1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:20,588 --> 00:00:23,156 My dad would say things like, 4 00:00:23,157 --> 00:00:26,060 "You can always be proud of being Irish." 5 00:00:28,562 --> 00:00:30,563 Who are my people? 6 00:00:30,564 --> 00:00:32,433 Where is my homeland? 7 00:00:33,667 --> 00:00:36,937 Why do our ancestors' stories matter today? 8 00:00:38,839 --> 00:00:42,942 How am I supposed to grow up and have a picture of who I am, 9 00:00:42,943 --> 00:00:45,246 if I don't know who I come from? 10 00:01:16,677 --> 00:01:18,645 Well, Rita, as you know, we're here in Galway today, 11 00:01:18,646 --> 00:01:19,912 we're on a very special mission 12 00:01:19,913 --> 00:01:22,549 because if you just look over the way across, 13 00:01:22,550 --> 00:01:23,916 across the river there, 14 00:01:23,917 --> 00:01:26,286 we're headed to the Galway City Museum. 15 00:01:26,287 --> 00:01:27,887 And in there, they've got a very special, 16 00:01:27,888 --> 00:01:30,723 the newest exhibition called Keepers of the Gael, 17 00:01:30,724 --> 00:01:33,160 and that has a lot to do with us and our ancestry 18 00:01:33,161 --> 00:01:35,995 because it talks about the learned families of the areas, 19 00:01:35,996 --> 00:01:38,331 the people who kept the Irish culture alive. 20 00:01:38,332 --> 00:01:41,134 And as we know, the O'Davorens of Cahermacnaughten, 21 00:01:41,135 --> 00:01:43,203 the Brehon Law School are our ancestors 22 00:01:43,204 --> 00:01:45,104 and they're talked about in there also. 23 00:01:45,105 --> 00:01:46,373 Awesome. 24 00:01:46,374 --> 00:01:47,407 So what'd you think about that? 25 00:01:47,408 --> 00:01:48,408 - I'm excited, I can hardly wait. 26 00:01:48,409 --> 00:01:49,609 The timing is great. 27 00:01:49,610 --> 00:01:51,212 Great, so am I, let's go. 28 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,082 Sheila is my distant cousin and friend 29 00:01:56,083 --> 00:01:59,319 and a keeper of family and local history. 30 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:03,823 She has taught me a lot about Irish culture and customs. 31 00:02:03,824 --> 00:02:06,626 We don't know exactly how we're related, 32 00:02:06,627 --> 00:02:08,196 but we know we are. 33 00:02:09,397 --> 00:02:12,332 Local history tells us that this family 34 00:02:12,333 --> 00:02:15,868 is likely descended from Donall O'Davoren, 35 00:02:15,869 --> 00:02:18,506 a Brehon judge of the 16th century. 36 00:02:19,607 --> 00:02:21,140 Who were those Brehons? 37 00:02:21,141 --> 00:02:23,477 Is their story mine too? 38 00:02:25,213 --> 00:02:30,149 Sometimes I feel a loss, an emptiness, 39 00:02:30,150 --> 00:02:32,885 a longing for people unknown, 40 00:02:32,886 --> 00:02:37,891 for traditions never experienced, for stories untold. 41 00:02:39,327 --> 00:02:41,461 It's like a kind of amnesia for all that has been lost 42 00:02:41,462 --> 00:02:45,333 in 150 years since my ancestors left Ireland. 43 00:02:47,501 --> 00:02:51,205 I wonder do other Irish Americans feel this way? 44 00:03:06,654 --> 00:03:09,656 Do you know anything about your Irish history? 45 00:03:09,657 --> 00:03:10,891 Not really. 46 00:03:12,726 --> 00:03:14,827 Well, my mom's side of the family is Irish 47 00:03:14,828 --> 00:03:18,164 and I've been Irish dancing for about three years now. 48 00:03:18,165 --> 00:03:20,833 On my mum's side, her dad died early, 49 00:03:20,834 --> 00:03:22,302 so we didn't really know him. 50 00:03:22,303 --> 00:03:23,903 We didn't really know much of the history there 51 00:03:23,904 --> 00:03:26,340 because we didn't have a link through him. 52 00:03:29,076 --> 00:03:30,710 I was very close with one of my grandmothers 53 00:03:30,711 --> 00:03:34,715 who really inculturated me into like Irish pride. 54 00:03:36,183 --> 00:03:37,817 I definitely am Irish. 55 00:03:37,818 --> 00:03:39,687 I don't know much about specifics. 56 00:03:47,295 --> 00:03:49,297 I'm not alone after all. 57 00:03:50,498 --> 00:03:53,333 Many of us from the US don't know our stories 58 00:03:53,334 --> 00:03:55,168 for a whole number of reasons. 59 00:03:57,070 --> 00:03:59,472 Some came here escaping economic 60 00:03:59,473 --> 00:04:01,608 and other kinds of oppression. 61 00:04:01,609 --> 00:04:04,444 They were strongly pressured to assimilate 62 00:04:04,445 --> 00:04:08,348 and to leave their language and culture behind. 63 00:04:08,349 --> 00:04:13,321 Stories passed down for generations were lost or forgotten. 64 00:04:14,988 --> 00:04:17,724 I think collective historical amnesia 65 00:04:17,725 --> 00:04:20,226 is endemic in this country. 66 00:04:20,227 --> 00:04:21,928 My students, one of the, 67 00:04:21,929 --> 00:04:25,097 actually their favorite project in the end 68 00:04:25,098 --> 00:04:27,867 was researching their family history. 69 00:04:27,868 --> 00:04:30,002 But they would go home and I can't tell you 70 00:04:30,003 --> 00:04:32,839 how many students would go home and talk to their parents 71 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:35,742 and their parents had no idea 72 00:04:35,743 --> 00:04:38,311 anything about their family history. 73 00:04:38,312 --> 00:04:41,614 We are a forward facing nation. 74 00:04:41,615 --> 00:04:45,151 We have always been a forward facing nation, 75 00:04:45,152 --> 00:04:48,187 and it's only if you go to the historical society, 76 00:04:48,188 --> 00:04:52,325 it's old people who pay attention to the past. 77 00:04:52,326 --> 00:04:54,026 And once we're old, 78 00:04:54,027 --> 00:04:58,164 it isn't as important as it is to understand the past 79 00:04:58,165 --> 00:05:02,635 when you're young and making decisions for the future. 80 00:05:02,636 --> 00:05:06,373 My grandma Anne Davern grew up on a small farm 81 00:05:06,374 --> 00:05:10,076 in the hills of County Clare and she left behind home 82 00:05:10,077 --> 00:05:15,082 and country to come to America at the age of 19. 83 00:05:15,949 --> 00:05:18,017 Like tens of thousands of Irish, 84 00:05:18,018 --> 00:05:21,287 Anne and her sisters came to build a new life 85 00:05:21,288 --> 00:05:24,758 and send money home to support their family. 86 00:05:26,927 --> 00:05:29,662 Because she died before I was born, 87 00:05:29,663 --> 00:05:33,366 I never got to ask Anne about her life in Ireland 88 00:05:33,367 --> 00:05:35,202 or her journey to Minnesota. 89 00:05:36,670 --> 00:05:40,173 Two generations later, much of her story was forgotten. 90 00:05:41,542 --> 00:05:44,010 I had 19 years of education 91 00:05:44,011 --> 00:05:45,845 and not one day of Irish history, 92 00:05:45,846 --> 00:05:49,315 not one hour of Irish history was taught. 93 00:05:49,316 --> 00:05:50,850 Well, what's that about? 94 00:05:50,851 --> 00:05:52,051 You know. 95 00:05:52,052 --> 00:05:55,888 So I had to just dive in and see 96 00:05:55,889 --> 00:05:57,558 what I could figure out on my own. 97 00:06:01,328 --> 00:06:04,030 I began a search for the place and people 98 00:06:04,031 --> 00:06:06,032 my grandma left behind. 99 00:06:06,033 --> 00:06:09,068 I hoped that by learning about her life, 100 00:06:09,069 --> 00:06:12,239 I could understand something important about mine. 101 00:06:15,543 --> 00:06:17,610 My search landed me in the Burren, 102 00:06:17,611 --> 00:06:21,347 a wild, beautiful, wind swept place, 103 00:06:21,348 --> 00:06:25,351 where my clan, the O'Davorens lived and farmed 104 00:06:25,352 --> 00:06:26,987 for over 1200 years. 