Sunday, August 25th<\/p>\n
We needed to set out from Dublin for County Mayo early in the morning since Barb had made an appointment with her third cousin Imelda to meet at the Killasser Church for 11:30 am mass. \u00a0Imelda (who lives in London), had arranged for a Carr mini-reunion starting at the very church where Barb’s Irish great-great grandfather Hugh Carr had his first two sons\u00a0baptized\u00a0before immigrating to the U.S. in 1865. \u00a0Many Carrs still live in the area and Barb welcomed the opportunity to meet some of them. \u00a0While driving the three hours to Killasser we passed hundreds of cars going in the opposite direction (towards Dublin) flying red and green flags on the sides of their cars. \u00a0We didn’t know what that was about, but supposed it involved some type of athletic event.<\/p>\n
We had difficulty finding the church since the back roads leading to the church were so narrow and full of bends. \u00a0We used the iPad to get to the general vicinity, but then took a wrong turn down a single-lane road that had grass growing in the middle of the track. \u00a0We knew there was a pub (where we would all gather after church) across the street from the church and so we expected to find a small village — but we could find no such thing. \u00a0Finally we asked someone working in his front yard for instructions and were directed onto an asphalt road that was just barely wide enough for opposing traffic. \u00a0We made it with only ten minutes to spare and were surprised at the size of the “village”. \u00a0Just a few homes, the church, and the pub. \u00a0Introductions were made to many Carrs, but we learned that a\u00a0number of them were missing; County Mayo was a semi-finalist in the All-Ireland Gaelic football competition being held in Dublin — so that solved the mystery of the many flag-bedecked vehicles heading in the other direction, and explained the absence of many of the male Carrs. The County Mayo team had last won the All-Ireland \u00a0county title in 1951 so the possibility of winning the semi-finals and playing in the finals on Sept 22 was a big deal.<\/p>\n
But I digress. \u00a0During the mass the priest, Father Durkan, initially dedicated the mass to the Carr family but focused most of his sermon around the efforts of the Mayo football team with only a belated short tie-in to the need for Christians to show similar dedication and determination. \u00a0We were amused when later in the service he had the congregation say a prayer for the team.<\/p>\n
After mass Barb was able to take some photos of the baptismal font that would have been used for her ancestors. \u00a0The priest was charming and joined the Carrs in the pub for the afternoon reunion. \u00a0Imelda had ordered sandwiches to be brought in so we had a nice afternoon tea while we all visited and exchanged stories. \u00a0While Barb was busy visiting, I watched the televised junior division semi-finals with Father Durkan, who explained some of the features of the game as it was played. \u00a0Gaelic football is apparently unique to Ireland. \u00a0In some respects it resembles a combination of basketball, football, hockey and soccer. \u00a0The ball is round and somewhat like a soccer ball. \u00a0Points are scored by kicking the ball between goal posts or into a net under the posts. \u00a0Goals into the net count for three points and those over the net but between the goal posts count for one. \u00a0The players wear no protective clothing, and run with the ball in order to get into position to score, but may take no more than four steps before either “throwing” (by striking the ball with a hand) or kicking or dribbling the ball once or dropping the ball and kicking it back into the hand. \u00a0There seemed to be no emphasis on tackling, but rather on possessing the ball. \u00a0Should a carrier and the ball be temporarily “tied-up”, it appeared that action stopped and began again with a kick of the ball.<\/p>\n
All of the televised commentary for the game I saw was in Gaelic. \u00a0The priest explained that a certain percentage of television must be in Gaelic, and that the station had evidentially decided to fulfill that requirement during the junior contest, which they refer to as the “minor” contest, since all of the participants are no older than 18. \u00a0Incredibly enough the County Mayo minor team was also playing and they won the game I watched. \u00a0About the time the big game was on late in the afternoon (and after some of the relatives who lived a distance away had left) it was suggested that we go visit the places in the area where the Carrs used to live and go see some of the gravestones. \u00a0Barb was quite moved to be welcomed so warmly into the family since it had been almost 150 years since her ancestors had left Ireland.<\/p>\n
