The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Moynihans gather near ancestral home
AN old and dilapidated homestead still stands in the windswept townland of Cahirbarnagh in Rathmore and while walls can’t speak, if they could, this humble abode could boast of a proud Moynihan legacy stretching halfway across the world.
However, the present is nothing without its past and it was ‘back to the future’ for 57 members of the Moynihan diaspora recently as they gathered for a special reunion in Killarney to celebrate their family history and connection with the old cottage in Cahirbarnagh. For it was here in 1849 that Michael P Moynihan and Julia C Houlihan married and set the template for generations of future Moynihan’s in places like Boston, Chicago and Oklahoma.
The familiar green-and-gold ‘Moynihan banner’ headed the gathering at The Randle’s Court Hotel where, of the 57 present, 40 came from America and 17 from Ireland. But while Moynihan clan gatherings are a popular spectacle in the US, it’s been over 45 years since one was held on home soil.
“They’ve been having them in America for years and it was my sister, Sheelagh, who suggested that we arrange a gathering in Kerry,” said Helen Hanrahan.
It was Helen’s great-great-grandfather who left Ireland to settle in Boston and she is delighted the gathering was both an enjoyable and nostalgic occasion, vowing not to leave another 45 years drift by.
“The older generations would have kept in touch via letter, whereas we tend to use social media to stay in touch which I suppose makes it easier. It’s also great to think the original house in Cahirbarnagh still stands. We had a fantastic time and the oldest member at the gathering was Bob Moynihan, aged 83, right down to the youngest - Lyndsey and Finn aged nine,” Helen added.