As I was in France till the end of July this year, it was a bit of an effort to get to Ireland for the meeting at Birr, County Offaly – but was it worth it? Of course it was and Ciaran and Collette Dalton did a wonderful job in organising such a memorable week-end.
It was good also to be one of 4 Australian delegates at the meeting. Jilly Warren and I were booked into the Maltings Guest House and both our rooms had views to the river and were very spacious and comfortable. Breakfast there was a meeting in itself as we met Velma Boudreau from Newfoundland, Tom and Carol Daulton from Alaska and Pat and Geoffrey Robinson from Cambridge - an international collection plus our Irish hosts.
Several members have already written their stories of Birr but Jilly, Velma and I took a side trip to Ballinasloe rather than Athlone on the Sunday afternoon. One of Jilly’s forebears had been a jockey there and it is very much a part of the Galway Race week and there is a large bronze statue of a jockey with his horse in the centre of the town. It was a beautiful day and a treat to wander around this west Irish place and to walk along one of the canals and cross an ancient stone bridge. Many of us have Irish ancestry but not in the Dalton line and I do not tire of spending time in Ireland and soaking up the atmosphere even though research progress is slow for me. Caught by the history perhaps!
We have a lot to live up to in Australia after many successful Dalton Gatherings and I am sure that Orange, New South Wales in March 2009 will be another such occasion.
Maureen Collins, Australian Secretary
Mel, You asked for a reply or comments on the Birr Gathering this year. Well I have started to answer several times now, but each time I get saturated with all of the events we experienced on our 26 day tour of England, Wales, then Ireland followed with a visit to Scotland and down back through England and back again to Dublin and Birr Ireland. It was a lot to take in all at one time. I must say that the Birr trip was a good finishing touch to the long tour. It was really a good chance to meet not only some of the Daltons and to put a face to the names I have read about, or e-mailed, but by being in the centre of Ireland and in a rural setting it was a chance to see up close some of my Irish friends as well as the Dalton friends. I was astonished to find out that Ireland had a world class telescope in the mid 1800, long before other nations, then to top it all off the tour of Clonmacnoise and to realize all of the people who were touched by the events and times of that location for the many centuries. The mind can only wonder at the emotions they must have felt, the joy, peace, dreams, love and success to down right fear and terror of all the invaders and attacks they dealt with as they lived their lives there on the River Shannon. I did set out to understand the meaning and purpose of the Celtic cross while on this trip and the time at Clonmacnoise answered that. As far as the location of the meeting it was excellent to actually seeing real Irish people in a place were they live and work, in hotels, bed and breakfasts, retail store keepers, customers and waiters. A very good opportunity, I must say. As for the Gathering, it was very much worth the time and money spent there. I now can see Michael Dalton's face and demeanor as I hear or read about him. The same applies for all of the other officers as I hear of or from them as well. I was impressed with our Clan Chieftian Ciaran Dalton, a good choice was made there. He has a leader quality about him that shows him to be a caring and humble person, who is outgoing and personable, a good combination. And when I left the States I wanted for sure, to see and know the clan colours and dress, much as the Scottish have (naive American) only to find out there are none. Which seems very Irish, at that. All in all it was very Good Experience. Hope to do it again some day.
Tom and Carol Daulton, Alaska
Thank you to Ciaran, Collette, Michael, Kate and all
others involved in organising the D.G.S. Gathering at Birr, County Offaly
in August.
It was wonderful once again to meet up with the members I had met at previous
D.G.S. Gatherings and delightful to see so many new faces.
One of the many highlights of the weekend was having Ciaran and Collette
entertaining us with their music on Saturday and Sunday evening. After
dinner on Saturday night Ciaran managed to get many of us face to face
doing the "Siege of Ennis" which is an Irish dance. I assure
you, it really was a battle with our partners at times. All in all lots
of fun and laughter.
Every year the D.G.S Gathering is an experience not to be missed and I
hope all those who attend Orange, NSW, Australia in 2009 will have a wonderful
time.
Helen Smith, Australia
My mother and I had an enjoyable time at the Birr Gathering. It was great to renew acquaintances and to meet new Daltons who came from so many distant places. Also, many thanks to Michael and Ciaran for their successful organization of the event.
Eric Dalton and Karen Dalton, USA
Our thoughts about the Birr Gathering were principally that it was an excellent choice of place to have it and we enjoyed the town and the hotel where we were so well looked after. The Irish evenings were certainly memorable; it was so nice to meet and get to know the members of the Irish Clan so ably led by Ciaran. The visits were well chosen and Clonmacnoise was fascinating and our excellent guide provided an interesting commentary. The afternoon visit to the Shannonbridge Bog Railway was quite a contrast and an eye opener to the way the peat is cut collected and processed. Altogether another great success very much due to the faultless organisation.
Geoffrey and Jane Dalton, England
My thoughts of the gathering!
The weather was decidedly better than the last time we were in Ireland!
I learnt so much about a tiny bit of Ireland's very interesting history
but most of all the Gathering was made special by the company we had.
