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Genealogy Blog Anniversary
Today is the 5th Anniversary of my blog…time does fly! My first blog was written on 30 July of 2007 and I've written (almost) every week since then. When I started, I used iWeb which met my needs for the first few years, but I found I wasn't getting much visibility on the web. …
Day 23 - Final Day
This morning we left Bundoran for the ten minute drive to Kinlough to visit the Rossinver Church. The early records from this church were a casualty of the 1922 fire at Four Courts. …
Day 22 - Derry to Budoran
Today was an amazing day! This morning we took a The Martin McCrossan Historical Walking Tour of the city of Londonderry. The guide was fantastic and spent over an hour and a half explaining the history of the area from the seige of Derry in 1689 right up through "The Troubles" of the 1960s-1980s. …
Day 21 - Back to Northern Ireland
Our flight back to Belfast was scheduled for 7 a.m. which required a 5:15 taxi to the airport (4 a.m. wake up). The rest of the Chorale wasn't far behind us as they were leaving from Glasgow and the bus was scheduled at 6:15. …
Day 20 - Edinburgh
Key Chorale performing at St. Giles
Today was our final performance and last day of the Key Chorale tour. Our concert was a noon concert at St. Giles Cathedral in the center of Edinburgh. Yesterday's concert at Carnegie Hall was great, but this one was outstanding. …
Day 19 - Carnegie Hall
This morning we attended church at St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, which was only a short distance from the hotel. The service was at 10:30 so it allowed us to sleep in (until 8 a.m.) for the first time on the trip. …
Day 18 - Glasgow to Edinburgh
Another 7 a.m. breakfast and 9 a.m. bus today. We spent the morning on a bus tour of Glasgow…the hills remind me of San Francisco. We visited an area of the Clyde River, where ships were built and where emigrants from both Scotland and Ireland left for a new life. …
Day 17 - Dublin to Glasgow
Today was a travel day. We left Dublin about 9 a.m. and traveled north through Belfast to Larne where we boarded the ferry to Scotland. No passports or immigration on the trip, the bus simply drove onto the ferry, then we got off the bus. …
Day 16 - Dublin
Today started with a tour of Dublin…a quick bus ride through Phoenix Park on our way to Dublin Castle. More of a palace than a castle, this was the seat of the British government during their rule over Ireland. …
Day 15 - Glendalough and Dublin
An early start this morning in order to get to Glendalough for an 11 a.m. tour. The sun was out when we left the hotel, but rain soon followed. The morning went back and forth between sun and rain. …
Days 13 and 14
Had a problem connecting to the Internet in Kilarney so this is a bit late. Monday was a tour day and we spent the morning traveling part of the Ring of Kerry. We didn't have enough time to do the entire trip, so we just drove a small part of it, visiting the town of Kenmare and coming back through McGillicudy's Reeks and the Gap of Dunloe. …
Days 11 and 12 - Shannon and Killarney
There is not much in the way of genealogy happening for the next 10 days and the blog will help keep family and friends up to date on highlights our travels. Yesterday we met up with the …
Day 10 - Cobh
Cobh has played a large part in the emigration of our ancestors. Originally known as Cove (the Cove of Cork), it was renamed Queenstown in 1849 in honor of the visit of Queen Victoria, and then changed after Irish Independece back into the Irish version, Cobh (pronounced Cove). …
Day 9 - Dublin to Cobh
Two sunny days in a row. I think we hit the jackpot! We headed to Dublin Airport to pick up our rental car this morning and drove to Cobh (Queenstown to most of our ancestors who emigrated from this port). …
Day 8 - Last Day of Research
Today was my last day of research and I spent the day at the National Archives. Unlike the library, this is a modern building located on Bishop Street, about a 15 minute walk from the Library. …
Day 7 - Odds & Ends
I'm going to begin with a note to my Key Chorale friends coming over the end of the week. June was the wettest month on record in Ireland and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. …
Day 6 - PRONI
Today was an early (and long) day…I left the hotel about 6:15, took the Luas (tram) to Connolly Station for a 7:30 train to Belfast. It's a bit over two hours to Belfast, then a cab to the new Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in the Titantic Quarter. …
Day 5 - A Day of Rest
Well, maybe not a complete day of rest. I usually try to schedule my research trips from mid-week, so that I have Sunday to rest and re-group. Although I come with an extensive to do list, things change as I work through the list and this gives me an opportunity to write reports and prioritize what I have left to do. …
