A Hibernian Voyage to America. Our Irish Ancestors

So busy, it's difficult to find time to write.  We're go, go, go. and the wifi is not so good at our place. We left Galway Tuesday morning and drove a couple hours to an area of western Ireland called The Burren. It was a ridiculously foreign landscape and beautiful.  Steep, sharp limestone mountains covered in scrub brush, grasses and dotted with livestock.  As we drove through the emerald countryside, we saw a sign that said Birds of Prey display and Aillwee Cave.  Rick Steves wrote in his travel guide that it was interesting, but not worth the fee. So, of course we decided to check it out. What the hell does he know :) Cliffs of Moher After that we stopped in Doolin and had lunch while overlooking the Atlantic.  A short drive to The Cliffs of Moher.  We lucked out with a sunny day.  The kids attributed that to their Nana.  The cliffs are worth the visit, especially if you go later (after 2pm) as we did.  We drove to the S...

Day 1 Dublin airport to our townhouse in Galway.  The flight was without issue, but the leased airline Evelop hired by Norwegian was like sitting in a school bus for six hours. And yes, I swear the passengers sang "The wheels on the bus...".  Terrible, terrible airline, Aer Lingus next time for sure. Not only did I a rent a large Renault van for the eight of us, but I made sure it was stick shift to fully challenge my family's and my nerves. Oh boy.  The Irish are good drivers thankfully.  They obey the speed limit, no one in the passing lane unless passing and not aggressive.  It definitely helped.  The main roads and highways are in good shape. An afternoon power nap for all of us followed by a walk around Galway.  The Galway Races are this week and their annual arts festival finished Sunday, so a bustling and busy night life.  Ethan and I had a pint of Guinness at Taaffe's while the rest shopped.  We all met for dinner at Blake's ...

When I review the Irish and Italian (Catholic) branches of our family's tree, I can't help but think of the Monty Python scene from The Meaning of Life ...not for those sensitive to the dogma of the church, but funny as heck. If I did the research correctly, and I trust much of it, but I do find errors, our family can trace roots to about the late 1780s.  Not bad, but I was able to trace my wife's family back to the 1500s.  The Ryan family is quite large.  I've accounted for close to 400 plus cousins and it's growing.  The top of the tree begins with my 5th great-grandparents Michael Ryan, William Caples, Phillip Kennedy, and Honora Maher.  I'll research that generation next fall and winter as it will be time-consuming to search Irish church and civil records, but the subsequent generation's names keep growing.