County Leitrim

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The Kings of County Fermanagh

Céad Míle Fáilte – and welcome to your Letter from Ireland for this week. I hope you are keeping well? I hear that many of our friends on the east coast of America are experiencing powerful snowstorms at the moment – I hope you are keeping safe and warm if you are being affected. And then…

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Are You a Descendant of the Queen of Connaught?

Their letter contained many fascinating ancestral anecdotes, but one in particular caught my eye – it was a story about their ancestor, Helen Reynolds. You see, that surname suggests that she may have been a direct descendant of a very particular “strong woman” of ancient Ireland. Queen Maedbh of Connaught.  In last week’s letter, I…

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The Brehon Families of Ireland – Is Your Surname Here?

Have you ever had a “run-in” with the law where you live? Just last week we got our first 2 “penalty points” on our driving licence. I know – that makes us fugitive outlaws! But that’s what we want to talk about today – the use of law (and the brehon families) in Gaelic Ireland.…

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Looking out on the houses, hills and coastline of the beara peninsula in Ireland on the wild atlantic way.

Beara Peninsula and Kenmare on the Wild Atlantic Way

Our first stop was in the town of Castletownbere. It’s one of Ireland’s main fishing ports and is a busy little town and the commercial hub of the Beara Peninsula. We had to stop for a quick drink at the famous McCarthy’s Bar – made famous by appearing on the cover of a book by…

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Seaside Houses

Clonakilty to Baltimore on the Wild Atlantic Way

Céad Míle Fáilte – and welcome to your Letter from Ireland for this week. I hope you are keeping well? I hear that many of our friends on the east coast of America are experiencing powerful snowstorms at the moment – I hope you are keeping safe and warm if you are being affected. And then…

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