At the cemetery we discovered that the Irish often reused graves (in the same family) and would dig up all the old skulls and lay them on top of a new casket before it was covered up. \u00a0Thus the gravestones didn\u2019t tell the whole story.\u00a0 Also many graves had collapsed and many gravestones had fallen.\u00a0 In an old section of the graveyard the surface was quite uneven since there were so many sunken holes and overgrown fallen stones. \u00a0We were also shown a number of ruins of Carr houses. \u00a0When we returned to the pub we found a celebration underway since the County Mayo majors had also won the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
Although Imelda lives in London, she and her husband also have a charming and large Irish home. \u00a0She invited us over, and we had a typical Irish meal of ham (they call it bacon), potatoes, cabbage, blood pudding, and salad followed by dessert. \u00a0Delicious. \u00a0Her husband Mike had been in Dublin for the game and arrived home with his sister and two friends about 10:00 pm. We were entertained by their stories of their day and of local politics.<\/p>\n
Monday, August 26th<\/p>\n
We met cousins Imelda, Desmond, Ann, and Gerard and began a tour around the area to see more of the Carr family and then to visit Gerard’s farm. \u00a0It was heartbreaking to hear some of the stories of family members being evicted during the difficult times following the famine. \u00a0We found a number of houses with no roofs and learned that land was taxed as if someone was living in a house even if it was vacant if there was a roof on it. \u00a0Thus, they removed the roofs to avoid taxes. We also saw the ruins of a church from the Middle Ages. \u00a0It was destroyed during one of the purges of the Catholics in Ireland. \u00a0Barb was surprised that a lot of it was still there after all these years and no one had torn it down to build something else. \u00a0Barb’s Irish relatives explained that no one would ever consider doing that, either out of respect or out of fear of faeries. \u00a0We thought “thank goodness”.<\/p>\n
Cousin Gerard had us over to his house for tea and we met his children. The oldest is home for a few more days until he goes back to the university in Galway where he is studying computer science.<\/p>\n
Then we went to the Heritage Museum, an incredible display that is essentially the work of one dedicated man. \u00a0It started as a tribute to his family and featured the restored home of his childhood. \u00a0Over the years he has added buildings and rooms to exhibit various aspects of life as it existed in that part of Ireland in former times.<\/p>\n
Imelda thought it might be interesting to contrast the two sides of Ireland. \u00a0We had spent the day seeing and hearing about the hard lives of the poor. \u00a0She and Mike took us and Desmond to Mount Falcon to experience how the other half had lived. \u00a0The lodge was built in 1860s \u00a0and reminded us of Downton Abbey. \u00a0Massive in size and grandeur, it was the hunting lodge for a rich landowner who owned much of the farmland in the surrounding area. \u00a0It was just such a family that had owned the land from which Barb’s ancestors were evicted for being unable to meet rental payments. \u00a0Fantastic meal and fantastic way to dramatize the contrast between the tenant farmers and the landowners.<\/p>\n
Tuesday, August 27th<\/p>\n
We drove to meet Sheila at Croagh Patrick,\u00a0nicknamed\u00a0the Reek<\/strong>,\u00a0a 764 meters (2,507\u00a0ft) mountain that\u00a0is the third highest mountain in County Mayo. \u00a0It forms the southern part of a U-shaped valley\u00a0created by a glacier\u00a0flowing into Clew Bay\u00a0in the last Ice Age.<\/p>\n Croagh Patrick had been a site of pagan pilgrimage, especially for the summer solstice,\u00a0since 3,000 B.C.\u00a0It is now a site of Christian pilgrimage associated with Saint Patrick\u00a0who reputedly fasted\u00a0on the summit for forty days in the fifth century A.D.\u00a0Thousands of people climb the mountain every Reek Sunday,\u00a0which is the last Sunday in July. \u00a0A small chapel\u00a0was built on the summit and dedicated on July 20, 1905. \u00a0\u00a0A seam of gold was discovered in the mountain in the 1980s: \u00a0the ore could yield\u00a0potentially over 300,000 troy oz\u00a0of gold (worth over $475 million). However, the Mayo County Council\u00a0decided not to allow mining.