Utah pilgrims visit Ireland, find their heritage

Intermountain Catholic/Christine Young

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Pilgrims from the group traveling with Monsignor Terence Moore climbed 127 steps to kiss the Blarney Stone to receive the gift of eloquent speech.

DUBLIN, Ireland — Monsignor Terence Moore, pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish, led 35 pilgrims from the Diocese of Salt Lake City through his homeland of Ireland. Msgr. Moore is from Laois, Ireland and throughout the trip the pilgrims met members of his family. The group traveled through Waterford, Kilarney, Galway, Connemara, Knock, Sligo, Donegal and Dublin.

"It's very special to come to Ireland and see the excitement in people from the various parishes when they see Ireland for the first time," Msgr. Moore said. "They keep telling me they like the hospitality of the people, the culture and meeting members of my family, who have been delighted to meet all of them."

Msgr. Moore's nephew Gerry Moore welcomed the pilgrims at Dublin Airport. His sister Dympna Canny greeted them in Kilarney, where some of the group climbed more than 100 stairs in the Blarney Castle to the legendary Blarney Stone, which is said to bestow the gift of eloquent speech on those who kiss it. Canny was delighted to see her brother and meet the group, including one from South Dakota, one from Spokane and two from North Carolina.

As the pilgrims traveled clockwise around the Emerald Isle through a panorama of coastal and mountain scenery, through golden beaches, quaint villages, rural farms, the Cliffs of Moher and the rugged Atlantic shore, they learned the history of Ireland from the tour guide, who also was the bus driver. They heard how Saint Patrick was abducted by Irish raiders as a young man and sold into slavery and how he was a missionary in 5th-century Ireland. They also learned about their ancestors who settled Ireland.

Before leaving the States, Thomas Martin Best wasn't sure he would be able to find his Irish roots, but after arriving he located a Martin Best in a Galway phone book. Best and his wife, Marie, are former parishioners of St. John the Baptist. They now live in North Carolina.

"The person in the phone book was my cousin," Best said, adding that his grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were all named Martin Best. "My cousin lives in Attychree in Sligo County in the same house as my three grandfathers. My great-grandfather married twice and had eight children with his first wife and four children with his second wife."

"The name is Best, but the family name was O'Hare," said Best. "Some centuries back there were five brothers; they were the best horsemen, the best fighters, the best drinkers and so they became the Best boys. My grandfather came to America and to Pennsylvania to work in the coal mines."

In Sligo, Best also spoke to a woman from Attychree, Ireland, who attended the wedding of his cousin's niece. Gosie McDonagh of Attychree was in the Sligo hotel the same evening as Best.

"It's serendipity," Best said.

Others on the trip were interested in hearing the history of Ireland to tie in with their ancestors.

Pat Clinton's family comes from northern Dublin. They immigrated to Iowa during the potato famine, he said.

Sisters Nancy Barber's and Judy McGuire's grandmother immigrated to Butte, Mont., from County Cork, where she became a hotel maid before marrying and having six children.

Mariclare Klein's family is mostly from Achill Island in County Mayo, she said. "The family name was Reagan."

Kaycee McDermet's mother is Irish and she said that is where she gets her freckles.

Donna Bojanowski also noticed Irish characteristics like hair color and other features that gave her an ?aha moment,' she said, adding the family names are Dowd and Kohler. "My mother's family comes from the western farm lands of Ireland," Bojanowski said.

Lindsey Marriott's maternal great-grandmother and great-grandfather were born and raised in Queen's County, or Laois, the same county where Msgr. Moore was raised and where he spent the last day of the tour with his family and his brother John on the family farm.