SOME MUSINGS ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Of course, on St. Patrick's Day, I think about my Irish ancestors.  The above photo is my Dad, his eldest brother Chuck, his mother Theresa (she was 100% German), his older brother Edmund and his father Charles Sherlock (whose both parents were born in Ireland).  The photo was taken in 1945 or 1946.

While I don't have a photo of my Irish great grandmother Bridget Elizabeth Chambers, I do have a few of my Irish great grandfather Edward Sherlock. The one below is probably my favorite one of him. It is very sad that my Grandpa Charlie never got to know his father Edward since Edward died from tuberculosis when Charlie was just 1 years old.

Every St. Patrick's Day since my trip to Ireland in 2012, I think about seeing Croagh Patrick from Islandeady (the childhood town of my great grandmother Bridget).  While I loved seeing the remains of the old church in Islandeady, it was not the church that Bridget attended since it was in ruins in the 1600's.  She probably attended St. Patrick's Catholic Church, which is the current parish in Islandeady.  St. Patrick's is on my list of places to visit on my next trip to Ireland.

Well, enough musing for now, I think it is time to go eat some Guinness Stew, which is my family's St. Patrick's Day dinner tradition.

REEK SUNDAY

Twenty thousand people climbed Croagh Patrick today to celebrate the annual Reek Sunday pilgrimage.  The large group of hikers was led by the Archbishop of Tuam.  According to the legend, Saint Patrick climbed this mountain in 441 and fasted for 40 days.  This is also the spot, according to legend, where he drove the snakes out of Ireland.

In 2012, was the first time that I saw Croagh Patrick.  I was standing in the parking lot of the old Islandeady Cemetery and could see it to our west.  Let me give proper thanks to my brother Danny for not only pointing it out at the time but also giving us a brief  history lesson about the mountain and St. Patrick.