We recently visited Ireland, and for once had a chance to road-trip around this beautiful country. It was an important trip for me, as I am Irish on my father’s paternal side. And with a maiden name like O’Reilly, I really had to spend some time walking in the footsteps of my ancestors in Ireland.
County Cavan
The first point of interest was Cloughoughter Castle in County Cavan. Just over the border from Northern Ireland, in amongst a series of lakes forming part of the Killykean Forest Park, near Killashandra.
Cloughoughter Castle was the seat of the O’Reilly clan from 1233 to 1653 in an area that was historically known as Breifne. Relatives had named their house in New Plymouth, New Zealand, ‘Breifne’, so it is a name I had heard but never knew the significance.
County Longford
On our way to Galway, we stopped in Granard in County Longford. My great-great-great-grandfather, Charles O’Reilly, was born here in 1847.
The church here in Granard was built after Charles was born, but probably took the place of the old one, where he would’ve been baptised.
There wasn’t much to see in the town of Granard, but I felt warmed having seen the place where Charles was born. I have his eyebrows, so I always felt an affinity with him! Aren’t they marvellous eyebrows?
County Kerry
In amongst time in Killarney and on the Dingle Peninsula, we made a brief trip to the tiny town of Abbeydorney near Tralee in County Kerry.
It was here, in 1872, that my great-great-great grandparents wed. The church where they were married was knocked down, as many were during times when the old buildings were too expensive to maintain. However I took a photo of me on the crossroads where it once stood.
The town of Abbeydorney is tiny and basically just a couple of crossroads, a petrol station, and some pubs – including Parker’s Pub, which was once run by a Behan relative (apparently).
We ran out of time to see more of the areas of County Kerry where distant relatives lived and were baptised, such as Lixnaw and Tralee, but it is definitely an area I’d like to revisit. There is something special about walking in the footsteps of your ancestors, no matter how many decades have passed between you and them.
All photos © Hannah Henderson and may not be used without permission (sharing this blog post is fine, though!). Images shot with an iPhone6s.
My father’s family come from Mull and Skye and I always get the same kind of sensations you are describing when I am somewhere I know they used to be. It’s weird isn’t it? A kind of bond with the land.
The absolutely gorgeous picture taken in County Cavan, is that of Killykean Forest Park? It is lovely, just the kind of place I’d love to visit myself. Ireland is on my bucket list for 2018!
I love donkeys so your friends in Abbeydorney would have been lovely to meet! Ireland in beautiful wherever you are, but I love the coastal towns.
I really enjoyed the mix of history and your personal story in this post. You’ve got some gorgeous photos there too. I’d love to see more of Ireland – I’ve only been to Cork and Dublin. There’s no excuse really as I’m only in England!
Awwww! Donkies!
It must be really interesting to research your family history and visit the towns where they lived and worked.
We live in Wales so it’s only a short flight or ferry ride to Ireland, we have visited a couple of times but would definitely like to explore the country some more.
Love your blog about Ireland – wish I knew as much about the Quinlans as you know about the O’Reillys
Wow, what a great journey. I’m sure it must’ve left you super excited! My ancestors are Dutch so nothing exotic there unfortunately …
How fantastic to be able to go back to where your ancestors came from and walk in their footsteps. I never realised the close connection that Americans had with the Irish (and Canadians, Australians etc). But it does make sense of course because so many Irish left the country to seek their fortune abroad. I am glad that you enjoyed this very personal journey.
That’s neat that you could trace exactly where your Irish ancestors came from and go see those places for yourself. Did you discover if you still have any parts of your family still living there? These villages look quite small. Did you know what kind of work your ancestors did?
What a special trip to take – I understand the sentiment well, it was so incredible to visit Ireland and trace back my ancestry. Found pubs with my family name on it, and could finally put the stories of the places my grandfather had spoken so much about to life.
How incredible to have traced your line back to your great-great-great-grandfather, and be able to visit places like Granard where he was likely baptized. It’s unfathomable almost to realize just how important this place has been to your existence!
Yes totally, that was definitely the sensation I had in these places – as if they were part of me being alive! Very awesome!
Oh my gosh. This is an amazing journey. My parents both recently took their DNA tests from Ancestry. It was really enlightening as we thought our family had mostly come from Germany and while that may be where they were physically from (as in moved from there) our genes were most from the British Isles. We’re heading there next year and I’d love to dig a little more like you did. I love that you were able to see sites directly related to your family.
Oh wow, I would love to do one of those DNA tests one day! Fascinating stuff!
Cool stuff. While over there for TBEX, I was able to return to my McCool ancestral homeland, near Bushmills. My ancestor’s house from 1660s still stands. So powerful to visit that.
Holy moly – the house is still standing? Wow, that would be powerful! There’s so much more to uncover, so I am eager to go back. Me and my husband, Roy, will be visiting Moose Jaw, Canada, next year… to where his family emigrated to in 1923. Ancestry is fascinating, isn’t it?!