I'm Baaaack

Internet problems have been resolved after a few weeks of intermittent service. Seems it was the modem/router. That problem was easily fixed but the service provider came late to the party. A service person finally came around and now everything is fine.

So - several days have passed since my last update. What has happened? Well, I discovered among other things, that I had simply bought a series of dud batteries for the camera. I got some Duracells today and it's working fine. That will save my phone battery and also make it easier to upload pictures. Because my phone and laptop speak different languages, despite having a "translation" app, I can't directly copy pictures to the blog. Once finished this post I'm going to upload a bunch of photos and either post a link or create a pictorial post.

Monday was the day I got a real car. No more little CITGONE. It's gone. I drove to Wexford town with a friend and happily made the exchange. I'm now enjoying the VW Golf diesel, It actually moves when I step on the gas and the needle has hardly moved on the gas guage.

So, once in motion we headed through the edges of town to Johnstown Castle. What a delightful place. The castle was at one time privately owned and it has been well maintained. The grounds are lovely - with a river and a lake and their very own peacock strutting about. He strutted right up to the top of the castle and stayed there. Unfortunately I didn't witness that journey. He flew of course and that would have been fun to see.

There are some wonderful displays of antique farm equipment, but what I found most charming was the Great Famine Exhibit. I suppose that calling it charming sounds rather cavalier. There was nothing charming about the famine. However, they have re-created (indoors) a house that would have been typical of the time and have audio explanations and a number of posters to guide you along.

One display showed the typical day's food consumption for children, women and men. All potatoes - but different quantities. Another showed a quilt which has been donated. It was sewn in 1847 and through the tattered fabric you can see it was stuffed with newspapers. It was a large quilt with many tiny hexagonal pieces and every stitch was done by hand. Awesome, really, and it good shape considering the age.

There was a street of shops illustrating the tools of various trades. I found the shop of the carpenter and wheelwright of particular interest as great great great grandpa Art Byrne was a carpenter and wagon maker. He would have used similar tools to ply his trade - on both sides of the Atlantic.

We enjoyed a cup of tea and a scone in the cafe and then walked around the complex and did a circuit around the lake. The sun did not make even a momentary appearance, but fortunately neither did the rain. The pictures came out brighter than expected. It was a bit mucky underfoot but that's why we wore old shoes.

From there we drove to the Irish Heritage Centre and went back in time - to before the pyramids. Ireland has a very complex and very long history and it's amazingly well represented at this place. The tour guide was a young fellow with long legs and a quick stride. He moved from site to site so fast that none of us could keep up. He had plenty of time to compose himself before the small group of followers caught up for the next lot of information.

Everything there is a re-creation. Even the Dolman. It would have been some effort to lift the ten ton stone onto the top when it was done a few years ago. Cranes were available for the purpose. Just how it was done a few thousand years ago is beyond my comprehension. They were obviously resourceful. There are quite a few Dolmans around Ireland, although I've only seen one other myself. This was a pretty impressive sort of mini-cemetery in its day. Cremated remains would be put into pots of some sort and placed in the interior of the Dolman. Most likely it was just the leaders of society who got such a burial spot.

En route back Marg suggested stopping at her daughter's home and that was fine with me. What I had not counted on was the spectacular views on the little road that took us there - hilly with lots of turns. Even more hills and turns than usual. Mountainous really. Margaret took a little video out the car window so now I can actually see the terrain. At the time I was really only seeing the road ahead.

Her daughter, also Margaret, has offered to drive us up to the top of Sliabh Bhui (sleeve we) - sounds just as it's spelled. From there you can see to the coast and have a 360 degree view. The road is narrow and there are few places that cars can pass when going in opposite directions. I'll be happy to let her do the driving. We're waiting for a clear sunny day that isn't hazy so the view can be enjoyed to best advantage.

Genealogy alert:
If you're not mired in the past you can shut this down now.

With finally a stable internet connection, I was doing a bit of online searching and came upon a site that had a link that led me to a possible distant cousin in the US. We are pursuing what could be the same family. I am looking for Fennells and he is looking for Finnells - all from the same general area. Spelling is creative in the old records - totally dependent on the writer. The power of the pen ruled supreme. I can blame the priests and other scribes for choosing how they thought names should be spelled. Makes for a longer period of research than when everything is uniformly spelled. Legible writing would have been helpful also.

Anyway after comparing notes by exchanging messages, I've tracked down a bunch more records and treating them like puzzle pieces. Some seem to fit. The odd tombstone inscription pops up that also seems to fit. But my Bloodline CSI pursuit continues. I'm fussy about having enough evidence to make a match.

I went back to a website I had not checked in years: from-ireland.net. I also checked out the various county websites to get to the main libraries. Naturally the Fennells not only used creative spelling, but they lived on a county border. Land records are in Queen's (now Laois (leash)) where they lived and church records are in Kildare where they fulfilled their religious obligations. Civil records are only available for the time after they had left for North America so of no use at this stage. I will return to those for the years between when mine left and when some of the family - I think it's the same family - were found in the 1901 census.

This has made me more determined to go back and find the Tankardstown old graveyard that I couldn't locate on the weekend. Turns out I did have good directions but they lacked a tiny but vital bit of information. The lane where I drove up to the gate, and then rejected, leads to the Tankardstown Vet. There are signs everywhere to make sure you can find the vet. If only Mr Burke had thought to mention that fact on Saturday.

On one of the county websites, I happened upon a "what's on" column and found there is to be a presentation next Tuesday evening in Castledermot which is relevant, perhaps, to finding my Fennells. Castledermot has many ancient sites worth visiting, most mentioned in my copy of Ireland's Ancient East. So - it will be a day long visit. Who knows, maybe I'll meet a local person who has done their family history and it's full of their Fennells and Whelans who also happen to be mine. Why not - lots of other good things have happened.

Tomorrow evening is a story-telling evening at a hall just down the street so I'll walk over and give a listen. Details later.