Gloucester Report

This is Gloucester Sunday March 22 2009. We sorely needed sea air, crashing waves and Tim's wisdom so off we went. And this is what we could see from our hotel.

We realized it's been a year and a half since our last visit, so no wonder Miss Julia looks so grown up. She has very long legs. She was quite shy around us strangers. She has her grandmother and grandfather wrapped right around her little finger. She dragged them here there and beyond while we were at Cathy's. Cathy and Chris both look great. Chris was laid off for a while but is now working. Cathy has a birthday this week!

Kevin stopped by briefly while we were there. He didn't share much but currently doesn't have a license for a while due to DUI or some such. He has a new roommate who is a shirttail kind of relative of Kristina's.

Cousin Petey has a girlfriend who is now pregnant with his baby. She also has another young child, so he's got his hands full. I guess he had some of them over for dinner recently and really made a great dinner. I think I heard Peter quit drinking--at least I think that's what I heard!

Tim was also laid off from his J-I-T position at the Elks but is interviewing for another one (equally glorious in title). The ongoing dispute was whether he is getting unemployment or workman's compensation--regardless he's making more $$ staying home--now he's getting all of $73 a week not to go to the Elks club and work. He was trying to school me on the IRA but I was having some trouble keeping up.

They did tell us several stories from their visit to Ireland. It sounded wonderful. I did not expect it any other way. Emmy really thinks it would be grand for all of us to visit Ireland together.

This sure makes it sound like we jammed a lot into just a few hours and I guess we did. It was very restorative. We are still planning to go there for Easter.

We are sorry to hear Chris' news about Weezy. Our pets are near and dear to us all and we all suffer loss when one passes on. They hold a special place in our lives always. Our sympathy Chris and Lori.

Ides of March !

There was a cute cartoon in the paper today about the Ides of March. Hard to believe you could get a punchline out of that, but they did. Anyway, the reference to the Ides of March always makes me think of Julius Caesar. Most people don't know when it is. Neither do many people know when St. Patrick's Day is. Go figure.


Now this is my last surname pin (so far) and it's probably the least known of your Irish ancestry. Martin Costello is our great great great grandfather and he drowned on the Schooner Paul Revere with his son in law Captain John Bentley. Martin was apparently the cook and I believe he came from Galway.


From the pin: Costello (Mac Coistealbh) The Costellos and Costelloes are the descendants of the Anglo Norman name of de Nangle. The de Nangles arrived in Ireland soon after "the conquest" and settled in Connacht. The name is recorded as far back as 1193, when it took the form of Oistealb. With evolution it took the form of MacGoisdelbh and subsequently to MacOisdealbh. The name was established in France, Spain and America as a result of the turmoil of the 17th century. Variant (this surprises me): McCastalaighe; McCostello; Costelloe; Costellow; Costilly; Costley and Nangle.







Name meaning: "Son of Oistealb" or "Shaped"

That's all the pins and Irish surname information for this pre-St. Patrick's Day series. I am actually not having very much luck with the Irish ancestors recently but these things come and go. I have faith that my Irish stubborness will serve me well in the hunt for more information.

Thanks, Paula for sharing Timothy with us! This one is a little harder for most of you, I am guessing. The Breen coat of arms is in honor of Patrick Flynn's mother Ellen Breen (Weenie's grandmother). Weenie never knew her as she died 14 years before he was even born. Ellen had at least two sisters Johanna and Jane who also lived in Emporium PA.

From the pin information: BREEN: O Braoin The Breens are the descendants of the Irish septs of O Biaoin and Mac Braoin. The O Braoin spet were locted in the Barony of Westmeath (Ellen and her sisters were reportedly born in County Clare). The Mac Braoin were to be found in the barony of Knocktopher in Co. Kilkenny. After the Anglo Norman invasions of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the septs were anglicised to Breen and the name was dispersed widely. Leinster is not the most favoured location along with Munster.

NAME MEANING: "Sorrow" (how Celtic!)

I don't know if everyone got to see Ryan's face plastered on the front page of the Binghamton Press yesterday (and above the fold too!). Check it out at pressconnects.com (search by Dalpiaz if the link doesn't work). He's been getting some pretty good feedback from the article. I am telling everyone he takes after his mother's side of the family.

