Clare 2010
The National Clan Gathering was celebrated on the scenic shores of historic Lough Derg near Ennis, County Clare, on the last weekend of July. We
enjoyed the company of members from all four provinces of Ireland, with a particularly strong turn-out from Australia as well as U.S.A. and England.
All attending members received souvenir certificates to mark the occasion.
The festive weekend kicked off on Friday evening at the West County Hotel with the customary ice-breaker where old friends were reunited
and new friends were made.
On Saturday morning, we headed out to the lake by coach, and embarked on Teddy Knight's vessel "Ku-Ee-Tu" for a cruise to Castlebawn, where we
enjoyed the hospitality of owners Pat & Mary Cody. The sixteenth century castle (known locally as Simon's Castle) was the former home
of Simon Flannery, gamekeeper to the MacLysaght family of Raheen, County Clare. Restoration work to the castle has won awards, and it is home
to the Cody family in the summer months. Our guided tour of the lakeside fortification was punctuated by homemade refreshments, and we are
grateful to the Cody family for their kind hospitality.
Teddy Knight returned us back safely to shore where we had lunch at the Mountshannon Hotel. Thanks are due to Pauline Madden, who owns the hotel, for
kindly providing us with the use of the function room. After a hearty lunch we were treated to an entertaining presentation on Biddy Early
(
The Flannery Witch) by local historian Meda Ryan. Meda also kindly signed copies of her excellent book
"Biddy Early: The Wise Woman
of Clare" as souvenirs to treasure.
After lunch, we made our way to Knockaphort Pier to be ferried to Inishcealtra (also known as
Holy Island because of the seventh century
monastic settlement). Local historian Ger Madden gave us an informative guided tour of the island's historic ruins, which included a picturesque
round tower and Flannery memorials (including the family of Bishop Michael Flannery, who was Bishop of Killaloe just after the Great Famine).
Fr. Michael Flannery (Galway) celebrated our Clan Mass using the Peter Flannery Chalice (1715), and the ancient ruins provided an incredibly atmospheric
setting as members of diverse faiths prayed for past and present generations of our family. Many thanks are due to Fr. Cathal Geraghty of Clonfert
Museum in Loughrea, County Galway, for the loan of the historic chalice. Ger Madden ferried us back to shore where we made our way
to Liam & Teresa Flannery's nearby
Woodpark Golf Course & Pitch and Putt for collection and return
by coach to Ennis. The day on the lake provided great appetites and thirsts, amply matched by the evening banquet and session! Congratulations
to all the raffle winners who took away a wide range of CDs, DVDs, chocolates, drinks and souvenir tee-shirts, and thanks to Tom Ball (Texas) for the
use of his stylish hat for drawing the tickets! Special thanks to Helen Flanary (Texas) and Elaine O'Neill (Dublin) for bringing along gifts, and
also to Marty Flannery (Queensland) for sharing some very special Bunderberg Rum in the wee hours!
The Heritage Exhibition was displayed on Sunday morning, and included numerous updated exhibits based on recent research. As in previous years, we
were privileged to include the two coats of arms (1904 & 1991) as part of the display. The masterpieces were
handcrafted in tooled leather and carved oak in 2004 by Marlin Read - our Heraldic Craftsman - and donated to the
Flannery Clan for our perpetual use. The exhibition was followed by a brief A.G.M. which delivered reports on membership, finance, and the research
programme, and closed with an open forum for members to air their views. Members also received a brief interim report on the Y-DNA Project which
has proved to be so successful with over one hundred participants to date. A formal report is scheduled to be published next year.
There were two special presentations made to Maureen Wlodarczyk (New Jersey) and Marty Flannery (Queensland), who each received Certificates of Merit
from our Chieftain Martin J. Flannery (Cork) in grateful recognition of their excellent research over the years. Maureen also treated us to an
enthralling presentation on her recent book
"Past-Forward: A three-decade
and three-thousand mile journey home", and sprang a surprise gift presentation on Lorcán J. O'Flannery (Dublin). The formalities of the
A.G.M. concluded with the launch of our latest publication (index of all Flannerys / Flannellys recorded in births, marriages and deaths registered
in Ireland from 1901 up to 1935). As previously, the publication will be donated to all of the relevant county heritage centres where
Flannerys / Flannellys lived.
After the A.G.M., we adjourned for a brief tea / coffee break, and then headed down the road to historic Quin Abbey for our morning excursion. This
fifteenth century abbey contains local Flannery memorials, and we received a very interesting guided tour from the curator Joseph McCooly
who highlighted the numerous architectural wonders and brought the sweeping history of the ruin to life.
After the tour, we returned to Ennis and concluded the festive weekend with an absolutely magnificent lunch
at
The Cloister Restaurant on Abbey Street.
This spectacular restaurant is owned by the family of the late
Howard Flannery, and we were delighted to be joined
for the occasion by his son Cathal and his parents Paddy and Joan, who warmly welcomed us and very thoughtfully laid on a pre-prandial
presentation by local historian Jane O'Brien of
Ennis Walking Tours. Her engaging talk explained
the significance of Ennis in Irish history, and highlighted the achievement of creating a vibrant restaurant within a historic national monument:
the only one of its kind. The food was superb and we lingered to chat long into the afternoon before making our fond farewells.
As ever, we are very grateful to our award-winning Clan Photographer, Pádraig Ó Flannabhra (Tipperary), who immortalised us both
individually and in groups at a variety of picturesque locations with his customary artistic flair. Copies of his excellent photographs are
available directly from the
artist at
bargain rates and are sure to be prized souvenirs of the celebrations.
We would like to thank all of the members who worked so hard behind the scenes to make the event a memorable occasion, and we look forward to the
next gathering provisionally scheduled for 2015 in Sligo (subject to popular vote by postal ballot, as usual).
[Clan Gathering, Clare 2010]
Large photos courtesy of Pádraig Ó Flannabhra F.I.P.P.A. Q.E.P.; small photos courtesy
of Lorcán J. O'Flannery and his daughter Julia O'Flannery (aged 8).
