Yesterday, January 14th, was another late start sort of day. I seem to wake up too early and roll over for another few minutes, which become hours. I have to stop that. However, it didn't matter much. It was a lovely day for the most part with a bit of mist that you would hardly notice. What I did notice was the the laundry basket was getting full and the dresser drawers were getting empty - so time for some washing.
All's well - everything clean and now dry. I found a folding clothes rack in the laundry room and brought it into the large downstairs bedroom. The landlords are away on holiday so they won't be needing it for another week. The large bedroom is heated by a radiator for which I can't find a control so it's quite cosy and perfect for clothes drying. That light mist outside meant it wasn't a great idea to use the outdoor clothes line unless I didn't care when the clothes would be dry again.
I finished reading my novel from the Bunclody library and caught up on email and of course did a bit of ancestor searching online.
I did look up Frank Taaffe's blog and if I start reading now and do nothing else, it will be Friday before I get anything else accomplished. The blog is sort of indexed but not many names are mentioned in the titles of the posts. I do hope to get through it all one day. For those interested, if you have Kildare ancestry, check it out:
www.athyeyeonthepast.blogspot.ie
All in all a satisfactory day - if not hugely productive.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Friday, January 13, 2017
What do you do on a sunny January day in Wexford? Head to Kildare, that's what.
Despite a bit of a slow start on my part, when I opened the blinds I saw that the day was sunny and bright, if somewhat cool. I thought of going for a walk up Strawberry Hill, as yet unexplored. However, I decided to call a contact regarding my Fennell-Whelan ancestors on the border of Laois and Kildare. She gave me some suggestions, including having a chat with Frank, the owner of O'Brien's pub in Athy. A little more investigating indicated that a day trip was in order.
The road from here to there, unlike other routes I've taken and have yet to take, was pretty straightforward and easy to find. So, with the computer packed up ready for action I put pedal to the metal and headed north-ish. Turned out I never used it, but best to be prepared.
Unfortunately I have no photos of the scenery along the way. I kept thinking that one of those cameras used for Google Street View would have been ideal. I did steal a few glances left and right and everywhere I peeked was beautiful. It's a bit hilly around Bunclody but as I drove, the ground got somewhat flatter.
This was no prairie drive though. Off in the distance were hills, snow-covered and magnificent. On the way up to Athy I couldn't identify them. Well, surprise Ann, what could you identify around here? On the way back though, I'm pretty certain I was looking at Mt Leinster, the highest peak in this part of the country. It was clear most of the way up the slopes but cloud sat on top like a hat. Gorgeous. The sunset only enhanced the views. Still no photos - and I decided I need a navigator who's handy with a camera. Don't have one. Darn.
My trusty GPS led me directly to the town square in Athy where I quickly found a place to park and dutifully fed the "pay and display" machine. Turns out if I had driven about 30 yards farther along it would have cost much less than the 1.50 Euro per hour. However, in my opinion it was well worth the expense.
I popped into O'Briens first but Frank was not yet in the pub so his daughter Judith pointed me across the street to J-one Cafe where I enjoyed a toasted chicken panini with a salad. The food was great, but as the door opened just about four feet from where I'd found a seat, it was more than a tad chilly. The place was full of school kids, on a lunch break I assume. Their chips looked good but I didn't fall prey to their tempting smell. All I wanted to do was fortify myself for some history.
Genealogy alert. You may not be interested in the rest of this unless family history is your thing. The people I'm in pursuit of are connections to my ggg grandparents: Michael Fennell and Bridget Whelan who emigrated to Canada circa 1850. Their daughter Annie Fennell married Patrick Fitzpatrick in Brockville in 1852. Of course that was during a gap in the church records. Sometimes I think the ancestors timed noteworthy events like marriages and baptisms for times when nothing would be recorded. Now back to Athy...
After lunch I fed the meter again and headed into the Athy Museum where I had a lovely chat with the lady and gentleman at the information desk. We had a great chat and I filled out a form that will be given to Clem Roach, a local genealogist. He'll be in touch and will help to see if more information can be found on the Fennell-Whelan bunch. There was a lovely little gift shop and the museum looks interesting too, so I'll be back there for sure.
While waiting for O'Brien's to re-open after noting the sign "Back in 5 minutes", I wandered around back of the museum. In the same building is the local library. Goldmine is more like it. I chatted with two librarians who may just have opened the floodgates.
I didn't have time to explore all of their resources and references, but they told me of Frank Taaffe who writes a weekly column for the Kildare Nationalist, the local paper. I bought a copy later and will sift through this evening. As it happens it was a story that he had written that I came upon some time ago. A "Miss Fennell" donated land for a Church (St Mary's) and school in Barrowhouse, the townland I'm looking for. Could there be a connection? Can one assume that on a given townland, there is only one family with a certain name? Well, no, of course not. Think of Coolross and all the unrelated Byrne families. Anyway - it's a ray of light.
I have Frank's contact information and once I've read his column for this week will try to compose a message to him. Apparently if the trail is interesting it could be featured in a column. I don't really need to have a newspaper article, but this could lead to discoveries of interest. He has a lot of knowledge of local history and obviously the investigative instincts to find out more.
I have put Athy library on top of the list of where to return! I really have to have a look at what they've got by way of local history. The centre of town is a one-stop shopping excursion. Everything I want to see is in the one place. I got directions to Barrowhouse and will make that the first stop next time I'm back. Little hope of finding an old house still standing but I believe that St Mary's church and school which date back to 1830, are still there.
To get to Barrowhouse, I would turn left at the other end of the square and go over two bridges, take the next left turn, and when I pass three cottages I'm at Barrowhouse. There is a small church there, St Mary's. If I stop at a pub between the two bridges I'm likely to find someone named Doyle with a lot of knowledge of folks on THAT side of the bridge. Frank O'Brien specializes on the Athy side.