<\/p>\n A bank of low clouds occluded the peak for most of our visit. \u00a0Barb and I walked up the beginning of the path, turning around at the statue of St. Patrick and the sign which promised a special dispensation for those who made it to the top and performed prescribed rituals at each of the stations. \u00a0We also saw a Famine museum, and the ancient ruins of a church. Sheila drove us to Louisbourg to see the coastline. \u00a0Driving back, we noticed that the clouds had cleared enough for us to see the chapel at the top of the mountain. \u00a0When we got back to the Reek, we had lunch at a famous restaurant at the foot of the mountain: \u00a0Campbell’s.<\/p>\n Back at our B&B, Cathy picked up Imelda and Barb and they went to her place to sort out genealogy records and have dinner. \u00a0Another instance of unforgettable warm hospitality. \u00a0I stayed at the B&B to recover from all the family talk.<\/p>\n Wednesday, August 28th<\/p>\n We checked out of our B&B in Swinford and stopped in briefly at Imelda’s. \u00a0She presented Barb with a Killasser school book that covered the last 100 years. \u00a0It has a number of photos of Carr relatives in it and some history. \u00a0We said a sad farewell to\u00a0Imelda, who had been so generous and helpful.<\/p>\n We decided not to return directly, but to\u00a0see some sights on our way back to Dublin. We stopped first in Kitimagh where Barb’s great-great grandfather married Mary McDonagh in 1860. \u00a0We took back roads through the countryside to Kylemore Abbey where we visited the castle, mausoleum, the miniature cathedral, and the gardens. \u00a0It was built starting in 1861 — around the time Barb’s great-great\u00a0grandfather found conditions to be so difficult that he had to immigrate to the States with his wife and two children. \u00a0The estate was incredible. \u00a0Then\u00a0we stopped at Connemara National Park where we learned about the bogs and how \u00a087% of the peat \u00a0has been consumed in the past 90 years. \u00a0We saw lots of peat harvesting underway and can only imagine that it will all be gone soon if it is not protected.<\/p>\n We took the “Sky Road”, a twisty narrow road high above the coastline west of Galway. \u00a0We decided to spend the night in lovely Clifden and used our trusty iPad to find a B&B for the night.\u00a0 They in turn advised us where to find a good pub for dinner, where we had a great meal, some smooth and creamy Guinness and some fantastic Irish music.\u00a0 Very nice.<\/p>\n Thursday, August 29th<\/p>\n We headed back to Dublin.\u00a0 We were going to go to the Gaol in Dublin, but when we arrived the lines were too long and we had to get our rental car returned within two hours, so we scratched that plan. \u00a0We checked into a hotel near the car rental place. \u00a0Barb wanted to visit the tomb of Matt Talbot, the “patron saint” of alcoholics, so she headed out to do that while I started processing some of the gazillions of photos we had taken in Norway and Ireland.<\/p>\n Friday, August 30th<\/p>\n We caught an early shuttle to the airport — which turned out not to be too early after all.\u00a0 Turns out there is a US Customs and Immigration office in the Dublin airport.\u00a0 After we went through the normal check-in procedure and through security, we were sent to the US Customs and Immigration area, not because we aroused extra suspicion, but because we were bound for America.\u00a0 We were pre-checked into the US as if we had just landed into the US from a foreign country; we submitted a US customs form and were interviewed about visits to farms and whether or not we were bringing in fruits, etc.. \u00a0And then we were sent through security all over again(!), sending jackets and shoes and computers, etc., through yet another x-ray machine and setting off metal detecting alarms with our artificial knees, even though the only access to this security check was through the normal Dublin airport security. \u00a0BUT. \u00a0Barb had also been randomly selected for an additional screening interview, so we were glad we had taken the early shuttle and had had plenty of time to deal with all the additional steps and long lines.<\/p>\n PS: \u00a0The pre-check takes the place of the normal check that occurs when one lands in the US; when we arrived in NYC we did not have to go through Customs and Immigration again.<\/p>\n PPS: \u00a0Dublin won the other semi-final Gaelic football match, so on September 22 the finals for the All-Ireland County championship will be Dublin against County Mayo. \u00a0Can you guess who we will be rooting for?<\/p>\n\n\t\t