Family Tree Nuts
Many have called this library, the “Harry Potter Library” because it looks very similar to the one in the very popular movies. When you first walk into the Long Room it is breathtaking and you feel like you have stepped back in time to some magical place. Over 200,000 books, marble busts of great thinkers,…
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It’s been called “the nerve center of historical power in Ireland”. There have been defenses built here since the time of the Vikings, at least one thousand years ago. Parts of the original castle built eight centuries ago still stand and since its construction has been the location of major historical events in Ireland. This…
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Alright, sing with me! In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone, as she wheeled her wheel-barrow, through the streets broad and narrow, crying “cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh! Alive, alive, oh, alive, alive oh, crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh. …
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Love, Loyalty and Friendship. Those three powerful words make up the meaning of the ring worn throughout five different centuries, by millions of Irish, and those of us with Celtic ancestry. Even if you haven’t had one yourself, chances are you have seen someone wearing one, or at least seen the image somewhere. It has…
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It’s one of the most popular castles in the world and certainly in Ireland. Its magical mysticism and legends draw us into its colorful history making it a place of pilgrimage over the ages just to share in its blessings. The locations name is associated with fairy’s, witches, biblical characters, royalty, medieval battles, knights, dungeons,…
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For centuries they stood on the deck of countless ships and took their last few looks at Paddy’s green shamrock shore. Some of them were excited about the new adventure and the fortunes that they would soon find. Others eyes were filled with tears as they left their loved ones and all they have ever…
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The main things that most people want to know about their ancestors and family tree is, where did we come from, and when did we emigrate to the United States. Finding out these answers tells us what nationality, or nationalities that we will take pride in and begin to better understand ourselves. Once we find…
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President Abraham Lincoln said, “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky”. During the Civil War, Kentucky was an important border state that was heavily fought over by both north and south. The state supplied thousands of men for both sides and a few key battles determined its fate. Many…
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The Scots-Irish are a unique group of people that have their roots in Lowland Scotland, who emigrated to Northern Ireland, often mixing with the native Irish, and then around a quarter million of them emigrated to the United States, usually to the back country of Appalachia. This article is a transcript of a lecture given…
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Jenny Wiley is a name that is very well known in Appalachian folklore and her story while shocking, is unfortunately true. On October 1, 1789, on Walker’s Creek, Bland County, Virginia, the Wiley cabin was attacked by a mixed-tribe band of Native Americans. Jenny’s brother and three of her children were immediately killed, and she…
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