In our last newsletter we wrote of the proposals to be made at our Gathering at Clarenbridge in May, on our tenth anniversary, to seek to develop a new role for our association in the 21st century. We are now bringing, for the members who were not at the gathering, the address given there by one of our co-founders, Gearóid Ó Ceallaigh, and we are looking forward to receiving your comments and suggestions to get the discussion under way.
That we had a great time at the Gathering will be clear from another contribution from Gearóid, as well as from some photographs from the family album. Your editor pleads ignorance of any scandal, or scandals, which might seem to arise from Gearóid’s report. A high level of deafness can, at times, be an advantage. Anyway, his revelations about his ancestor, Ger Kelly, lend a new significance to the expression "After Aughrim’s great disaster..." Our members will be aware that the Kellys played a major role in that concluding battle of the Jacobite war in the late 17th century.
Some members at the Gathering expressed a wish to receive their newsletters by e-mail, instead of by post. Our secretary will be glad to hear from any members who would wish to receive their newsletters by e-mail. We would also like to hear if there would be any interest in our organising a list of members who would like to get material of Kelly interest by e-mail direct from other members.
Now that the Summer is over and the evenings are getting longer, I am reminded of our delightful weekend at Clarinbridge, County Galway, in May.
It was certainly one of those most unforgettable weekends. Of course, I am somewhat biased and treasure all of our Clan Gatherings but it is my opinion that this was the most relaxed, due largely to the hard work and the organisation of Bernie and Michael.
The weekend ran from the informal Reception, hosted by our Uachtarán, Joe, on Friday evening, to lunch on Sunday, held after Mass on Sunday at the impressively porticoed parish church. During his homily, the Right Rev. Celsus introduced the O’Kellys to the local parishioners. In it he referred to one of our past Gatherings and the activities of one of our members, a lady... Far be it from me to even remotely suggest where anyone should go to Confession, but there is a most peaceful Abbey in Co. Antrim and, should the Clan ever get the opportunity to visit Bethlehem, I, for one, will suggest that we seek a general absolution!
The artistic license that Fr. Celsus used will have earned him a place in Dr. Joe’s next lecture on Kelly artists. This will be the second part in the series (which he will not be aware of until he reads this) and it will follow his most erudite discourse, entitled ’Some Kelly Visual Artists’. It is incredible how knowledgeable our Clan Ollamh is on all matters pertaining to the Clan and people of the name. Can I suggest that a lovely present would be a copy of his book, ’(O)Kelly People and Places’, which is available through Ballinakilla Press, Whitegate, Co. Clare.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Joe was followed by Michael, who discussed, in his most charming and personal way, his own local family and their now famous Kelly oyster business. It is to be hoped that when the Clan returns to Clarinbridge for another Gathering that we will do so when there is an ’r’ in the month. I write this on the day following the All-Ireland GAA football final, when County Tyrone have defeated the might of County Kerry. Michael has four passions in life. I am unsure of their order of precedence, but I will list them alphabetically: Bernie, Family, GAA and Tyrone. Those of you who are unaware of the implication of the last of these should look up the name of the townland where he was born, grew up and continues to live, overlooking Galway Bay. It is generally listed on the back of this Newsletter, as Bernie, his wife, is our Honorary Secretary and he is our Treasurer.
Michael’s allegiance to the Gaelic Athletic Association was decisive in our success in having the current Uachtarán of the GAA, Mr. Seán Kelly, as our guest of honour. He, being from Kerry, will be suffering from mixed emotions today. However, his emotions at being involved in his first Clan Gathering did not impede his flow of oratory on Saturday night at our Banquet. It is indeed obvious why he was born into the Kelly Clan.
On Saturday afternoon we had a most inspiring tour of the Burren, nearby in County Clare. We did it in a coach, thanks to Tim from Cree and my father, Michael, of Bromehill, which allowed us the convenience of a most terrific guide, Gordon D’Arcy. Not only did he introduce us to the 300 million year old fossilised geology but he also brought us into intimate proximity with the abundant and sometimes rare flora and fauna.
We all photographed the ’Spring Gentian’, the purple flowered ’Bloody Cranesbill’, the very rare ’Hoary Rock Rose’ and the ’Birdfoot Trifola’, which, although it sounds exotic and rare, was common, he assured us. We were all intrigued by a bird that was flitting around on nearby rocks, which Gordon called the ’Wheatear’. The name, he told us, bears no connection to any hearing aid that the bird has, but refers to a medieval pronunciation of the white colour of the plumage that it sits upon, its ’Ar’. In modern language, this part of its anatomy is often called by the same name that in contemporary slang describes a donkey.
I must briefly recount a tale of a different hue, which also occurred on our trip around the Burren.
As everyone knows, the O’Kellys have travelled to the ends of the earth, in all sorts of trying conditions, and continue to do so, as long as there are pubs available at not too unreasonable distances from each other. So, our trip around the Burren was no different and tradition wasn’t broken. In fact, the tradition appears to be so strong that the only people that I met in Monks’ Pub, who were not on our coach, were also on a pilgrimage to attend that night’s Kelly banquet at Clarinbridge, except one.
’Mikey’ has worked as a herdsman in the area of Ballyvaughan since he was a boy. In describing Mikey, I would safely say that he is more than 40 and less than 100 but I would not care to be more precise about his age. However, he is well up in local folklore and asked me about my family. I briefly described how we had originated in Uí Máine and came down to West Clare and he immediately told me that we were the "Ger Kellys" who had hidden up in the caves south of Ballyvaughan, in the area above Ailwee. I told him that I had known that we were reputed to have hidden in the area for a long time. He asked me if I knew for how long. I told him that I didn’t but that it had been suggested that it was for a number of years. He said that we had been up there for seven years and that we had stored a lot of gold up there with us!
I was flabbergasted by this chance encounter with a man who had no family connection and yet could recount this story, so personal to me, that goes back into the mists of folklore.
Such was the variety, fun and entertainment of our Clan Gathering of 2005. I am already looking forward to our next one and the confessions of our lady members...
Gearóid
Glossary: uachtarán - president, ollamh - a learned person, a professor