IRELAND No3 - COUNTY CLARE and BEYOND
Hi
From County Kerry we travelled north to County Clare. Ireland's most popular natural tourist attraction is the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare however they would have to wait as we headed for a small place called Ogonelloe. This is where Bryan's great grandmother Mary McNamara came from. She emigrated to Australia is 1888 as a single 17 year old.
We visited the Ogonelloe Catholic Church where we met some McNamara people. Even though they had no useful information were able to direct us to a Michael McNamara. He is not closely related however he had access to a lot of old church records. In the process we visited another church and an old, no longer used cemetery and learned some church history.
It appears that Mary's family left this area as no death or burial records can be found. One of her younger brothers may have emigrated to Australia. So ...... some more research is needed.
Below the Ogonelloe Catholic Church.
A road sign to Ogonnelloe. Our best effort at pronouncing Ogonnelloe did not sound even close to the locals. Regularly we found that we had to ask people to repeat themselves.
During the period after King Henry set up the Church of England all other denominations were persecuted. This resulted in churches being in 'out of the way' places. The cemetery below was associated with one of these churches. To get to this cemetery Bryan had to climb up a hill and then across a muddy field. On the way he met the landowner who was keen for a chat. He explained that the McNamara's were the dominant clan prior to the 1860's. During the conversation he asked if I had read the book 'Kings in Grass Castles'. He then went on to explain that the Duracks, the famous north Australian cattle industry family came from this area of Ireland. The McNamara's pushed them out of the fertile Ogonnelloe area to a less fertile area to the east. Unable to succeed here they emigrated to Australia.
This is the view from the hills to the west of Ogonnelloe looking east to Lough Derg. The area in the in the middle of the photo is Carrowena (the old Irish spelling - Carhuena). This is where Mary's family lived in the 1800's.
After checking the weather forecast we picked a good day to go to the Cliffs of Moher. Sadly the forecast proved unreliable. The rain and low cloud lifted briefly to allow the photo below - looking south.
From the Cliffs of Moher we left County Clare and headed north. Sadly our time was limited so we had to move very quickly in the process having to pass many attractions. We will have to return to Ireland!! The photo below was taken near Galway.
The northern most point of Ireland is Malin Head. Scotland is only about 30 kms north east of here.
Next post will be from County Tyrone where Bryan's mother's grandfather came from.
Warm blessings
Bryan and Nancy
We visited the Ogonelloe Catholic Church where we met some McNamara people. Even though they had no useful information were able to direct us to a Michael McNamara. He is not closely related however he had access to a lot of old church records. In the process we visited another church and an old, no longer used cemetery and learned some church history.
It appears that Mary's family left this area as no death or burial records can be found. One of her younger brothers may have emigrated to Australia. So ...... some more research is needed.
Below the Ogonelloe Catholic Church.
A road sign to Ogonnelloe. Our best effort at pronouncing Ogonnelloe did not sound even close to the locals. Regularly we found that we had to ask people to repeat themselves.
During the period after King Henry set up the Church of England all other denominations were persecuted. This resulted in churches being in 'out of the way' places. The cemetery below was associated with one of these churches. To get to this cemetery Bryan had to climb up a hill and then across a muddy field. On the way he met the landowner who was keen for a chat. He explained that the McNamara's were the dominant clan prior to the 1860's. During the conversation he asked if I had read the book 'Kings in Grass Castles'. He then went on to explain that the Duracks, the famous north Australian cattle industry family came from this area of Ireland. The McNamara's pushed them out of the fertile Ogonnelloe area to a less fertile area to the east. Unable to succeed here they emigrated to Australia.
This is the view from the hills to the west of Ogonnelloe looking east to Lough Derg. The area in the in the middle of the photo is Carrowena (the old Irish spelling - Carhuena). This is where Mary's family lived in the 1800's.
After checking the weather forecast we picked a good day to go to the Cliffs of Moher. Sadly the forecast proved unreliable. The rain and low cloud lifted briefly to allow the photo below - looking south.
And then the 'curtain' was lowered again on this spectacular coastal scenery. It did remind us a little of the the Great Australian Bight.
Looking north the visibility is little better.
The Irish farmers have had a very wet summer and autumn. This has prevented them from harvesting enough winter feed for their stock. And they have had to start feeding stock earlier than they usually do. This situation is very concerning.
From the Cliffs of Moher we left County Clare and headed north. Sadly our time was limited so we had to move very quickly in the process having to pass many attractions. We will have to return to Ireland!! The photo below was taken near Galway.
The northern most point of Ireland is Malin Head. Scotland is only about 30 kms north east of here.
Next post will be from County Tyrone where Bryan's mother's grandfather came from.
Warm blessings
Bryan and Nancy
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