I felt privileged to be part of the Family and that is how I look on the
Gatherings now as meeting up with members of the family even if I haven't
met them before! I look forward to meeting old and new members of 'The
Family' at the next Gathering!
Pam and Dave Lynam, England
A personal report on the Dalton Genealogical Gathering
Birr, Co. Offaly, Ireland
August 1st 2nd 3rd 2008
Birr is an historic town in the centre of Ireland. There is The Birr Stone marking the exact centre of Ireland to prove it. Anyway it is in central Ireland and boasts a castle, with its 50 acre demesne and Scientific museum, well preserved Georgian malls, nice little shops, leafy walks along the Camcor River, converted distillery and an ancient staging post now Dooly’s Hotel which was the centre for our activities. A public holiday on Monday ensured a generous weekend of genealogy and various frivolous activities.
For my cousin Helen Smith and myself, the gathering provided two serendipitous connections.
The program of activities began on Friday afternoon in the demesne of Castle Birr where a number of DGS members strolled between showers. If I lived in Birr I would demand daily access to the demesne of Birr Castle. These beautiful grounds are owned by the current 9th Earl of Rosse, reputedly absent in China with his Chinese wife for the birth of his son. He and members of the family still live in the castle but not having sufficient funds to restore and maintain the gardens, allow Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Scheme to assist with the massive undertaking.
It is early days and the grounds are somewhat wild and perhaps this is part of the seduction. There are gardens within gardens – a formal garden, 500 year old wild flower meadows, a lake, a bridge, a waterfall, Victorian glasshouses and hundreds and hundreds of significant trees from many parts of the world-all too much to see in a few hours. On the day we visited rolls of golden silage lay on the wide meadows like sculptured installations imitating the circular tube of the World Famous Telescope, strange and wondrous structure which dominates these fields. Created by the third Earl of Rosse (William Parsons) in the 1840’s- the largest telescope in the world for 70 years restored for a cost of €1.3 million, it now works as well as it did when the Earl discovered Whirpool Nebula 51 which proved the existence of galaxies other than ours.
For a brief instant walking through the columns of lime trees in the Whirlpool Spiral looking up into the leaves you can imagine the awe and wonder felt when 150 years ago the Earl looking in his great telescope discovered the Whirlpool Nebula, M51, -all those stars!
The demesne simultaneously creates a great calm and sense of purpose, a most appropriate beginning to the DGS weekend gathering in Birr.
In the evening, a meal in Dooly’s Hotel provided
a chance to renew acquaintanceships and meet new members from as far away
places like as Argentina and Alaska, Florida, New Zealand, Ireland and
UK before the business of DGS began on Saturday morning in the Cumberland
Room.
I was delighted to meet Mike and Kate Dalton from UK, Mike being a member
of Group B genealogical family, with an ancestor trail back to Athea in
Limerick close to where Helen Smith and I have relatives. Although we
cannot find a documented connection apart from the DNA studies, Helen
and I decided Mike does bear a resemblance to our cousin Leo Dalton.
Chairman Michael Neale Dalton guided the proceedings
with its various reports and informative, entertaining address by Irish
Secretary Cairan Dalton about Richard Dalton Williams.
Maureen Collins and Helen Smith from Australia were called upon to give
the latest developments on arrangements for the March 2009 DGS gathering
in Orange, New South Wales, Australia in and around Duntryleague the former
family home of James Dalton, son of James Dalton of Limerick. This aroused
much interest and we know of one UK couple who have already booked their
tickets.
In the afternoon after an illustrated talk we undertook a guided walk with local historian Margaret Hogan visiting the various sights including the restored heritage Convent of Mercy which now houses the Birr library and Civic offices. Here we had our first moment of connection. Helen in talking to Margaret discovered that she is the great niece of Sr Mary Perpetua Walsh, a Mercy nun who taught at the Academy of Mary Immaculate in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia where we both attended school, and where Sr M. Perpetua had guided me through Leaving, Yr, 11 and Matriculation, Yr. 12. We are now in the process of sharing memorabilia about Margaret’s great aunt.
Helen Smith, Margaret Hogan and Wendy Fleming
at Birr Library in the historic renovated Mercy Convent
When we came home we calculated there were 7 Dalton descendants who went to the Academy.
After the Gathering Dinner at Dooly’s and charity
raffle (proceeds to the British Heart Foundation in memory of Lucy Slater)
the Irish Secretary Cairan Dalton took over leading us into a night of
Irish entertainment.
The first treat came with traditional piper Dave Hegarty who entertained
and fascinated all with his playing of the Uilleann Pipes. This was our
second moment of connection when we were able to tell Dave about grandfather
Richard Dalton b.1868 Abbeyfeale, Limerick who used to play the pipes
for the Irish community in South Melbourne and St Patrick Day events in
the Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne. He was always making reeds for
the pipes. We were impressed when Dave looked at the photo of Richard
and commented ‘You can tell by the way he holds the pipes he knew
his instrument’. We are sending Richard’s details to Dave
for his database of Irish pipers.
