A day of travel and genealogy

If you didn't check back to the previous post, the photos have been added

Mostly genealogy today with some travel bits:

Today I decided to drive to Kilkenny to do some research. The library had a microfilm that I was unable to find online in digital format. Turns out it is online, but under the wrong parish. Ah well, my eyes needed to become accustomed to microfilm again, if only to prove that digital images are much easier to read.

Using the Autoaddress app, which uses Google Maps, to tell me the route to follow, I input the Kilkenny Library as my destination and decided to follow the directions, well, mostly. The first part of the trip recommended very bad roads and I did know how to get to Clonegal and allowed the app to adjust. The app did then, adjust nicely to my decision.

I must say the "stick to the windshield" phone holder works like a charm. It clamps right onto the phone. Of course, it became very fond of the phone during the trip and was unwilling to let me take it back. However, I persevered and managed to unclamp it. On the next journey, I hope that clamp realizes its reign is short-lived. 

Without incident, other than driving through low-lying fog for about 60% of the trip, it went very well. This was the first trip on roads with a speed limit high enough to use 5th gear. 

Naturally, I chose a parking lot, upon arrival at my destination, that allowed only 1-hour parking for €1.50. When I talked with the librarian she told me that across the street, you could park all day for €2. Of course you can. An hour later I moved the VW to its longer-term location and I may have found the last open spot in the entire lot. It was such a cherished spot that I was barely "unparked" to drive back home, when the space was immediately re-occupied. 

The librarians were friendly and helpful. The microfilm machine and the overhead light had minds of their own. The light is on a motion sensor. I wasn't moving around the room, so every so often it would just shut off. Fortunately, there was a window in the door so I had enough light to see while I took a few steps to where the sensor realized that I was still there. This little activity was repeated throughout the day. Hmmm - could it be a ploy to make sure that clients get up and move a bit?

The microfilm machine, despite being in constant use, would unexpectedly turn off its light. The Start button easily turned it back on. The first time I did this I was startled shortly thereafter as it loudly clunked about 20 seconds after the light was back on. This was also repeated many times during the day. I did eventually learn to wait for the clunk before proceeding.

I think I found the record of the baptism of Ellenor Walsh, my ggg grandmother. She was the only one by that name in the collection. She was baptised in 1815. That means she was 16 when she married John Brennan in 1831. It was six years after that when their first child was born - Catherine. I didn't get as far as that date in the records.

At lunchtime (1 to 2 pm) I wandered up a back lane to McDonagh Junction Mall where I enjoyed a nice cup of tomato basil soup and a bagel sandwich. Outside the main entrance of the mall was a very attractive monument, which is a "famine garden". This is probably the least depressing famine monument anywhere, and there were many that I saw on previous trips. The main sculpture is pictured here.

See description in next photo. In the background, you see the grey "block" that marks the final resting place of the remains of 670 people who died in the Kilkenny workhouse during the Great Famine

Behind the sculpture is a tomb, beneath which are the remains of hundreds of former occupants of the Kilkenny Union Workhouse, from famine times. The remains were discovered in much more recent times - right where they are. Some have been matched, I guess by DNA, to relatives. 

Longer view of the famine memorial garden

The journey home was via Bunclody which added a few kms but allowed for a stop at Super Value to pick up a couple of needed items. Aside from stalling, on a hill, a few hundred meters from my cottage, when I'd pulled over almost into the hedge to let a tractor rumble by, the trip was without incident. I managed to roll back only a few meters when I started up again. Ah, sometimes I miss my automatic transmission. 

Back to the past

The day started slowly and the brain was a little distance behind. Eventually, they got synchronized – by noon that is. 

As planned I had dinner with Kathy Doyle in Carnew at the community centre where she lives. It was lovely if a bit of a big meal for midday. 