I popped back over to O'Briens to see if Frank was there. He was. We had a lovely chat and he told me a wonderful story of a lady from the U.S. who was there on vacation, looking around the old stomping grounds of her family who had emigrated two generations earlier. She said there were no living relatives who had not emigrated. Well, she was wrong, one had been left behind. And, she was at that moment sitting on the seat beside the bar that was locally known as his place. The gentleman (I forget his name) had passed away but his son was living. Frank was able to introduce them and a new family connection was made and apparently has flourished.
Dare I hope for such a think with our Fennels and/or Whelans?
Stay tuned.
The road from here to there, unlike other routes I've taken and have yet to take, was pretty straightforward and easy to find. So, with the computer packed up ready for action I put pedal to the metal and headed north-ish. Turned out I never used it, but best to be prepared.
Unfortunately I have no photos of the scenery along the way. I kept thinking that one of those cameras used for Google Street View would have been ideal. I did steal a few glances left and right and everywhere I peeked was beautiful. It's a bit hilly around Bunclody but as I drove, the ground got somewhat flatter.
This was no prairie drive though. Off in the distance were hills, snow-covered and magnificent. On the way up to Athy I couldn't identify them. Well, surprise Ann, what could you identify around here? On the way back though, I'm pretty certain I was looking at Mt Leinster, the highest peak in this part of the country. It was clear most of the way up the slopes but cloud sat on top like a hat. Gorgeous. The sunset only enhanced the views. Still no photos - and I decided I need a navigator who's handy with a camera. Don't have one. Darn.
My trusty GPS led me directly to the town square in Athy where I quickly found a place to park and dutifully fed the "pay and display" machine. Turns out if I had driven about 30 yards farther along it would have cost much less than the 1.50 Euro per hour. However, in my opinion it was well worth the expense.
I popped into O'Briens first but Frank was not yet in the pub so his daughter Judith pointed me across the street to J-one Cafe where I enjoyed a toasted chicken panini with a salad. The food was great, but as the door opened just about four feet from where I'd found a seat, it was more than a tad chilly. The place was full of school kids, on a lunch break I assume. Their chips looked good but I didn't fall prey to their tempting smell. All I wanted to do was fortify myself for some history.
Genealogy alert. You may not be interested in the rest of this unless family history is your thing. The people I'm in pursuit of are connections to my ggg grandparents: Michael Fennell and Bridget Whelan who emigrated to Canada circa 1850. Their daughter Annie Fennell married Patrick Fitzpatrick in Brockville in 1852. Of course that was during a gap in the church records. Sometimes I think the ancestors timed noteworthy events like marriages and baptisms for times when nothing would be recorded. Now back to Athy...
After lunch I fed the meter again and headed into the Athy Museum where I had a lovely chat with the lady and gentleman at the information desk. We had a great chat and I filled out a form that will be given to Clem Roach, a local genealogist. He'll be in touch and will help to see if more information can be found on the Fennell-Whelan bunch. There was a lovely little gift shop and the museum looks interesting too, so I'll be back there for sure.
While waiting for O'Brien's to re-open after noting the sign "Back in 5 minutes", I wandered around back of the museum. In the same building is the local library. Goldmine is more like it. I chatted with two librarians who may just have opened the floodgates.
I didn't have time to explore all of their resources and references, but they told me of Frank Taaffe who writes a weekly column for the Kildare Nationalist, the local paper. I bought a copy later and will sift through this evening. As it happens it was a story that he had written that I came upon some time ago. A "Miss Fennell" donated land for a Church (St Mary's) and school in Barrowhouse, the townland I'm looking for. Could there be a connection? Can one assume that on a given townland, there is only one family with a certain name? Well, no, of course not. Think of Coolross and all the unrelated Byrne families. Anyway - it's a ray of light.
I have Frank's contact information and once I've read his column for this week will try to compose a message to him. Apparently if the trail is interesting it could be featured in a column. I don't really need to have a newspaper article, but this could lead to discoveries of interest. He has a lot of knowledge of local history and obviously the investigative instincts to find out more.
I have put Athy library on top of the list of where to return! I really have to have a look at what they've got by way of local history. The centre of town is a one-stop shopping excursion. Everything I want to see is in the one place. I got directions to Barrowhouse and will make that the first stop next time I'm back. Little hope of finding an old house still standing but I believe that St Mary's church and school which date back to 1830, are still there.
To get to Barrowhouse, I would turn left at the other end of the square and go over two bridges, take the next left turn, and when I pass three cottages I'm at Barrowhouse. There is a small church there, St Mary's. If I stop at a pub between the two bridges I'm likely to find someone named Doyle with a lot of knowledge of folks on THAT side of the bridge. Frank O'Brien specializes on the Athy side.
I popped back over to O'Briens to see if Frank was there. He was. We had a lovely chat and he told me a wonderful story of a lady from the U.S. who was there on vacation, looking around the old stomping grounds of her family who had emigrated two generations earlier. She said there were no living relatives who had not emigrated. Well, she was wrong, one had been left behind. And, she was at that moment sitting on the seat beside the bar that was locally known as his place. The gentleman (I forget his name) had passed away but his son was living. Frank was able to introduce them and a new family connection was made and apparently has flourished.
Dare I hope for such a think with our Fennels and/or Whelans?
Stay tuned.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Not quite a walk in the snow (Canadians of a certain age will understand this) - but after the snow had ended
I awoke this morning - rather late as it happened - and upon pulling open the curtains to look out on the pretty tree with white blossoms (I am such a botanist!) got a bit of a shock. Between me and the tree, big fat snowflakes were falling. Not quite believing it I went all the way into the kitchen - about 30 feet max - and found my view of the hills also spotted with the white flakes. Arrrggghhh! Unlike at home, it was not accumulating but melting upon impact. On the distant hill - Gibbet's Hill is the name of it - the snow did stay around. Accumulation must have been close to a centimetre to make it still visible. Snow in the distance - OK, I'll take that any day.
