September 20 Ballybunion

We learned from Tony’s brother J.P. that our great-grandfather John Linnane went to New York and joined the U.S. army during the first world war.  He was on the frontline—the next battalion to go up over the hill and down toward the Germans in the ditch.  All the men that had gone before had been shot dead.  Just before his line went, they called it off and retreated.  He came home, married Catherine, bought some land for a dairy, and moved up the road.  They called Catherine “Nana” and after mass on Sundays (this from Peggy), she would take them down to the “black rocks” on the Ballybunion mens’ beach.  She would sit on the ledge and they would walk out to the rocks and then come back. 

Kit, the mother of Peggy, Paddy, J.P. Tony, Luke, and Kathleen, stayed home and helped on the farm after Maureen and Bridie left.  She married at 34.  John, Tom, Tim, and Theresa came later.  Kit’s family has stuck around.  Luke is near Cork and Tony is in Portland, Oregon, but otherwise they are all within a five minutes drive and they know basically everyone in this locality.  

 mass on the cliffs north of Ballybunion--they started this tradition when a plane from the U.S. went into the ocean off the coast here and was rescued

best dressed at the horse races in Tralee

Bruno, Kathleen's dog goes horizontal chasing a ball in the yard