Discovering My Irish Roots

Standing on the land where my great grandmother was born and raised was incredible and unforgettable. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and the memories of my Irish roots lives on in the relatives I met. Last weekend, Evan and I traveled to Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland to meet family members who I didn’t even know existed before, gathered from England, Canada and Ireland for Julia and Michael McAndrew’s 40th wedding anniversary. It was a surreal and magical weekend

I love how all the different fields are all divided by hedgerows. As we looked over the Irish landscape from the plane, Evan said he was reminded of looking at stained glass.

My 3rd cousin Kayleigh, who had been the one to contact me originally, picked us up from the airport with her mother’s partner, Martin. As we rode in to the B&B to drop off our bags, Kayleigh warned us to not expect to be home before 5 am. We had been warned by friends in the UK to “bring our drinking boots.” We walked into a pub to meet the whole gang shortly after checking into our room, we were met with applause, introductions and hugs. Everyone was more than welcoming and excited to meet us. It was really heart warming.

Below I am sitting with Julia, Eileen and Mary, my grandmother’s cousins. Julia lives in Ireland, Eileen in England and Mary in Canada.
Here I am with Kayleigh and Connie, third cousins of mine

After our first late night, we barely made it to breakfast at the B&B, which ends at 10 am. It was a traditional Irish breakfast: eggs, beans, toast, Irish soda bread, bacon, sausage and my favorite, black and white pudding. Black pudding I have had in the UK as well, it is made from pork blood and oatmeal. White pudding doesn’t contain blood, it is pork meat and fat, suet, bread and oatmeal. After breakfast, Raymond, my 2nd cousin once removed, offered to take us out to see where my great grandmother was born.

On the way, we hit some bizarre traffic on account of a large gypsy funeral. Unfortunately, and out of character for me, I do not have photos of the event, but perhaps some things are better if they are simply experienced and remembered. There were women in rather colorful outfits or wearing t-shirts that read “rest in peace Granny,” and men wearing casual attire. We had to fight through cars running red lights. The gypsies, or travelers, are not a group of people Evan and I are familiar with in the US, but they certainly have a reputation here. Many pubs in town actually closed their doors because they were in town. On the first night, the pub we started at was closed to them, but they let us in secretly. It was very strange. It is certainly a different culture that we know little about.

The old family plot is in Parke, Ireland, a small village near Castlebar.

First Ray showed us a cemetery where his uncle Tom McLynskey was buried. I have now seen this name spelled so many different ways, that it is no wonder we’ve had trouble with my genealogy in the past.

In the background of this one in the upper right corner is the last house in Parke that was in our family. It was built by John McKlynskey, father of Julia, Mary, Eileen, Padraic and Tom (who is buried here). John moved into the house around 1960 with his wife, Mary-Ellen, and Julia. The other children had been raised in the original family home on this same plot of land, the same home that my great grandmother was born in. All that is left of this building is now a cow shed. All of the children except Julia immigrated to England. Padriac eventually married and moved to Australia. Tom came back to Parke and moved into this house and maintained the farm until he died. He was buried here and the house was sold.

This is the church where Julia and Michael McAndrew were married 40 years ago.

This is one of the oldest houses in Parke. According to Ray, the house had for decades served as the local school headmaster’s home. The home was fairly sizable for its age, in light of the small community, and the fact that the school reportedly provided only primary education. Though there is a new school in Parke, the community is still small and primarily agricultural, as exemplified by the fact we, at one point, literally had to pull over to the side of the road to let a tractor pass.

This is the house from the earlier photo of Tom McKlynsky’s gravestone. It is now owned by another family, but it is where Raymond and his siblings spent much of their childhood in the summers. The decorative braid on the gate is, red and green, the colors of County Mayo, Ireland.

They still have cattle on this land. Raymond told us stories of herding cattle, working the land, picking raspberries and playing the fields.

We walked up the path to the old plot, where my grandmother Julia McKlynskey was born. This is the old house, which is now used for the cows. Evan and I looked at an old census and it seems the house was two rooms and slept Julia and her siblings Patrick, Thomas, Michael, James, Mary, Terrance and John as well as their parents Mary and Thomas McKlinskey. Julia immigrated to the US when she wasyoung, married, and had my grandmother, Mary, and her siblings. It was truly magical to see where exactly in Ireland my roots come from. Raymond put it right when he said it gave him goosebumps being back there.

