the Irish Ambassador researches and writes

 I have been tearing through post after post written by the current Irish ambassador to Canada, Eamonn McKee. He is a historian, and his insight into the Irish influence in Canada is broader than anything a student in Canada would be privy to in history books.

The depth of knowledge, woven into quick reads, well it makes one who enjoys the cultural aspect of family research completely drawn in. I don't know of any of my family that came to Canada, let alone Ottawa, before the late 20th century. But I have always wondered. 

I have read through the passenger lists of the Peter Robinson ships, partly because the vast majority of those on those ships were from north and west parts of Cork, places where my maternal lines lived on that land, enduring the shifts of history...I wonder if any/who may have left.

I am making my way through dozens of fascinating posts, of particular interest to me is tracking the development of the Irish heritage trail in Ottawa, which given my shallow roots in Canada, provides connection.

Eamonn McKee's blog with an extensive nod to the connection between Ireland and Canada.

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Irish names - the 100 most common surnames at the end of the 19th Century

 

Whenever I am looking for Murphy, and O'Brien ancestors in particular, I am reminded that it isn't always easy, given the common-ness of those names. Thought this would be a fun share...

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Ireland Old News - Newspaper extracts

 

Patience is a requirement for the family historian....that may be the most understated sentiment of all. The thousands of hours rifling through old documents, obscure resources, going beyond the leaves that Ancestry posts...

On my various searches, I do dive into resources that don't make it into the resources of the big, DNA genealogy company search tools.

I like Ireland Old news for its snippets, a time capsule, pieces of daily life from hundreds of years ago. Was reading through the remnants that have been posted for County Cork, and stumbled upon this little gem: (image added by me, found on this blog:

Hibernian Chronicle, 18 October 1770

CATHERINE HIGGINS, Distiller, in Cove Lane, outside Southgate, Cork, takes this method of informing her friends and the public that she continues to distill all sorts of malt and melasses [sic] spirits, little inferior to foreign; rasberry brandy, whiskey shrub, anniseed water, wormwood water, hot surfeit water, usquebagh [whiskey], with all kinds of cold waters, all of which she will sell on the lowest terms, and will give great encouragment to those who buy for sale. She returns her grateful acknowledgements to all her customers and requests a continuance of their favours, who, with all others, may depend on being well used.

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Carrigagulla, Carraig Uí Ulla - ancestral lands, and a poem

Carrigagulla stone circle

Carrigagulla - ancestral lands. This won't be the only post, but stumbled upon a poem written about this place by mid-19th century poet, Cornelius "Poet" Ahern. 

Con Ahern died at about the age of 40 in 1864.

CARRIGAGULLA

Thro Carrigagulla one pleasant afternoon I strayed

To view the green fields and trees upholding great shade

When who should I meet but a beautiful mild looking dame

And for tons of bright gold of course I'll not tell you her name

And when I saw my darling twas in the evening late

As I stood for a while behind Jerh Sullivan's gate

To welcome me kindly this sprightly young lassee she came

And for tons of bright gold of course I'll not tell you her name

I wish you were near to hear her singing so fine

It was down by the Luaney my darling was herding kine

Her notes did out rival the nightingale's melodious strain

And for tons of bright gold of course I'll not tell you her name

If I had Macroom and all these fine lands by the Lee

And all those fine farms from Blarney to Ballinagree

I'd give them and more for this comely fine lass to obtain

And for tons of bright gold of course I'll not tell you her name

Some folks are quite eager her name I'd disclose

And tell them the same in verse or in prose

Still I tell them quite candidly that asking at all is in vain

And for tons of bright gold of course I'll not tell you her name

When in the alehouse we meet its there with pleasure I see

How cordial and kind I find her always to me

A glass to my health she so ready at all times to drain

And for tons of bright gold of course I'll not tell you her name

When I and my girl will both unite

And the clergy well paid for his labour considered slight

Until then who is she to none I'll explain

And without any gold of course they will all know her name.

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local history from the School's collection - Dromagh Castle

 History according to school-aged children in 1930s Ireland...perspectives, lore...more!

Situated south-west of Kanturk is the parish of Dromagh or Dromtariffe as it is commonly called was also built by the O'keeffes.

It is a square enclosure, flanked by four circular towers, one of which with part of the enclosure has been converted into offices in 1837.

