Saturday, October 04, 2014

Separated Families

Yesterday I met with my Mum's brother Brendan Byrne and his wife Judy who were visiting Dublin for just one day. They live in Toronto Canada and Brendan was back in Ireland for the first time in 16 years. Brendan grew up in Dublin (Temple Cottages), but left Ireland when he was only 7 years old. The Byrne family (my grandparents Paddy and Kathleen, my aunts Patsy (Cathy), Bernie, and Evelyn, and my uncles Brendan and Richard left Ireland in 1958. Raymond and Gertie (Trudy) Byrne emigrated to England. (Sadly Paddy, Kathleen, Patsy, Evelyn, Raymond, and Gertie have now all passed away). This left my Mum Phil as the last member of her family in Ireland - she married my Dad in 1958. So it is a joyous occasion when she can meet with any of her bothers and sisters. We met in Wynn's Hotel in Dublin for lunch, a chat, a pint, and some selfies!



I have been posting some photos on Facebook and am told by my cousin Lauralea that Wynn's Hotel is where my Grandfather Paddy Byrne proposed to my Grandmother Kathleen Cullen- probably in 1931 or 1932. A nice coincidence on a lovely family day.

1 comment: