Wilson's Summer 2004 trip

June 20, 2004

2004-06-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

"You are standing on Agnew sod," said Eymard McBreen. Sue and Ray Wilson had found the actual seventeen and a half acres tenanted by Thomas Agnew and owned by his son(or grandson, maybe)Michael Agnew. Here is how we found it.
We left our condo in the Sandymount area of Dublin, Thursday morning, June 17, 2004. We thought we'd just drive down Eccles Street on the way out to the N3, the highway which leads to County Cavan. 7 Eccles Street is the address of Leopold and Molly Bloom in "Ulysses." It is based on an actual house where a friend of Joyce lived. The house was long ago torn down for a hospital, but we thought it would be fun to drive by. One-way streets and forced turns (along with the now familiar problem of streets not being marked or being marked so inconspicuously and inconsistently that we couldn't be sure what the street was) thwarted our plan several times, and we gave up. It is a good thing we weren't trying to get to the hospital for emergency treatment, I guess.
Our main goal was to get out to County Cavan and find out as much as we could of the Agnew place of origin. We turned off the N3 on the way to Bailie Borough. On the outskirts we pulled into the grounds of a church called St. Ann's. Fr. John Mooney told us that Knockbride was the next parish over. He gave us directions toward it but said to stop and ask someone out that way.
At a gas station a mechanic gave us specific directions to the Knockbride Church, which is at least three miles outside of town. Incidentally we saw signs calling the town Bally Boro (and some other spellings)as well as the way it is spelled above. The man we talked to identified a particular house near the Knockbride church and said a woman who lived there would be able to tell us more.
After some more wrong turns, and more helpful directions, we found the Knockbride Church (now identified as the Knockbride East Church)and found the house, stopped and knocked on the door. After some hesitation, a tiny old woman came out. Her name is Molly Leddy (pronounced "Lady"). She gave us directions to a house with a white "palin" in front of it. She confirmed our guess that a "palin" is a fence. We drove up and down the roads that Molly had identified. Several houses had white fences. We stopped at one but no one was home. We were almost ready to say, "Well, we got close, at least," and head on into Caven Town. We decided to take one last photograph of the landscape. We had a glitch with the camera, and as we got the photo, a pick-up truck came toward us on the narrow lane. We backed up to a wide spot to let it go by, and as it pulled up even with us, the driver, an old man, opened his window and looked at us as if he expected us to ask a question. He told us his name was Louis Lynch. We told him we were looking for the place our ancestor lived, a man named Thomas Agnew. He nodded and said, "I knew the man. I'll take you to a woman who had an aunt who was married to him. Follow me." Then, he drove off. We scrampled to turn around and follow.
As we followed it occured to us that Louis Lynch couldn't have known the Thomas Agnew we were looking for since he had died in the nineteenth century. We thought maybe this was a grandson, or something. We hoped it wasn't just a lie and that we weren't being led into something unsavory. We came to a driveway that had a white fence on either side, in a location that could have been where Molly Leddy had been trying to describe to us, so we followed along.
The driveway led to the farm of Eymard and Betty McBreen. There was a James McBreen listed as a neighbor of Thomas Agnew in an 1836 document that had been described to us. Living with Eymard and Betty is an elderly lady named May McBreen, Betty's cousin. She told us that her Aunt Rose had been married to Michael (Mick) Agnew, who had owned land on the other side of the hill from the McBreen farm. One of Thomas Agnew's sons, born 1865, was named Michael. We tried to figure out if this was the same Michael. We thought perhaps it would have been a son that we did not know about. They mentioned that Mick died in 1956. They thought he was in his eighties at that time. A person born in 1865 would have been 91 in 1956, so this could have been the younger brother of our ancestor, Patrick Joseph Agnew, who came to the USA. Mick Agnew could have been another son of Thomas Agnew.
After Betty got our assurance that we would come back to the house for tea, Eymard got into his pickup truck, and we followed him, around to the other side of the hill, to a place we had driven by a couple of times when we were cruising around the area earlier. When we got out of our car, he said the words that open this entry, that we were standing on Agnew sod.
A word about Ray's reaction: I was curious enough to start out on this quest, but I didn't expect to feel the elation that I started to feel at that moment and kept on feeling for the next day. I felt so great that I wondered if it was all emotional. I thought maybe breathing the ancestral air must be good for me or something.
Eymard told us an interesting story: Rose and Mick Agnew had been letting May live in a shack on the property. Apparently Rose died before Mick did because when Mick died a man, whose name Sue and I can't remember now, claimed the land. Eymard said he had no better claim to it than May did. But the man threw her things on the road and pulled down the dwellings. Eymard pointed to a rectangular briar patch and said, "that's where the Agnew house once stood." Eymard said that he wanted May to contest the ownership in law, but she wouldn't. He said the man who had "shouldered" May out of the property had started a chicken-raising operation on the land but that had failed when the chicken house had burned down, twice. Eymard chuckled and said that man never had any luck with land to which he had no better right than May had.
The property is a narrow strip up a fairly steep hillside. It only consisted of seventeen and a half acres. It is now part of a much larger pasture. It must have been hard making a living out of it, we thought. An interesting observation is that while the records indicate that Thomas Agnew, our ancestor, was a tenant, Mick Agnew owned the land. I imagine that was a triumphal transition.
Back at the McBreen house, May gave us an e-mail address of her nephew Brian, who, she thought might know more details: BMCB@oceanfree.net.
We drove in to Cavan Town and stayed at the Cavan Crytal Hotel, where we had reservations. To our astonishment it is a luxury hotel with a great restaurant, a pool, hot tub, sauna, etc. We bought some crystal at the attached shop. We had heard that Cavan Crystal is like Waterford Crystal, only not so famous. We really hated to go the next morning. There seemed like a week's worth of things to do in the area, and I am sure just hanging around and talking to the locals would have produced many more stories of interest.
On the way back we tried to trace an easy route to the Dublin Airport. Then Saturaday we followed that route without getting lost (much). Driving on the left side of the road is tricky to get used to especially when you keep encountering traffic circles, called "roundabouts". But with Ray navigating and Sue driving, we got everywhere we wanted to go except Eccles Street, and returned the car without a scratch to the rental company. We had gone with two other couples Dave and Sue and Bill and Mary. We all had different flights out, but we linked up with Dave and Sue in O'Hare Airport, Chicago and had one last meal on our trip together. They had the same flight back to Dubuque with us.
What a trip!