105 00:06:28,489 --> 00:06:30,823 My first kind of experience of the Burren, 106 00:06:30,824 --> 00:06:34,226 I remember coming to the Burren, brought by a friend 107 00:06:34,227 --> 00:06:37,263 and coming over from Kinvarra, 108 00:06:37,264 --> 00:06:40,199 just as you kind of come over to the Corcomroe area 109 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,902 and suddenly there is the Burren. 110 00:06:42,903 --> 00:06:44,704 And you can see Mullaghmore 111 00:06:44,705 --> 00:06:48,274 off to the left of the mountains. 112 00:06:48,275 --> 00:06:53,280 And there was something kind of that just struck a chord 113 00:06:53,747 --> 00:06:54,747 with me. 114 00:06:55,883 --> 00:07:00,520 - I was born here in Rahone and I went away for a long time 115 00:07:00,521 --> 00:07:05,493 and like the salmon, I came back to where I started from. 116 00:07:06,093 --> 00:07:07,359 So here I am. 117 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:08,295 If you want to understand 118 00:07:08,296 --> 00:07:10,162 the Irish landscape and geology, 119 00:07:10,163 --> 00:07:11,864 this is the place to do it. 120 00:07:11,865 --> 00:07:13,666 And as a result of this geological wonder, 121 00:07:13,667 --> 00:07:16,035 it's a UNESCO geo-park, for instance. 122 00:07:16,036 --> 00:07:18,070 All this beautiful rock has been assembled 123 00:07:18,071 --> 00:07:20,640 and disassembled by people for 6,000 years, 124 00:07:20,641 --> 00:07:23,543 building these big, huge, stone forts. 125 00:07:23,544 --> 00:07:26,880 These megolithic tombs, where people died and were buried. 126 00:07:27,848 --> 00:07:29,381 They've built fulact fiadhs, 127 00:07:29,382 --> 00:07:32,619 where food was cooked back in the Bronze Age 3000 years ago, 128 00:07:32,620 --> 00:07:35,254 everything like a book written in stone, 129 00:07:35,255 --> 00:07:36,255 it's amazing. 130 00:07:40,260 --> 00:07:42,061 My sister and I first traveled 131 00:07:42,062 --> 00:07:44,831 to the Burren in 1977 132 00:07:44,832 --> 00:07:48,100 and I visit every other year if possible. 133 00:07:48,101 --> 00:07:50,437 I cherish the friends I've made there. 134 00:07:52,873 --> 00:07:55,307 Now I met Rita many years ago, was it, 135 00:07:55,308 --> 00:07:57,076 when I was working at the Burren Center 136 00:07:57,077 --> 00:07:58,711 and all of a sudden this lady came in 137 00:07:58,712 --> 00:08:00,547 and said, "Is there a Davoren here?" 138 00:08:00,548 --> 00:08:03,016 I said, "That's me, hello." 139 00:08:04,251 --> 00:08:05,352 And that's how we met. 140 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,455 I can't imagine finding you here. 141 00:08:12,693 --> 00:08:14,861 Do you know what Rita, 142 00:08:14,862 --> 00:08:16,729 I can still remember the day 143 00:08:16,730 --> 00:08:20,600 that you arrived at the door here. 144 00:08:20,601 --> 00:08:23,536 And with a look of astonishment on your face 145 00:08:23,537 --> 00:08:27,006 because you expected a ruin. 146 00:08:27,007 --> 00:08:29,776 And you had come in and you realized 147 00:08:29,777 --> 00:08:31,844 that somebody had bought the ruin 148 00:08:31,845 --> 00:08:35,347 and it was well in the way to being restored 149 00:08:35,348 --> 00:08:36,949 and the look on your face was amazing 150 00:08:36,950 --> 00:08:40,086 and you said 'coz you've been coming for years 151 00:08:40,087 --> 00:08:45,092 and your great grandfather was born here. 152 00:08:45,826 --> 00:08:47,059 That was amazing. 153 00:08:47,060 --> 00:08:48,561 I remember I would come here 154 00:08:48,562 --> 00:08:53,567 and you would always feed me. 155 00:08:54,702 --> 00:08:56,803 Like I'd be next door, and you'd say, 156 00:08:56,804 --> 00:08:58,771 "We're putting your name in the pot." 157 00:08:58,772 --> 00:09:02,041 I always love when you come over, Rita, 158 00:09:02,042 --> 00:09:04,410 and you'd be back again and I'd be here. 159 00:09:04,411 --> 00:09:05,745 - Good. - - Every time 160 00:09:05,746 --> 00:09:09,381 she leaves, I feel so sad when she leaves, 161 00:09:09,382 --> 00:09:10,917 but I'm always here the next time you call. 162 00:09:10,918 --> 00:09:11,918 That's right. 163 00:09:13,153 --> 00:09:17,290 This is the place my grandma left behind in 1887. 164 00:09:18,458 --> 00:09:20,527 Her childhood home is now in ruins. 165 00:09:21,895 --> 00:09:23,095 But over the years, 166 00:09:23,096 --> 00:09:25,765 I've become friends with the O'Gorman family 167 00:09:25,766 --> 00:09:26,934 who live there now. 168 00:09:28,335 --> 00:09:32,205 So you were born in that house, right? 169 00:09:33,473 --> 00:09:35,141 - Well actually - 14. 170 00:09:35,142 --> 00:09:36,475 I wasn't born in that house now. 171 00:09:36,476 --> 00:09:38,444 - Okay. - I was born down the road, 172 00:09:38,445 --> 00:09:40,512 a couple of miles down the road. 173 00:09:40,513 --> 00:09:42,581 We owned a house about two miles down the road there, 174 00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:46,052 and this place came up for sale and they bought this farm 175 00:09:46,053 --> 00:09:47,487 and that house up there. 176 00:09:48,488 --> 00:09:50,222 It was the early sixties, yeah. 177 00:09:50,223 --> 00:09:51,223 The early sixties. 178 00:09:54,494 --> 00:09:55,728 Country living, farming 179 00:09:55,729 --> 00:09:58,131 and I was going to school at the time, 180 00:09:59,266 --> 00:10:01,334 so I was coming and going every day. 181 00:10:03,303 --> 00:10:07,173 We had a field stove and there was plenty of heat in there 182 00:10:07,174 --> 00:10:09,442 in the wintertime, nice and warm. 183 00:10:13,881 --> 00:10:17,249 My mom had chickens and hens, ducks and geese 184 00:10:17,250 --> 00:10:19,418 and the whole lot at the time. 185 00:10:19,419 --> 00:10:22,121 My father used to be working and used to be cutting hay 186 00:10:22,122 --> 00:10:24,556 with horses and plowing gardens and. 187 00:10:24,557 --> 00:10:26,125 It's not an easy. 188 00:10:26,126 --> 00:10:27,127 Tough life, yeah, 189 00:10:28,061 --> 00:10:29,061 tough life. 190 00:10:34,134 --> 00:10:37,303 Anne's distant cousin, William Quinn Davoren 191 00:10:37,304 --> 00:10:39,438 was one generation older. 192 00:10:39,439 --> 00:10:42,641 He immigrated in 1849, 193 00:10:42,642 --> 00:10:46,646 making a claim on land in Minnesota just one year later. 194 00:10:48,348 --> 00:10:51,083 William Q's childhood home in the Burren 195 00:10:51,084 --> 00:10:54,586 has been restored and its current occupant, 196 00:10:54,587 --> 00:10:58,657 a virtuoso named Archie has brought special kind 197 00:10:58,658 --> 00:11:01,660 of musical magic to his community. 198 00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:03,863 This is the house itself here. 199 00:11:03,864 --> 00:11:07,366 You know all about this house, how much it means to you, 200 00:11:07,367 --> 00:11:08,969 it means a lot to me too. 201 00:11:10,137 --> 00:11:14,006 You're here 400 years old, I believe. 202 00:11:14,007 --> 00:11:16,108 Do you wanna see a picture of the house? 203 00:11:16,109 --> 00:11:17,376 - Sure. - - In those days? 204 00:11:17,377 --> 00:11:20,980 - Yeah. - - I'll just get one. 205 00:11:20,981 --> 00:11:22,248 Oh my goodness. 206 00:11:22,249 --> 00:11:23,150 That was Lismorahaun's house, 207 00:11:23,150 --> 00:11:24,150 do you remember that? 208 00:11:26,386 --> 00:11:27,386 Wow. 209 00:11:39,332 --> 00:11:42,769 It's impossible to separate the Burren landscape 210 00:11:42,770 --> 00:11:44,437 from the people who live there. 211 00:11:45,806 --> 00:11:48,440 There is such a wealth of archeology 212 00:11:48,441 --> 00:11:49,977 going back 5,000 years. 