Once showered and dressed I decided to step outside to check how cold it was - and it wasn't. Well, not for a Canuck. I understand that it was actually warmer by a few degrees in Halifax if not elsewhere as well. I returned to my loft (that's got a nice ring to it) and got the camera, put on the hiking boots and a jacket and made a little tour of the garden. Everything blooming yesterday was still blooming today. I especially love the primroses which seemed not to mind the chill at all. The daffodils are sprouting about 6" out of the soil. Yay! The Gilsenan's garden is beautiful even without leaves on most of the trees and is immaculately cared for. It recalls my favourite children's book, The Secret Garden. The door to the garden has a lovely pointed arch and gate, but its location is anything but secret.
Once back inside I had breakfast - er, brunch - and figured it was time to join the library and see what they have to offer by way of helpful volumes on local history.
I took a few photos - posted to Facebook for those following there - and that reminded me that I need to set up a link to put pictures for anyone interested.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r0oizl5czwfqkrq/AABpNaaHjP-4pNfHpxwmUnKla?dl=0
that link should take anyone interested to the photos I've taken so far. I will be naming them as I go along but there will always be a lag. If the link doesn't work, please let me know.
not sure if the above link allows you to see the cottage interior. Here is that link
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6r8mkxcimiu6qoe/AAC4gkugcvVhmOpKp-BJc6yWa?dl=0
From this point on it's pretty much genealogy related for my own purposes of keeping track. It may not be of general interest.
I have not been leaving the genealogy alone completely but it's time to get serious about it. Which family should I investigate? I fear I have reached nearly the end of the line with the Byrnes but remain hopeful. The Fennells are the next major line to check and of course the Whelans, who are also from Laois (Queen's county in the old times). Annie Fennell was my gg grandmother, married to Patrick Fitzpatrick. Now there's a guy who's a lost cause, but I digress.
Annie's parents were Mick Fennell and Bridget Whelan. They lived in the townland of Monebrock in Co Queens (now Laois) near the border of Co Kildare. Annie's family left around the time of the famine and settled in Brockville, Ontario, but most of the extended Fennell family remained in Ireland and I don't know if any Whelans left at all. There is a line of Fennells in Monebrock and a nearby townland called Barrowhouse, right up to 1911 - after which I have uncovered no records at this time. However, there are still Fennells in that area and I'm on the investigative trail. Dare I hope to find living relatives as Dad and I did with the Byrnes? Fingers crossed.
The others of whom I'm in hot pursuit, are the Kehoes. Arthur Byrne married Eliza Kehoe. They have remained elusive as no marriage record exists for Art and Eliza. Their church, St Brigid's in Clonegal, started keeping records in 1833. From those records I have the baptisms of their 4 youngest children and the names of their sponsors. Among them - two Kehoes, Martin and Owen. Griffiths Valuation puts them in the area of Clonegal and there are still Kehoes in that area today. Hmmm - could I be lucky a second and even a third time? Owen and Martin are likely to have been Eliza's brothers.
Well - I was hoping the Bunclody library might have something. I walked to the library this afternoon and after a brief chat with a librarian, was issued a library card. Can't beat the Irish for trusting a stranger. I love libraries and was welcomed heartily.
They have a collection of CDs which are interviews with locals, recorded about 8-10 years ago, and their recollections of times past. Most of the stories are of times since my own ancestors left, but a couple seemed very interesting so I borrowed two CDs and will have them to listen to this evening. There are only about 7 TV stations that I can get so entertainment options are limited. Once I've heard the news and weather there isn't much else to grab my attention, aside from Mrs Brown's Boys. They are a season behind with the North American shows here just as we were a season behind with Downton Abbey.
The library catalogue provided info on several reference books that piqued my curiosity. Sadly only a few reside in Bunclody. The others are part of the country-wide library system and most are reference books. So - some possible day trips in my future. The Wexford library in Wexford town probably offers the most. Wicklow town will be the same. More day trips ahead.
I did find a few books from which I photographed maps. Almost every day I find maps to be incredibly more useful than the day before, in visualizing places and distances experienced by the ancestors. They provide a good idea of just how far it would have been feasible for them to move.
Darkness was closing in and I had yet to buy my shampoo so I packed up, checked out the CDs and a book (fiction, for my own amusement) and headed back. I found the desired product in Macauley's, dropped the bottles in my pack along with the book and CDs and headed back up the street. UP being the operative word.
Let the fact-finding begin!
Once showered and dressed I decided to step outside to check how cold it was - and it wasn't. Well, not for a Canuck. I understand that it was actually warmer by a few degrees in Halifax if not elsewhere as well. I returned to my loft (that's got a nice ring to it) and got the camera, put on the hiking boots and a jacket and made a little tour of the garden. Everything blooming yesterday was still blooming today. I especially love the primroses which seemed not to mind the chill at all. The daffodils are sprouting about 6" out of the soil. Yay! The Gilsenan's garden is beautiful even without leaves on most of the trees and is immaculately cared for. It recalls my favourite children's book, The Secret Garden. The door to the garden has a lovely pointed arch and gate, but its location is anything but secret.
Once back inside I had breakfast - er, brunch - and figured it was time to join the library and see what they have to offer by way of helpful volumes on local history.
I took a few photos - posted to Facebook for those following there - and that reminded me that I need to set up a link to put pictures for anyone interested.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r0oizl5czwfqkrq/AABpNaaHjP-4pNfHpxwmUnKla?dl=0
that link should take anyone interested to the photos I've taken so far. I will be naming them as I go along but there will always be a lag. If the link doesn't work, please let me know.
not sure if the above link allows you to see the cottage interior. Here is that link
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6r8mkxcimiu6qoe/AAC4gkugcvVhmOpKp-BJc6yWa?dl=0
From this point on it's pretty much genealogy related for my own purposes of keeping track. It may not be of general interest.
I have not been leaving the genealogy alone completely but it's time to get serious about it. Which family should I investigate? I fear I have reached nearly the end of the line with the Byrnes but remain hopeful. The Fennells are the next major line to check and of course the Whelans, who are also from Laois (Queen's county in the old times). Annie Fennell was my gg grandmother, married to Patrick Fitzpatrick. Now there's a guy who's a lost cause, but I digress.
