My great-grandfather was one of seven siblings, and the only child who emigrated from Ireland to the United States circa 1896 (following his girlfriend, who he eventually married). After 49 years, I had an opportunity to visit my extended family in Ireland for the first time and see where this incredible journey began. Pictured is “Chalk Hill”, the original family farm in Templederry–where my great-great grandfather raised my great grandfather and his siblings. Our trip started in Dublin–where we spent a couple days with my nephew, Michael, who was spending the semester abroad. From there, we traveled to Templederry to meet the family, Killarney–where we toured the Ring of Kerry and biked around the National Park, drove up the coast to Doonbeg (developed by Kiawah Island Partners), and spent a few days in Galway–tooling around town and cycling Connemara and some of the other scenic destinations on the outskirts of town. Our final destination was The K Club for a few days, host of the 2006 Ryder Cup. The people of Ireland were incredibly warm and friendly. The weather was the coldest on record for this time of year–30s and 40s for most of our trip.