June 16, 2004

2004-06-16T05:06:00.000-07:00

If you have been checking this blog for days, sorry, but our inability to get to an internet connection is the sign of how busy we've been, and how much fun we've had. After a nice Sunday morning of chat, with the whole Bren Wilson family, Bren and Carroll took us to the airport. In Dublin we rented a car and drove all over North and East Dublin. Theoretically we were following directions both to Sandymount and to our condos, but actually it was an exploring adventure with Sue driving and Ray navigating. When we got there our two other Dubuque Joyce reading group couples were there and Darragh (pronounced Dara) Smyth also was present. He's a professor in Dublin who has taught Loras College exchange students. We all went out to dinner and had a great time.

Sunday, we went to a 10,000-person breakfast to kick off Blooomsday week. A sausage-making company mentioned in "Ulysses" provided the exact breakfast that Leopold Bloom ate in the novel. O'Connell Street was closed to accommodate the event. The street was packed with breakfasters, many in costumes from the novel, entertainers, strolling bands, etc. It was a feast for the eyes and ears as well as the stomach. Afterwords we walked over to Trinity College and saw the fabulous long room of the library, a cathedral of books! That is also where they keep the Book of Kells, a beautifuly illustrated manuscript of the four gospels illustrated by Medieval Irish monks. Then we walked over through St. Stephens Green Park to the cite of the old University College where Joyce studied. The actual spot of the old University is now the Newman Center. We ate lunch and dinner at nice places.

Monday, we took the hop-off hop-on tour bus and saw all the major sights of Dublin, went home for a rest, then wen to see a play at the Abbey Theater; it was "The Shaughraun" (pronounced Shaw grawn) by Boucicault (Boo cee ko). That's an 1870s melodrama of the kind that Yeats and others founded the Abbey Theater to combat. Things have gone full circle. Seeing it had historical interest at least.

