Hi Carole, Here is the link for Kirwin Castle (aka Castle Cregg) http://indigo.ie/~creggcas/ It is my understanding it is an easy drive NE out of Galway (less than an hour)... An email link to the Castle Cregg proprietors is on the website. They are very very nice, quite involved locally (they use the Castle as a staging center for those who want to play traditional Irish music) and would probably be able to help you ascertain where any local Kirwins would be so you could plan ahead. Obviously, we don't want to drive any distant cousins nuts with our genealogy bugs ;] so it'll be even more important that we share out anything we learn amongst ourselves. Research I have done says there was a pocket of Kirwin/ans in Castle Martin and Castle Hackett. I know I am headed for those parishes convinced that I need to research into 1700s records to come forward and try to find my Patrick...... If you haven't done so, be sure to go read the excellent information "A Manuscript History of the Kirwan Family" edited by Morgan O'Doherty and posted by John McGowan on his Kirwan/Carawan site http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~jmack/kirwan.htm It mentions a couple of localities, Dunbally Castle and a St. Nicholas Church. I am also told that if you walk Kirwan Lane in the center of Galway and go into the church there, engraved into stones on the walls you will see memorial plaques for many Kirwin/an names with dates, etc. I will be going there myself in October, however, if you want to photograph the stones and get the pictures to me, I can post them to the website so we can all reference them.... I have written the Galway Advertiser to see if they can provide us with further contacts, will keep you posted! Jana Mingzmom@aol.com wrote: > Hi all! > Plan to be in Ireland August 12-19. Will be staying in a farmhouse in Kerry > County, but should be able to visit Galway County. Where is the Kirwin > Castle? Will be looking for tombstones and other old stuff for the Shanahan, > Kirwin (Kirwan) and Kennedy families. Anyone have suggestions? Any Kirwins > be around that time of the summer? Would love to meet an Irish cousin. > Grandparents were Kirwins, Conners, Kennedys, Gibsons, etc. Is Gibson Irish > or English? Neither? Primarily interested in Kirwins and Shanahans. > > Carole Shanahan