It greatly resembled Dromsicane with its central tower, as in the case of the later castle also gone.

Lord Muskerry marched out from Dromagh Castle in 1652 to encounter Lord Broghill at the famous battle of Knockaclashy near Clonmeen.

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Snapshots of School/Scoil life in Ireland in the 1930s

Not everything about genealogy is finding all the ancestors, but how they may have lived. I am blessed to have a tree with many generations of teachers, but having spent part of my childhood in Ireland, including attending the school where my grandparents taught, I find school history is not only interesting, but help anchor one in the time and experience of the day.

I had a short stint in Dromagh as part of my childhood was spent in Cork and Dublin. And memories of cold classrooms and learning Irish, writing journals, spotting hedgehogs outside in the hedges along the fringes of the school grounds never seem far, despite the distance of time and an ocean.

There is a lovely collection online via dúchas.ie that serves as a time capsule for school life many decades ago.

The Schools' Manuscript collection (some found in UCD's online collection) is filled with fun reads, and a feel for the times...

Termed the Schools’ Folklore Scheme, it was conducted in 1937-38 in collaboration with the Department of Education and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation. Over a period of eighteen months some 100,000 children in 5,000 primary schools in the twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State were encouraged to collect material in their home districts on a wide range of subjects dealing with local tradition and history. The topics about which the children were instructed to research and write included local history and monuments, folktales and legends, riddles and proverbs, songs, customs and beliefs, games and pastimes, traditional work practices and crafts, etc. The children collected this material mainly from their parents and grandparents and other older members of the local community or school district. Now known as the Schools' Manuscript Collection, the scheme resulted in more than half a million manuscript pages of valuable material.Schoolchildren from participating schools in Munster and Connacht were encouraged to write topographical descriptions of their own locality.

Some examples of the gems you can find:

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O'Donoghue - Great grandfather, grandfather, grandmother and Dromagh

Teachers, principals - these three ancestors are just a few of my many that were teachers.

Before and after them, from hedge schools to the present day, waves of teachers.

This is to document the one in Dromagh. The website for the national school they all taught at has been recently updated, and shares a brief history of the school, and its evolution over the centuries.

from the school's website:

Teachers from 1902 - 1920
The Boys were taught by:
Denis J Ryan ~ Principal
Denis O'Donoghue (R.I.P) (father of Bill O'Donoghue), &
James O'Connor (R.I.P)

School Life 1902 - 1920

​Pupils Enjoyed gardening, - setting Vegetables at the front, sides & back of the school.

There were no desks suite small children, so 2 desks were altered for junior pupils.

The length of the school day was reduced, with school times now being 9am to 3.30pm

James O'Connor taught Irish to the Adults in Dromagh & also travelled across the river by boat to teach Irish in Rathcool also.

1919, saw the introduction of the First ever Irish school book, call "Seadhna".

Cookery was also taught to all pupils in the school.

Mr. Bill O'Donoghue being made Principal in 1955 - 1973, & his wife Mrs. Maureen O'Donoghue, also joined the teaching team.  By the end of the 1950's there were just 2 teachers teaching in the school.

In 1945, there school still did not have electricity, and benches were used by the children to sit on.  

To the back of the school, there were 2 Dry Toilets, as there was not any running water.  It was during the holidays, the toilets would be cleaned out!

The school was heated by a turf fire in each class room... Trying to light it was a days work!! The fires would just start to heat up, when the school day was over!

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earliest memories - grandfather

Reflecting on my grandfather, William O'Donoghue (1907-1976)

I don't remember where I first read about it, but know that memories start making recollective imprints around the age of 5. And this is true for me. From about the age of 5, I have a flood of memories I can tap into, and before that, nearly nothing.

I have 2 memories from my very early childhood. Given that I was so young, I can only assume that they were very impactful points in my young life.

The first was when I had my tonsils removed, just before I turned 3. I remember the colour of the walls - those sea green walls. I remember how I felt...afraid and alone despite the whir of people around me.

The second was when I was 3. I was in Ireland, at my grandparents' home. My grandfather with the big smile and gentle laugh was carrying me, I remember the warmth of his sweater pressing against my face, lifting me up, as I reached for an apple from a tree in his orchard. A chorus of laughter swept over us like a wave of security. That moment is frozen in time, deeply embedded in memory, I feel it within the depths of my heart when I recount it, it stirs up tears when I do. I felt safe, loved, and joy.