Pipes and Fiddle
Cairan Dalton plays a number of musical instruments so accompanied by his wife Collette on keyboard led the evening’s entertainment. Very soon we were tapping our feet or dancing. Just about everyone managed to get up and take part in the waltzes, foxtrots, Seige of Ennis set dance or a progressive barn dance. The award for ballroom dancing must go to John and Sheila Dalton - they were truly light on their feet, and for set dancing it would be hard to go beyond Kathleen M. Casey from NZ (Dalton ancestor from Co Kerry or maybe Co Limerick) although Helen Smith from Australia, Paddy and Pat Dalton from Meath, were also in the running or should it be dancing? .No one expired on the dance floor although I thought I might.
Sunday morning we went to Clonmacnoise site of a huge Abbey and scholastic community dating from 800s. A great morning among the ruins beside the Shannon.
Maureen at Clonmacnoise
Formalities closed with an excellent dinner at Thatch restaurant in Crinkle and more frivolity- this time singing. The depth of singing talents is yet to be fully measured however with songs from Paddy Dalton, Maureen Collins, Catherine Dalton and others.
Not everyone stayed the distance!!
Jilly Warren resting her eyes!
Is it too much to imagine it was because of our shared name that we go on so well all and entered into the spirit of the weekend?
Our experience of life in mid-Ireland was not yet finished as guests at Dooly’s experienced a noisy night from riotous guests of a wedding party (one of many that weekend) and a break- in at 3 am by three local lads looking for liquor. Helen and I slept through it.
Thanks must go to our chairman Michael Dalton for his considerable organisational efforts to arrange the gathering, and to Cairan Dalton, Irish Secretary for his address and coordination of entertainment all of which ensured a most enjoyable and entertaining weekend. Monday we made our farewells and now look forward to the next Gathering 15th March 2009 in Orange, NSW, Australia.
Wendy Fleming, Australia
It was lovely to meet you. I have only just returned
from OS (11/09/2008) having visited Ireland, England, France and Japan.
I really enjoyed the conference and meeting more Daltons and their retinue,
especially Irish ones in their own surroundings. I also enjoyed each person’s
family story, bridges yet to cross and their successful research so far.
I enjoyed the Irish food and countryside but not the rain which managed to follow me after I left Birr and toured Ireland for 10 more days.
Whilst at the Gathering I detoured via Balinasloe (Galway)
on my way back to Birr from Athlone and the Sunday luncheon. My father
Aubrey Dalton's mother’s father was a Patrick Kelly and we have
traced this family to Balinasloe in the very early 1800's. I took some
great pictures of the ubiquitous stone walls, black faced sheep and stone
cottages and have details to contact the Catholic Priest there.
I really enjoyed my accommodation in the Maltings at Birr, terrific breakfasts
and the delight of the river flowing gently passed the building where
I could hang out the window and watch the ducks socialising.
When I left the Gathering I made a dash with Howard Dalton to Abbeyleix
(South before I headed North) on my way back to Dublin where I photographed
Heywood Gardens the surviving garden of a great house which burned down
in the 1920's. Heywood has significance in Australia because of a property
near where I live is named after it. As development progresses here local
historians and I are trying to have this new development named Heywood.
My photos I hope will help our lobbying.
In Dublin I met up with an Australian friend and spent another 10 days
travelling around Ireland in the rain, just managing to miss the floods.
Places that I was most interested in were Down Cathedral and St. Patrick’s
Museum, Belfast, The Giant's Causeway (the only day that was fine), Westport
and Newcastle. At the tail end of our tour I even managed a few hours
in Enniscorthy of particular interest to me because of Vinegar Hill and
the 1798 Uprising. I managed to get a few photos of Vinegar Hill and the
Black Stair Mountains. Many of the political prisoners from this uprising
were deported to NSW where in March 1804 they rose again, unfinished business
with the English from 1798. In Australia this uprising is known as the
Battle of Vinegar Hill and it took place very close to where I lived for
40 years. In recent times we have managed to get the area designated as
the Historic Area of Vinegar Hill of 7 square kilometres. It now boasts
a Memorial, a Reserve, a road and a Library all named Vinegar Hill.
Jilly Warren nee Dalton, Australia
Being there for the gathering at Birr: It is indeed the heart of Ireland – people, buildings – olde, renovated and new, with so much to experience in a relaxed atmosphere within easy walking and driving distance. Kudos to DGS founder Michael Neale and Irish bard Ciaran for making things happen in a smooth, coordinated manner and for providing an irish rendition of American Idol and Dancing with the stars.
Mike Dalton, Oregon, USA
Birr, what a Gathering!
A time to renew acquaintances (it didn’t seem a year since our last meeting in Worcester). A time to make new friends from across the world, Alaska to New Zealand. Memories of the Georgian townhouse where we stayed, the elegant homes of Birr, the Thatch at Crinkle where music and singing filled the air. A time to listen to each other’s Dalton family stories spurring us on to find that elusive male living Dalton. (We are getting closer and hopefully more news after our further trip to Ireland in November).
A time to say thanks to everyone for their friendship.
Mel and Dairne Irwin, England