We then hiked further back to see the rest of the land. We were told my family used to own everything to the right of there river.

Turlough is another tiny village in between Parke and Castlebar. It is home to Turlough Round Tower, an impressive structure from between 900 and 1200. A plaque in front said it was founded by St. Patrick, who baptized many people at a nearby well. Many structures across Ireland make a similar claim. There is a cemetery attached to it, where I have more relatives buried, including my second great-grandparents.

Turlough House is a victorian-gothic style house built in 1865 for the Fitzgerald family. It is now open to the public and is accompanied by a new museum on country life.

We continued our drive through Turlough, passing an adorable inn with a Guinness sign that Ray was kind enough to pull over for me to photograph.

And then it was back to Castlebar to meet family members at a pub. Pretty much the main thing we did while we were there was drink Guinness. It really does taste different in Ireland- it is creamier and delicious.

After a quick stop at the grocery store for drinks and pick-’n-mix (and where we discovered something called “Spirit of Louisiana” liquor), we headed back to the B&B for some tennis and cocktails before getting ready for the main event that night.

After a mass and photos, the party kicked off with drinking and food, shortly followed by a live band and dancing. It was so touching to see how much family meant to everyone there. They truly loved being with each other, and it made me feel at home.

Michael and Julia McAndrew, my grandma’s cousin

Center: Matthew Cardwardine, left: Matthew’s girlfriend, Rachel, right: Eileen Hughes

Eileen is my grandma’s cousin, Matthew is her grandson

Michael and Julia McAndrew with their daughters, Regina, Sharlene and Deborah

Michael and Julia with Julia’s sisters, Eileen and Mary, all cousins of my grandma.

Julia and Michael with their children, Julia’s siblings and nieces and nephews. In the back are Raymond, Nicola, Jacqueline and Angela, all Eileen’s children.

There is a photo of everyone, including Evan and I, that I will get a copy of.

Anna and Connie. Anna is one of Raymond’s daughters and Connie is one of Angela’s daughters

Part of the gang: Connie’s boyfriend Jay, Deborah, Anna, Martin, Angela, Connie, Regina, Kayleigh (Angela’s other daughter), Tom (Jacqueline’s son), Ray, Rachel, Matthew (Jacqueline’s son), myself and Joseph (Jacqueline’s son). Of the younger generation, this photo is missing Ray’s daughter Elizabeth, Sharlene and Deborah (pictured earlier)

Julia and her father John on her wedding day

Julia and Michael on their wedding day with their wedding party

Michael used to be in a band, and part way through the evening, he serenaded his wife.

As the night was winding down, people took turns singing traditional Irish songs. It was magical and lasted until after 4 am. Michael sang one to his wife and broke down at the end. It was so sweet.

Please click here to watch the video of Michael singing:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jumdn2smwj995qc/1I7A1312.MOV

At the very end, a bunch of the young people, including myself, sang the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That was surreal. Pictured here is Michael looking pretty confused as his family sings this song around him. We had all planned to then go back and play guitar and sing more, but when we reached the B&B it was 5 am and we ended up just crashing.

The next morning was a bit rough. We definitely did not make breakfast. Evan and I decided to take a bus to Westport. We caught the 2 pm bus and walked around in the nearby seaside town. It was apparently a special weekend while we were there, when people gather to climb Mt. Croagh Patrick in a pilgrimage. We definitely did not have the energy to do that. It was a very pretty town to walk around in though, especially with the mountain in the distance.

About a two minute walk from our B&B, pictured below, was Castlebar Lake and its beautiful views. I also made friends with a little Irish boy.

Our last evening was spent with most of the family at Julia and Michael’s house. They have a beautiful garden. Pictured below is an old pot that used to hang in front of the fire in the old McLynskey house. I love that they kept this piece in the family.

We sat in the sun room and drank more Guinness and looked at old photos.

Mary and Thomas McKlynskey, Julia’s parents, with one of their daughters, possibly Bridget

This was such a memorable, magical and life changing trip. I am so happy to have made contact with so many of my wonderful family members. I already have plans to try to see a few of them before we leave the UK and I hope we will all be getting to know each other better in the years to come. Here’s hoping for another family reunion in Ireland. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful experience and all the memories!