samantha McFarlane (17), Anne McConnell (48) and Adrian Gallagher (21), all from Omagh. An ambulance transferring the injured between hospitals collided with a car in Knock Road, Belfast, at around 9:30am on Sunday. The driver of the car died in the accident. THE REACTION The response from politicians and others was swift. It was condemned by all, although one or two tried to make political capital of the tragic events by insisting that the Good Friday Agreement had failed or that either Sinn Fein, the Irish Government or the British Government had to share the blame. John Hume described the perpetrators as "unadulterated fascists". Martin McGuinness was "appalled and disgusted" at "an indefensible action designed to wreck the (peace) process". Bertie Ahern said that his "heart goes out" to the victims and their families and promised to use all the necessary resources to "crush" those responsible. Most significantly Gerry Adams said, "I condemn it without any equivocation whatever". It was widely noted that this was the first time a leading Sinn Fein official had ever used the word "condemn" in relation to an attack by republican paramilitaries. The RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan is convinced that the warning phone call was deliberately misleading so as to cause as many casualties as possible. Many politicians cut short their holidays and among those who returned home were David Trimble from Germany, Tony Blair from the south of France, Dr Mo Mowlam from the Caribbean and John O'Donoghue from the Canary Islands. President McAleese visited the scene of the bombing as did the British deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Most news reports say that no one has claimed responsibility for the massacre although it was initially stated that the person who phoned the warning gave a code word linked to the "Real IRA". In any case there seems to be no doubt that this was the organisation which carried out this and other recent bomb attacks on provincial towns in the North. News organisations tell us that the group, which is linked with the 32-County Sovereignty Committee, is led by a former IRA quartermaster who lives in Dundalk. Sky News went further and said he was a Dundalk businessman who was separated from his wife and living with a member of a prominent Belfast Republican family. By Sunday night a meeting of the 32-County Sovereignty Committee was said to have taken place in Dundalk. A subsequent statement deplored the bombing and claimed that the organisation had nothing to do with it. It was also said that the Combined Loyalist Military Command, a body which was supposed to have disbanded, was meeting to discuss the response from the loyalist paramilitaries but nothing has emerged from that meeting. How to end this cycle of violence is the subject of great debate. Bertie Ahern called a Cabinet security committee meeting which agreed new powers for the gardai; these will be put to the full Cabinet in the coming week. Tony Blair met security chiefs in Belfast and later received the Taoiseach who travelled to Stormont for the meeting. The British Prime Minister also met leading politicians including Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. A special RUC task force has been set up to find the culprits and pursue the "Real IRA". Later today Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue will meet Northern Secretary Dr Mo Mowlam and Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne will meet the RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan. DEATHS ON BOSTON BUILDING SITE As seems to happen every year, tragedy befalls one or more young Irish people working abroad for the summer. On Tuesday two young men died in an accident on a construction site in Quincy, Massachusetts, a few miles south of Boston. Shane McGettigan (21), of Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, and Ronan Stewart (24), of Haggardstown, Co. Louth, were killed when scaffolding surrounding an apartment block collapsed and they fell 70 feet to the ground. The two, who did not know each other before meeting through work, had only arrived in the US a few weeks earlier. The tragedy probably received added publicity back here in Ireland as Shane McGettigan was the only son of singer/songwriter Charlie McGettigan who sang the winning song, "Rock'n'Roll Kids", in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Shane also played county football for the Leitrim senior team and it was only when his club side, Allen Gaels, were surprisingly beaten in the county championship last month that he decided to travel to the US. He was due to return to college at the end of the summer. Ronan Stewart was officially a member of the Defence Forces, having joined the Army in 1996, but had recently applied for an early discharge and was on leave when the accident occurred. His father, Michael, is vice-principal of O Fiaich College, a secondary school in Dundalk. His older sister Clodagh had travelled to Boston last weekend to visit him. Another sister, Niamh, was in London when the news came through and returned home immediately. IT IS SO COMPLICATED - BACK TO RESEARCH KIRWIN! Jana Black, Listowner, KIRWIN-L

While I in no way intend to begin political discussion on this list, I continue to think it is important for us to be aware of our Irish heritage by informing ourselves. This post was recently made to the Irish-American Club about the recent bombing in Omagh. I have no particular opinion on the subject other than to have always wondered why Ireland had to be divided. I offer this opinion as an educational piece only: "Hello Fellow Irish-Americans: I'm sure you share my disgust at the recent events in Omagh. When the peace accord began, I'm sorry to say that I didn't have high hopes for its success. The problems in NI seem insurmountable to me. Whenever we seem close to peace, the British government uses the delay tactic to bring the process to a screeching halt. In fact, I am not convinced that the new IRA is responsible for the bomb in Omagh. The IRA's 'tactics and methodology' is common knowledge. Therefore, it would not be difficult for the Loyalist terrorists to feign the same tactics and methodology of reporting a bomb. I am one of those people who would like to see Ireland a *complete* nation once again. While the Catholics in NI continue to be treated as second-class citizens, I cannot support the status quo. I want to see the British out of Ireland completely and totally. While I do not support terrorism, I feel that as Irish-Americans, we must take an active stance towards NI politics. My ancestors were forced out of Ireland by British oppression. They came from Donegal and NI. Many of my relatives in NI *still* live under British oppression. It's an intolerable situation and one that must be changed. May the poor souls in Omagh rest in peace. Best regards, Nancy" Jana Black Listowner, KIRWIN-L

Searching for MARY KIRWIN born 1799 in Ireland. She married JOHN KEEGAN and they went to Quebec and had daughter ANN b 1833 and a daughter Mary b 1840. Both were born in Frampton, Quebec. If your KIRWIN's were in Quebec, please email. Karen

Hi all, Welcome to all our newcomers! Feel free to email me if your subscription isn't working the way you want. I subscribe to several other lists, and in the last couple of days this research link came across the wires that may not help much with our name (tho I saw lots of you making your presence known in them) but may help with other surnames. This link has given me some new resources that look very exciting for further research. It is a searchable database of links to others who have researched the same names: http://www.surnameweb.org Jana Black Listowner, KIRWIN-L