From there I drove down the road towards Gorey to the home of Marg Gilbert. Everything Marg plans for me turns out to be quite magical. We were to visit Marcella Byrne and go to Brigid's Well near her home. As it happens there are many similarly-named wells around Ireland. What was going to be special this time? Who cares? I knew it would be a remarkable afternoon and I was not disappointed.


HISTORY AND GENEALOGY WARNING: not specifically genealogy but I've left out the specific family bits - not my family - or at least I don't think so.

The road to Marcella's home at Bridewell was uphill and twisty but I've now gotten pretty close to driving smoothly, shifting gears with ease (OK, nearly), and not stalling. So, I started by stalling twice while turning the car around at Margaret's home before heading onto the road. After that, it was pretty much OK. Marg has no symptoms of whiplash – at least not yet.

Brideswell means Brigid's Well. It is near Askamore. I realize that tells you exactly the location. More detail? OK - near Ballyellis? Shrule? Munny? Ballyconran? I'm sure you've placed it by now. Let's just say Co Wexford and leave it at that. 

http://www.megalithicireland.com/St%20Brigid%27s%20Well,%20Brideswell%20Big,%20Wexford.html

Marcella began with a brief history of the 1798 rebellion and I tried to turn my brain into a recording device – to no avail. That set the stage for what/where we were to visit. I continue to be in awe of how much history so many people know. I fear the day that one of them asks me about Canadian history. I'll have to divert their attention.

Anyway, the original well was marked on an Ordnance Survey map from the 1820s, along with Brigid's mark (footprint). The OS maps are very very detailed and this well is very near Marcella's home. As an aside, her home (where she lived at the time this project got underway) had been used as a safe house during the Irish Civil War in the early 1920s. Beside the house, and still standing, is the original farmhouse. The roof is now corrugated metal and was almost certainly thatched back in the early days. One end (with the window) was for the family. Moving along the building was the hen house, then possibly a pig or pigs, and then a place for the family's cow. The heat from the animals contributed to heating the family's home. 

As a child, Marcella would get water from the aforementioned well, but it went dry and was eventually covered over.

Anyway, knowing about the well, Marcella and others set about finding and restoring it and the surroundings about 20 years ago. I can only imagine how difficult the project was. There was some money provided by the county and an archaeologist was involved. This 'expert' proved to be less helpful than expected, but there you go. 

The entire area had been overgrown. The stone walls on the path now leading to the well were built by those restoring the place. Along the way are seven large stones representing the Beatitudes. The eighth is nearby along the wall of the old cemetery. These stones were not part of the original well area but carved and placed as part of the project. The cemetery holds a large number of graves but very few headstones. The oldest ones are now resting against the stone wall and are virtually unreadable. They have been transcribed and the wording is available.

Anyway, we wandered down the path to the site of the well. A small stream runs along and under one of the two dry stone huts which remain undated. They are similar to beehive huts found in Co Kerry and which date from early monastic times. These two form a sort of figure 8. The roofs have long since fallen away. They were probably made of the same stone.

The photos below are of the (white) former safe house, the original stone farmhouse, the old cemetery and the area of the well.

Following our little exploration we returned to Marcella's for tea and treats, and got into other stories and some genealogy connections. I'd had some of the information previously and can't positively connect it to my ancestors – but a remote possibility is to be explored. That takes care of my evening plans. 

As we left, Marcella gave me a Brigid's Cross, made this year in the area of Co. Kilkenny that was home to my Brennan/Walsh/McGrath and Maher ancestors. It's a nice segue into tomorrow's trip to Kilkenny to do some research in the county library. There is supposed to be a microfilm that might, just might, reveal some secrets that will tell me more about my own ancestors. 

As per usual, the 10 year gap in the records is actually the time period that would be most helpful, but you never know.

With Marcella in front of the former safe house - the house in which she grew up

The original home - living space was at the far end, with the window

Old tombstones from 18th century

Cemetery entrance - added in recent years

Rock representing one of the Beatitudes

The well

Inside the formerly roofed hut

Brigid's Mark (footprint)

Catching up again

On days where nothing of much note actually transpires, I am loathe to bore you, dear reader. However, I'll give you a wee summary of the past couple of days. Feel free to tune out and shut this down.

