Another lovely poem from Seamus Hora: “Just a few memories of a day in the bog…”
A Day in the Bog
The scent of the bacon
From the cast iron pan,
The sweetest of tea
Brewed in the sweet can.
The tiny skylark
Without effort he flew
Soaring and soaring
Disappearing from view.
The hare with ears pricked
Observing the scene,
The corncrake call
From meadows so green.
The curlew cried out
In so many ways;
Indication of weather
For upcoming days
The pealing of church bells
Announced the midday,
Far distant whistle
Said trains on the way.
Just a few memories
Of a day in the bog;
Yes those were the sweetest
The rest was a slog.
Seamus Hora
About the poet…
Seamus Hora was born in Gorthaganny, County Roscommon. He has been employed by same company, Delaneys Ltd in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, for 44 years. He has lived in Ballyhaunis for over 20 years. Seamus is married to Rosaleen and the couple has one daughter, Sandra. Seamus only recently started to write poetry. and he bases his poems on his life experience. He values feedback and would like to hear what people think of his poem…just leave a comment!
It is that time of the year again and Seamus Hora shares a poem about the GAA, tradition and home. Seamus writes:
As the summer draws to a close in Ireland if there is one subject which creates more conversation than the weather it’s the GAA now that my adopted county has once again reached the semi finals in what promises to be the game of the year…
Who will meet Kerry in the final? The Mayo-Dublin semi-final match is next Sunday, August 30th @ 3:30pm at Croke Park, Dublin.
I saw this beautiful print on a website a couple of years ago and fell in love with I Love Mayo– the company owned by talented artist Jane Steger-Lewis. Jane is based in the west of Ireland, on County Mayo’s Achill Island.
I sent out I Love Mayo Christmas cards in 2011. I have never received more compliments on a Christmas card. Click here to see the whimsical and very special cards. I am a huge fan of her “Irish Blessing” series of prints – they are a beautiful and super versatile for gift-giving. Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, retirements…you name it. Click here to see the full selection prints. Someday I hope to own a Jane Steger-Lewis original painting…I have my eye on Beaky, Dozy, or LaToya! I’m not posting pictures of these items here on purpose – I want you to go straight to Jane’s website and see all of her gorgeous work.
Jane is as delightful as her artwork. She is truly a pleasure to do business with. I think everyone should have a little piece of Ireland in their home, and ILoveMayo.com makes this possible. Thanks, Jane, for making my world a bit brighter!
Each week we are blown away by the creativity and hard work being poured into the Gatherings throughout Ireland. This week we shine the spotlight on four special events:
Irish Redhead Convention – Crosshaven, County Cork – August 23rd-25th
The Feerick Family Reunion– Westport, County Mayo – September 27th-29th
Roscommon Military Conference 2013 – Roscommon – May 3rd
Parkville United Reunion – Tullow, County Carlow – June 7th-9th
The Gathering 2013 initiative was launched earlier this year by the Irish government. The Gathering 2013 website introduces the project:
It’s about asking anyone who has Irish blood, a link to Ireland, or even just a love of our country – to join us for a series of amazing and diverse events throughout 2013.
Sounds good to me! Any excuse to go to Ireland is a good one. The Navy-Notre Dame Emerald Isle Football Classic on September 1, 2012 at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium is sponsored by The Gathering 2013 and will serve as an unofficial kick-off (no pun intended) to the 2013 festivities.
Sponsoring this event is a great move by The Gathering. The U.S. Naval Academy Director of Athletics had this to say:
We are delighted for The Gathering Ireland to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Emerald Isle Classic. This game represents exactly what The Gathering Ireland is all about, a unique coming together in Ireland of Navy and Notre Dame college football fans, some returning to their ancestral home and some travelling for the first time to Ireland. The Emerald Isle Classic presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase Ireland to this group and also to the many millions of Americans watching the game through the broadcast.
People all over Ireland have begun planning for the 2013 Gathering. A number of local community meetings have already taken place in Roscommon, Mayo, Clare, Kerry, Cavan, Leitrim, Carlow, Meath, and Wicklow, with meetings in Monaghan and North Tipperary later this week. A meeting in Limerick is coming up in early September. Click on the county names for more information.
