Beyond the Pale
Photo Gallery - Ireland 2016
This ground was once the location of a house where Thomas Swift and Mary Connell had lived. Their children, including my great grandfather, John Connell Swift, were born at this spot.
The place where the Thomas Swift family once lived. There are no remains of a home on this spot today, but Sister DeLourdes Fahy confirmed that this was where the family had lived.
Grassy field where the home of Thomas Swift and Mary Connell once stood in the townland of Ballylee, in the parish of Kiltartan. This place was only a few hundred yards from the old tower of Thoor Ballylee.
Thoor Ballylee Castle, built in the 15th or 16th Century in the Norman style by members of the de Burgo (Burke) family. It was later owned by the Gregory family, who sold it for 35 pounds to W. B. Yeats.
Thoor Ballylee was badly damaged by flooding in 2009 and again recently in December 2015. Volunteers are working on cleanup and expect to re-open the tower in June 2016.
Yeats' tower at Thoor Bally Lee flooded after recent refurbishment in Co Galway damaged by storm Desmond floods. Photo by Andrew Downes.
Mattie Farrell has lived in the neighboring townland of Dromorehill for many years, and was helpful to us in locating sites where family members lived generations ago.
Sister DeLourdes Fahy, retired teacher and school administrator, is a tireless researcher on all things related to Kiltartan history. Her published history of the parish, "Many Leaves, One Root," is a treasure.
Martha, Annis and Roberta at the door of cottage at Thoor Ballylee.
Sister DeLourdes, of the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Gort, Ireland, walks with Mattie Farrell (left) and my sister Annis down the lane at Thor Ballylee, the ancient tower which was once home to poet W.B. Yeats.
A portion of this old shed was once home to Mary Cusack, a daughter of Bridget Fahy Swift and John Cusack. In 1877, my great-grandfather wrote from America to tell her that their half-brother, Thomas Swift, was dead. (See "The Letters" in the main menu.)
Mother and Sara look from the car upon a plot of land where Patrick Connell and Mary Hynes lived.
Beyond the gate once stood the home of Patrick Connell and Mary Hynes. My great-grandfather (their nephew) John C. Swift and his sister, Mary Anna Swift, lived at this place with their Uncle Paddy in 1850 before they emigrated to America.
A tiny bit of soil from Washington, Iowa, where John C. Swift is buried, is left in rembrance. In 1880, John C. Swift mailed some money to his Uncle Paddy in Ballylee, and soon a letter arrived in Iowa, thanking him "on bended knee" for his great kindness.
Soil from John C. Swift's resting place filters into the green grass of Ballylee, at the place from which John emigrated in 1850.
A bit of Iowa and Ireland together - a bit of Swift and Connell reunited.
Mattie Farrell chats with Roberta through the car window. His smile was warm and infectious!
Mattie reaches into the field at Paddy Connell's place (later known as the Larkin place when Paddy's daughter, Bridget Larkin, raised her family there.)
A tiny bit of soil from Ballylee
Just a pinch of soil from John Swift's homeland by which to remember his origins.
Mattie Farrell remembered a smaller garden gate which led to the path to the door of Paddy Connell's house. "It should be right here," he said, and as we looked in the hedge, we could finally see it there.
The modern house stands adjacent to the field which was once the site of home of Paddy Connell, and where my great-grandfather John C. Swift and his sister, Little Aunt Mary, had lived in the months before they left Ireland to come to America in 1850.
"It won a prize, didn't it?" Mattie Farrell reminded Sister DeLourdes, speaking of the Larkin (Connell) place and its reputation for a pretty and well-kept home.
Sister DeLourdes pointed out the spot where the Cooney family had lived. My great grandfather's good friend, John Cooney, was born here (but not in the house presently on this site "and probably not the house before that," according to Sister. Letters to John C. Swift mention "your good friend John Cooney."
Benny Downey, a cousin with whom we were happy to connect. He is a great-grandson of John Cooney and his wife, Mary Cahill. Mary was a first cousin 1x removed of John C. Swift.
Roberta Wheelan Clark, Sister DeLourdes Fahy and Benny Downey
Benny Downey chats with Martha Clark, on the site where John Cooney and Mary Cahill had lived.
Former home site of John Cooney and Mary Cahill. The stone building in the background is an old barn from the homesite.
Bluebells at Coole Park near Gort, Ireland
Visitor's Center at Coole Park -- once the estate of Sir William and Lady Augusta Gregory, today a beautiful natural preserve.
Our small group takes a break for lunch at Coole Park. Sister DeLourdes fulfilled our deepest hopes in showing us sites connected to our family and introducing us to cousins whose ancestors' stories intertwine with our own.
Smoked salmon -- one of my favorite treats from this part of the world. (Lunch at Coole Park.)
Sister DeLourdes and Sara Burrus, starting our short stroll in Coole Park after lunch.