213 00:11:51,979 --> 00:11:53,279 All of those archeological sites 214 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,681 were built by farmers to keep their cattle, 215 00:11:55,682 --> 00:11:58,384 to bury their dead, to cook their food. 216 00:11:58,385 --> 00:12:00,519 The flora, that wouldn't be here, 217 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,756 were it not for the winter grazing up by cattle. 218 00:12:03,757 --> 00:12:06,158 So when the flowers are asleep by winter, 219 00:12:06,159 --> 00:12:07,227 the cattle come in. 220 00:12:09,262 --> 00:12:11,898 The ancient custom of herding cattle 221 00:12:11,899 --> 00:12:15,167 up onto mountains to their seasonal grazing lands 222 00:12:15,168 --> 00:12:18,839 called winterages is one such practice. 223 00:12:20,007 --> 00:12:23,609 These traditional ways developed over millennia 224 00:12:23,610 --> 00:12:26,813 are increasingly being revived across Europe 225 00:12:26,814 --> 00:12:29,049 to make farming more sustainable. 226 00:12:33,753 --> 00:12:34,987 Farmers like Michael Davoren 227 00:12:34,988 --> 00:12:36,222 manage those cattle. 228 00:12:36,223 --> 00:12:37,489 They harvest off all the dead grass 229 00:12:37,490 --> 00:12:39,125 without damaging the flowers. 230 00:12:39,126 --> 00:12:40,592 Then in springtime and summertime, 231 00:12:40,593 --> 00:12:44,430 these flowers can prosper without being damaged by cattle. 232 00:12:44,431 --> 00:12:49,436 And so it's that combination of grazing and transhumance 233 00:12:50,904 --> 00:12:52,638 that gives us this really rich biodiversity in the Burren. 234 00:12:52,639 --> 00:12:53,906 And the rock itself, 235 00:12:53,907 --> 00:12:55,474 people think this is a natural feature. 236 00:12:55,475 --> 00:12:57,977 Well, it's not, the Burren was completely covered with trees 237 00:12:57,978 --> 00:13:00,847 until farmers came, chopped those trees down 238 00:13:00,848 --> 00:13:02,781 and eventually like it or loath it, 239 00:13:02,782 --> 00:13:05,017 created this bear rocky landscape. 240 00:13:05,018 --> 00:13:06,618 That's also as a result of farming, 241 00:13:06,619 --> 00:13:09,622 so in every sense, people have shaped the landscape here. 242 00:13:11,558 --> 00:13:13,725 People have farmed those landscapes through generations 243 00:13:13,726 --> 00:13:15,361 and that why they look like they do. 244 00:13:15,362 --> 00:13:17,930 If we want to maintain them for future generations, 245 00:13:17,931 --> 00:13:21,234 we need to support those farming communities within them. 246 00:13:22,335 --> 00:13:24,803 As generations of farmers shaped 247 00:13:24,804 --> 00:13:29,576 this rugged landscape, so did the landscape shape them. 248 00:13:32,913 --> 00:13:34,446 You see when you were in the Ireland 249 00:13:34,447 --> 00:13:35,681 of the horse and cart, 250 00:13:35,682 --> 00:13:37,783 which has gone on for many centuries, 251 00:13:37,784 --> 00:13:39,218 nothing really changed. 252 00:13:39,219 --> 00:13:40,619 There were handheld tools 253 00:13:40,620 --> 00:13:42,388 and you produced what the land 254 00:13:42,389 --> 00:13:43,790 was naturally able to produce. 255 00:13:45,392 --> 00:13:49,361 There was no such as luxury or anything at all. 256 00:13:49,362 --> 00:13:52,632 Whatever you ate was grown in your own garden. 257 00:13:53,833 --> 00:13:55,935 Your bucket of spuds, your heads of cabbage, 258 00:13:55,936 --> 00:13:59,106 your carrots, parsnips, whatever, t'was all there. 259 00:14:00,540 --> 00:14:02,841 Working this land is not easy, 260 00:14:02,842 --> 00:14:05,044 but its rewards are great. 261 00:14:05,045 --> 00:14:09,548 The Burren is uniquely suited to raising sheep and cattle 262 00:14:09,549 --> 00:14:13,785 and people here have done so for several thousand years. 263 00:14:13,786 --> 00:14:15,387 Now, the dog has to be trained to the voice 264 00:14:15,388 --> 00:14:16,455 before she's trained to the whistle. 265 00:14:16,456 --> 00:14:17,990 She has four basic commands, 266 00:14:17,991 --> 00:14:20,727 she has to sit down, walk up, go left and go right. 267 00:14:21,895 --> 00:14:24,397 Each dog has a different sound for the whistle. 268 00:14:31,404 --> 00:14:33,505 There's that great quote from Cromwell, 269 00:14:33,506 --> 00:14:37,709 "Of this land, there is not enough water to drown man, 270 00:14:37,710 --> 00:14:39,745 not enough timber to hang him in 271 00:14:39,746 --> 00:14:42,081 and not enough clay to bury him." 272 00:14:42,082 --> 00:14:43,216 But the quote went on, 273 00:14:44,417 --> 00:14:47,753 "The tufts of grass that grow in little bunches, 274 00:14:47,754 --> 00:14:51,690 two to three foot square is very nourishing indeed 275 00:14:51,691 --> 00:14:54,093 and the cattle are the fattest in the kingdom. 276 00:14:54,094 --> 00:14:58,230 So even 400 years ago, it was recognized as a great place 277 00:14:58,231 --> 00:14:59,499 to produce livestock. 278 00:15:00,968 --> 00:15:02,901 And it's a really interesting time in the Burren 279 00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:05,304 'coz right now the old traditional practices of farming 280 00:15:05,305 --> 00:15:08,307 are starting to decline 'coz there's not really an income 281 00:15:08,308 --> 00:15:10,977 to be made from farming this place anymore. 282 00:15:10,978 --> 00:15:13,779 At the same time, the value of all these things 283 00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:16,515 like biodiversity and archeology is increasing 284 00:15:16,516 --> 00:15:18,484 because it's becoming more rare. 285 00:15:18,485 --> 00:15:21,720 So what I think is that as farming declines in importance 286 00:15:21,721 --> 00:15:23,322 and as this biodiversity and heritage 287 00:15:23,323 --> 00:15:24,756 becomes more important, 288 00:15:24,757 --> 00:15:27,359 I think we need to bring farming back up 289 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,197 by supporting farming to look after this biodiversity. 290 00:15:34,701 --> 00:15:36,402 The word road here in Ireland 291 00:15:36,403 --> 00:15:40,839 comes from an old Gaelic ward called Bothar. 292 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:44,110 The first tracks when cattle were being moved across Ireland 293 00:15:44,111 --> 00:15:47,814 were the cattle tracks, so they were the first pathways. 294 00:15:49,249 --> 00:15:50,983 Bothar is the way of the cow 295 00:15:50,984 --> 00:15:52,752 and the way of the cow is the road. 296 00:15:54,154 --> 00:15:56,488 All over the world, we have similar situations. 297 00:15:56,489 --> 00:15:58,324 We have these beautiful landscapes 298 00:15:58,325 --> 00:15:59,758 and in a lot of the cases, 299 00:15:59,759 --> 00:16:02,061 they kind of depend on farming practices. 300 00:16:02,062 --> 00:16:04,997 So if we lose those farmers because they move to cities 301 00:16:04,998 --> 00:16:06,398 or whatever and get jobs, 302 00:16:06,399 --> 00:16:08,800 we also lose a lot of our landscape values, 303 00:16:08,801 --> 00:16:10,370 we lose a lot of our heritage. 304 00:16:15,708 --> 00:16:17,909 My father and mother of course were farmers. 305 00:16:17,910 --> 00:16:19,378 When I was young, 306 00:16:19,379 --> 00:16:20,579 we didn't have any fridges or anything like that. 307 00:16:20,580 --> 00:16:23,183 And to keep the milk cool, 308 00:16:24,317 --> 00:16:26,152 we had a running river by the house, 309 00:16:26,153 --> 00:16:27,953 just little away from the house. 