by Paul Gorry | Nov 22, 2021 | Aloysius, Aloysius Gonzaga, Aloysius O'Kelly, Forenames, James Joyce, John A Costello, Roman Catholics |
My second forename is Aloysius. Throughout my childhood, youth and middle age I kept it hidden from most people. I was embarrassed by it and I wasn’t a bit happy that my parents thought to lumber me with such an oddity. It took decades for me to come to terms with...
by Paul Gorry | Aug 20, 2021 | Ant and Dec, Baptists, Census Returns, Derry, DNA, Family History, Genealogical Virus, Genealogy, Graveyards, Kilcronaghan, Professional Genealogists, Television |
I’m led to believe that it was Mark Twain who said ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story’, but who knows? Who cares? Truth is a commodity much less valuable than perception. Get a celebrity into a graveyard, show him any old gravestone and tell him...
by Paul Gorry | Mar 21, 2019 | Catholic Qualification Rolls, Census Returns, Claire Santry, Convert Rolls, Databases, Eileen O'Byrne, Genealogy, National Archives Ireland, Penal Laws, Record Repositories, Roman Catholics, Wallace Clare |
In the last few weeks someone ‘Liked’ a Facebook post I published in September 2016. This made me read the post again and decide that it was worth repeating as a blogpost. Little has changed in the two and a half years since I first published the piece. ...
by Paul Gorry | Apr 20, 2018 | 1798, Baltinglass, Derrynamuck, Glen of Imaal, Graveyards, Kilranelagh, Local History, Michael Dwyer, Presbyterians, Religious Denominations, Sam McAllister, Stratford-on-Slaney, Weavers |
If you were to take a photograph to capture the essence of Baltinglass you might think of a general view of the town from the Carlow Road, or one of the Abbey from across the river. But you’re as likely to think of the McAllister monument as your symbol of...
by Paul Gorry | May 13, 2017 | Ancestral Lines, Baltinglass, Descent, Disney Family, Family History, Genealogy, Hacketstown, Jones Family, Methodists, Newtownsaunders, Walt Disney, Weavers' Square |
It’s well known that the family of Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse and all that sparkles, came from north Co. Kilkenny. But Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, had a very close connection with the Disney family. One of them lived in Baltinglass for many years. Mary...
