From whence we came.....

 East Clare is in, well, the east part of County Clare in Ireland. It is an agricultural area, with not a lot to distinguish it from so many other parts of poor, rural, Muster and Connaught. But it is the ancestral home of thousands of people descended from several families dating back to the late 1700s. 

There were three tenant farming families in the parishes of Feakle and O'Callaghans Mills in East Clare by the time of the taxation assessment known as the Tithe Applotment of the 1830s: 

James and Daniel Magennis in the townland of Lecarrow in Feakle

Patrick Magennis in the townland of Feakle in Feakle

James Magennis in the townland of Iragh (my family).

I have traced their descendants through the male line and as many female lines as I could find. Just one family remains in East Clare to this day, the rest of us are far flung.

A number of people have helped enormously along the way. Firstly Beth Schroeder, nee McGinnis, who contacted me in 2014 to consider doing a Y DNA test to help her family find their roots in County Clare. Her male relative and my brother were an exact match.

I was already working with Marie McIntosh nee McGuiness since 1992 on finding our family in Australia, and tentatively in Ireland. We hosted a reunion in 2011 in Cowra, New South Wales.

I met Alan McGuinness about 2012, sharing our interest in AFL and the gathering of McGuinness's in Victoria. He too has added to our YDNA study.

Through Alan I met Helen Leake, nee McGuinness - one of the Feakle parish McGuiness's. She was our link to many American cousins.

In addition to gathering people, I have been particularly interested in the townland of Iragh, Irish history of the times that led to our ancestors fleeing Ireland, the wonder that is DNA research and the devastating long sufferings of Mary Magennis nee Tuohy, my x4 great grandmother.