Annie's parents were Mick Fennell and Bridget Whelan. They lived in the townland of Monebrock in Co Queens (now Laois) near the border of Co Kildare. Annie's family left around the time of the famine and settled in Brockville, Ontario, but most of the extended Fennell family remained in Ireland and I don't know if any Whelans left at all. There is a line of Fennells in Monebrock and a nearby townland called Barrowhouse, right up to 1911 - after which I have uncovered no records at this time. However, there are still Fennells in that area and I'm on the investigative trail. Dare I hope to find living relatives as Dad and I did with the Byrnes? Fingers crossed.
The others of whom I'm in hot pursuit, are the Kehoes. Arthur Byrne married Eliza Kehoe. They have remained elusive as no marriage record exists for Art and Eliza. Their church, St Brigid's in Clonegal, started keeping records in 1833. From those records I have the baptisms of their 4 youngest children and the names of their sponsors. Among them - two Kehoes, Martin and Owen. Griffiths Valuation puts them in the area of Clonegal and there are still Kehoes in that area today. Hmmm - could I be lucky a second and even a third time? Owen and Martin are likely to have been Eliza's brothers.
Well - I was hoping the Bunclody library might have something. I walked to the library this afternoon and after a brief chat with a librarian, was issued a library card. Can't beat the Irish for trusting a stranger. I love libraries and was welcomed heartily.
They have a collection of CDs which are interviews with locals, recorded about 8-10 years ago, and their recollections of times past. Most of the stories are of times since my own ancestors left, but a couple seemed very interesting so I borrowed two CDs and will have them to listen to this evening. There are only about 7 TV stations that I can get so entertainment options are limited. Once I've heard the news and weather there isn't much else to grab my attention, aside from Mrs Brown's Boys. They are a season behind with the North American shows here just as we were a season behind with Downton Abbey.
The library catalogue provided info on several reference books that piqued my curiosity. Sadly only a few reside in Bunclody. The others are part of the country-wide library system and most are reference books. So - some possible day trips in my future. The Wexford library in Wexford town probably offers the most. Wicklow town will be the same. More day trips ahead.
I did find a few books from which I photographed maps. Almost every day I find maps to be incredibly more useful than the day before, in visualizing places and distances experienced by the ancestors. They provide a good idea of just how far it would have been feasible for them to move.
Darkness was closing in and I had yet to buy my shampoo so I packed up, checked out the CDs and a book (fiction, for my own amusement) and headed back. I found the desired product in Macauley's, dropped the bottles in my pack along with the book and CDs and headed back up the street. UP being the operative word.
Let the fact-finding begin!
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Late start and late finish
Well it was a long night and consequently a late morning rising - but hey I had nowhere else to be. The weather was quite good but for some reason I thought the clouds looked menacing so I didn't take advantage of the day by heading either up or downhill. Have I mentioned that there really is no flat place to walk? It's a matter of degree of incline - and today I was not inclined in any direction to any degree.
I did make a pot of soup - well a small pot - and put the new blender to the test. Success! However, this was not progress towards my genealogy goals. It did use up some carrots, parsnips, an onion and an apple - sprinkled with some of the new spice collection. But I wanted progress - backwards in time.
Out came the laptop and I spent considerable time trying to chase down the baptism record of Annie Fennell, my great great grandmother, well, one of them. Going backwards in time gives you exponentially more relatives. You are not nearly alone on the branches of your tree. Annie has been pretty elusive, appearing in the odd census and in the Fitzpatrick family bible. Apart from that her shyness has been carefully preserved. Likewise for her siblings.
How is it that almost none of my ancestors did anything newsworthy? They never even stole a loaf of bread, or a neighbour's chicken? No arrests for public drunken behaviour. They must have misbehaved behind closed doors. How about a skeleton in the closet or a ghost on the stairs? Actually, there was one of those but he's on the other side of the family tree. A story for another time.
I figured that a page by page review of the parish records now online, which yielded info on the marriage of Annie's parents and baptisms of a few of her siblings, might do the trick. Hah! The only trick was that the vanishing act of Annie's is still working. I did keep finding records for a Patrick Fitzpatrick which was the name of Annie's husband but it's not the same chap. Just one relative with an unusual name would be worth celebrating. Just one - please!
So - still no progress. Maybe switching to the writing tasks would be a good move. Well, that turned out to be simply re-reading what I'd written and simply adding a few commas and changing a word or two. Aggie's Dash is still a work in progress. I need one date and it is not available online. It's in an Ottawa city directory at Library and Archives Canada in the original hardcopy directory, or at a few other locations on microfilm. Not a single one of them is available to me here. My plans to uncover the information before leaving kept getting derailed by snow storms.
Saved by the bell - or whatever one would call the unusual ring tone of my brand spanking new local mobile phone. I've finally figured out how to swipe correctly to answer it - once I recognized what the dinging was all about. It was Tom Byrne calling with an invitation to come over this evening - so I went.
I brought along the few things I had brought for the young lads. The biggest hits were the small cars - a New York Yellow Cab and a NYPD fire truck I'd purchased from a street vendor on the Brooklyn Bridge. Who knew that a young lad in Ireland "had always wanted" a NY taxi? Who knew that he'd even seen one - but that's the magic of television. They also loved the miniature hockey sticks and balls. I'll make Canadians out of them yet - Senators fans at least.
The evening was spent in interesting conversation with the Byrnes and a couple who had also dropped in, and of course included a mighty tasty little slice of Ann's apple pie.
We chatted until much later in the evening than I'd anticipated before I finally pointed the car back towards Bunclody. It's about a 20 minute drive during which I encountered only 3 other cars on the road. Now it's late again and I'm snug in the cottage wondering what is causing the motion-activated light to keep coming on outside. It's likely the wind which is picking up quite a lot and blowing something within range of the sensor. It has just gone off again and so shall I to the land of nod, I hope.
