What’s In a Name?

by | Feb 20, 2017 | All of Us, Ireland, Mike/Karen Family

Irish last names Surnames in Ireland – Origins and meanings Born Maureen FitzSimons in Dublin, the young actress adopted the name O’Hara, an ancient Irish last name historically found in Sligo and Antrim. Irish last names reflect the long history of the...

August 2, 2014 Athlone – Dublin

by | Aug 2, 2014 | Ireland

It has been a very long day with an even longer one coming tomorrow. We spent most of the day at the Guinness StoreFront at St. James Gate Dublin. I am too tired to elaborate, but suffice it to say it was a great ending to what was a fantastic trip. Tomorrow is travel...

Thursday, July 31, 2014 Innishboffin

by | Jul 31, 2014 | Ireland

Had a great breakfast this morning at our hotel in Tullycross, the Maol Reidh. Then we left for the port city of Cleggan, a 20 minute drive down the west coast of Ireland. We took a 20 minute ferry ride out to Innishboffin, a magical island 17 miles out into the open...

July 30, 2014 Westport – Tully Cross

by | Jul 30, 2014 | All of Us, Ireland

Most of rural Ireland does not have hi-speed internet.  In fact the parts of Ireland where our family is visiting does not even have fiber optic internet cabling. What this means is that I am having trouble getting images to load. Frequently as I start to insert...

Monday, July 28, 2014 Achill Island

by | Jul 28, 2014 | All of Us, Ireland

Words and pictures cannot begin to express the raw, powerful beauty of Achill Island a place where the mountains come down to the sea. With  all of its natural beauty however, Achill Island has a cruel side to it …. the winter months. The summer months will...

Sunday, July 27, 2014

by | Jul 28, 2014 | All of Us, Ireland

For Michael, Shawn, and Corey today began at 4:30 a.m. when they left our B&B, the Boffin Lodge, to go 5 miles down the road to climb Croagh (the Gaelic word for mountain) Patrick. As most people know worldwide, St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and the...

Saturday, July 26, 2014 Westport

by | Jul 27, 2014 | All of Us, Ireland

After an outstanding breakfast at The Shemalier, we left for Westport. Our first stop however was at the ? bog plank road. This plank road was unearthed by a farmer excavating the bog for peat to use in heating his home.  When the farmer discovered a portion of...

July 24, 2014 Arrival In Dublin

by | Jul 25, 2014 | All of Us, Ireland

Arrived at O’Hare at 12:45 p.m. Aer Lingus check-in went smooth. Got Shannon a wheel chair and guide. He took us to the front of the Security line where we took off our shoes, emptied our pockets, placed our carry-on on the conveyor and then went through the...

Emergency Contact Information

by | Jul 11, 2014 | All of Us, Ireland

Making calls between the US and Ireland is very expensive unless you have a calling app. Since the family should/will have the cellular data turned off on their phones you will not be able to reach us during the day. The best (cheapest) way to contact any of us is to...