The unmarked stones of Kilcatherine

Last summer I wandered through the ancient stones in Kilcatherine churchyard looking for a marker that would bear the name of one of my ancestors. Kilcatherine overlooks the Irish Sea in the remote Beara Peninsula that is called Deep Ireland.  Many of the stones in this ancient cemetery are random and round, never etched, placed once to mark unnamed, forgotten lives.  I know that a piece of my Gallic lineage is buried in this soil, women who stoked peat fires and pulled their shawls tightly against the bitter peninsula winds, and men who climbed into the deep shafts of Allihies mines to retrieve copper each day.  Harsh as their lives must have been, it is at least fortunate that the hauntingly beautiful land of Beara with its clear, luminous light, so perfect for painters, surrounded them. I would so love to know more of their lives, their struggles and dreams.  I wish I could capture a song, a poem, or an entry from an early journal from my Leahy, Dwyer and Sullivan ancestors.  This is not likely, but what drives me these days is catching today’s stories and memories for future generations.  So this blog will feature ideas and examples from my classes to help others on their journey to capture priceless memories before they are lost.