Sunday morning I woke up in The Barn and the sun was again shining. It was also warmer than Saturday. I enjoyed my coffee for quite a long time before accomplishing much of anything. What I did accomplish was doing the laundry. That was hardly intensive labour - there is a washing machine that performed its duty appropriately and produced clean clothes. The drying rack in The Barn was pressed into service to give a lived-in look to the kitchen. That lived-in look lasted a bit longer than anticipated.

I was in touch with a few folks by text and email and in a couple of cases, by phone. However, it seems that my phone would happily make calls and exchange texts but refused any incoming calls. It took a while before anyone let me know. Being Sunday, there was no way to get Vodaphone to remedy the situation. 

I had a little visit with Kathy Doyle so she could check that her car was behaving well and being well treated in return. Then I popped over to the Rocktavern to pick up one more bag that I had left on my last visit. I should add that I followed my instinct on the turns in the road that would take me to Carnew. Once again I was wrong. At least this time I wasn't lost and was able to get back on track within a few hundred yards. 

Later, John O'Neill - my local researcher - dropped in with some interesting information. He lives about 30 yards from me so his journey was made on foot. A "Genealogy Alert" will follow shortly.

After John left I noticed that it was getting chilly. The sun was going down and the temperature was bearable but something was amiss. The thermostat is on a timer and it was currently "on". Checking the radiators resulted in a cool response. Hmmm. Surely not another failure of the system. Each cottage has its own furnace. I summoned Donal and he confirmed that once again there was a breakdown. A repair call was placed for Monday. 

Donal brought over a lovely paraffin heater that soon made the living area warm, even toasty. The blue disappeared from my fingers. Well, upstairs anyway. I agreed that I could survive the night because there is a lovely duvet on the bed - downstairs. And I did. 

When it was time to get up on Monday morning I considered just staying put under the duvet. The temperature in my room would have been about 7C. It was 9C upstairs - still not cosy. Now, I hate to be fussy, but that is a bit on the cold side for indoors. I only had to go upstairs and turn on the heater for fast relief. 

As a side-effect of the lack of a working boiler, there was no hot water either. There was electricity, so the kettle was pressed into service and the coffee was appreciated for the caffeine and the mug was a warm thing to wrap my hands around. 

I had errands to do in Bunclody, so off I went. The first order of business was to get the phone sorted out - check. Then pick up the library book on hold - Check. Then off to Moss Cottage to retrieve some long-lost items - Check. Visit Aldi for a couple of household items and the chocolate rations. Check, Oh yes, I also remembered to buy wine. 

When I returned, the heat had been restored and the issue had been a minor one. The repairman moved on to The Store which I presume he got back in working order.

So, all's well with the world. Those with no interest in my family history can go back to what you were doing before. This blog is my diary so I shall add a bit now.

GENEALOGY FOLLOWS

Some years ago, John O had done research on my Brennan and McGrath ancestors in Kilkenny. I remember reading what he sent at the time. A package of documents, well copies, was also sent in the mail. Somehow I managed to either miss completely or misunderstand what he'd sent. But he has a mind like a steel trap and had remembered much of the information. He had kept the earlier emails and has re-sent them. I'd like to place an order for a brain like his. I haven't found a source yet.

The Brennan name is very very very common in the area of Kilkenny that mine come from. To make any real headway you have to know the family nickname. It has been in the documentation that John sent me a long time ago. It is GARD or GIAD - hard to tell from some of the writing but is almost surely GARD. Most likely that means that someone was a gardener. I will be going to the area they came from in a few days' time and maybe I'll make some headway. It seems that my ggg grandfather John Brennan was the son of James Brennan who was the son of Michael Brennan - all carried the nickname GARD. 