Tuesday we visited the James Joyce Center and saw the door that was salvaged from 7 Eccles Street, a key address in the novel, and then saw the Irish Writer's Museum and found them interesting. Actually just walking around Dublin to see all these things is interesting. Sue loved the GPO (General Poat Office). It has historical significance as a place where the 1916 uprising was fought, but it also has a philatelic center! We had dinner at an award-winng restaurant.

Today, Wednesday, is Bloomsday itself. We started by Ray joining the true Joyceans plunging into the Irish Sea at 8:00 am! It was really cold but feels so great when one gets out. He swam at the Forty-foot Hole where characters in "Ulysses" swam. Darragh was there and after hearing a reading from the novel at the top of the Martello Tower, where the novel begins , set on June 16, 1904, we went to breakfast with Darragh at his house near-by. Darragh had invited his friends, high-school and collge-age children, their friends, students of his, and fellow Joyceans of his generation. We took turns reading from the novel as champaigne flowed! Then we went to a talk by a scholar named Anthony Cronin who was part of the first Bloomsday in this area, fifty years ago. The talk was right out on the sidewalk. Afterwards, Darragh introduced us to Michael O'Nolan, brother of Brien O'Nolan who wrote his English-laguage novels under the name of Flann O'Brien. Ray has taught his books. Then we saw an internet cafe, and that brings us up to date.

June 11, 2004

2004-06-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Today we returned to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels since we only had about an hour to spend there yesterday. We listened to the rented taped explanations as we toured the ancient and modern works. On the tour we saw some of my favorite artists: Chagall, Van Gogh, Magritte, and the Bruegels (the Elder & Younger). The variety of ancient and modern art was impressive. And I saw several new artists that deserve world-class attention. One sculpture in particular was by someone I never heard of (could it be Meunier?). It portrayed a couple embrasing with a moving message of forgiveness--the younger person extended clasping hands upwards as the older female leaned downward and generously surrounded the lower figure's shoulders with her arms and shawl. Although solid as bronze, it seemed as light and flowing as a gracefully draped cloth.
In the later afternoon we drove to a little town of Leuven east of Brussels. It had a charming courtyard/agora market, closed to traffic, with church artwork/sculpture as intricate and impressive as Notre Dame but smaller in scale. Not bad for a local parish. Interestingly the city posted picture of the town after WWI shelling. They did a fine job in restoring the medieval look of the original town.
Tomorrow, off to Dublin.

Love, Sue and Ray

June 10, 2004

2004-06-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

What an amazing trip to Paris...It took about three hours to drive there, on highway roads that were direct and in good repair. We found the hotel on a tiny street a few blocks from the L'arc de Triumphe. The room was compact but had a little balcony with tall windows. The bathroom had a shower, toilet, and small sink. One word about the toilet, which was also the case for Belgium. There were two flushes one can select: a small flush, but more economical--and a large flush. I've never seen that in the states. When we made our first excursion, we found The Dada Cafe, a sidewalk restaurant that served delicious light lunches. The waiter was a young guy, and a little forgetful, but we found him easy to talk to in our broken French and his limited English. After lunch we explored the Metro (subway system) to go to the Left Bank (of the Seine River, the artsy-craftsy/bookstore area where students congregate)...and we found the site of Joyce's walking in Paris from a book we brought with us entitled "Joyce in Paris." From the limited information in the caption of the picture we knew the street's name (Rue de L'Odeon) and we walked the street until the buildings took the perspective of the book's picture where Joyce is walking. Naturally we have documented that moment in our camera. We're not sure of the precise building but one of these buildings was the original Shakespeare and Company Bookstore that published Joyce's Ulysses.
Then we found the current Shakespeare and Company location. Ray heard the clerk being called "Sylvia" and asked her if that was a coincidence, since the original owner of the bookstore was the famous Sylvia Beach. "Not at all," she said...."I was named for Sylvia Beach. My father knew her." We heard lots of stories about the store including that Lawrence Durrell lived above it when he was in Paris years ago.
The store is in sight of Notre Dame Cathedral. So we went over the bridge and went into that gorgeous building. The famous Rose Window was illuminated by a very bright sunny day outside and it took our breath away.
After dinner we returned to the hotel.

