Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! This day makes me reflect on my Irish heritage and my trip to Ireland several years ago. My dad is quite the genealogist, and he’s followed our family history, tracing back our ancestors for decades. When I was about 15, he traced our Irish ancestors and contacted ones that are still living in Ireland! In 1890, my great-great grandfather came to America and none of his American-born descendants (3-4 generations) had ever traveled back to meet up with the Irish relatives. They (a few separate families) invited us over and we took them up on their offer in June of 1999! Just my dad and I went, and we had a great father/daughter overseas experience!
We landed in the Dublin airport and stayed a couple of nights in Swords. We visited the bustling city of Dublin, checked out the lovely eastern coastline, and ate a lot of beef and potatoes!
Over the next few days, we headed northward up the coast. We stopped off at beautiful castles and landmarks while checking out the counties/cities of Drogheda, Killcurry, Dundalk, Newry, and Armagh. We had to travel in a little rental car. Of course, in Ireland, your driving on the opposite side of the road, opposite side of the car, and if you have a manual drive, you're switching gears with your left hand! I think dad hit every curb on the round-abouts! The picture below is not of us, I just found it on the web so that you get the idea:
This is an ancient burial mound near Drogheda: Newgrange Passage Tomb (photo found on web)
http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm It is thought to be one of the oldest man-made constructions on Earth!
Near Newry, in County Armagh (town: Cladybeg), we met up with several extended cousins over a couple of days (The Cunningham’s: Eileen Cunningham Renaghan, Mary Hearty, Julia Cunningham Lennon, Mary Cunningham McArdle & her husband, Tommy, son, Sean, and grandchildren). We went to our great grandfather’s birthplace and had afternoon tea and scones with the family! They were delightful. My cousin, Sean, a rally car driver, took me for a ride in his rally car. Rally car racing is like Nascar for the Irish, except the racing takes place on either private or public roads! 
He sped around all of the curvy roads in the Irish country side and I thought I was going to die! I was so happy to make it back to their home.
We also met up with our family, the Mara’s, south of Dublin (County Wicklow, town of Rathnew). We shared a wonderful meal with them and enjoyed sharing our lives. My family still keeps in touch with our Irish family. I wish them and all of you a very Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Also, Happy Anniversary to my mother/father-in-law, Esther and Perry!
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