310 00:16:27,954 --> 00:16:30,689 And the creamery cans and cows were milked in the evening, 311 00:16:30,690 --> 00:16:32,858 operating two or three creamery cans, milk, 312 00:16:32,859 --> 00:16:36,295 and they were put down at the river to keep them cold. 313 00:16:36,296 --> 00:16:39,398 But of course that's when milk was really milk 314 00:16:39,399 --> 00:16:42,801 and the cream was solid clotted cream, 315 00:16:42,802 --> 00:16:47,073 about five or six inches thick on top of this milk. 316 00:16:47,074 --> 00:16:48,574 I got into the habit, 317 00:16:48,575 --> 00:16:50,709 I went down one evening and it was like nightfall, 318 00:16:50,710 --> 00:16:52,844 it was almost kind of almost dark. 319 00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:56,848 I was sitting down by the river with my feet in the water, 320 00:16:56,849 --> 00:16:58,251 watching the world go by, 321 00:16:59,352 --> 00:17:02,020 I'd say I was about eight or nine. 322 00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:07,026 And then I decided I have a cup of cream of milk after 323 00:17:08,461 --> 00:17:10,362 and I had a cup with me, so I took out this clotted cream 324 00:17:10,363 --> 00:17:12,298 and I drank down the cup of cream. 325 00:17:12,299 --> 00:17:16,034 I've never tasted anything so amazing in my life. 326 00:17:16,035 --> 00:17:18,337 I immediately was like a drug addict, 327 00:17:18,338 --> 00:17:20,972 I was addicted, I loved that cream. 328 00:17:20,973 --> 00:17:24,876 And I used to sit there, in heaven, 329 00:17:24,877 --> 00:17:26,913 drinking my cups of cream. 330 00:17:28,215 --> 00:17:31,783 Of course, shortly afterwards, I start eating, 331 00:17:31,784 --> 00:17:34,386 my mother had a dinner for me coming home from school. 332 00:17:34,387 --> 00:17:38,624 I didn't want it, all I wanted was my drug of the night, 333 00:17:38,625 --> 00:17:39,991 which was the cream. 334 00:17:39,992 --> 00:17:42,094 My mother had to gather up a few bob together 335 00:17:42,095 --> 00:17:43,530 and bring me to the doctor. 336 00:17:44,897 --> 00:17:46,498 He couldn't find nothing wrong with me. 337 00:17:46,499 --> 00:17:47,667 He gave me a tonic. 338 00:17:48,535 --> 00:17:49,768 Oh, I took the tonic, 339 00:17:49,769 --> 00:17:50,969 that meant I could drink more cream 340 00:17:50,970 --> 00:17:53,305 when I was down there at the river. 341 00:17:53,306 --> 00:17:57,042 So eventually anyhow, my mother said to me, 342 00:17:57,043 --> 00:18:01,079 "How are you always going down to that river every evening?" 343 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,016 And I said, "Well, I like having my feet in the water." 344 00:18:05,051 --> 00:18:06,652 And she went, "Yeah." 345 00:18:06,653 --> 00:18:09,755 And one night, she followed me down. 346 00:18:09,756 --> 00:18:14,126 I was in the bank drinking my cream, life was wonderful. 347 00:18:14,127 --> 00:18:16,496 She went, "My God! Gotcha!" 348 00:18:18,198 --> 00:18:21,701 I was dragged up from the river and she called 349 00:18:22,835 --> 00:18:26,037 everybody at the house attacked me like, 350 00:18:26,038 --> 00:18:27,539 "How could you do this? 351 00:18:27,540 --> 00:18:30,476 Number one, now we're losing out on the amount of cream 352 00:18:30,477 --> 00:18:31,677 you're drinking. 353 00:18:31,678 --> 00:18:33,779 Number two, the visit to the doctor 354 00:18:33,780 --> 00:18:37,015 which we could never afford and now we know why." 355 00:18:37,016 --> 00:18:40,152 I had a longing for that cream which was something terrible, 356 00:18:40,153 --> 00:18:42,854 but then I was cut off just like that. 357 00:18:42,855 --> 00:18:45,658 Cold Turkey is what it's called. 358 00:18:48,295 --> 00:18:52,063 But life in the Burren is not just about farming. 359 00:18:52,064 --> 00:18:57,069 It has also long served as a nexus for art and creativity. 360 00:18:58,471 --> 00:19:02,108 What happened was it became a center of learning, 361 00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:07,714 a center of music and more specifically, 362 00:19:11,184 --> 00:19:14,353 a center where people could explore their voices, 363 00:19:14,354 --> 00:19:17,524 so I became a vocal coach. 364 00:19:23,129 --> 00:19:25,831 It was only after I got a chance to know 365 00:19:25,832 --> 00:19:27,966 Sheila's extended family, 366 00:19:27,967 --> 00:19:31,169 that I got a clear look at what I missed growing up 367 00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:32,239 in the US. 368 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:35,342 I come from Rahone. 369 00:19:36,676 --> 00:19:38,478 We own a small farm, 370 00:19:39,979 --> 00:19:42,814 three miles from Kilfenora village, 371 00:19:42,815 --> 00:19:45,285 the home of top-class music. 372 00:19:46,219 --> 00:19:48,488 Our house was always music. 373 00:19:49,689 --> 00:19:53,292 Since we were children, music was our God. 374 00:19:53,293 --> 00:19:54,960 We loved it. 375 00:19:54,961 --> 00:19:58,498 So this is the grave of my mam's grandparents, 376 00:19:59,966 --> 00:20:01,900 Patrick and Alice Davoren. 377 00:20:01,901 --> 00:20:05,937 This is where kind of all mam's stories came from 378 00:20:05,938 --> 00:20:08,274 from these people inside in here. 379 00:20:08,275 --> 00:20:09,775 Since I was a small child, 380 00:20:09,776 --> 00:20:12,378 I'd been privileged to my grandparents with me. 381 00:20:12,379 --> 00:20:14,079 Everything I know is stemmed from them. 382 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,748 The love I have for the area, for the history, 383 00:20:16,749 --> 00:20:19,418 for the geology, for everything to do with this place. 384 00:20:19,419 --> 00:20:22,421 And especially of course, the family tree, 385 00:20:22,422 --> 00:20:24,856 all stemmed from my grandparents. 386 00:20:24,857 --> 00:20:28,327 My grandfather, Patrick Davoren, known as "Pappy" 387 00:20:28,328 --> 00:20:31,029 and my grandmother, Alice Galvin, who married him. 388 00:20:31,030 --> 00:20:33,231 They were actually neighbors, 389 00:20:33,232 --> 00:20:37,403 literally here to the kitchen sort of neighbors. 390 00:20:37,404 --> 00:20:42,007 And they grew up together and they eventually eloped. 391 00:20:42,008 --> 00:20:43,509 They started their family, 392 00:20:43,510 --> 00:20:47,112 they built their own house right between the two houses. 393 00:20:47,113 --> 00:20:49,147 Davorens here, Galvins here 394 00:20:49,148 --> 00:20:51,483 and there's their house right in the middle. 395 00:20:51,484 --> 00:20:53,852 And from then on, I suppose, 396 00:20:53,853 --> 00:20:56,922 I guess really always those houses had a reputation 397 00:20:56,923 --> 00:21:00,059 for being places you went to and you heard stories. 398 00:21:01,461 --> 00:21:04,129 In fact, my grandmother's house was, I suppose, 399 00:21:04,130 --> 00:21:05,631 the equivalent of a "ceili house." 400 00:21:05,632 --> 00:21:08,834 And there used to be dances there on the weekend. 401 00:21:08,835 --> 00:21:13,505 Matches were made, prices of cattle were discussed, 402 00:21:13,506 --> 00:21:16,241 newspaper was read for the benefit of people 403 00:21:16,242 --> 00:21:17,543 who maybe couldn't read. 404 00:21:17,544 --> 00:21:19,110 People came from all over. 405 00:21:19,111 --> 00:21:20,946 I remember my grandmother bragging that they came 406 00:21:20,947 --> 00:21:23,048 from as far away as Moher, 407 00:21:23,049 --> 00:21:25,150 which when you think about it, no cars 408 00:21:25,151 --> 00:21:27,419 and all the rest of it was a fair hike. 409 00:21:27,420 --> 00:21:30,456 And I grew up with all those stories. 410 00:21:30,457 --> 00:21:32,524 It's really cool to think that the stories came 411 00:21:32,525 --> 00:21:34,494 from people inside these graves. 412 00:21:37,229 --> 00:21:41,767 Sheila's father is a true, shanaki, a storyteller, 413 00:21:41,768 --> 00:21:44,870 spinning tales of all kinds that were passed down 414 00:21:44,871 --> 00:21:47,374 through generations, parent to child. 