Date: Saturday, April 21st 2012
Location: Leitrim Hall, Loughrea, Co. Galway

Preparations are underway for the 7th Aughty Earth Day Gathering.

The Aughty Earth Day Gathering is organised each year in a different location by a local group. The event was previously held in Crusheen, Kilchreest /Castledaly, Woodford, Tuamgraney, Gort and at Lough Graney in 2011. The day is informal and is dedicated to hospitality. Everyone is welcome to attend and to share their knowledge and interest in the heritage of the Sliabh Aughty.
For more details email slogadheachtai@gmail.com or visit www.aughty.org

During this time visits can be arranged by appointment. Please email us at eastclareheritage@gmail.com to arrange an appointment. (An admission charge of 2Euro per person will apply).

We look forward to welcoming you to East Clare Heritage from May onwards.

Our new opening hours will be posted shortly.

by Kath Woodley.

ISBN 978-0-473-17611-2

In the 19^th century when thousands of Irish arrived in New Zealand, they were frequently greeted with the derisive term ‘Bog Irish Micks.’ This then is the unusual title chosen by Kath Woodley to commemorate her ancestors the O’Briens of Moynoe, Scariff, Co. Clare who settled in New Zealand.  Within a generation descendants became lawyers, bank managers, broadcasters, film makers and even an All-Black!

The story begins with John O’Brien (1816-1867 who resided beside Moynoe graveyard in a three roomed thatched cottage, the ruins of which can still be seen. He married first Bridget Hynes from Kiladerry, Broadford. They had Mary born 1855 and John 1856. Their mother died in 1856 and Mary and John were reared with their cousins, the Hynes family in Meelick, Whitegate. There Mary met, and married in 1873 William Burke of Meelick, Whitegate. Their grandson, Billy (the blonde) Burke, passed away on the 29 November 2011. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anam dílis. Her brother John O’Brien sailed from London to New Zealand, on the ship Hannibal in 1875. He was nineteen years of age. In 1879 he moved to New Zealand, married and reared a family.

John O’Brien of Moynoe married secondly Margaret Malone, Firpark, Bodyke in 1857. They had three boys Michael, Benjamin and Timothy and two girls Bridget and Margaret. John O’Brien died in February 1867 and his widow married the farm manager Robert Guerin in July of the same year. With him she had another eight children.

The five children of John O’Brien and Margaret Malone ended up in New Zealand. One of the finest memorials in Moynoe graveyard was erected by them. The author is descended from Benjamin who sailed from Plymouth to Sydney in 1880 when he was nineteen years old. He later went to New Zealand, enlisted in the armed constabulary and later joined the New Zealand Police Force. He married Elizabeth McDonough from the parish of Kilronan, Roscommon. They had nine children. They called their house Kincora.

The second son of Benjamin and Elizabeth O’Brien was John Gerald O’Brien. He made the All-Black rugby team for a tour of Australia in 1914 but had the misfortune to break his leg. He was also one of that unlucky generation of rugby players whose careers were disrupted by World War I. In all he made 12 appearances for the All-Blacks before retiring in 1919. Though only 1.73 metres tall and around 70kg he regularly played at fullback.

With the publication of this work a further valuable contribution has been made to honouring the memory of those Clare men and women who because of economic circumstances (as we have today) were forced to leave their homes and fatherland in search of a better life. The book is illustrated with over 500 photographs, sketches and drawings that complement and illuminate the text.

The author Kath Woodley can be justly proud of her achievements. It is a beautiful book worthy of a place in every household. The book is accompanied with a CD that contains a genealogical base of thousands of names, files of birth, marriage and death certificates, an orchestral piece by a Bryan O’Brien and mystery photos.

The cover design, a painting of Scariff by Vern Walker, shows clearly what a little colour and imagination can do for a place. Scariff has never looked better and I doubt if it ever will.

KathWoodlet can be contacted on jelly.k@xtra.co.nz

Review by Gerard Madden

The Old Road contains 140 poems and fifteen essays by Nora T. Goonane Leonard who was born in Whitegate in 1913. There is something simple and noble and pure in her writings. She wrote about life and everyday things in a language we can all understand. She wrote for pleasure and to lift the spirits and lives of the reader.

The Old Road is still as tranquil and captivating a place as it was 100 years ago. To really enjoy the walk Nora recommended that you take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the soft green ramparts, in the early morning in the month of May.

The wet grass will squish beneath your feet- tiny yellow buttercups will scissor between your toes, the fragrance of dew laden whitethorn and crabapple will stimulate every fiber of your body and mesmerize your soul. Then be you atheist or Christian you will sing praise and thanks for the beauty and refreshment of the simple life.