On the emigration lists it shows the Widow Brennan GARD leaving in 1847 with just a couple of children. I knew that John Brennan had died prior to 1848 when Ellen remarried in Ottawa. I have also been unable to find any of her children other than my gg grandmother, Catherine Brennan. It's now likely that the boys James and William had died during the famine. The fate of her daughter Margaret is also unknown as I haven't found any certain records of her in Canada.

John also pointed out that the marriage and baptism information I have, which was sent from the Irish Family History Foundation, is entirely transcriptions. The originals have never been filmed. They are held in the church office. I've emailed the office but haven't had a reply yet. If I don't hear from them I'll just appear at their door. My hope is that a big smile and polite request might result in a peek at the registers themselves. Fingers crossed.

So - today I reviewed what I'd written about Arthur Byrne and am catching up on the history of the Coollattin Estate where they were sub-tenants. The information is in a book entitled "Surplus People" by Jim Rees. I'll be able to add some details to the life of the Byrnes in Ireland before and during their emigration.

There was a brief shower a few minutes ago that I only noticed because of the water on the skylights. It seems to have passed.

Time to get on with the reading and writing - fortunately there's no 'rithmatic on the schedule.

Storm Jorge

After a great night's sleep I was treated to a hearty breakfast. Turns out that was good fortification for the cold day. It was bright and sunny, and absolutely frigid and windy. I do have appropriate clothing so once attired, I was quite warm.

Ann drove me to Kathy's place to have a short visit and get the key to her car. It's a VW Polo and perfect for what I need. It has been a while since I'd driven a standard, but it's kind of like riding a bicycle, except in traffic, on the wrong side of the road, shifting with the wrong hand.

The car worked fine and I didn't strip the gears. What took me a while was figuring out how to shut off the wipers – both front and back. Every car has slight differences, so I likely amused any drivers who passed because the wipers were working nicely at intervals on the (then) perfectly dry and sunny day. A little time behind the wheel after arriving at Minmore Mews and I had them shut off.

I had stopped for groceries en route so had all that to put away and I did. Then I unpacked and put away my clothes. Then I got out the laptop. Then the heating system quit. It kept getting colder and colder in the cottage. Some further investigation, not by me, resulted in a diagnosis of a broken something or other. It was of course not available by the time the problem was diagnosed. This is Saturday. No way I'm going to spend the weekend wrapped in a duvet until sometime on Monday.

The owner was contacted -  having just left a short time before the heating died. He returned and moved me to another cottage. So, I repacked everything, moved about 30 feet, and reversed the whole procedure. 

 That brings things up to date. There are no major plans for tomorrow but I expect there will be a brief excursion somewhere.

Farewell Scotland, Hello Ireland

Friday morning dawned windy and cold. It didn't improve as the day went on, although I'd come to expect the sun to come out.

At 10 we joined our host at the Royal Troon Golf club. And we got the Royal tour. Everything about it oozes history. Even the carpet is special. It has the club crest - 5 golf clubs encircled by a snake. The carpet is laid in the same direction everywhere, except in one place which of course, I forget. There are so many trophies including the Claret Jug on display in the many trophy cases.

We ended the tour with coffee and scones in a club room from which the view was of the 18th green. This is a true links course and we could see players trudging into the wind approaching the green. The speed of the greens is slower than on the well-manicured courses on most of the LPGA and PGA tours. Otherwise, the wind would make it impossible to ever make a putt, or possibly to even reach your ball before it was blown away. I was very impressed that people were golfing when it was so cold, windy and threatening rain. Apparently, the cold and wind don't deter the hardy Scots. This wimpy Canadian was happy not to have a tee time.

This lovely interlude was followed by last-minute packing and preparations for the return flight to Dublin. The drive to Glasgow was on great roadways, but driving along I noted that the ground was white. Snow!! 