The greenery and tranquility of Coole Park is other-worldly! Its paths wind through old forests and are carpeted with delicate flowers.
Verses written by George Bernard Shaw for Lady Gregory's granddaughters are inscribed on stones along the path in Coole Park.
G.B.S. -- George Bernard Shaw, playright and friend of Lady Augusta Gregory, who hosted dozens of artists, poets and writers at Coole Park and fostered a cultural revival of Irish arts and letters.
A child on a bicycle races down the path at Coole Park as Annis Householder and Martha Clark stroll with Roberta Clark, looking for deer in the enclosure to their left.
A flowered path in Coole Park
This tiny white flower (bear garlic or Allium ursinum) was everywhere in Coole Park, making a blanket of white in the woods.
Flower bear garlic in the woods at Coole Park
Sister DeLourdes indicating the site where the house of Coole Park once stood (all that remains today is the foundation.) It was razed in 1941, after the death of Lady Gregory. Though all agreed it was a great loss, no one had the means at the time to save it.
Molly Daniel, Annis Householder, Sara Burrus, Sister DeLourdes Fahy and Roberta Clark (in front) at Coole Park. Photo by Martha Clark.
A photograph of the house which once stood at Coole Park.
A plaque placed by the granddaughters of Lady Gregory, known by their nicknames "Me and Nu." In earlier times, an old catalpa tree was a favorite of Lady Gregory, and a well-known image of her at the base of the tree inspired this tribute.
The growing catalpa tree placed by Lady Gregory's grand-daughters for future generations to enjoy at Coole Park.
The park is a popular spot for family and school picnics. Here, a group of school children enjoy Coole Park.
This copper beech tree in Coole Park is known as the Autograph Tree. It stands on the former estate of Lady Augusta and Sir William Gregory of Gort. Lady Gregory is credited with sparking the cultural revival of Irish arts and letters.
Molly and Martha standing at the base of the Autograph Tree, a copper beech tree in Coole Park. Photo by Annis Householder.
Sister DeLoudes Fahy, Martha Clark, Sara Burrus, Molly Daniel and Roberta Clark (in front) at the Autograph Tree in Coole Park. Photo by Annis Householder.
The Autograph Tree at Coole Park
In Coole Park, legend for locating the carved names on the Autograph Tree
The trunk of the Autograph Tree in Coole Park. Photo by Annis Householder.
Markers in Coole Park for the graves of Lady Gregory's pets.
Martha Clark and Annis Householder, walking in Coole Park.
Sister DeLourdes walking in Coole Park
A large gnarly tree in Coole Park is a lime tree -- a type which can live hundreds of years.
Old lime tree in Coole Park
A path in the deep green woods of Coole Park
Cemetery and church ruins at Kiltartan
Kiltartan Cemetery
Gravemarker for Hynes family members, Kiltartan Cemetery
Gravemarker for members of the Fahey family in Kiltartan Cemetery. These are members of Sister DeLourdes Fahey's family.
Graves of the Nolan family in Kiltartan Cemetery. Letters to John C. Swift from his relatives in Ireland mention "your good friend William John Nolan" several times.
Grave for the Cooney family members, "one of the last of the Cooneys," Sister DeLourdes noted in reference to my great-grandfather's good friend John Cooney and his descendants.
A poignant marker in Kiltartan Cemetery notes a loss which shook the community -- a young man who died suddenly and unexpectedly while practicing for a hurling match. His loss is still grieved by many.
Marker for members of the Cooney family in Kiltartan Cemetery
St. Attracta Catholic Church at Kiltartan. This church would have been in use at the time my great grand-father lived at Ballylee, and it is likely the church that he attended. After the church was built, the road beside it was raised. (The church sits in a low area which was inundated by floods in December 2015.)
Sister DeLourdes is an active community member -- she probably has not played on the team, but it is apparent that she has been a great supporter!
Sheep grazing in the back yard of Kiltartan House, a home which now belongs to the sister of Sister DeLourdes and was once the home of Patrick Swift and Bridget Henniffe. (of the Kiltartan Swifts)
This building once served as the Kiltartan National School.
Sister DeLourdes at the door of Kiltartan House. Her sister Rena now owns the house which was once a home where the Swifts lived.
Kiltartan House, once home to Patrick Swift and Bridget Henniffee and later to their daughter Bridget (who married Tim Grady.)
White flowers growing in the stone wall at Kiltartan school
Sign at Kiltartan Gregory Museum parking area, noting the various sites in the parish.
Kiltartan Gregory Museum - this building was designed by Lady Gregory’s brother, Frank Persse. It is located at Kiltartan Cross, opened in 1892 and remained in service until 1960. Sister DeLourdes herself attended school here.
Sister DeLourdes, inside the KiltartanGregory Museum, which devotes one room to the history of the school.