This is what is so exciting about The Gathering 2013 – get the counties involved on a local level. Residents of any given county or town will know best what their home community has to offer, as well as what visitors have enjoyed in the past. It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm throughout Ireland for The Gathering.
Of course The Gathering 2013 is about more than tourists visiting monastic ruins and tracing their roots, it is about business. The first Gathering event will take place in January 2013:
A two-day meeting of top executives, entrepreneurs and venture capital investors operating in Silicon Valley, Hollywood and the US east coast will travel to Cork…
For an Arts focus on The Gathering, look no further than Irish Gathering 2013 – “Ancestry Research, Stories from the Irish and The 2013 Festivities of the Gathering in Ireland!” Christine and Sabrina Joyce (great-grand-nieces of James Joyce) want to help visitors make the most of the time they spend in Ireland in 2013. They are working closely with a variety of artists to bring out the best of Ireland for The Gathering.
Waterford wants people with ties to the county to register on their website, while Galway has a plan for a Gathering of the Tribes. Don’t see your county anywhere in this post? Visit the County Council website for information on what the county has planned.
If you live in Ireland, what’s happening in your home county for The Gathering 2013? Leave a comment, I would love to share your plans.
Do you live outside of Ireland and are thinking about paying a visit next year? Anything special you would like to see or do while you are in Ireland?
Enjoy this Gathering video for Abbeyleix, County Laois. I wonder what my McCormack relatives have planned for us next year?
The “mystery” from last time was actually solved a few years back. My mom reminded me that we confirmed the identity of the priest when we compared the photo-pin to a photograph of Father John J. Molloy that we found in the book Meet Shieldsville, by Mary L. Hagerty. I spaced this discovery out, and I must admit that this was not entirely an accident. At times I become overwhelmed with my own family history research, and when a discovery opens up a new can of worms and I don’t have the time or energy to deal with it, I will slip the cover back on and vow to deal with it at a later date. This is precisely what happened with good old Father Molloy.
Priest Pin
Above is a reproduction of the photo of Father Molloy. It is not of the highest quality, but I think you can appreciate the resemblance to the photo-pin on the right. My great-grandmother worked as Father Molloy’s housekeeper (1905-1910) before she was married. While I was pleased to learn the identity of the priest, it meant that there was even more to learn about Father Molloy. The first thing I wanted to know was how Annie came to know Father Molloy.
John J. Molloy was born in County Mayo, Ireland and educated at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, County Kildare. He was ordained in 1891 and arrived in Minnesota later that year. Father Molloy served as an assistant pastor for a number of parishes throughout Minnesota before settling at St. Patrick’s in Shieldsville. He served the community for fifty-two years.
All of that was well and good, but I couldn’t find anything in the biographical information on Father Molloy that could point to a connection to my great-grandmother. That was until I read in his obituary that he was survived by one sister named Delia in Manchester, England. Immediately I thought of the dozen or so photographs taken in the studios of Manchester, England that Annie had saved. Of course, none of the photographs were identified, but I assumed they were of family members. Annie had one sister who moved to Manchester and raised a family (Bridget) and another sister who lived there for a few years before returning home to Kildare (Catherine, who I have mentioned before.) Manchester could be the connection, but it made my head hurt and I told myself I would tackle this another day.
I believe the day has come. It is time to dust off my Manchester file and see if I can’t figure this one out. A wonderful book, The Reynolds Letters, provides considerable insight into the lives of Irish emigrants living and working in Manchester during the 19th and early-20th centuries. I will use the resources available on ancestry.com and elsewhere on the internet to see if I can learn anything more about a possible Molloy-Hill connection in Manchester.
Here are some of my of mystery Manchester photographs…
Probably one of the Hill girls...
Unknown Couple from Manchester
Perhaps Annie's sister and family?
The Hill sisters that I believe spent time in Manchester are:
Margaret (Maggie)
b. 1866
Catherine (Katie)
b. 1872
m. John Howe
Bridget (Delia)
b. 1876
If anyone has experience researching Irish emigrants in England, specifically Manchester, please let me know. I will keep you posted…
The Irish in America 