Tomorrow I shall attempt to do something worthy of more than these ramblings.
I did make a pot of soup - well a small pot - and put the new blender to the test. Success! However, this was not progress towards my genealogy goals. It did use up some carrots, parsnips, an onion and an apple - sprinkled with some of the new spice collection. But I wanted progress - backwards in time.
Out came the laptop and I spent considerable time trying to chase down the baptism record of Annie Fennell, my great great grandmother, well, one of them. Going backwards in time gives you exponentially more relatives. You are not nearly alone on the branches of your tree. Annie has been pretty elusive, appearing in the odd census and in the Fitzpatrick family bible. Apart from that her shyness has been carefully preserved. Likewise for her siblings.
How is it that almost none of my ancestors did anything newsworthy? They never even stole a loaf of bread, or a neighbour's chicken? No arrests for public drunken behaviour. They must have misbehaved behind closed doors. How about a skeleton in the closet or a ghost on the stairs? Actually, there was one of those but he's on the other side of the family tree. A story for another time.
I figured that a page by page review of the parish records now online, which yielded info on the marriage of Annie's parents and baptisms of a few of her siblings, might do the trick. Hah! The only trick was that the vanishing act of Annie's is still working. I did keep finding records for a Patrick Fitzpatrick which was the name of Annie's husband but it's not the same chap. Just one relative with an unusual name would be worth celebrating. Just one - please!
So - still no progress. Maybe switching to the writing tasks would be a good move. Well, that turned out to be simply re-reading what I'd written and simply adding a few commas and changing a word or two. Aggie's Dash is still a work in progress. I need one date and it is not available online. It's in an Ottawa city directory at Library and Archives Canada in the original hardcopy directory, or at a few other locations on microfilm. Not a single one of them is available to me here. My plans to uncover the information before leaving kept getting derailed by snow storms.
Saved by the bell - or whatever one would call the unusual ring tone of my brand spanking new local mobile phone. I've finally figured out how to swipe correctly to answer it - once I recognized what the dinging was all about. It was Tom Byrne calling with an invitation to come over this evening - so I went.
I brought along the few things I had brought for the young lads. The biggest hits were the small cars - a New York Yellow Cab and a NYPD fire truck I'd purchased from a street vendor on the Brooklyn Bridge. Who knew that a young lad in Ireland "had always wanted" a NY taxi? Who knew that he'd even seen one - but that's the magic of television. They also loved the miniature hockey sticks and balls. I'll make Canadians out of them yet - Senators fans at least.
The evening was spent in interesting conversation with the Byrnes and a couple who had also dropped in, and of course included a mighty tasty little slice of Ann's apple pie.
We chatted until much later in the evening than I'd anticipated before I finally pointed the car back towards Bunclody. It's about a 20 minute drive during which I encountered only 3 other cars on the road. Now it's late again and I'm snug in the cottage wondering what is causing the motion-activated light to keep coming on outside. It's likely the wind which is picking up quite a lot and blowing something within range of the sensor. It has just gone off again and so shall I to the land of nod, I hope.
Tomorrow I shall attempt to do something worthy of more than these ramblings.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Rain, sun, a lovely drive and even better dinner and conversation
This morning, despite my nagging sore feet, I went for a bit of a walk in the spitting rain, around the neighbourhood. I opted not to walk down the hill into town because I'd have to climb back up. It's fairly flat for a few hundred yards in the other direction so off I went. At the end of the pavement a narrow road, Strawberry Hill according to the sign, looked quite attractive. Going this direction I would be walking uphill to start with and could finish with the down hill run. Hmmm - I stuck to the more-or-less flat streets. There's really nothing truly flat around here. This is a small town but there is much farmland too. In one nearby field were two horses having a quiet moment. In another, directly across the road from Moss Cottage, were a few goats. None of the animals obliged by prancing, jumping or doing anything much at all. I hoped the goats would provide some amusement but they were more intent on munching the grass.
During a brief visit to her place on Friday, Margaret had invited me and two others for dinner today. I met Anne and Lynne when I was here in Spring 2013 when they were planning "The Gathering: Canada Come Home". That's when I also met Margaret. It was a wonderful afternoon of eating and talking and the hours flew by.
Dinner featured leg of lamb with mint jelly and gravy, potatoes - two kinds, roasted veggies, peas and the most amazing rhubarb crumble. I topped it all off with a couple of cups of coffee. I should feel sleepy around 3 am - I'm wide awake now and it's almost midnight.
Instead of taking route-planning advice which had resulted in a rather twisted route through Gorey to get here, I let the GPS take me back to Ashford. I have renewed faith in the annoying little voice that tells me, nicely, where to go.
Most of the way was on quite good roads up to the motorway which is terrific. The one part on narrow twisting roads was traversed in sunshine. Every corner brought a lovelier view - at least so far as I could see it while driving. Around one bend was a massive house with the most amazing multi-level thatched roof. I will have to go back on the next sunny day and take pictures. Not far from there the winding trail went over a narrow stone bridge. I was grateful there was nobody coming the other way. Eventually this road led to Ferns and its lovely castle which houses a tapestry that I'm putting on the list of 'what to see'.
As the journey took less time than I needed, I asked the GPS where to find the nearest Lidl store, and found it easily. I stocked up on some herbs/spices for cooking. I briefly contemplated an inexpensive milk frother quite similar to one I had at home that really doesn't do an adequate job. Right beside it was an electric steamer/frother which called my name. I answered the call. It wasn't expensive either. Tomorrow's coffee will be a great improvement over any I've made so far. The cinnamon I bought will top it off nicely.
I'm going to try to get the bedroom cool enough to really enjoy the cosy warm duvet. It was a bit of overkill last night. I have more heating options here than I'd ever imagined.
Our conversation this afternoon did wander down the genealogy trail as the other girls are also interested in their family histories. Margaret pulled out a roll of pages of her family tree. The author produced it using Excel - a spreadsheet. It was a work of art. I can only imagine how long it took to put together and to reference each ancestor from page to page.