415 00:21:49,241 --> 00:21:50,577 We'd sit down by the fire 416 00:21:52,779 --> 00:21:55,114 and my grandfather was a great storyteller. 417 00:21:56,783 --> 00:21:58,917 And we were all young, some of them would go to bed, 418 00:21:58,918 --> 00:22:01,520 but jays, I'd always stay by the fire. 419 00:22:01,521 --> 00:22:03,722 He'd be telling the haunted stories 420 00:22:03,723 --> 00:22:05,724 and we'd be going like that. 421 00:22:05,725 --> 00:22:08,695 And he'd imitate the witch, " Oh, oh, oh." 422 00:22:10,162 --> 00:22:12,964 And my mother would say, "Oh God's sake, don't tell them. 423 00:22:12,965 --> 00:22:14,900 They'll be raving tonight in the bed." 424 00:22:14,901 --> 00:22:16,735 "They will not," he said, "They will not." 425 00:22:16,736 --> 00:22:19,905 And to hear all those stories 426 00:22:19,906 --> 00:22:22,808 to be told to him with his father. 427 00:22:22,809 --> 00:22:25,076 Michael even pulls out the tin whistle 428 00:22:25,077 --> 00:22:26,712 from time to time, 429 00:22:26,713 --> 00:22:29,147 a traditional instrument that carries with it 430 00:22:29,148 --> 00:22:32,452 the sound of Davorens, past and present. 431 00:22:34,353 --> 00:22:36,823 There's so much history, it's amazing. 432 00:22:38,224 --> 00:22:41,894 It's so important to have them to know their background. 433 00:22:44,296 --> 00:22:47,165 I don't know anything if mam didn't tell me 434 00:22:47,166 --> 00:22:48,701 or granddad told me. 435 00:22:50,102 --> 00:22:53,505 I love it so much, just listening to all the stories. 436 00:22:53,506 --> 00:22:55,407 Is it possible to find out 437 00:22:55,408 --> 00:22:58,845 what my ancestors' lives were like even earlier? 438 00:23:01,614 --> 00:23:05,785 To do that, I need to look further back in time. 439 00:23:15,061 --> 00:23:17,796 We like our ancestors developed 440 00:23:17,797 --> 00:23:21,366 the main roadways of pathways which let people, 441 00:23:21,367 --> 00:23:22,835 communities join easily. 442 00:23:29,308 --> 00:23:31,142 In order to develop our winterages 443 00:23:31,143 --> 00:23:33,011 and bring it into the 21st century, 444 00:23:33,012 --> 00:23:35,080 we made what we call trackways. 445 00:23:35,081 --> 00:23:38,884 And it was in the course of making that trackway, 446 00:23:38,885 --> 00:23:41,419 that we came across a cist 447 00:23:41,420 --> 00:23:44,322 and there was a bit of a bone unearthed 448 00:23:44,323 --> 00:23:45,791 and we didn't think anything of it, 449 00:23:45,792 --> 00:23:47,559 we thought it was an animal's bone. 450 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,628 Well, a geologist who happened to be around 451 00:23:49,629 --> 00:23:51,229 walking one day and saw the bone 452 00:23:51,230 --> 00:23:53,832 and recognized it to be human bone. 453 00:23:53,833 --> 00:23:55,567 And it was he came to me and asked would we mind 454 00:23:55,568 --> 00:23:57,836 if there was an archeological dig done. 455 00:23:57,837 --> 00:24:01,039 The dig was done and subsequently the cist was unveiled 456 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:05,711 as a two and a half thousand, 3000 year old burial ground 457 00:24:05,712 --> 00:24:07,178 and maybe older. 458 00:24:07,179 --> 00:24:10,949 And the bone was carbon dated back to I think 459 00:24:10,950 --> 00:24:13,418 it was around 5,000 years ago. 460 00:24:13,419 --> 00:24:15,421 I was absolutely gobsmacked. 461 00:24:19,125 --> 00:24:20,826 There are people around here in the Burren 462 00:24:20,827 --> 00:24:23,995 and throughout Ireland for 7,000 years, 463 00:24:23,996 --> 00:24:27,032 8,000 years, at least and they're not all buried 464 00:24:27,033 --> 00:24:28,200 in our local cemetery. 465 00:24:30,903 --> 00:24:33,872 The rocky landscape of the Burren has preserved 466 00:24:33,873 --> 00:24:35,908 many mysteries of the past. 467 00:24:37,243 --> 00:24:40,679 Uncovering stories hidden beneath the stones 468 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:45,151 adds to our understanding of how people here lived long ago. 469 00:24:46,318 --> 00:24:49,420 Caherconnell farmer, John Davoren hosts 470 00:24:49,421 --> 00:24:53,224 an annual archeology dig at a stone fort 471 00:24:53,225 --> 00:24:54,761 located on his farm. 472 00:25:02,935 --> 00:25:06,004 Caherconnell Castle, where we are right now 473 00:25:06,005 --> 00:25:10,776 is a very fine example of an Irish ring fort. 474 00:25:10,777 --> 00:25:13,580 Now a ring fort was an enclosed farmstead, 475 00:25:15,014 --> 00:25:17,916 mostly built and used during our early medieval period 476 00:25:17,917 --> 00:25:21,019 from about the fifth, sixth century AD 477 00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:23,855 to about the 11th or 12th century AD. 478 00:25:23,856 --> 00:25:27,559 This is a very large example and even without excavation 479 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,661 is very impressive and would suggest 480 00:25:29,662 --> 00:25:32,163 that it was an important place, an impressive place, 481 00:25:32,164 --> 00:25:34,299 maybe a high status settlement. 482 00:25:34,300 --> 00:25:37,435 And of course the Davoren family have a long tradition 483 00:25:37,436 --> 00:25:41,039 in the Burren of teaching, 484 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,643 of presenting and preserving heritage. 485 00:25:44,644 --> 00:25:47,445 This is a map of Caherconnell town lot, 486 00:25:47,446 --> 00:25:50,149 a map that we met of the archeological remains. 487 00:25:51,317 --> 00:25:54,486 Now, we are standing just here, 488 00:25:56,789 --> 00:26:00,759 the monument of Caherconnell is this one just behind us. 489 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,361 It's a large drystone enclosure, 490 00:26:03,362 --> 00:26:06,064 but there are four of them in the town lot, not just one. 491 00:26:06,065 --> 00:26:07,565 So there's a cluster of three here 492 00:26:07,566 --> 00:26:10,002 quite close to only about 100 meters between them 493 00:26:11,170 --> 00:26:12,672 and a fourth one back to the West. 494 00:26:14,406 --> 00:26:18,309 - I was excavating near part of an inner wall 495 00:26:18,310 --> 00:26:21,546 on the southern aspect of this divider and the castle 496 00:26:21,547 --> 00:26:23,548 and I came across this. 497 00:26:23,549 --> 00:26:26,384 It's a little iron shear. 498 00:26:26,385 --> 00:26:27,418 It's been the adventure 499 00:26:27,419 --> 00:26:29,655 I've been needing honestly. 500 00:26:29,656 --> 00:26:32,891 We've concentrated on excavating, cutting gee. 501 00:26:32,892 --> 00:26:34,192 And as I was trolling, 502 00:26:34,193 --> 00:26:36,795 I'm even start picking at it in the dirt 503 00:26:36,796 --> 00:26:40,231 and I see a little spec of a thing like it's a little bead, 504 00:26:40,232 --> 00:26:41,466 it's red, white and blue. 505 00:26:41,467 --> 00:26:45,637 And hey, is this glass bead modern or antique? 506 00:26:45,638 --> 00:26:47,206 I can't tell. 507 00:26:48,407 --> 00:26:50,041 And next day, lo and behold, 508 00:26:50,042 --> 00:26:52,444 they tell me it's a 15th century, Venetian bead. 509 00:26:53,846 --> 00:26:55,313 I was flabbergasted out of excitement. 510 00:26:55,314 --> 00:26:59,051 I was like, "I didn't know, I didn't know this." 511 00:27:00,219 --> 00:27:02,187 Which means they were trading. 512 00:27:02,188 --> 00:27:04,656 They trading, yes, that is evidence for trade, 513 00:27:04,657 --> 00:27:06,357 mhm, all the way to here. 514 00:27:06,358 --> 00:27:08,093 The monument that we're sitting in 515 00:27:08,094 --> 00:27:12,330 is a high status home built in the late 10th century 516 00:27:12,331 --> 00:27:15,600 and built by a local ruling family. 