February 11th: I speak to the local genealogist

I was in a bit of a funk this morning after weighing myself so Ruben persuaded me to go into town and speak with the local genealogist, John Tuohy. We were first informed about Mr. Tuohy by the local grocer at Moroney's. We stopped into the grocer's again this morning and he asked if we had spoken with Mr. Tuohy. When we said that we had not, he offered to call Mr. Tuohy, which he did and we popped round next door to speak with Mr. Tuohy. I told Mr. Tuohy that I was seeking the birth village of my ancestors, the Brownriggs who emigrated around 1853 to Quebec, Canada. There was John Brownrigg, who was born about 1783 and his children, John, George, William, and Anastasia. Mr Tuohy said that he had only heard of that surname once before and it was of a Catholic Bishop Ossuary for Waterford who lived around 1920. We then chatted about the services in Waterford and he recommended that I call first before going there. He said that they had baptismal records going back to 1780. Unfortunately, a lot of records were lost in the revolution of 1920.

February 4th: Dublin to Clogheen

Since we didn't get to sleep until about 4am this morning, we didn't awake until about 12:30pm. We quickly showered and got downstairs to catch the 1pm shuttle to the airport so that we could pick up our rental car. Ruben and I were busy memorizing the route we took because we'd have to drive back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Our shuttle driver was kind enough to drop us off right at the Hertz rental car door. And the Hertz rental man was so nice. I really should have gotten more photographs of people. With a smile and a wink, he said to Ruben, "You Americans drive on the right side of the road but we drive on the correct side of the road."

February 5th: a day in Clogheen

February 9th: to Waterford

February 10th: to Cahir Castle

We had lunch today at The Hermitage House - a special treat for Ruben and I. This restaurant has been recommended to us by the owner of the rental property and several people from the village of Clogheen. We were the only ones in the restaurant and so got to pick which table to eat at.

Ruben and I both chose roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with strawberry mousse for dessert. The mashed potatoes and gravy were delicious. We were also served Irish soda bread which I've never particularly cared for. I told Ruben that the dwarfs in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series carry dwarf bread with them on all their travels because of its multitude of benefits: it can be used as a weapon and, because it is so hard and tastes like cement, you will eat just about anything else in order to avoid eating dwarf bread.

February 6th: a side trip to Clonmel

After a chilly night at Moonlight, we woke up and wandered around outside the house. It was too dark and drizzling too much last night to clearly see our surroundings. The backyard overlooks a farm while across the street is a delightful sheep farm. Today's excursion was to Clogheen on a mission to obtain the proper power converters and to fill the larder with groceries for the week. I never thought that I would miss a Benny's store as much as I do right now. We're back home by 2pm and we're both online and working remotely!

February 7th: Moonlight at Clogheen

The flowers are called Snowdrops. The roads are very narrow and Ruben has for some reason become a speed demon here. The sheep are across the street from our house and are closest to us around lunch time. I go out and they all turn to stare at me - reminds me of the sheep in Wallace and Grommit.

There is a rainbow just about every day...because it rains just about every day. I am gaga over the old churches and castles.