The Youngest Timothy

Here is the youngest Timothy (seen with Sophie) in our clan. Born right here in the good ol' USA, Timothy Flynn O'Brien used to dislike his name. He has started to really like it because of the history of our family. Thanks Patty Anne for posting all this wonderful information.

101st Post!

I just noticed the last post was the 100th post to this blog. That's pretty darn good, I think. Some days it's easier than others to come up with something to say but you all have been pretty good about helping out. Thanks and cheers to all of us in this 101st blog post!

Next in my collection of Irish surname pins is Flynn: O Floinn: The Flynns are the descendants of the O Floinn septs of which there were two in Co. Cork, one in West Carbery barony and the other in East Muskerry barony (don't ask me, I've never heard of these). Other septs of O'Flynn existed in Castlereagh barony in Co. Roscommon (OK now we are in familiar territory) as well as in Co. Antrim. The name ranks in the top fifty names in Ireland and is spread widely. The greatest numbers are found in Counties Cork and Roscommon.

Name meaning: Ruddy or red

Francis P. Flynn is probably your best known Flynn. Weenie had two brothers John (Uncle 4-5) and Charles (Dinty). His parents were Barbara and Patrick Flynn. I believe Patrick was born in Pennsylvania but his mother reportedly was born in Ireland (more about her next).

Patrick's father Timothy Flynn is currently our "original" Flynn--the most recent Flynn born in Ireland. I know almost nothing about him and I find it very intriguing that our old fisherman Timothy Ryan is also the "original" Ryan so far and the most recent Ryan born in Ireland. Both named Timothy! We have 2 great great great Irish grandfathers named Timothy. Cheers again!

Happy Birthday Paula

Taken a mere 45 years ago--Paula's first "real" birthday! Happy Birthday Paula! I like this picture for the Valentine on the back wall, the Last Supper painting, the embroidered tablecloth, the cake stand and cake--all great memories.

A while back, I bought some pins in an Irish store that are coats of arms for our various Irish surnames Today as I was getting them ready to wear (since it's March finally) I realized they contained interesting information on the back. I have no idea how valid any of this is but here you go: Ryan (O Riain) is descended from the Irish sept of O Maoilriain located in Co. Limerick and Tipperary in the baronies of Owenybeg, Oweny and Arra. Established in the 14th Century to the point now where Ryan is in the top ten most numerous names in Ireland. The greatest numbers of the name are in Counties Limerick and Tipperary. Name Meaning "River God".

So, to the rest of you River Gods, welcome to March!

Identity Issues

This is one of the pictures I got from the old slides. Now, who is this? I immediately took this to be Paula and labeled the picture accordingly. Then, like the good researcher and librarian that I am (all right--pain in the butt), I noticed the slides are all labeled May 1960 and it is very doubtful that this is a 2-3 month old baby. Much more likely this is a baby just a little over a year old--therefore our dear Kathy. And when you see the remaining slides it becomes obvious that this is indeed Kathy. I am struck by how much she resembles Paula as a baby. What do you think? It's a lesson to me not to be too hasty in identifying and labeling pictures.

Issues of identity are on my mind lately. Some of it is due to the fact that Jim's nephew Jake recently married Lindsay. Now she's Lindsay Dalpiaz. Jim's oldest brother has a daughter Lindsay--Lindsay Dalpiaz. There was some discussion about how Lindsay Dalpiaz felt about Lindsay Dalpiaz having her name. Lindsay was thoughtful enough to say something to Lindsay expressing her concern that Lindsay might be upset that there was another Lindsay. I wasn't as thoughtful when I married Jim creating another Pat Dalpiaz. Lindsay Dalpiaz was saying it was kind of bothering her to share her name with Lindsay Walker Dalpiaz. Never dawned on me that Pat Dalpiaz might not want to share her name with Pat Ryan Dalpiaz. I feel kind of bad for not being more considerate of Pat's feelings.

Regarding Patricia Dalpiaz, more and more I resent that bureaucracy INSISTS that I am Patricia A. Dalpiaz. I am not. I do not use my middle initial at all myself and never have. It's not that I mind my middle name or anything, I just like Patricia Dalpiaz (most Patricia's are A anyhow). That's my name. I feel like I should control it and not some bank or credit card or cable company. Shouldn't we get to pick our identity? Why is some nameless third or fourth party deciding what my name should be? It isn't Barack H. Obama, is it? Love and kisses, Patty Anne