I'm waiting to hear from a volunteer genealogist in Co Kildare who is going to help me try to locate information, and maybe the precise location, of the home place of my Fennell and Whelan ancestors. Fingers crossed that she has time soon. It's only an hour's drive away and I'll be there whenever it suits her.
No specific plans for this week other than to get somewhat organized about my searches and writing. I'll probably drive over to Coolross and Rocktavern to say hello as well.
Hopefully my next installment will be more interesting.
Ann
During a brief visit to her place on Friday, Margaret had invited me and two others for dinner today. I met Anne and Lynne when I was here in Spring 2013 when they were planning "The Gathering: Canada Come Home". That's when I also met Margaret. It was a wonderful afternoon of eating and talking and the hours flew by.
Dinner featured leg of lamb with mint jelly and gravy, potatoes - two kinds, roasted veggies, peas and the most amazing rhubarb crumble. I topped it all off with a couple of cups of coffee. I should feel sleepy around 3 am - I'm wide awake now and it's almost midnight.
Instead of taking route-planning advice which had resulted in a rather twisted route through Gorey to get here, I let the GPS take me back to Ashford. I have renewed faith in the annoying little voice that tells me, nicely, where to go.
Most of the way was on quite good roads up to the motorway which is terrific. The one part on narrow twisting roads was traversed in sunshine. Every corner brought a lovelier view - at least so far as I could see it while driving. Around one bend was a massive house with the most amazing multi-level thatched roof. I will have to go back on the next sunny day and take pictures. Not far from there the winding trail went over a narrow stone bridge. I was grateful there was nobody coming the other way. Eventually this road led to Ferns and its lovely castle which houses a tapestry that I'm putting on the list of 'what to see'.
As the journey took less time than I needed, I asked the GPS where to find the nearest Lidl store, and found it easily. I stocked up on some herbs/spices for cooking. I briefly contemplated an inexpensive milk frother quite similar to one I had at home that really doesn't do an adequate job. Right beside it was an electric steamer/frother which called my name. I answered the call. It wasn't expensive either. Tomorrow's coffee will be a great improvement over any I've made so far. The cinnamon I bought will top it off nicely.
I'm going to try to get the bedroom cool enough to really enjoy the cosy warm duvet. It was a bit of overkill last night. I have more heating options here than I'd ever imagined.
Our conversation this afternoon did wander down the genealogy trail as the other girls are also interested in their family histories. Margaret pulled out a roll of pages of her family tree. The author produced it using Excel - a spreadsheet. It was a work of art. I can only imagine how long it took to put together and to reference each ancestor from page to page.
I'm waiting to hear from a volunteer genealogist in Co Kildare who is going to help me try to locate information, and maybe the precise location, of the home place of my Fennell and Whelan ancestors. Fingers crossed that she has time soon. It's only an hour's drive away and I'll be there whenever it suits her.
No specific plans for this week other than to get somewhat organized about my searches and writing. I'll probably drive over to Coolross and Rocktavern to say hello as well.
Hopefully my next installment will be more interesting.
Ann
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Better than expected
As I type this, the TV has been retuned to an English channel - as opposed to the Irish language that provided news and weather to those who understood. I of course am still ignorant of those facts, my Irish not being up to snuff.
The flights over were both delayed, but worked out just fine in the end. We needed serious de-icing of the wings in Ottawa but the guys responsible did a great job. If they hadn't I don't suppose I'd be posting this. The weather in Toronto was clear with no need for that process. The flight to Dublin was delayed out of Toronto because the plane was late arriving from wherever it had been. Between walking from arrival gate to departure gate in Toronto, and walking down the stairs onto the tarmac in Dublin and onward to the baggage carousel I got my 10,000 steps. Just as well because it was a long sit on the plane. Note to Toronto Pearson airport - some signs indicating where to find E and F when you arrive in section D would be appreciated. You only need to walk about a half a kilometer to see the signs - if you have chosen the right direction when setting out. What was rather annoying to discover was that the long corridor I had to walk in one direction was parallel to the corridor I had to walk back the same distance and is connected by bridges not accessible to the public. Argghhh.
Oliver met me at the Dublin airport and his help with the baggage was hugely appreciated. We took the shuttle to the Hertz location for the rental car. I upgraded to an automatic and now have a lovely Ford Focus. The trunk easily held the two large suitcases - yay! Getting them up and into the trunk is a different challenge. Once I figured out how to get out of the airport, having done a drive-by of the rental place once again, it was smooth sailing to Ashford. Driving in circles seems to be my pattern here. This is much aided by all the roundabouts.
Not surprisingly, there was food awaiting my arrival. Mary Harte cannot welcome anyone without nourishing the body and spirit. She did a wonderful job of both. For supper we had Hake (a lovely white fish), more potatoes than I'd eat in a month, plus carrots and shredded cabbage. Mary served the plates and despite requesting a small portion, I got a huge plateful of goodness. Needless to say I could not finish.
Now I have been pampered from time to time in the past, but this treatment was special: my bed was pre-heated with an electric mattress pad and I had a hot water bottle that kept my toes cosy all night long. There was a heater in the room which I turned off so that I could enjoy the mountain of duvets and quilts. The toilet had a fluffy seat cover to keep my tush from freezing.
I went to bed early, after having had just a few winks on the plane, and slept until 9 am this morning. Yikes! Needless to say I was quite refreshed and ready to go. Well, not so fast! When I got up and was given Mary's lovely cosy housecoat to keep me warm, there was coffee and toast for me. That would have been enough. Oops - that was followed by a huge bowl of porridge. OK - breakfast is done. Not so fast. Mary started beating eggs and flour to make pancakes. Whoa - I'd already had more than needed and simply could not eat any more. In fact, I didn't eat again until 5 pm when the porridge finally wore off.
