Today was a quieter day, with me hoping to be rid of this pesky cold.
We drove into Nenagh, and visited the castle, of which only the 12th century keep is intact. We climbed to the top of the keep and enjoyed the views over Nenagh and surrounding countryside.
After the castle, we walked across the street to visit my cousin, Nora, at work in the Genealogy Centre and Museum. I was like a kid in a candy store! The building was originally part of a prison, and later part of a convent, but now houses the North Tipperary Genealogy Centre and a small museum.
Nora pointed me to a few useful websites, provided some record information and a copy of an article that she had written about Mucklin. So I went away happy, and Nora continued with her work.
In the afternoon we visited 3 local cemeteries (Dolla, Ballinaclough and Templederry), on the off chance of finding some snippet of family information, but also just to visit the areas that my family lived in, back in the mid-1800s.
Nora asked me a few days ago if I felt a connection to the land here, and I told her that I did not really, but that I did feel a connection with the people, as I see my family surnames everywhere - Ryan (commonest surname in Ireland), Gleeson, Slattery, etc. feature prominently on storefronts, vehicles and of course gravestones. I definitely felt a stronger connection to my Cosgraves' land in Belfast, when we visited there several years ago....perhaps because it relates to my surname, and this area does not (being my mother's family). Nevertheless I enjoy being here and seeing where my ancestors lived, laboured and expired.
We spent a relaxing evening in front of the fire, watched a little TV, and read, before hitting the hay.
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