A few wedding & honeymoon pics

**andyfg** · 17th October 06, 01:40 PM

Great pics Jeff. Congratulations!

**Dirk Skene** · 17th October 06, 03:09 PM

Great pix MacSimoin. I am happy for you and hope that you get to travel back there soon. What as the weather like for this time of year?

**MacSimoin** · 17th October 06, 03:38 PM

I checked the forecast a few days before leaving and we expected showers all week long...however, things cleared the morning we arrived and we had beautiful weather almost the entire time.

**Robin** · 17th October 06, 04:30 PM

Breath taking pictures!

Thanks for sharing!

**Rex_Tremende** · 17th October 06, 04:38 PM

Picture postcard perfect.

Thanks for posting them - I downloaded one to use as a wallpaper, I hope you don't mind.

Regards and congratulations,
Rex in dull, gray, Cincinnati

**MacSimoin** · 17th October 06, 05:09 PM

Our stay in Cootehill turned out very well as it appeared to be providence in action: From several lengthy and detailed conversations (over coffee and tea) with the owners (Joe and Una Smith) of the farmhouse we stayed at, and from doing many hours of research at the Cavan library while we were there, it turns out that the town (Magheranure) my great-great-grandfather was from wasn't really a town at all but rather a "town land" of Cootehill itself. From there I was able to find that most of Andrew’s relatives perished at the fever hospital in Cootehill and they're all buried behind it. Andrew and his family (both parents and five siblings) were fortunate and got out of Cootehill before they were next.

How unbelievably fortuitous was it for me to end-up in the right place? Staying at the farmhouse was actually a last minute decision; the hotel we wanted to stay in couldn’t guarantee our rooms so we opted to stay in Cootehill at the farmhouse. As Wendi said, it must've been the "luck o'the Irish". Whatever it was, I couldn’t be more pleased.

I even discovered two of Andrew's uncles (John and Patrick): Both were arrested on misdemeanor charges (for stealing bread) twice during the famine. From looking at the "Assizes" records, I even found that a woman by the name of Bridget Kelly was arrested in 1846 for stealing money from the farmhouse we stayed at (the owner at the time was Joe Smith’s great-grandfather). We had a good laugh about that one.

I am so happy that I've finally been able to find the precise location of my ancestral roots....all I've ever had to go on was County Cavan and Magheranure, and that a river was nearby...which turned out to be the Dromore River (right next to Magheranure on the west side of Cootehill). How awesome is that?

I can't thank Joe and Una enough...Una's even offered to assist me (with further research) via email if I need further help. What a great couple of genuinely friendly and caring people...and all this kindness and generosity coming from a woman who just had a hysterectomy two weeks ago (at the tender age of 62), and whose daughter miscarried last week. That's a very sad situation all 'round but nevertheless Joe and Una's unselfishness makes me proud to be Irish. I only hope to be that good and kind when I get older...unlike the cranky old man I'm expecting I'll be. And now, some more photos:

Entrance to the Riverside Farmhouse...

Even the water main covers are decorated...

Trashbin along the street in Cootehill (that's the County Cavan arms on the bin, and not the commonly seen Cavan Town arms)...

St. Michael's in Cootehill (can you tell by now I'm Catholic?)...

**MacSimoin** · 17th October 06, 05:15 PM

More pics:

Holy Family sculpture inside the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim...

Statue of the 7th Lord Farnham, just outside the County Cavan Library and Research Center (I'm now a card carrying member)...

Wendi took this shot because she likes the color purple...

The thick evergreen hill (Bellamont Forest, privately owned) on the northeast side of Cootehill (est. 1700, named for its founder Thomas Coote and his wife Francis Hill of Co. Down), once the killing ground of many Irish wolves (extinct in Ireland since late 18th century)...

EDIT: I've added some of the wedding/reception pics that Macsim took...keep looking!

**Scott Gilmore** · 17th October 06, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by MacSimoin

... Another boring roadside view...

Breathtakingly beautiful. Spectacular! Carol and I must visit Ireland soon.

This whole thread is absolutely superb. I was surprised to see this thread had not yet been rated "Excellent." It was my honor to rate it so.

Thank you for the care you've obviously taken in sharing not only the photos, but also your touching family history and your honeymoon site. You've given us you past, present and future in one magnificent thread.

Deepest regards,
Scott Gilmore

**MacSimoin** · 18th October 06, 05:25 AM

Since we won't have our (professional) wedding photos for another week or so, I've posted some of the (before & after) shots that Macsim took (thanks again, Mark!).

Some of my family arriving for the wedding, from left to right: Moriah (one of my sisters), Nanny, Mom, Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Dorothy, and Pop-pop...

Explaining the meaning of the tartan colors to Jimmy...

Posing for the photographer...

The Bride and bridesmaids, from left to right: Chandra (Wendi's sister), Suzanne and my best friend...