Brideswell, County Roscommon Ireland

******TRAVEL TUESDAY*******

I'm very excited to share today's travel post with you. This post is about day three of my recent trip to Ireland. It was a day spent with my Irish relatives on my paternal grandmothers side of the family.

My grandmother, Delia Hamrock, was born in 1888 in the very small village of Brideswell, located in County Roscommon Ireland. Delia had seven siblings. Her father's name was John Hamrock, and her mother's name was Mary (Geraghty)  Hamrock. Delia emigrated to the US 18 April 1906, from Queenstown (Which is now Cobh) Ireland.

The River Suck, which is a tributary to the Shannon River, flows through the village of Brideswell:

The Hamrock homestead in Brideswell has gone into disrepair, and only one wall remains standing. Here is a photo of Miss J and I at the family home: (Photo credit my cousin MaryCatherine)

I can't even put into words how incredible it was to spend time with our Irish relatives, and I especially can't even find the words to describe how hospitable they were. I had gown up hearing about the "Irish hospitality" but to experience it first hand was beyond my expectations. Our cousin Teresa had us over to her beautiful home and gardens for "tea". It was lovely and we were served delicious homemade breads and jams........the conversation flowed smoothly.......and I felt like I was "home".

A video of Teresa’s lovely garden:

 Gramaphone from the old Brideswell home:

The whole group of extended family at Teresa's house: (Photo credit to Victor, our bus driver)

After tea, our cousin Aiden hopped on or bus with us and directed our driver to the cemetery where our relatives are buried. Aiden's brothers Michael and Sheamus met us at the cemetery.

The first burial inside the church was around 1600. It stopped being used as a church shortly after that because of the Reformation, which outlawed the practice of Catholicism. The Reformation was about 30-40 years before that, but according to the local historian, it would have taken that many years for the idea of the reformation to get down there. 

The landscape in County Roscommon was mostly flat farmland with miles and miles and miles of fields and stonewalls.

This was taken out of the moving bus window:

We stopped to see our Uncle Johnnie Hamrock's house and bike. He rode this bike well into his 90's and it has become quite the conversation piece! (My nephew Brian)

We also visited the school that my grandmother attended:

And we visited St Brigid's Well located beside the school:

The family then had a gathering for us at Hamrock's Bar in Brideswell with sandwiches and drinks being served. I had always heard of Hamrock's Pub and it was so exciting to be there. What a quaint little place this is......a very comfortable spot to sit and have a pint!

Notice what's hanging on the wall behind my Sister. I love how the NE Patriots were represented there!!!!

From here, we departed Brideswell and headed to the nearby town of Athlone to have a pint at Sean's Bar.......which is a very famous bar and is said to be not only the oldest bar in Ireland, but perhaps the oldest bar in the world!

I hope you enjoyed this post.......I know it is more personal than my typical blog posts and some of the photos are just record shots, but it was such a special day in my life and I really wanted to share it here on the blog. The next TRAVEL post that I'm putting up will feature more family photos.......this time from my paternal grandfathers side of the family. It was another unforgettable day.