I’ll get to that story in a second.
Yesterday James Hamill was a star and mowed the lawn up to the Sunny Funny Garden as well as most of the garden itself.
Nine loads of grass clippings … and we put it on the muddy bits of the path.
James was a star and worked away mowing for ages … he is one of the most reliable people I know and loves to help.
It all looks a bit posh now.
Maggie thinks so … and so do I … garden party anyone?
We brought Theresa Hamill up to the Garden … it was her first visit and she loved it.
She said that she had pictured a much smaller area and was very impressed with what we had all done.
We all sat and chatted in the sun … so peaceful.
James wants us to have a bbq in the Garden in a couple of Saturdays … sounds like fun and he deserves reward for his efforts.
I asked if they ever saw rabbits … no says them.
This afternoon Coco, myself and the Hamill kids were playing in the Garden and James said
‘Liz, remember how you said you’d love to have a rabbit in the garden and we said they aren’t here?’
‘Yup’ says I.
‘Well, I was up here in the Garden yesterday evening and I saw a rabbit.’
‘Love it when a wish comes true’ says Liz.
This morning I had a meeting with Sean (County Librarian) in our wonderful Ballinamore library … which is also the County library.
I wanted Sean’s thoughts on the Leitrim Experience programme that I’m developing.
Sean was one of the organisers of the Roots Festival in 2006/7 … where visitors from USA traced their Leitrim roots.
Sean is a real gentleman and a font of information on history and the irish language.
Anyway … we were chatting about a few things to do with genealogy and I mentioned that I’m helping a reader from Los Angeles track her grandmothers birth and baptism records.
One of the officials said that if you took the records at face value then …
A lot of Irish people born up to and into the 20th century would have been baptised before they were born.
I asked Sean how that could happen … and he explained.
Births and baptisms were recorded differently.
Births would have been a Civil matter and, under British Rule, you had to register a child’s birth on the Civil Register within 3 months of its birth.
Now … love of British Law wasn’t exactly high … and often more than 3 months would go by before the father might wander into the closest Civil Records Office to register the birth.
The child might be all of 6 or 9 months old … but … when the Father went to register he would say a date within the last 3 months … a pretence at upholding the Law.
Baptism is a whole other matter and of grave importance.
If a child died before it was baptised … it would go to Limbo (grown ups went to Purgatory).
So … children were baptised within days of their birth.
And if you went by the civil and baptismal records … many Irish people were baptised before they were born!
Amazing.
Sean gave me some very helpful information and feedback and I think the programme will be the better for it. Thanks Sean.
It’s been a lovely quiet week after the madness of last weeks Festival.
I’m off to relax and read my book. Coco has already had her walk and James had her running back and forth on the great new Sunny Funny lawn.
I hope you have had a lovely day.
Slan
Liz
MY Sweeneys were from Ballinamore also – would lie to know ore