There was an accident on the other side of the highway that slowed things down for a long way back. It looked like the car that caused the problem had had an engine fire. A number of firemen were gathered around the car but didn't seem to be doing much at that moment, other than continuing to impede traffic. Then again, we were just passing quite long after the initial event and I really have no notion of what actually happened.

Anyhow, we reached the airport where I said thank you and good-bye to my more-than-gracious and helpful hosts. Security procedures were pretty much as expected. What I didn't expect was the long winding walk to the departure gates through the duty-free stores. They seemed endless but eventually ended with an array of cafes, bookstores, etc. I had a look at the menu of one of the restaurants and nearly choked. A hamburger was £17. I don't care how delicious it might have been, any residual temptation vanished. 

The flight from Glasgow to Dublin was quite short and bumpy but unremarkable. I managed to get the hotel shuttle, retrieve my suitcase and get back in plenty of time for the Wexford Bus. 

Ann picked me up in Gorey and we headed back to the Rocktavern where I had a nice evening catching up with her family. 

Magical Thursday in Ayrshire

It would be hard to match the tour of Glasgow, but the Roddies managed to do it with the tour of Ayrshire.

We began with a drive around Troon and a compulsory stop for me, to take a few photos of the Royal Troon golf course clubhouse. One goal on this trip was to visit the pro shop to possibly purchase a wee souvenir. Indeed I did visit, and indeed I did make a purchase, and indeed the price was far from "wee". But I am now the proud owner and (given the weather,) a perpetual wearer, of a cosy navy blue vest with the Royal Troon insignia. I've hardly had it off since then as the weather has been, to be kind, suitable for adding an extra layer of warmth. And then we were off again.

Clubhouse at Royal Troon

We entered here the next day

Arguably the most famous name associated with Ayrshire is Robert Burns. I can claim no connection. However, Dorothy is a volunteer with the National Trust at the Robert Burns Memorial and Museum. She, of course, knows all of the other volunteers there and we had a few chats as we toured. On arrival, we made for the cafe to sample the coffee. During our pit stop, it began to rain - as promised in the forecast. However, as we put cups down on saucers in preparation for touring the grounds, the rain stopped and the sun came out again. 

The Burns' memorial has been recently restored. It's quite magnificent and has a great deal of symbolism incorporated in the design. Having had inside connections during the restoration, Dorothy was able to climb the scaffolding and see for herself the minute detail of the original carvers. From the ground, nobody will ever see the fine carving on the tops of the pillars. There are a lot of Masonic symbols also. Water had done a lot of damage over the years and restoration took about 18 months. The local granite is nicely showcased in the finished work. We climbed to the viewing platform and had some lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

From the memorial, we wandered through the gardens to Brig' O Doon - a small steeply arched stone bridge over the Doon river. There is no connection to the movie. 



From there it was on to the old graveyard in Alloway, the name of the village. Right at the entrance is the grave of William Burns, father of Robert. Not far away are a few very old headstones that instead of words carved on the face, have representations of the person's life. The vertical hourglass means a natural death, a horizontal version means the occupant of the grave met an untimely end.

A visit to the Burns' cottage was not possible as it is closed while the roof is re-thatched. With the recent terribly cold and wet weather it is a painstakingly slow task, but we were able to watch the thatcher at work for a while. 



Then it was off on another little drive to the grounds of Culzean Castle. (pronounced culleen). Wowser what a beauty. The grounds seem endless and there are lots of areas to explore. The castle itself was closed so no tour was possible. Below the castle are caves connected to the building above by an interior staircase. These caves, with access also to the sea, proved to be the feature that made "rum-running" possible and undoubtedly built, or helped to build, the fortune of the Kennedy family who owned the estate. 

Culzen Castle

On the castle grounds

While on the grounds we met a friend of Robert's who happens to be a member at Royal Troon. I was introduced as a golfer and this lovely chap invited us to join him for coffee at the golf club the next day. What a wonderful coincidence, being at the right place at the right time. Oh yes, we accepted the invitation.