It was after 11 when I got away and headed south on the M11. It's a great highway and had little traffic and of course - no snow or ice!!!! I sailed right along and the GPS, locally known as a Sat Nav, had me well directed. Oliver suggested that I take the Gorey-Inch exit, not the one the GPS wanted. However, it is a patient device and fond of recalculating, so the tour became a bit more interesting. When I got to Gorey the "straight ahead" option usually was given on a curve that offered other turns and straightaways as well, and directions to turn right at X street were interesting as I believe they use invisible street signs. Finally I eventually found myself near the shopping centre and was more or less oriented. I only made one more loop around the town, before finding the right road.
There is a folk song here called "The one road" and has a line that says "maybe the wrong road". It's my theme song when driving in rural Ireland. Every single trip that I don't have a local navigator I find the wrong road. Even with the GPS. But it's fun. Of course this also happens to me at home.
I passed Ann and Tom Byrne's at the Rocktavern but it was more important to find my cottage and get stocked with groceries so I didn't stop - just nodded as I sailed past. From there it was easy-peasy to find Bunclody and Moss Cottage, my Irish home for now.
Mary Gilsenan, my landlady, gave me the tour and "how to" lessons on the important features and here I am. It's absolutely delightful and better than I could have dreamed. They have a lovely garden that I'll explore on the first sunny day. That may take a while to arrive.
I have installed myself in the bedroom on the first floor (not the ground floor), co-located with the kitchen, living-dining room and a huge bathroom. It's bright and cheery and ideal. The washer and dryer are on the ground level through a separate entrance and in that same spot I've been provided with a small freezer so I can do a little cooking ahead. If I make soup I won't have to have it for 6 meals in a row. I can freeze some. That area is not heated and could serve as a cold room.
The coffee maker is a French press for which I'm sure I'll figure out appropriate quantities of ground coffee. The dishwasher might not get much use as it's easy to wash up a couple of dishes. I will probably buy a blender of some sort but otherwise there's nothing missing.
I headed out to Aldi for some grocery shopping and was pleasantly surprised by the great selection and the prices. And they have wine and beer. So much more civilized than the Ontario approach to alcohol. The prices are also more civilized. The Sauvignon Blanc was lovely with dinner, but I'm getting ahead of myself. They didn't have herbs and spices so I'll shop for those elsewhere. I bought some basics along with some fresh veggies and chicken. For this evening I bought a prepared meal of chicken, veggies and potatoes which was very tasty and inexpensive. They seemed to have a lot of such options so perhaps I won't do much meal prep anyway.
The wifi is working perfectly, the new phone is humming along and all devices have logged into the network easily. Now I can be reached by friends and relatives in Ireland as a local, not international, call.
I've taken a little break from the organizing of my stuff, so I'll complete the process of settling in shortly. The clothes are all put away, but the paper and books need to be sorted out. The coffee table is looking like the likely location for these supplies.
This great room is in the upper level of a former stable or garage, so the walls are sloped. Having nearly concussed myself about 4 times, I've lined up the dining chairs along one wall so it won't happen again. When you walk up the stairs from the ground floor and look straight ahead it looks like you've entered a waiting room, but my head is safe.
Tune in again soon. No photos other than the one on FB but I'll take some soon and put them somewhere with a link. Comments are welcome although I can't say whether you need to do anything to add them. My point of view as the author of the blog is a bit different than that of my readers.
Slan
The flights over were both delayed, but worked out just fine in the end. We needed serious de-icing of the wings in Ottawa but the guys responsible did a great job. If they hadn't I don't suppose I'd be posting this. The weather in Toronto was clear with no need for that process. The flight to Dublin was delayed out of Toronto because the plane was late arriving from wherever it had been. Between walking from arrival gate to departure gate in Toronto, and walking down the stairs onto the tarmac in Dublin and onward to the baggage carousel I got my 10,000 steps. Just as well because it was a long sit on the plane. Note to Toronto Pearson airport - some signs indicating where to find E and F when you arrive in section D would be appreciated. You only need to walk about a half a kilometer to see the signs - if you have chosen the right direction when setting out. What was rather annoying to discover was that the long corridor I had to walk in one direction was parallel to the corridor I had to walk back the same distance and is connected by bridges not accessible to the public. Argghhh.
Oliver met me at the Dublin airport and his help with the baggage was hugely appreciated. We took the shuttle to the Hertz location for the rental car. I upgraded to an automatic and now have a lovely Ford Focus. The trunk easily held the two large suitcases - yay! Getting them up and into the trunk is a different challenge. Once I figured out how to get out of the airport, having done a drive-by of the rental place once again, it was smooth sailing to Ashford. Driving in circles seems to be my pattern here. This is much aided by all the roundabouts.
Not surprisingly, there was food awaiting my arrival. Mary Harte cannot welcome anyone without nourishing the body and spirit. She did a wonderful job of both. For supper we had Hake (a lovely white fish), more potatoes than I'd eat in a month, plus carrots and shredded cabbage. Mary served the plates and despite requesting a small portion, I got a huge plateful of goodness. Needless to say I could not finish.
Now I have been pampered from time to time in the past, but this treatment was special: my bed was pre-heated with an electric mattress pad and I had a hot water bottle that kept my toes cosy all night long. There was a heater in the room which I turned off so that I could enjoy the mountain of duvets and quilts. The toilet had a fluffy seat cover to keep my tush from freezing.
I went to bed early, after having had just a few winks on the plane, and slept until 9 am this morning. Yikes! Needless to say I was quite refreshed and ready to go. Well, not so fast! When I got up and was given Mary's lovely cosy housecoat to keep me warm, there was coffee and toast for me. That would have been enough. Oops - that was followed by a huge bowl of porridge. OK - breakfast is done. Not so fast. Mary started beating eggs and flour to make pancakes. Whoa - I'd already had more than needed and simply could not eat any more. In fact, I didn't eat again until 5 pm when the porridge finally wore off.
