Yes, This Will Be On the Test

Writing, Reading, Laughing

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I is for Ireland


Twenty-Six Days of Creative Inspiration


A long time ago in Ireland, when potato farmers were facing failure, my O'Sullivan ancestors came over to America.

Cut to many years later and I'm sitting on a plane next to a lovely woman from Ireland. Turns out she was from County Cork where my Irish family had lived. I asked her a million questions which she patiently answered. She shared that the O'Sullivans were  a well thought of family, AND...
wait for it...
There is actually an O'Sullivan Castle.

How cool is that? There's a castle in the family. Apparently it has turned into a fixer-uper (see above picture), but I am dying to see it. I want to walk through that stone arch and explore. I'll bet story ideas will ooze from every stone.

I've always been drawn to Ireland to visit the place my family hails from. The pictures I've seen of the countryside look like a slice of perfect. It's the land of leprechauns, and best of all - no snakes. Who could ask for a better point of origin?

It's time to load my backpack with a sketchbook, camera, and journal and head over to the Emerald Isle.

Is there a special place from your family's history that you have the itch to go visit?

Click on the Blogging From A to Z Challenge logo in the sidebar to access the links to all the superheroes participating in this blog hop.

14 comments:

  1. My mother's side of the family, the McClures, is Irish, yet despite growing up in England I have yet to visit!

    Get on that plane!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now you made me want to visit Ireland. I have a very special Irish friend Maria.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I visited Cork during my last trip in August. Very pretty city!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I want to go too so I can say I visited my friend's castle!!! We have to do a haunted sleepover there or something. I would love to visit Hungary some day, that's the part of my family history that intrigues me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aren't there vampires in Hungary? We'll have to take lots of garlic.

      Delete
  5. Man! I want to visit Ireland too!
    Happy A-Zing!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, that is so amazing.!! My ancestors from both sides of the family are Irish descendants! ( I was Pat Kelly)...kinda, sorta, maybe a bit Irish!! Love your blog and am now a follower!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have Irish ancestors too. No castle though. Have a great trip!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My parents emigrated from Scotland - I went when I was in high school - but I'd love to go back :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is too cool! I'm uber *jealous* of your family's castle. And what a small world we live in...what are the odds?

    Great story!

    Can I tag along in your luggage?;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have a County Cork ancestor too -- my great-grandmother Mary Theresa Sheehan Walsh. A trip to Ireland is on my wish list (and Pinterest board!). Visiting from AtoZ.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You definitely have to visit your castle. That is so cool!

    ReplyDelete
  12. My family also came over during the potato famine, and I yearn to go. I will have to see if the Kennedy's have a castle, too. How cool is that! I also have Welsh and English roots, and plan on making a grand tour some day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I would have to do some in-depth ancestral research to dig beyond where my great-grandmother lived. And I've been there. So not itching to trek back to the countryside of Arkansas.

    Now Ireland, get a chance to hear some strong accents and lively events amid rolling green hills. That sounds sort of fun.

    ReplyDelete