After our various tours, we stopped at a small cafe in Alloway for a bowl of soup and another view of the Burns cottage.

From there we headed back to Troon for a bit of a respite from walking and the rain began again. It was impossibly amazing that whenever we were sightseeing on foot, the rain stopped and the sun shone.

We caught sight of Ailsa Craig a couple of times along the way and had a good view of Arran Island. It is said that if you can see Arran, it's going to rain. If you can't see it, it's already raining. In my experience that is absolutely true.

That evening we picked up some freshly caught and cooked "on the spot" fish and chips at the Wee Hurrie at Troon Harbour. I chose the sea bass and it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. It was the perfect ending of another wonderful day in Scotland.

Glasgow the beautiful

This morning Dorothy and I boarded the train at Barassi Station near their home, met her sister and friends on the train, and had a lovely, warm, trouble-free ride into Glasgow's Central Station. I mention "warm" because that didn't figure highly into much of the rest of the day.

We had the full gamut of weather today. It was mostly bright and sunny, after an early-morning greeting of hail lashing against my window. Along with the sun was a very fresh (read 'cold') breeze. There were some scattered showers and in fact a bit of hail as we approached Kelvingrove Gallery, but thankfully it was short-lived.

So to back up, we began our exploration of Merchant City.(https://peoplemakeglasgow.com/neighbourhoods/city-centre/merchant-city)

The architecture is wondrous to behold. No column has been left unadorned, no window top left without a garland or gargoyle, no view in any direction without another reason to look up and admire. Old factories have been re-purposed into offices, flats, businesses. Many had sadly been demolished but so many still remain.

Exterior of Prince's Square - a shopping centre

The Duke of Wellington with his traffic cone hat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_statue_of_the_Duke_of_Wellington,_Glasgow

There is a saying that you must look up in Glasgow. Indeed! If you don't, you'll miss a lot. Inside and outside the buildings. On the inside you'll find ornate ceilings and mouldings, cupolas of glass, and many stained glass windows. Chandeliers and plaster decorations abound. More eye candy. 

Inside City Hall

We did such wonderful things as lunching at https://www.mackintoshatthewillow.com/   where we enjoyed quiche and salad along with warm beverages. 

Browsing at https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/chocolate-shops/glasgow-buchanan-st.html  where we had no choice but to sample the chocolate caramel miniature bunnies, um, twice. Well we made a return visit and had to repeat the sampling. On the second visit we enjoyed scrumptious hot chocolate as we were quite chilled and had to warm up. I was also forced, by cravings, to purchase some of the delights. With luck, some will make it home at the end of the trip.

We declined to have the extra whipped chocolate

We took the subway (known as the Clockwork Orange) to the West end and wandered around the beautiful campus of Glasgow University. The buildings have a lovely similarity yet original adornments. Every building, green space and the cloisters caught my attention. It was hard to know where to let the eyes rest. 

We managed to see a city view from the Lighthouse, arriving 5 minutes before closing. The kind gentleman allowed us to take the elevator for a very fast view. Here are some of the chimneys of central Glasgow.

Returning to Barassi/Troon on the 6 pm train, we again enjoyed 40 minutes of warmth, only to be startled back to reality when we de-trained for the short walk back home. A few minutes later we drove to Highgrove for a lovely dinner.

Subsequently Dorothy and I learned, all because I asked her to send my one of her photos, that Whatsapp doesn't care what new SIM card you have. If the app was installed with a SIM, which is later swapped out for another (so I have a local phone in Ireland), you still use the original phone number for this app. Figuring that out only took the better part of an hour but we prevailed. Well, that and a missing 0, kept us cross-eyed and determined, and in the end we accomplished our purpose.

I'm now cross-eyed with fatigue, my legs are saying "it's so far over to the bed. It's almost a 5 foot walk" but I shall force them into a tiny bit more service before calling it a day. A fantastic day.

Near City Hall

the "Glasgow walkers" before fatigue set in