Ready to walk in my ancestors footsteps -- Tuesday June 11, 2013

Breakfast area at The Boulevard

We had  a really nice breakfast this morning in an old fashioned breakfast room. Our hostess was very amiable. The weather has turned overcast and there is a threat of rain today. 


We can't possibly complain.  We are told that rain or rain like days are totally the norm here in Ireland--which is why we are seeing such beautiful greenery!   



We left with a destination to drive to/thru Williamstown and Pollremon in County Galway--the Quinn area.  Williamstown is a small village located on the R360 regional road in the townland of Corralough in northeast County Galway, Ireland. The village is situated half way between Dunmore and Ballymoe in north County Galway. This is the area I have been most excited about on this trip...my ancestral land.  I know this type of thing does not really 'float Ed's boat' and since this is a trip for both of us, I am not pushing any genealogy agenda.  However, Ed says for a couple of days we can go all out for 'genealogy'.  YEAH!! 

We drove along the route to go toward the area of Pollremon, Williamstown, Glenamaddy. Never heard of the area?  I'm not surprised.  It is off the tourist path...just like Ed and I like it anyway! 



Cemetery in Pollremon

We found a cemetery in the Pollremon area that COULD have my QUINN ancestors or relatives  buried in it!  Ed is such a good sport.  He takes lots of pictures and we get thoroughly soaked sneakers as we traipse the cemetery.  In the end I don't think it is my Quinn's that are buried here, but it is certainly in this area that they farmed and made a living for a minimum of 60 years.  Good enough! I can feel that I 'walked in their footsteps'.




Fallon's B & B

I called ahead to Castlerea, the largest of the local towns, to a B & B recommended to me called Fallon's Bed & Breakfast.  They had room so we are booked for 2 nights.  And...we are the only guests--this is not exactly a tourist area:)  Extremely clean!  Nice big room. But their Internet connection is very intermittent.  A real drawback for me...and this blog!


This first day we are trying to simply get a lay of the land.  Try to see what my ancestors were surrounded with.  I know the Quinn's had leased land in Pollremon in the 1830's thru the 1890's...my Michael Quinn (great grandfather) left for England before 1877 where I found him marrying Annie Connolly who may have come from County Roscommon.  Why they left Ireland is a mystery, but we know that the land his father James leased in Pollremon was probably not terribly productive by then.  The Title Applotment Book indicates that the house was down by 1884.

Raspberry Meringue Roulade

We dropped off our dirty laundry at a laundromat in town that washes, dries and folds your clothes for you!  How decadent is that?

We had a late lunch (Lunner) at The Golden Eagle and went back again around 9 pm (still light out) for dessert...yum!  The dessert I had was a Raspberry Meringue Roulade.  IT WAS SPECTACULAR!   Now I have two new favorite desserts that I have to learn to make when I return home.

This area looks like a good spot and has beautiful rolling countryside hills.  It appears to be good farmland now...I wonder what happened in my great-great-grandparents time?