Ireland, here I come! Bringing the life story of my great, great grandparents back to where it began.

Irish luck…it’s not a joke.  It really exists! I have it. At least I think I do. Or is it perseverance and passion?  Let me explain.

Last year I was contacted by an historian in Dublin, Gerard McCarthy. He’d heard about my book and about my Irish great, great grandfather, Florence Burke, a famine survivor from West Cork. IrishCentral article  Gerard wanted to include him in an exhibit he was creating entitled “The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852).” www.theirishpotatofamine.com. Of course I said, “Hell yes! ” I immediately sent him copies of the tin photos I had discovered in my attic, as well as a brief outline on my ancestor’s tragic life.

 

 

Well, that was the start of it. And ever since this chance encounter, rare opportunities have popped up; and I can hardly believe my good luck and timing. Here’s how things have gone down this summer:

• I planned a visit to Ireland in mid-September to
  • view Gerard’s famine exhibit in Dublin
  • reunite with the historian John L O’ Sullivan who helped me with research for my book in Ballinhassig (County Cork)
  • Visit Skibbereen, the actual place where the Burke family lived.

Here’s the “snowball” effect of amazing opportunities:

• An Irish Times reporter visited the exhibit and was interested in learning more about the famine survivor and emigrant, Florence Burke. I will be meeting with this reporter on the first evening I arrive in Dublin! I’ve sent him a copy of my book, and because he is not only a reporter but also an editor (and author), I am incredibly grateful that he is taking the time to speak with me.
• Sheila Coleman, the owner of The Sportsman’s Rest Pub in Ballinhassig, has offered to host a “meet and greet” at her pub, and it happens to fall on Sept. 22, Ireland’s Culture Night.  This is a perfect opportunity for me to thank my friend and historian John, and to meet and thank the kind-hearted people of Ballinhassig in a fun and informal setting at the pub. I am incredibly excited for this special event.
• So, what is Culture Night? It is a national evening celebrating arts, heritage and culture. It is now in its 7th year! I’ve discovered Culture Night is a government initiative with the common thread that all cultural programs are free and open to the public on this evening. By pure luck, my events at the Skibbereen Library in West Cork and my meet and greet in Ballinhassig fall on Culture day/Night so they will be nationally promoted–culturenight.ie I never expected this great fortune!
• The Culture Night committee is well-connected and these people act fast. A features editor from a Cork newspaper has offered to include my story in his annual “Holly Bough” magazine, and on Aug. 30th I will be interviewed by the national newspaper, the Irish Examiner.
• To provide books for the press and for Culture Night attendees, I reached out to a fantastic bookstore in Cork, the Liam Ruiseal Bookshop, (oldest bookshop in Cork) and they have agreed to sell my books. So, between Amazon UK and the bookstore, Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke is officially international! Holy Smokes.
• Last, but not least, there is a chance I will have the opportunity to be interviewed on the Ryan Tubridy Radio Show, that is an RTE’ National Radio show in Dublin with an enormously wide audience! That would be amazing and slightly terrifying.

What began as a tourist visit to my home country of Ireland has turned into an extraordinary book promotional opportunity. I couldn’t be more  honored. I will be speaking to Irish people about one of their own, a famine survivor who persevered through the blight, the journey to America, and the acquisition of his own land in Massachusetts. My great, great grandfather’s gamble helped the next generations of Burkes, and I am pleased to tell his humble story.

What will make this trip even more special will be that I am traveling with my husband and 13 year-old daughter. She will be able to experience the culture of Ireland, the famously warm people, the music, arts and history.  In essence: she will be immersed into her Irish roots.  I hope she inherits the “luck of the Irish” like I have–along with the grit and determination to follow her dreams!

A big thank you to the kind folks at home and in Ireland who have helped organize this trip!  Here’s a map of my travels in Ireland.

Ellen