517 00:27:15,601 --> 00:27:18,503 When they came here and chose this site to construct 518 00:27:18,504 --> 00:27:19,906 their new settlement, 519 00:27:21,340 --> 00:27:23,108 there was a particular element 520 00:27:23,109 --> 00:27:25,944 that they decided deliberately to incorporate 521 00:27:25,945 --> 00:27:28,279 into their new home 522 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,549 and we're sitting right beside it here today. 523 00:27:31,550 --> 00:27:34,119 And this is an earlier burial mound. 524 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:38,790 Small, low mound made of earth and stone 525 00:27:38,791 --> 00:27:43,695 that covered some stone boxes that held human remains. 526 00:27:43,696 --> 00:27:46,898 The burials date to the late sixth, 527 00:27:46,899 --> 00:27:48,367 early seventh century AD. 528 00:27:49,702 --> 00:27:52,637 They're part of the earliest Christian tradition 529 00:27:52,638 --> 00:27:54,973 here in the Burren. 530 00:27:54,974 --> 00:27:57,542 The people who lived here continued to live 531 00:27:57,543 --> 00:28:00,211 like their ancestors had before them, 532 00:28:00,212 --> 00:28:02,981 despite all of the new influences in Ireland, 533 00:28:02,982 --> 00:28:05,817 particularly the Anglo-Normans. 534 00:28:05,818 --> 00:28:09,420 The occupants here who were wealthy and if they wanted to, 535 00:28:09,421 --> 00:28:12,724 could have built castles or towns or villages 536 00:28:12,725 --> 00:28:14,960 like their Anglo-Norman counterparts, 537 00:28:14,961 --> 00:28:18,063 they had the money or the wealth to do that. 538 00:28:18,064 --> 00:28:22,600 They didn't, they deliberately decided not to, 539 00:28:22,601 --> 00:28:24,169 they had no need to. 540 00:28:24,170 --> 00:28:26,204 This was their ancestral home, 541 00:28:26,205 --> 00:28:28,173 this was their important place. 542 00:28:28,174 --> 00:28:30,508 They had no need of a large castle 543 00:28:30,509 --> 00:28:34,145 or to build a village around around their settlement. 544 00:28:34,146 --> 00:28:37,983 Their traditional way of life was perfectly suitable 545 00:28:37,984 --> 00:28:40,452 for what they needed and what they wanted to do here. 546 00:28:46,392 --> 00:28:50,061 What were our ancestors up to back then? 547 00:28:50,062 --> 00:28:53,464 The first recorded evidence of the O'Davoren clan 548 00:28:53,465 --> 00:28:56,001 was in 800 AD. 549 00:28:56,002 --> 00:29:00,505 In medieval times, some served as judges of Brehon law, 550 00:29:00,506 --> 00:29:03,909 an ancient legal system focused on justice, 551 00:29:03,910 --> 00:29:06,545 restitution and the common good. 552 00:29:08,915 --> 00:29:10,616 Six law schools, seven. 553 00:29:13,786 --> 00:29:17,422 So this idea of learning communities, I like this. 554 00:29:17,423 --> 00:29:18,656 Very much. 555 00:29:18,657 --> 00:29:21,326 - They really did share and they came together 556 00:29:21,327 --> 00:29:25,931 to write things down, share ideas. 557 00:29:25,932 --> 00:29:30,937 It was more vibrant activity than I imagined. 558 00:29:32,438 --> 00:29:33,805 Well yeah, it's great to think 559 00:29:33,806 --> 00:29:35,773 that there was that connection between all of them. 560 00:29:35,774 --> 00:29:40,779 You know, you didn't travel around to the other law schools 561 00:29:42,381 --> 00:29:44,182 unless there was a welcome there for you, 562 00:29:44,183 --> 00:29:45,783 unless it was a genuine thing, I would imagine. 563 00:29:45,784 --> 00:29:46,918 So there was obviously, no, 564 00:29:46,919 --> 00:29:49,020 "This is my information, I'm holding it." 565 00:29:49,021 --> 00:29:51,456 So there's obviously a big sharing going on. 566 00:29:51,457 --> 00:29:53,825 They were the keepers of history 567 00:29:53,826 --> 00:29:57,062 and particularly they were the law keepers 568 00:29:57,063 --> 00:29:59,197 and the history keepers for the O'Loughlins, 569 00:29:59,198 --> 00:30:01,799 who were chiefs in the Burren at the time. 570 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,235 I think they were described in at one stage 571 00:30:04,236 --> 00:30:06,071 as the yellow garbed Brehons. 572 00:30:06,072 --> 00:30:09,740 So apparently when it came to issues of law, particularly, 573 00:30:09,741 --> 00:30:12,944 they dawned a yellow gown. 574 00:30:12,945 --> 00:30:16,647 I suppose, what made the Davoren name stand out 575 00:30:16,648 --> 00:30:19,217 was the fact of the law school. 576 00:30:19,218 --> 00:30:21,619 My father used to tell me about the Brehon laws. 577 00:30:21,620 --> 00:30:23,554 We'd just go for a walk and he used to say, 578 00:30:23,555 --> 00:30:25,992 "Well, you know, under Brehon law, 579 00:30:27,593 --> 00:30:29,996 somebody who is handicapped, 580 00:30:31,430 --> 00:30:35,533 there would be an injunction against making a mock of him." 581 00:30:35,534 --> 00:30:40,506 If he was invaguled into committing some sort of crime, 582 00:30:41,740 --> 00:30:44,375 then those who were sharp witted enough 583 00:30:44,376 --> 00:30:45,743 to know what was happening, 584 00:30:45,744 --> 00:30:48,579 they were the ones that were responsible. 585 00:30:48,580 --> 00:30:50,982 I can remember he used to end up nearly everything 586 00:30:50,983 --> 00:30:53,518 telling me all these very interesting things, 587 00:30:53,519 --> 00:30:58,256 including the fact that there was even women lawyers, 588 00:30:58,257 --> 00:30:59,391 women doctors. 589 00:31:00,993 --> 00:31:04,595 The most famous, I suppose, document 590 00:31:04,596 --> 00:31:07,865 that would be their legacy would be a collection 591 00:31:07,866 --> 00:31:12,604 of a very early Irish laws in a text called Egerton 88. 592 00:31:13,973 --> 00:31:17,342 It was originally individual sheets of valum 593 00:31:17,343 --> 00:31:20,278 with Brehon laws, which were written by Donall Davoren 594 00:31:20,279 --> 00:31:21,947 in the mid 1500s. 595 00:31:21,948 --> 00:31:25,283 This one wonderful man who's my hero, 596 00:31:25,284 --> 00:31:26,952 Donall O'Davoren, 597 00:31:26,953 --> 00:31:30,221 actually martialled all these young students 598 00:31:30,222 --> 00:31:35,227 to copy as many of the laws of Ireland as they could. 599 00:31:36,628 --> 00:31:40,098 These students used to put little comments in the margin, 600 00:31:40,099 --> 00:31:41,532 which are marvelous. 601 00:31:41,533 --> 00:31:43,434 One of them was, it's all right for him, 602 00:31:43,435 --> 00:31:47,172 he's out making the hay and we are indoors writing 603 00:31:47,173 --> 00:31:50,742 and complaining about how thick the ink was. 604 00:31:52,644 --> 00:31:54,512 We've almost been steeped in the history 605 00:31:54,513 --> 00:31:55,647 of it over here. 606 00:31:57,016 --> 00:31:59,184 Human beings are deeply connected 607 00:31:59,185 --> 00:32:00,885 to their homelands. 608 00:32:00,886 --> 00:32:04,289 This connection has been exploited by forces of oppression 609 00:32:04,290 --> 00:32:05,524 throughout history. 610 00:32:06,925 --> 00:32:10,295 - Farming was everything and property owning was everything. 611 00:32:10,296 --> 00:32:11,529 And back then nobody owned property, 612 00:32:11,530 --> 00:32:14,532 it was all rented from the British empire, 613 00:32:14,533 --> 00:32:17,135 who were the ruling classes at the time 614 00:32:17,136 --> 00:32:19,004 of the landlord system. 615 00:32:19,005 --> 00:32:20,705 For over 800 years, 616 00:32:20,706 --> 00:32:25,711 Ireland was colonized by Norman and then British rulers. 617 00:32:26,578 --> 00:32:28,247 Land confiscation was rampant. 618 00:32:32,618 --> 00:32:37,522 1566, Lord deputy Sydney proclaimed 619 00:32:37,523 --> 00:32:41,627 no one was to maintain or keep any rhymer, bards or harp. 620 00:32:43,595 --> 00:32:45,496 Stamp out Gaelic Ireland. 621 00:32:45,497 --> 00:32:47,465 Yep, that's it. 622 00:32:47,466 --> 00:32:50,235 When Cromwell came in the 17th century, 623 00:32:50,236 --> 00:32:54,872 he destroyed every single thing he came apart. 624 00:32:54,873 --> 00:32:58,109 And all the Davorens were scattered all over the place. 625 00:32:58,110 --> 00:33:00,078 It wasn't only the Irish people 626 00:33:00,079 --> 00:33:03,882 that were displaced, but their cultural treasures as well. 627 00:33:05,017 --> 00:33:09,488 In 1832, the British library bought 93 folios 628 00:33:10,656 --> 00:33:13,824 of O'Davoren law school documents. 629 00:33:13,825 --> 00:33:18,096 This medieval legacy of Brehon law was then archived 630 00:33:18,097 --> 00:33:21,467 in the Egerton collection, number 88. 631 00:33:23,935 --> 00:33:27,205 Most of this document is not here in Ireland. 632 00:33:27,206 --> 00:33:30,475 So now the Egerton document is in three locations, 633 00:33:30,476 --> 00:33:32,810 London, Copenhagen, and Dublin. 634 00:33:32,811 --> 00:33:36,914 And I believe number one, it should be in one location 635 00:33:36,915 --> 00:33:39,817 and number two, that location is County Clare, 636 00:33:39,818 --> 00:33:41,152 where it originated. 637 00:33:41,153 --> 00:33:43,055 This is where this document should be. 638 00:33:44,723 --> 00:33:46,224 Are we only living for today? 639 00:33:46,225 --> 00:33:49,094 Do we not look back on who we were, where we came from? 640 00:33:49,095 --> 00:33:51,462 And that's why I think that's a very important document 641 00:33:51,463 --> 00:33:56,234 that we just open up that part of our history 642 00:33:56,235 --> 00:33:58,002 of who we were as people 643 00:33:58,003 --> 00:34:00,838 and in particular in relation to the O'Davorens. 644 00:34:00,839 --> 00:34:05,844 It's a huge contribution on the part of that one family 645 00:34:07,012 --> 00:34:08,780 to that particular time in history 646 00:34:09,981 --> 00:34:11,421 and I don't think it should be lost. 647 00:34:14,453 --> 00:34:17,622 Then came a brutal landlord system, 648 00:34:17,623 --> 00:34:21,327 which caused the Gaelic Irish terrible hardship. 649 00:34:23,762 --> 00:34:27,298 One result from this takeover of land and resources 650 00:34:27,299 --> 00:34:29,467 was severe poverty. 651 00:34:29,468 --> 00:34:32,237 Generations of subsistence farming 652 00:34:32,238 --> 00:34:36,174 was followed by a series of potato crop failures. 653 00:34:36,175 --> 00:34:39,277 The worst occurred in the 1840s. 654 00:34:39,278 --> 00:34:42,613 - It wasn't a famine in the sense that we understand famine, 655 00:34:42,614 --> 00:34:44,749 a lack of food because there wasn't a lack of food 656 00:34:44,750 --> 00:34:45,750 in Ireland. 657 00:34:46,885 --> 00:34:48,786 The potato crop failed and yes, 658 00:34:48,787 --> 00:34:50,621 that was the staple of the masses 659 00:34:50,622 --> 00:34:53,191 because it was easy to grow and you could put it anywhere 660 00:34:53,192 --> 00:34:56,627 and people had it for breakfast, dinner and supper, 661 00:34:56,628 --> 00:35:00,131 and it was nutritious and that was it. 662 00:35:00,132 --> 00:35:04,569 That failed but Ireland as a country had so much 663 00:35:04,570 --> 00:35:06,036 resource wise. 664 00:35:06,037 --> 00:35:08,407 There were grains and there was livestock, 665 00:35:09,808 --> 00:35:11,809 but that was taken out of the country during the famine, 666 00:35:11,810 --> 00:35:14,845 when it was most desperately needed. 667 00:35:14,846 --> 00:35:17,882 That resulted in over a million deaths 668 00:35:17,883 --> 00:35:20,386 and a million people leaving the country. 669 00:35:23,389 --> 00:35:27,258 20 years later, during the 1870s and 80s, 670 00:35:27,259 --> 00:35:30,696 there was a period known as the land wars. 671 00:35:32,464 --> 00:35:34,732 There's actually a story from Kilvosh 672 00:35:34,733 --> 00:35:36,534 about a family called O'Donnell. 673 00:35:36,535 --> 00:35:39,637 They had bought some grain from the local land agent. 674 00:35:39,638 --> 00:35:43,007 They sold it and when it was ready to be harvested, 675 00:35:43,008 --> 00:35:46,043 the land agent sent in his men to harvest it for them. 676 00:35:46,044 --> 00:35:47,845 And then the men that came in decided 677 00:35:47,846 --> 00:35:49,581 they would store it for the family, 678 00:35:51,049 --> 00:35:54,185 but it ended up going to market and being sold, 679 00:35:54,186 --> 00:35:56,086 not by the family or for the family 680 00:35:56,087 --> 00:35:57,322 and the family were evicted 681 00:35:57,323 --> 00:35:58,856 because they had no money to pay the rent. 682 00:35:58,857 --> 00:36:02,627 It's a brutally documented situation 683 00:36:02,628 --> 00:36:04,895 where a lot of the family died, 684 00:36:04,896 --> 00:36:07,031 kids died because of the eviction. 685 00:36:07,032 --> 00:36:10,701 And the eviction itself was a horrendous situation 686 00:36:10,702 --> 00:36:13,471 where the mother of the family pregnant 687 00:36:13,472 --> 00:36:17,342 with their youngest child was too unwell 688 00:36:17,343 --> 00:36:18,543 to get out of the house 689 00:36:18,544 --> 00:36:19,744 and she had to be taken out by neighbors 690 00:36:19,745 --> 00:36:21,512 because the wreckers began to knock the house 691 00:36:21,513 --> 00:36:24,482 in on top of her, regardless, whether she was dead or alive. 692 00:36:24,483 --> 00:36:25,684 That baby died as well. 693 00:36:26,552 --> 00:36:28,253 So we've put it in those terms 694 00:36:28,254 --> 00:36:30,821 and I'm putting it just very basically here, 695 00:36:30,822 --> 00:36:34,191 it was bloody horrendous, absolutely. 696 00:36:34,192 --> 00:36:36,827 At this time, Charles Stewart Parnell 697 00:36:36,828 --> 00:36:40,565 and others fought for land rights with the slogan, 698 00:36:40,566 --> 00:36:44,002 "The land of Ireland for the people of Ireland." 699 00:36:46,104 --> 00:36:48,105 My grandma Anne came of age 700 00:36:48,106 --> 00:36:50,608 during this revolutionary period 701 00:36:50,609 --> 00:36:53,745 and it may be what caused her to emigrate. 702 00:36:57,115 --> 00:36:59,116 No individual lives in a vacuum. 703 00:36:59,117 --> 00:37:03,288 They live in a political, economic and social know you, 704 00:37:03,289 --> 00:37:07,157 that shapes who they are and the decisions that they make. 705 00:37:07,158 --> 00:37:10,328 Most people are not gonna leave behind everything 706 00:37:10,329 --> 00:37:12,062 that they know and love, 707 00:37:12,063 --> 00:37:15,099 unless there's a really good reason behind it. 708 00:37:15,100 --> 00:37:17,768 It's important to know what the circumstances are 709 00:37:17,769 --> 00:37:21,639 of the country that your ancestors are leaving. 710 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:24,575 All those things are really important in understanding 711 00:37:24,576 --> 00:37:28,245 the kind of decisions that drive people 712 00:37:28,246 --> 00:37:31,116 to make a big move like that. 713 00:37:32,551 --> 00:37:35,853 My grandma Ann, 19 years old at the time, 714 00:37:35,854 --> 00:37:38,356 with her two sisters and a cousin, 715 00:37:38,357 --> 00:37:42,593 left Ireland on the steam ship, SS Germanic, 716 00:37:42,594 --> 00:37:47,398 arriving in New York at Castle Garden in 1887. 