The next day we spent at the Louvre....which is a place one could spend a month seeing everything....so we selectively saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, two Vermeer paintings, and Poussin's "Et in Arcadia Ego" (which was of literary interest for Ray). I loved the controversial modernistic pyramid that I'd heard so much about....it serves as an entrance and crowd control mechanism that reduced the bedlam of large crowds that speak several languages. It is clearly organized and efficiently helpful to ignorant tourists like us.

We got on the road back to Brussels about 6 p.m. and got in before 10 p.m. A day well spent.

Today, Thursday, June 10, Brendan took us to see his office at NATO. Security was careful, just like at a US airport. We met several of his co-workers and had a nice lunch. Afterwards we went to the Musee des Beaux Arts in Brussels, especially to see the Breugels and in particular "The Fall of Icarus" in which, again, Ray had a literary interest. We expected the museum to close around 7 p.m. but it closed at 5 p.m. so we didn't see as much as we wanted. Maybe we can go back before we leave Brussels. The city of Brussels is rich with history, statues, interesting architecture, shops, etc. The churches are detailed with intricate, lacy stone ornamentation that invites you back to take a closer look. Perhaps we will.

Love, Sue and Ray

June 8, 2004

2004-06-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've done so far:

Saturday we arrived in Brussels. Brendan and our nephew, Stephen, picked us up at the airport and drove to their house about 15 minutes away, in a lovely modern neighborhood. Each house had a nicely landscaped yard, some with topiary-like bushes which were so interesting and creative.

Carroll and our niece, Rebecca, met us cheerily and we all helped prepare for an American "cookout"....Brendan had invited two other couples from work. One couple was British and the other was from Greece. I'm so glad they spoke English because my Greek is a bit limited. We had a lovely time. Interestingly it was daylight even up to 10:00 at night. Which helped us stay "awake" even though it felt like we "pulled an all nighter" at school....we got little (if any sleep on the plane).

Sunday we slept-in a bit but took off to Amsterdam, about a three-hour trip. Did a lot of walking. Found Anne Frank's House (most emotionally moving and had the steepest steps)saw Van Gogh's museum and the Rijksmuseum which was loaded with Rembrandt's and the Dutch Masters. Exquisite!

Monday we went to the Waterloo battlefield and the Wellington Museum. It WAS the "Museyroom" of Finnigans Wake! We took lots of pictures and if I wasn't in a hurry right now, I would try and download them for you. But we're off to PARIS !

Love, Sue and Ray

June 4, 2004

2004-06-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

The hardest part of this blog is keeping straight the username (different than any other e-mail or account we have) and then another password. I'm glad I practiced this at home before leaving.............which as I write, we are finishing up the last minute stuff.

Bill McGeehan called and said he wanted to drop by with the two walkie talkies he has. He even put in new batteries. Oh boy, more toys to play with....

....the issue of cell phones came up. Our cell phone won't work in Europe and I believe the condo does not include a telephone hookup. But Mary did say that they were available for a $20 rental fee for a week (and then, I imagine you pay for each call). When we realized that the cellphones won't work there, that's when Bill remembered the walkie talkies and is happy to put them to good use.

I wonder what Joyce would have to say about all this technological "breakthrough." It makes me smile just to hear that Irish brogue of his coming up with a few quick puns.

Sue

June 2, 2004

2004-06-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Eve of our Dublin flight and we're still deciding what to take and what to see. We have ideas galore and limited days to do as much as we can. Friends who have been there before us have shared ideas and tips quite generously. And we've had so much fun--reading Joyce, of course has been a joy; and the process of studying a text with friends that are fun to be with, makes the process humorous and joyful. I even enjoyed browsing through countless guidebooks. It almost feels like a familiar place already!

Gotta go....am sorting which guidebooks, texts, and gadgets will be most necessary.

Sue