 

Her poetry and prose contain images and details highly charged with love of place and people. The Brooders, Barretts, Coffeys, Garveys, Powers, Touhys and Walshes etc are mainly gone but Andrews Park, Garisiun, the Black Road, Nicholas’s Paddy’s Hill, Gort, Creggera and Cnoc a Lannacht are places she has immortalised as surely as Patrick Kavanagh gave us Shancoduff and Kednaminsha.

Her poetry and prose also deals with a heartache too well known to every family in this island, the awful sadness of leavetaking, of breaking the chord that ties us to childhood, to growing up here, to place, to family, to a sense of belonging. On Good Friday the 18 April 1830 she emigrated to America. Her prose article The Parting is a masterpiece.

She wrote-

Songwriters and composers have written many songs of the heart throughout the ages, but only the owner of one could express the pangs of a seventeen year old heart bidding goodbye to home and loved ones for the first time. Left behind were the companionship of brothers and sisters , the strong discipline, the tender love of parents and the freedom and pleasures of the great outdoors which haunt the memory forever.

 

The rose design on the cover is a mark of respect to the faith and beliefs of Nora T. Goonane and her daughter Mary Forlastro. They share the middle name of Theresa, after St Theresa – the little flower. Nora T. throughout her life and Mary Forlastro throughout hers knew that God was answering their prayers whenever they saw roses in any form be it in drawings, photos, jewellery, in gardens, flower arrangements etc.

Nora T. believed that our stay on earth is measured by our deeds.

In a short poem entitled Life’s Worth, she wrote-

So quickly it’s over

And what have you done

Is your job finished or not yet begun?

You came in the morning

And stayed the day through

Is the World better off

For having known you?

The World is certainly better off for knowing Nora T. Goonane Leonard 1913-2007.

The East Clare Heritage experience has been listed at #39 of 108 things to do in county Clare at travel guide specialists Lonely Planet . Check out the full list at LonelyPlanet.com for more to see and do around the area.

“Historic Navigation Chart of Lough Derg” by Donal Boland is being officially launched by Dick Warner on Friday the 25th of November. The launch will be taking place at the Village Hotel Mountshannon at 8 p.m.

The event will be chaired by Dr. Christy Cunniffe.

Brian Goggin will also be giving a talk on the night on “The Steamboat Trade on the Shannon and Beyond”.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

As a sample of what’s yet to come here’s an itinerary suggested by our very own east Clare local Noreen:

East Clare

A day spent in the beautiful location of East Clare will appeal to all the family – adults and children alike.

• Firstly, why not call into St. Cronan’s 10th Century Church in Tuamgraney, home of the East Clare Heritage Centre. Here the friendly and helpful staff will give you a guided tour of this historic building, which is closely associated with Brian Boru, and houses an interesting and varied array of artefacts.
• The Heritage Centre staff will also show you the nearby 16th Century O’Grady Tower House, a very important feature of this historic village.
• Armed with leaflets and information from the staff, you can then travel the short distance out of Tuamgraney village (on the Ennis road) to the Casaoireach – Famine Memorial Park – where you can pay your respects at the graves of the thousands of inmates of the local Scariff Workhouse, who died during the years of the Great Famine (1845 – 1849).
• A short distance further on you will see a holy well, named after St. Coelan, who lived c690 to 750.
• Travel the 3 miles or so to the East Clare Golf Club where you can enjoy a round of golf on this very scenic course.
• Back to Tuamgraney to visit the local Wilde’s Chocolate Factory and McKernan’s Handweavers.
• Then it’s time for a leisurely lunch in Teach Uí Bhriain in the village.
• A trip to East Clare would not be complete without a visit to Iniscealtra (Holy Island) on Lough Derg. Local historian, Ger Madden, runs boat trips to the island from the pier in the beautiful village of Mountshannon. The staff of the Heritage Centre will have given you a brochure with the contact details.
• Dinner can be enjoyed in any of the three restaurants in Mountshannon – The Mountshannon Hotel, An Cupán Caife or The Snug.
• Alternatively, you can travel to the village of Feakle, which is steeped in Traditional Irish Music. Here you can have dinner in Pepper’s Bar & Restaurant and stay on to experience the ‘craic’ of an authentic Irish Music Session.
• If your day trip happens to fall on a Monday, another option would be to return to your starting point of St. Cronan’s Church in Tuamgraney and enjoy a Celtic Traditions Concert in this magnificent setting.

This beautiful part of East Clare offers a rich and varied mix of attractions and experiences to the visitor so, should you decide to prolong your visit to East Clare (highly recommended!), there are many excellent accommodation options available, including B&Bs and Self-catering accommodation.

Come to East Clare and experience it for yourself!