In 2009, I, along with forty fellow NoneBeatonites, invaded the NoneEmerald Isle and marched from NoneDublin south to NoneCobh and the NoneRing of Kerry then back along the western coast to NoneConnemara finally terminating in Limerick. It was a journey of discovery and reflection.
At the time, I was not really aware of my heritage and my deep connection to that country. Since my retirement, I have delved deeply into my ancestry and learned that my grandmother, Sallie Flew, was in fact born Sarah Jane Stuart. She was a first generation American of Scots Irish descent, her father, John Thomas Stuart having immigrated to the States in 1847 at the height of the Potato Famine. The full tale of the Stuarts and their journey to America can be found here.
While in England last year with Cissy and John (click here), Cissy remarked that she would love to visit Ireland to see where our great grandfather and his family had lived. And from that simple suggestion we are now headed to Ireland. Where my previous trip had been in the Republic of Ireland, the Stuarts hailed from County Armagh, one of the six counties of Northern Ireland that remain a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, along with three counties in the Republic of Ireland, made up the ancient kingdom of Ulster, one of five kingdoms of ancient Gaelic Ireland from which the Ulster Scots derive their name
My first experience in Ireland was an Invasion; this will be an Exploration. We will fly into Dublin and, in our rented Nissan Quashqai, we will travel north into Ulster with our final destination in Cairncastle, County Antrim, near the coast of the Irish Sea and about 25 miles north of Belfast. We will stay at the Corner Cottage, a three bedroom, two bath, two story cottage built in the 1760s. Here we will spend six days and nights exploring the land of our ancestors.
Located in the heart of downtown Cairncastle, it’s greatest feature is just out the front door and across the Drumnagreagh Road - Mattie’s Public House. Tracing its roots back to the 19th century, it is billed as one of County Antrim’s oldest Public Houses. Mattie’s features a menu that includes Boxer Jims Guinness Pie and Maryland Chicken and local musicians every Thursday night. I can hear my dear friend, Alex, singing “…An hour or two with a fine brown brew and I’m ready for anything…”
Among the sites on our itinerary are a trip up the Causeway Coastal Route to the Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle, a day trip to Bally Noe Stone Circle and Down Cathedral - the burial place of St. Paddy himself. And of course, a day trip to County Armagh and the City of Armagh with a stop at the Tyrone Ditches Presbyterian Church, site of our great grandfather William Stuart’s baptism and his marriage to Sarah Paul. And the Armagh County Museum to research their ancestry records.
Leaving Ulster, we will return to Dublin where we are booked for two nights in the Dublin City Apt at Dublin Castle. It is located a five minute walk south to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a fifteen minute walk west to the Guinness Storehouse, seventeen minutes east to Trinity College and the Book of Kells and north three minutes to the River Liffey and the O’Donovan Rossa Bridge and 12 minutes to the Jameson Distillery. Our only problem is which way to head and what to do. And where to eat…but not what to drink.
We will be in Erin for but a short while. There is much to see and there is always hope that we will stumble upon the Wee Folk in our travels. Though we will not partake of their food nor drink lest we fall under their spell.
At the end of the Beatonite Invasion of ‘09 I asked “Who among us will return?” Funny how life works out. As always, click below to follow our journey in the Land of Scholars and Kings.
At the time, I was not really aware of my heritage and my deep connection to that country. Since my retirement, I have delved deeply into my ancestry and learned that my grandmother, Sallie Flew, was in fact born Sarah Jane Stuart. She was a first generation American of Scots Irish descent, her father, John Thomas Stuart having immigrated to the States in 1847 at the height of the Potato Famine. The full tale of the Stuarts and their journey to America can be found here.
While in England last year with Cissy and John (click here), Cissy remarked that she would love to visit Ireland to see where our great grandfather and his family had lived. And from that simple suggestion we are now headed to Ireland. Where my previous trip had been in the Republic of Ireland, the Stuarts hailed from County Armagh, one of the six counties of Northern Ireland that remain a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, along with three counties in the Republic of Ireland, made up the ancient kingdom of Ulster, one of five kingdoms of ancient Gaelic Ireland from which the Ulster Scots derive their name
My first experience in Ireland was an Invasion; this will be an Exploration. We will fly into Dublin and, in our rented Nissan Quashqai, we will travel north into Ulster with our final destination in Cairncastle, County Antrim, near the coast of the Irish Sea and about 25 miles north of Belfast. We will stay at the Corner Cottage, a three bedroom, two bath, two story cottage built in the 1760s. Here we will spend six days and nights exploring the land of our ancestors.
Located in the heart of downtown Cairncastle, it’s greatest feature is just out the front door and across the Drumnagreagh Road -
Among the sites on our itinerary are a trip up the Causeway Coastal Route to the Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle, a day trip to Bally Noe Stone Circle and Down Cathedral -
Leaving Ulster, we will return to Dublin where we are booked for two nights in the Dublin City Apt at Dublin Castle. It is located a five minute walk south to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a fifteen minute walk west to the Guinness Storehouse, seventeen minutes east to Trinity College and the Book of Kells and north three minutes to the River Liffey and the O’Donovan Rossa Bridge and 12 minutes to the Jameson Distillery. Our only problem is which way to head and what to do. And where to eat…but not what to drink.
We will be in Erin for but a short while. There is much to see and there is always hope that we will stumble upon the Wee Folk in our travels. Though we will not partake of their food nor drink lest we fall under their spell.
At the end of the Beatonite Invasion of ‘09 I asked “Who among us will return?” Funny how life works out. As always, click below to follow our journey in the Land of Scholars and Kings.
