INTRODUCING MY CHILDREN TO THE TOWN OF ISLANDEADY

It was important to me that my son and daughter got the opportunity to visit Islandeady (the home town of my great grandmother Bridget Chambers) while on our trip to Ireland.  So on our first full day in County Mayo, we drove to Bilberry Lake -- located near N5 road, halfway between Castlebar and Westport.  We drove down a narrow country road -- thank heavens for signs!  From there we could see the Old Islandeady Cemetery on a hill, across the lake.  I love how lovely and peaceful this lake is, surrounded by green trees, green hills and green grass.

After admiring the view of the lake and taking lots of photos, we drove over to the Old Islandeady Cemetery.  From the parking lot of the cemetery, you can see Croagh Patrick, where according to legend, Saint Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland.  The four of us walked through the cemetery and to the ruins of St. Eiden's Church, located on the shores of Bilberry Lake,

St. Eiden's Church has been in ruins since the penal times and was restored in the 1990's.  Of course we took photos to commemorate my kids' first visit to Islandeady!

We then drove a short distance to St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Islandeady.  This was my first visit to St. Patrick's.  According to legend, St. Patrick preached on the shores of the lake on his way to the holy mountain in 440 AD so hence the name of this church. The roof of this church was originally

thatched but the church building was slated in 1849.  Other improvements and upgrades have been made since then.  This was a very meaningful visit for me since this was the church that my 2nd great grandparents Thomas Chambers and Ann Kilroy Chambers attended Mass on Sundays and where their children, including my great grandmother Bridget Chambers was baptized. It is so exciting to me when I can actually walk in their "footprints".  It makes me a little sad, though, to think that my Dad and Grandpa never got to visit this place.  I think they would have enjoyed the peaceful lake, the old church ruins and just knowing that Bridget grew up not far from here.

Note:  This is my 200th post in this Home of Sherlocks blog and thought it was very fitting that it would be about Islandeady.

ISLANDEADY -- BIRTHPLACE OF BRIDGET CHAMBERS

        

         After leaving Castlebar in County Mayo (yeah, I know it has been a few months since my last post – I just hate it when life gets in the way of my genealogy research! ), I convinced my fellow travelers that perhaps we could look for the small town of Islandeady, where my great grandma Bridget was born and raised.    We saw a sign saying Islandeady and thought perhaps we had missed it but then we saw another sign for a turnoff that read, “Bilberry Lake and Islandeady Cemetery”.  Wow, I think we found the pot of gold!  I had heard that the place was a “wild rural area” but was delighted in what I saw.

We drove down this narrow country road – only room for one car’s width -– for about a mile and then saw this lovely, peaceful lake surrounded by green hills with green trees and green grass.  It was Bilberry Lake.   Across the lake we could see a cemetery on the hillside.  The four of us got out of the car and took some photos.  It looked like there was a huge cow on the top of the hill (at the top of the cemetery). My brother told me that it was a statue.  I told him I saw the cow move its tail.  He told me that was another animal behind it.

          Although it looked like the cemetery was across the lake, the country road actually led us directly to the cemetery.  Never did I imagine discovering my great grandmother’s hometown would look like this!  The Islandeady Cemetery is on the side of a hill.  Of course, we need to explore it. I love all the large monumental headstones!  Some were very old and extremely hard to read.  After we visited the cemetery (we found several graves of Chambers but no immediate ancestors) and saw that the cow on the top of the hill was REAL, we went to explore the ruins of the church next to the cemetery. 

          St. Eiden’s Church was built in the early 13^th century.  The East window is Gothic.  It has been in ruins since penal times and is surrounded by massive famine graves.  The church was restored in the 1990’s.  Near the church is an oak tree that was planted to commemorate the famine victims in unmarked graves. 

 From the church and cemetery you can see Crough Patrick, which is a mountain and means St. Patrick’s stack.  Reportedly, St. Patrick fasted on this summit for 40 days during the 5^th century and built a church there.  The legend is that this is where St. Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland.  I absolutely love that this story of St. Patrick takes place almost in my great grandmother’s “backyard”!