Charts on the wall were useful for teaching language -- both Irish and English
Children's school desks and books, as they would have been 60+ years ago.
Work of a more recent student -- a scale model of Thoor Ballylee. The Kiltartan Gregory Museum includes a wealth of information about the Gregorys, W.B. Yeats, and cultural icons of the area.
Sara and Roberta at Kiltartan Gregory Museum, with model of Thoor Ballylee in the foreground. Photo by Martha Clark.
Sister DeLourdes points to photographs of classes of children who attended the Kiltartan School.
A photograph from 1946 -- showing Sister DeLourdes (Mary Fahy) and her school mates.
School room in the KIltartan Gregory Musuem -- not unlike the country schools of the U.S.
School books from the past
This well-known photo which appeared in Life magazine has a local tie to Kiltartan. The man on the far left, Mattie O'Shaughnessy, was a pupil at the Kiltartan National School.
Photo which appeared in Life magazine -- iron workers on New York City's Rockefeller Building in 1930 -- include a native of Kiltartan.
School roll book, noting the name of Mattie O'Shaughnessy, one of the men in the iconic photo of iron workers pausing for lunch high above New York City.
This home was where Mary Swift McDonnell lived in 1911 when my great aunt Agnes Swift visited her. Mary was a first cousin to John C. Swift (she was a daughter of John's uncle, James Swift.)
Maggie's cottage near Kiltartan was once home to Mary Swift McDonnell. Agnes Swift, daughter of Mary's first cousin John Connell Swift, visited her here in 1911.
Loacation of the home of the "Castletown Swifts" (James Swift.)
Thanks to Oliver Cromwell's artillery, there is not much left of the old castle at Castletown. Known as Kiltartan Castle or Banninamantain Castle, it was built in the 13th Century but largely destroyed by Cromwell's forces in the 1650's.
Rosewood Cottage was (and is still) home to the Nolan family. My great grandfather John C. Swift often inquired in his letters about his friend William John Nolan.
At the village of Petersell. Some wells, once considered holy wells of water with curative powers, are not drinkable water today.
The old school at Peterswell
Church at Peterswell
Sister DeLourdes, returning home to the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Gort. Her day with us was an invaluable gift that I will treasure for years to come!
Sister DeLourdes pointed out, from the window of the convent, three small evergreen trees on an island which was the source of the name of the town of Gort. The name comes from 'Gort Inse Guaire' or 'garden of Guaire's island'. Guaire Aidhne was said to have been a 6th century King of Connacht whose palace was located at the curve of the Cannahowna / Gort river.
The chapel in the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, Gort. Once a much larger community of 70+ sisters, the group is very small today.
Upon the urging of Benny Downey, we made contact with his brothers, Father Martin Downey of Galway, who graciously joined us at dinner time at the Maldron Hotel.
Father Martin Downey, cousin to us and son of Brendan Downey, whom Mother met in 1980 on her trip to Ireland with Mike and Esther, points to a document he brought. It was a copy of the 1854 indenture paper for his 3x great grandfather, Patrick Cahill, to Sir William Gregory. Patrick married Ann Lynskey, the daughter of Catherine Connell (sister of my 2x great grandmother, Mary Connell.)
Sticky Toffee Pudding -- we saw it on the dessert menu several times and thought it sounded like something we needed, but we never got to try it.
I did not get enough of these, but the taste I did get confirmed that Guinness does indeed taste better in Ireland.
On the morning of Mother's birthday, we returned to Ballylee to celebrate her 93 years.
The tower at Ballylee, as seen from across the creek.
I encountered a W. B. Yeats devotee, who assumed I was part of the "Yeats Tour." He offered to sell me a T-shirt, but I explained that I was on a different kind of tour and asked if I might photograph the shirt instead.
Path through the woods at Ballylee, leading to the old mill. Photo by Annis Householder.
The Yeats devotee I met gave me a good tip to walk downstream to see the old mill at Thoor Ballylee. He said that "the locals" encouraged Yeats to use the mill as he was renovating the tower for his residence.
The stream was pretty but still shows some effects of the winter flooding tossing about large timbers in the creek.
A horse chestnut tree drapes across the stream near the old mill at Thoor Ballylee
Thoor Ballylee
Thoor Ballylee -- this part of the stream served as a film location for "The Quiet Man."
Roberta Wheelan Clark, on her 93rd birthday (May 19, 2016) at the site where her grandfather, John Connell Swift was born in the townland of Ballylee, Co. Galway, Ireland.
Roberta Wheelan Clark, on her 93rd birthday (May 19, 2016) at the site where her grandfather, John Connell Swift was born in the townland of Ballylee, Co. Galway, Ireland. The family home once stood somewhere in the green field behind her. There are no remnants of a house at this location.
Martha Clark, admiring a tiny blossom picked from the birthlace of her great-grandfather, John Connell Swift.