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My ancestors on my mother's side are (mostly) Irish. My grandfather was a Doherty (O'Doherty). That's the name at the top of the map in country Donegal. That side of the family came to Canada in 1802 and the Irish blood has been diluted—most notably by American refugees from the Revolutionary War (United Empire Loyalists) (gasp!).
The O'Doherty's are descended from Niall Noigíallach who kidnapped St. Patrick.
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We don't talk about the nasty little fact that the Foster's were probably English invaders from the 1600's. As they say, somebody had to civilize the Irish and it might as well have been the English!
One of the reasons why the topic was avoided by my grandparents was because the O'Doherty clan was almost wiped out by the English during the O'Doherty rebellion in 1608 led by Sir Cahir O’Doherty. Some of the survivors had to flee to Skye to avoid being hung. I descend from those refugees.
1. This entire post is a copy of my first St. Patrick's Day post in 2007.
1 comment :
Ironically, in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day got moved to March 15 this year, so as to not coincide with Holy Week (which started yesterday).
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