Whenever I need to remember my first moments of joy, I return to that memory. There is a photograph in one of my parents' albums of him holding me, both of us beaming happiness. I will add that to this post when I see it again.

He died a year later.

My grandfather, William O'Donoghue was a teacher, and then principal of a National school in Ireland. His wife, my grandmother, Mary O'Connor was also a teacher.

I have several uncles who were teachers.

I am a teacher.

And my grandfather, when I was 3 years old, taught me how to find joy in the most ordinary of moments. And I am so grateful that my mind captured such a beautiful, enduring memory of him.

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Seaton...from the farm by the sea

 

Finding family names, making the connection, well it's arduous work.

I have struggled nearly every step of the way with my paternal side. Am thankful to have the further assistance of DNA matches, as most of this would have been impossible for me to do before.

WHY?
My father did not even know the first names of his grandparents.
My father did not even know his mother's birthday (it's the same day as my eldest son's!
My father did not even know that his mother was born in Scotland, not Ireland, blocks away from where he himself was born.

I am reconstructing those broken ancestral walls, the ones in ruins, with windows to our shared past. I feel my ancestors come alive as I learn their names.



My latest find is the name SEATON - meaning - from the farm by the sea...the name whispers its romantic spirit, its connection to land and sea - a connection I am seeking.  It intrigues me that several members of this family worked on the sea, or worked on the farm. I don't know where this name fits in yet, I just know it is one of mine.  That is enough for now. To sit with this name, knowing that documents may fail me, but the promise of finding that connection drives me forward.

This will not be the first time I will write this, with the heavy feeling of tears pooling in my eyes...
I wish my father was still alive for this, so I could quietly whisper these names, and hold his hand, even as he slipped away.

The details I know:
SEATON possibilities:

Alexander Seaton, father of John Seaton who left county Tyrone in 1729 for Stafford Virginia. Could Alexander be my ancestor?
- Alexander would have been born in the mid-late 1600s, originally from Lethanty Scotland, and moved to Londonderry. Could this connect with the Douglas line?

George Seaton - Scotland
- immigrated to Virginia colony. Son James born c1690 in Stafford, his son was Captain James

DNA finds -- I have found tree matches for the following Stafford Virginia Seatons in SEVERAL trees:
James - 1723 Stafford Virginia - 7 Jun 1779 Carmichaels Greene PA
John Dishman - 16 Jul 1736 St Pauls Stafford Virginia - 24 Oct 1803 Farquier VA
William - 4 Oct 1743 St Pauls Stafford Virginia - 8 May 1782 Farquier VA

possible additional locations:
Dranity, Tyrone
Londonderry
Lethanty, Scotland

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David Forrest

I don't think this will be the only post I write about my 2x great grandfather David Forrest.
I finished reading a book by one of his grandsons, and he is featured in the early chapters quite prominently.
It gives me a sense of his presence.
And I felt his presence far before reading this book (WORSE COULD HAVE HAPPENED - ANDREW FORREST)

He travelled...he lived in other countries...and as I researched and learned more of him, I found he had been to Canada.
I suppose this was a big deal because before my mum, I didn't know of anyone in my direct line who had been to this country.
He spent some time in the Prairies...I found him in Saskatchewan at one point.

When his travelling days were over, when his 10 years in Australia were brought to an abrupt end (family duties, returning to Ireland as his brother was ill, and David was to manage the family land), I got a sense of who he evolved into.

an activist who worked for farmers rights in establishing the dairy collective
a well-read man who delighted his grandchildren with stories of Egypt and the pharaohs
a man who spent hours sitting out under the trees reading
someone I feel I have met through time and ancestral memory.

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Bridget Sexton

 

I am so grateful that irishgenealogy recently expanded the coverage years for marriages in Ireland.

Research = CONFIRMED!

My second great grandmother was from Beenalacht (spelled many ways) - Beenaloucht, Beengalacht, Beenalaght.  These small breakthroughs mean the world to amateur genealogists like myself, who wade through scribbled memories, parish registers, anything that can confirm family stories.

There have been many standing stone circles connected with my ancestors, and Bridget now continues that tradition...

from https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=1768




 

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