While my Chambers and Kilroy ancestors are from County Mayo, my Sherlock and Caffrey ancestors are from County Meath. Since I visited Islandeady (in County Meath) in both 2012 and on the current trip, I wanted to make sure that I also visited County Meath. Perhaps, I could see the townlands of Lady Rath and Demailestown, the hometowns of my great Grandfather Edward Sherlock.
In 1961, Grandpa Charlie visited the site of his father's (Edward Sherlock) childhood home in Demailestown. Above is a photo of him at that house.
Demailestown and Lady Rath are very close to one another. While they are listed as townlands, they are more like housing developments. So, think of a housing development in a rural setting with a few houses. Demailestown and Lady Rath are west of Drogheda, east of Kells, and north of Navan and Kilmessan. I looked at both Demailestown and Lady Rath on Google Earth and couldn't find a house like the one in the photo above. Of course, this photo was from 55 years ago and the house very likely could have been torn down and a new one built.
According to Grandma Theresa's diary, they visited Pat Sherlock's home and his cattle. They also visited the Carey's and Agnes Sherlock -- I am not sure which town-lands they lived in 1961. Then they visited Mary Glacken in Navan.
Trying to find these town-lands in Ireland in person is a lot harder than trying to locate places on Google Earth. Oh, if it could just be that easy! Of course, it didn't help that we didn't have GPS so it was rather like looking for a needle in a haystack! The roads were tiny rural roads and did not have a lot of signs. We drove past Lobinstown, Wilkinstown, Slane Castle and Navan. Lady Rath & Demailestown is to the east of Wilkinstown. So, alas, I did not actually get to see Lady Rath or Demailestown despite our efforts. Perhaps the only way this will ever happen is with a native guide who is familiar with these tiny town-lands.
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