In my last post, I was sightseeing
during my stay in Galway, visiting the magnificent Cliffs of Moher and The
Burren. So, our next day was to be a “free
day” in Galway. I suggested to my 3
traveling companions that instead of shopping (Gasp!) that we instead rent a
car and let my husband drive us up to County Mayo and more specifically the
town of Castlebar. Ron had done such a
wonderful job of driving in Southern Ireland!
After some cajoling or maybe they just felt sorry for me, they indulged
me in my “genealogical” wish and I will always be grateful for this most
memorable day.
I selected Castlebar since it was the
county seat of County Mayo and nearby to the town of Islandeady. My great grandmother Bridget Chambers was
born in an area known as Letter in the Islandeady area. Castlebar is the large town near
Islandeady. I wasn't sure we would be
able to find Islandeady or convince them to look for it, so Castlebar seemed
like a great compromise.
Castlebar was less than 2 hours
northeast of Galway, especially when Ron “Mario Andretti” was driving us. We arrived in town with no specific idea
where we heading next when we decided to stop at McDonald’s for a soda. Look what is behind the McDonald’s! It is the Old Castlebar Cemetery! Wow, I couldn't have planned it any better than that. My fellow companions were more than happy to
explore the cemetery with me. I gave
them instructions on what names to look for – Chambers, Feehan, and Kilroy. I didn’t know if any of those people buried
there would be related to me but I could sort that out later. Just take photos of the headstones of any
possible relatives.
They
were so intent on finding gravestones that after a half hour, I lost both my
brother and husband. The cemetery isn’t
that large! Oh, well, Ginya and I
decided to explore the Mayo Peace Park, which is at the front of the
cemetery. The Mayo Peace Park
commemorates the men and women who fell in the World Wars of the last
century. I need to put a footnote here –
Ireland was neutral in World War II.
Again I took lots of photos and decided I could find out later if any of
these fallen soldiers were relatives of mine.
I’m very happy we just found this place “by accident”.
We found Ron and Danny but where do we
go from here? I have another idea …
