Report on a visit to Gort

My mother, sisters and I just returned from a wonderful visit to Gort. We had expert assistance from Sister DeLourdes Fahy during our visit and beforehand, as we learned many new connections to our ancestors and living relatives in Co Galway.

Mother's grandfather, John Connell Swift, was born in 1831 at Ballylee, and he emigrated to America in 1851 with his sister, Mary Anna Swift. Their brother Martin and sister Bridget had come to the U.S. three years earlier.

This visit was an incredibly special trip not only because we were able to learn so much more about our ancestors than we ever knew in the past and were therefore better able to understand the connections to the many places Sister DeLourdes showed us, but also because we celebrated my mother's 93rd birthday at the birthplace of her grandfather. It was a very special and fulfilling time for us.

For those who are interested in more detail about our trip, I created a website with a full account of our travels and our family story, with photos and video of places we visited. You can access it at this link: http://mollydaniel.net/ireland/default.html

I am also uploading a photo of our group in Coole Park (a spot we very much enjoyed!) - from left, myself (Molly Daniel), Annis Householder, Sara Burrus (our sister Martha Clark was taking the photo), Sister DeLourdes Fahy and our mother, Roberta Clark.