Please use this thread to introduce yourself to your fellow Wild Geese. In particular, we would love to hear your Irish story. What are your ties to Ireland? Have you or are you in the midst of uncovering your genealogy? What are your particular Irish interests? The arts? Cooking? Literature? Travel?

Please tell us also about yourself. What are your occupations and hobbies? What are your goals and ambitions? Where are you from?

And finally we would love to hear what brought you to The Wild Geese and how can we help you uncover, share, and preserve your Irish Story!

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Thanks Claire. I'm loving it already :)

Wow! Welcome David!

--Ron--

Thanks for including me in your flock!

I'm sixty four years old, currently living in Merseyside, England.  I was named Margaret after my Irish maternal grandmother and Marie after my Czech paternal grandmother.  My family used to call me Meg, so I was known as Meg for some years until I found employment where there was already a Meg there, so they rechristened me Marie, and I have be known as Marie ever since.

I know my maternal grandfather Michael O'Malley (Mickey) once lived in Ballinafad in County Galway, which as you will know is not to be confused with the Ballinafad in County Silgo.

[O'Malley - Mailey  Ó Máille. (meall, peasant): A branch of the Cenél Eoghain located in Tyrone where their territory was said to be known as ‘O’Mellan’s Country’, where they were the hereditary keepers of the Bell of St. Patrick.]

 My maternal grandfather Mickey and his wife Margaret (nee Quinn) were both one of at least fourteen children.

Mickey and his brother Patrick (Paddy) left Ballinafad together leaving a note on their mother's kitchen table, so their mother knew nothing about their leaving for England till after they had left and she had read their note.

Their mother, my great grandmother, used to wash the clothes for the Irish rebels who were hiding out in the nearby hills. One day the English soldiers entered their home, but any doubts they had were immediately squashed upon seeing an English soldier's jacket framed and hanging on the back of a door.

No one within the remaining family seems to know why that English soldier's jacket was framed. Mickey was eventually to become a policeman in England, and eventally secured a posting in a remote area, as it is believed that he wished to keep a low profile; again no one knows why, but this might also explain the change in his surname from O'Malley to Melia.

I, therefore, naturally love to learn everything I can about Ireland's history, its culture and customs.

 

Fascinating story, Marie. So was the British uniform jacket Mickey's or Patrick's? Framed as in a picture frame? Hope you tell this story via a blog post, and include a few pix!

Unfortunately, that's the full tale as passed down through our family and no photo's, but it's enough for me to get the imagination going.

Welcome, Marie,

Since you love to learn about Ireland's history, culture, and customs, there's no place better than here!

Claire, appreciative thanks for your welcome!

A very warm welcome...

Appreciative thanks Sarah for your welcome!

Paul McNulty is originally from the west of Ireland. He studied engineering at University College Dublin where he edited a student magazine, The Anvil. Afflicted with wanderlust, he travelled west to Ohio and Massachusetts where he continued his apprenticeship to masters and doctoral level. While in Boston, he participated in the anti-Vietnam war movement and in the Committee for Justice in Northern Ireland. On return to Ireland, he honed his writing skills at UCD through publishing scientific papers as well as writing on food-related issues in the popular media.

After retirement from UCD, Paul studied The Genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches who Settled in Galway which unearthed a treasure-trove of stories. His first novel, Spellbound by Sibella, was published in 2013 by Club Lighthouse CLP, Canada who published his second novel The Abduction of Anne O’Donel in 2014 and his third novel A Story of the Bodkin Murders in 2015. Paul has also self-published his genealogical research in 2013 and a novella, A Rebel Romance in 2014, both with CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

His experience inspired him to write plays based on extracts from his novels. UCD Dramsoc included a reading of his play, Spellbound by Sibella, in their Theatre Festival in November 2014. More recently, it has received favourable reviews from the Theatre Development Centre, Cork. In response to a call from the UCD Dramsoc Mini Plays Festival, Paul submitted a five-minute play, Elopement, which was staged on 14-16 October 2015. He has completed a draft of a second play based on an extract from his second novel, The Abduction of Anne O’Donel. Thereafter, he will complete two further stage plays inspired by his historical novels.

Paul was born in Tuam to his late mother Kathleen McHugh. He was raised in Castlebar where his late father T Bernard McNulty worked in the Bank of Ireland. He now lives in Dublin with his Connemara wife, Treasa Ní Chonaola, three children and two granddaughters. The wild splendour of Mayo and Connemara inspires his writing.

Paul, failte! We have a growing number of creatives on board. I invite you to connect with them and be sure to let us know of upcoming readings and performances and launches. Meanwhile, we would relish getting your writing in front of fellow members and readers here. Get

Many thanks, Gerry

My books are on Amazon.co.uk and on Amazon.com as both print and ebooks. They are also available at Charlie Byrne's bookshop, Kenny's bookshop, and at The Castle Bookshop among others.

Nollaig Shona,

Paul McNulty

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