My name is Victoria Mail, and I recently travelled to Ireland in search of my Irish ancestors. In Australia I belong to the Society of Australian Genealogists, and earlier in the year I watched a SAG webinar on holidaying in Ireland with the purpose of tracing family history. Majella from ‘Ireland Reaching Out’ was one of the presenters on the webinar and she spoke about the nature of this organisation and how volunteers arrange to ‘meet and greet’ travellers who arrive in Ireland to try and trace their roots.
I was very impressed with this concept and when we started planning our trip to Ireland, I decided to register our family history focussed trip with ‘Ireland Reaching Out’. I filled out their introductory form online and a few days before we left, I was contacted by Kieran Jordan who told me he would meet with me when we arrived in Ireland.
Kieran contacted me a few times before we left and asked me for details about the people I was researching. Just before we flew out Kieran emailed again and told me he had located where the Stapletons – my great grandmother is Anastatia Stapleton- had lived and he would be able to take me there.
In addition, he had worked out where my 2 x great grandfather Daniel McAuliffe lived and farmed in Coolowen, near Blarney. He said he would give me directions when we met. I was very excited!
We arranged to meet in Cashel at 2pm on Saturday 17 August, and we arrived in plenty of time after collecting the car. Kieran and his daughter Sarah contacted me right on 2pm and we sat in the library of Bailey’s Hotel while he discussed with me the information he had found.
I could not believe how much trouble Kieran had taken in first familiarising himself with my family tree and then researching where they lived. He gave me a lesson on how to use Griffiths’ Valuations, showing me the information to be gleaned on locations, but also what other family connections you could find from this information. He’d even gone as far as checking the 1901 census and had found the Stapletons had left the area by then. In addition, he had printed out website addresses he uses and maps of the area where each family had lived. We retired to a café in search of better Wi-Fi, and some refreshment and he searched for better versions of the localities. He also spent some time helping me find a birth record for my great grandfather who came from Northern Ireland.
As if all this wasn’t enough, we climbed into his car and travelled to Drom where Anastatia was born. We located the Catholic church, and we walked over to take photos and have a look around the graveyard in the church grounds. This church was where my great grandmother Anastatia Stapleton (later McAuliffe) was baptised. A woman arrived for evening Mass and unlocked the church for us, so I was able to get photos of the interior as well.
Across some playing fields from the church, we noticed some graves stones, so we climbed into the car and drove over to that area. There we found some very old graves, plus some more recent ones. We also found the ruins of what would have been the original church in the area. It was completely covered in ivy, but you could discern sections of the original structure. It was very interesting and made a lot of sense because the other church was built in 1829.
After exploring this find we got back into the car and set off back to Cashel. After a few minutes Kieran located the area of Laragh where my ancestors the Stapletons had lived. He stopped the car, and I was able to photograph the land. There was no longer a road into the area so the roadside was the closest we could get. It was an amazing feeling to think I was looking at the place where my great grandmother grew up!
Kieran drove us back to Cashel and we said our goodbyes. I am so grateful for all the work he had done. He refused to take any money, so I gave him a donation for Ireland Reaching Out.
Kieran gave me a map showing the area where the McAuliffes, my 2 times great grandparents had lived in Coolowen. He promised to send me a better map and sure enough on Sunday 18 August he emailed me again with the updated map.
We arrived in Blarney on Monday 19 August, a very rainy Irish day. Because of the rain we did not want to search for Coolowen as we were unsure of how the roads and lanes would be. The roads we travelled along in Drom were often very narrow and winding, and we weren’t sure if the roads/lanes in Coolowen would be sealed.
Finally, the sun came out so armed with a photo of Kieran’s map, we hopped into the car and set off in search of Coolowen.
The map was easy to follow, together with Kieran’s instructions and after about 7kms we drove into a dead end, bordered by privately owned farms. I left the car and walked to the end of the road. As I stood there and gazed at the lush fields dotted with grazing cattle, I felt the same jolt of joy I had experienced when I looked over the Stapletons’ former farming area in Drom. This was where my ancestors came from!
I took several photos and then went back to the car. Now I will have to find out how long both families farmed the land, and what prompted their offspring, John McAuliffe and Anastatia Stapleton to migrate to Australia.
I cannot thank Kieran Jordan enough for all he did to make the tracing of my ancestors easier and more productive. I had begun our holiday with a visit to the National Library of Ireland in Dublin and had no success in making any progress. There was no one to talk to and gain assistance. I left feeling despondent and frustrated. When I met Kieran and Sarah, I suddenly had people around me who cared about what I was trying to do. I felt invigorated!
Thank you, Kieran and Sarah, and thank you Ireland Reaching Out for providing such a wonderful service for amateur genealogists from far-flung Australia.