Yesterday was a fantastic day, even in spite of the cold!!!!! Was drizzly for a good part of the day but spirits were high and we got on with the job of tracing our roots and enjoying the company of all our newest best friends!!!
Mass at Silvermines was really amazing - the choir was brilliant and the Kennedys were given a great welcome by the priest. Was a lovely service and the final hymn was the Battle Hymn of the Republic which was brilliant.
A convoy of cars (mostly rental ones!) then went up to Steppe, a lookout point above Silvermines where you can see for miles. Back then for a drive into Balina to look at a cemetery which is home to some dead rellies, Across the river in Killaloe we visited an ancient church and the Protestant church which is renowned for it's accoustics and style. Lunch had been arranged at a pub so we all enjoyed sandwiches, tea & coffee.
A walking tour of Nenagh was arranged with a guide in the afternoon. We learned a lot of the local history and what a fighting force the Kennedys were, way back centuries ago! Stopped in front of the house in Mitchell St where my grandmother, Johanna, grew up after the family returned from Boston. Jacinta, George and I then had a drink in the little pub, The Quill, which now occupies one of the frontages formerly owned by the Kennedys and Starrs all those years ago.
Dinner at night was at The Thatched Cottage, a couple of miles from Nenagh. Lovely meal, great company & lots of reminiscing. Afterwards we all drove back to the Eagle's Nest pub at Dolla for a singalong and final farewells. Dolla John sang a couple of Irish ballads and the Australian contingent sang 'We are Australian', Waltzing Matilda and the National anthem. Then the Irish sang their National anthem!
A late night for us, an even later night for Jacinta!!!
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