It was after 11 when I got away and headed south on the M11. It's a great highway and had little traffic and of course - no snow or ice!!!! I sailed right along and the GPS, locally known as a Sat Nav, had me well directed. Oliver suggested that I take the Gorey-Inch exit, not the one the GPS wanted. However, it is a patient device and fond of recalculating, so the tour became a bit more interesting. When I got to Gorey the "straight ahead" option usually was given on a curve that offered other turns and straightaways as well, and directions to turn right at X street were interesting as I believe they use invisible street signs. Finally I eventually found myself near the shopping centre and was more or less oriented. I only made one more loop around the town, before finding the right road.
There is a folk song here called "The one road" and has a line that says "maybe the wrong road". It's my theme song when driving in rural Ireland. Every single trip that I don't have a local navigator I find the wrong road. Even with the GPS. But it's fun. Of course this also happens to me at home.
I passed Ann and Tom Byrne's at the Rocktavern but it was more important to find my cottage and get stocked with groceries so I didn't stop - just nodded as I sailed past. From there it was easy-peasy to find Bunclody and Moss Cottage, my Irish home for now.
Mary Gilsenan, my landlady, gave me the tour and "how to" lessons on the important features and here I am. It's absolutely delightful and better than I could have dreamed. They have a lovely garden that I'll explore on the first sunny day. That may take a while to arrive.
I have installed myself in the bedroom on the first floor (not the ground floor), co-located with the kitchen, living-dining room and a huge bathroom. It's bright and cheery and ideal. The washer and dryer are on the ground level through a separate entrance and in that same spot I've been provided with a small freezer so I can do a little cooking ahead. If I make soup I won't have to have it for 6 meals in a row. I can freeze some. That area is not heated and could serve as a cold room.
The coffee maker is a French press for which I'm sure I'll figure out appropriate quantities of ground coffee. The dishwasher might not get much use as it's easy to wash up a couple of dishes. I will probably buy a blender of some sort but otherwise there's nothing missing.
I headed out to Aldi for some grocery shopping and was pleasantly surprised by the great selection and the prices. And they have wine and beer. So much more civilized than the Ontario approach to alcohol. The prices are also more civilized. The Sauvignon Blanc was lovely with dinner, but I'm getting ahead of myself. They didn't have herbs and spices so I'll shop for those elsewhere. I bought some basics along with some fresh veggies and chicken. For this evening I bought a prepared meal of chicken, veggies and potatoes which was very tasty and inexpensive. They seemed to have a lot of such options so perhaps I won't do much meal prep anyway.
The wifi is working perfectly, the new phone is humming along and all devices have logged into the network easily. Now I can be reached by friends and relatives in Ireland as a local, not international, call.
I've taken a little break from the organizing of my stuff, so I'll complete the process of settling in shortly. The clothes are all put away, but the paper and books need to be sorted out. The coffee table is looking like the likely location for these supplies.
This great room is in the upper level of a former stable or garage, so the walls are sloped. Having nearly concussed myself about 4 times, I've lined up the dining chairs along one wall so it won't happen again. When you walk up the stairs from the ground floor and look straight ahead it looks like you've entered a waiting room, but my head is safe.
Tune in again soon. No photos other than the one on FB but I'll take some soon and put them somewhere with a link. Comments are welcome although I can't say whether you need to do anything to add them. My point of view as the author of the blog is a bit different than that of my readers.
Slan
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Everything old is new again
Not only is it the start of a new year but it's almost time to start my adventure in Eire. Much of the packing is done and the research goals are pretty much set. I'm sure I'll be diverted to other things quite often and am open to whatever comes along.
Today while going through the "little things" that I travel with, I started browsing through two smallish but thick spiral notebooks, I decided to go through them to see if there were any pages I could tear out. There were a few, but I came upon a few gems.
I've had these little books for quite a while. The first one dates to 2008 and my first visit to Ireland. I think my fate was determined by that trip. I fell in love and haven't looked back - I just keep going back.
There are lots of notes on resources to explore that will save me time browsing library catalogues - yay! Most of my files are digitized and easily accessible on the laptop.
Recent matches from the DNA testing have a few tantalizing leads. So far nothing definitive but it's another avenue. Unfortunately most of my matches have not posted family trees so there's no way to know where the matches are. Drat! I think they've been watching the ancestry commercials and think that a DNA test result will answer all their questions on the ancestors. Hah! Think again folks, it's harder than that.
I'm going to miss watching the Sens. I suppose if I have insomnia on game nights I can listen live via the website. It will have to do.
This week will features last minute chores and some breakfast get-togethers. I will be eating big breakfasts so I'll only need to have one more meal each day. It's looking like Mother Hubbard's Cupboard here as I try to empty the fridge and pantry.
Maybe I'll have a chance for one more post before liftoff on Thursday but if not there will be one on the weekend from the Emerald Isle.
Today while going through the "little things" that I travel with, I started browsing through two smallish but thick spiral notebooks, I decided to go through them to see if there were any pages I could tear out. There were a few, but I came upon a few gems.
I've had these little books for quite a while. The first one dates to 2008 and my first visit to Ireland. I think my fate was determined by that trip. I fell in love and haven't looked back - I just keep going back.
There are lots of notes on resources to explore that will save me time browsing library catalogues - yay! Most of my files are digitized and easily accessible on the laptop.
Recent matches from the DNA testing have a few tantalizing leads. So far nothing definitive but it's another avenue. Unfortunately most of my matches have not posted family trees so there's no way to know where the matches are. Drat! I think they've been watching the ancestry commercials and think that a DNA test result will answer all their questions on the ancestors. Hah! Think again folks, it's harder than that.
I'm going to miss watching the Sens. I suppose if I have insomnia on game nights I can listen live via the website. It will have to do.
This week will features last minute chores and some breakfast get-togethers. I will be eating big breakfasts so I'll only need to have one more meal each day. It's looking like Mother Hubbard's Cupboard here as I try to empty the fridge and pantry.
Maybe I'll have a chance for one more post before liftoff on Thursday but if not there will be one on the weekend from the Emerald Isle.
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