717 00:37:47,399 --> 00:37:51,268 From there, it was three days by train to Minnesota, 718 00:37:51,269 --> 00:37:56,006 where a horse and buggy took her to a farm 3,200 miles 719 00:37:56,007 --> 00:37:57,842 from the one she left. 720 00:37:57,843 --> 00:38:00,611 It was the farm settled by her cousin, 721 00:38:00,612 --> 00:38:05,450 William Q Davoren in 1850 on Dakota Homeland. 722 00:38:05,451 --> 00:38:08,453 The Dakota are an indigenous people who have lived 723 00:38:08,454 --> 00:38:11,155 near the confluence of two great rivers 724 00:38:11,156 --> 00:38:13,123 for many generations. 725 00:38:13,124 --> 00:38:17,962 US policy and westward expansion turned billions of acres 726 00:38:17,963 --> 00:38:20,197 of native land into property, 727 00:38:20,198 --> 00:38:23,668 all at the expense of indigenous peoples. 728 00:38:23,669 --> 00:38:26,303 When Anne arrived, 30 years later, 729 00:38:26,304 --> 00:38:30,776 she found a prosperous farm and boom times for settlers. 730 00:38:32,378 --> 00:38:35,980 William Q Davoren was a true pioneer. 731 00:38:35,981 --> 00:38:39,384 I mean, he was settled his land in 1850. 732 00:38:39,385 --> 00:38:42,453 We only became a territory in 1849. 733 00:38:42,454 --> 00:38:45,623 Where his land was was basically just across the river 734 00:38:45,624 --> 00:38:47,157 from Fort Snowing. 735 00:38:47,158 --> 00:38:50,160 Now in William Q Davoren's day, there was no bridge, 736 00:38:50,161 --> 00:38:53,364 there was no bridge across the Mississippi at all. 737 00:38:53,365 --> 00:38:55,866 If you wanted to cross the river from Fort Snowing 738 00:38:55,867 --> 00:38:59,370 to get to the St. Paul side, you went by ferry. 739 00:38:59,371 --> 00:39:02,640 If you look at St. Paul in 1850, very limited, 740 00:39:02,641 --> 00:39:04,576 nice little sleepy river town. 741 00:39:06,011 --> 00:39:10,949 By 1887, it exploded into a city, it was a major city. 742 00:39:11,817 --> 00:39:14,785 It had horse drawn street cars, 743 00:39:14,786 --> 00:39:17,254 didn't have the electric street cars yet. 744 00:39:17,255 --> 00:39:20,958 It had incredible ray of commercial buildings. 745 00:39:20,959 --> 00:39:25,563 The 1880s was a decade where there's just an abundance 746 00:39:25,564 --> 00:39:27,965 of buildings going on. 747 00:39:27,966 --> 00:39:31,836 Neighborhoods just radiating from all over the city. 748 00:39:31,837 --> 00:39:34,839 And so if she was riding in a carriage 749 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:38,476 from the Union depot going to the Davoren house, 750 00:39:38,477 --> 00:39:40,512 she would be going through an urban setting. 751 00:39:42,814 --> 00:39:44,582 To an Irish farm girl, 752 00:39:44,583 --> 00:39:48,853 that journey and this Midwestern US landscape and culture 753 00:39:48,854 --> 00:39:52,957 must have seemed strange, but Anne adjusted. 754 00:39:52,958 --> 00:39:56,360 She worked as a seamstress and in three years, 755 00:39:56,361 --> 00:39:58,395 married William Austin, 756 00:39:58,396 --> 00:40:02,467 the oldest son from that Minnesota Davoren family. 757 00:40:02,468 --> 00:40:05,703 My grandpa's construction business prospered 758 00:40:05,704 --> 00:40:08,238 and he built a large house on Summit Avenue 759 00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:09,475 with his new bride. 760 00:40:11,577 --> 00:40:15,646 As was customary in large Irish families at that time, 761 00:40:15,647 --> 00:40:18,116 several members boarded with them. 762 00:40:19,451 --> 00:40:22,620 A few years later, that business went under 763 00:40:22,621 --> 00:40:25,056 in the panic of 1893. 764 00:40:26,324 --> 00:40:28,226 The big house was lost. 765 00:40:29,661 --> 00:40:32,763 William and Anne moved above a shop on West 7th Street, 766 00:40:32,764 --> 00:40:34,432 where they sold groceries. 767 00:40:35,901 --> 00:40:39,236 Eventually, they bought a house in that neighborhood, 768 00:40:39,237 --> 00:40:41,472 which still stands today. 769 00:40:41,473 --> 00:40:45,676 A few years later, Anne gave birth to her youngest son, 770 00:40:45,677 --> 00:40:48,046 William Joseph, my dad. 771 00:40:48,980 --> 00:40:50,515 Over the years, 772 00:40:50,516 --> 00:40:53,584 Anne received letters from her siblings in Ireland, 773 00:40:53,585 --> 00:40:56,521 sharing the details of their lives. 774 00:40:56,522 --> 00:40:59,990 I wonder what did Anne's letters home to Ireland 775 00:40:59,991 --> 00:41:02,494 have to say about her new life in Minnesota? 776 00:41:09,635 --> 00:41:13,504 Sometimes I imagine conversations we could have had 777 00:41:13,505 --> 00:41:16,575 about Ireland and my grandma's younger days. 778 00:41:18,143 --> 00:41:23,148 Anne Davoren died in 1948, just one year before I was born. 779 00:41:25,483 --> 00:41:28,018 Over years of visiting the Burren, 780 00:41:28,019 --> 00:41:31,822 I've made friends and have learned much about my heritage. 781 00:41:31,823 --> 00:41:33,959 I love this place and it's people. 782 00:41:37,428 --> 00:41:40,598 I learned so much from who they are 783 00:41:40,599 --> 00:41:44,101 and their lives and the way their minds work, 784 00:41:44,102 --> 00:41:49,074 about myself that I wasn't ever able to put a finger on here 785 00:41:51,643 --> 00:41:54,078 and about my family too here. 786 00:41:54,079 --> 00:41:59,050 There's characteristics about us that are so directly tied 787 00:42:01,286 --> 00:42:04,388 to being Irish and the whole Irish experience. 788 00:42:04,389 --> 00:42:07,057 These patterns, you know, they came from somewhere, 789 00:42:07,058 --> 00:42:10,861 they're not just quirks about individuals. 790 00:42:10,862 --> 00:42:13,397 They really are tied to a much bigger piece 791 00:42:13,398 --> 00:42:16,134 of what happened to human beings along the way. 792 00:42:19,104 --> 00:42:23,307 It was a shock for me to learn that many of my Irish friends 793 00:42:23,308 --> 00:42:26,411 don't know much about their family trees either. 794 00:42:27,579 --> 00:42:30,447 So much history was lost or destroyed 795 00:42:30,448 --> 00:42:34,919 during traumatic events of the 19th and 20th centuries. 796 00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:36,854 So myself I've been tracing alone 797 00:42:36,855 --> 00:42:40,057 and my particular branch of the O'Davoren family, 798 00:42:40,058 --> 00:42:42,693 whilst there's a lot of us still around. 799 00:42:42,694 --> 00:42:44,428 We more or less call ourselves 800 00:42:44,429 --> 00:42:48,198 sort of neighbors or acquaintances, more so than family now. 801 00:42:48,199 --> 00:42:51,568 What I'm desperately trying to do is to link our line 802 00:42:51,569 --> 00:42:54,339 into the Brehon law school line, 803 00:42:55,573 --> 00:42:57,174 because really and truly 804 00:42:57,175 --> 00:42:59,009 there is an amount of documentation. 805 00:42:59,010 --> 00:43:02,346 Unfortunately, most of the documentation 806 00:43:02,347 --> 00:43:05,249 that had we headed now that would've told us the story 807 00:43:05,250 --> 00:43:09,353 was destroyed during the Irish war of independence. 808 00:43:09,354 --> 00:43:11,789 And there's a little glitch, 809 00:43:11,790 --> 00:43:13,758 there's a little bit of information 810 00:43:13,759 --> 00:43:15,893 that I just can't tie up. 811 00:43:15,894 --> 00:43:20,597 I've got, I think, four generations, five generations back 812 00:43:20,598 --> 00:43:22,399 and then it kind of stops. 813 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:24,168 Where we live, my family live, 814 00:43:24,169 --> 00:43:28,505 Rahone is only like half a mile from Newville church 815 00:43:28,506 --> 00:43:30,908 and we know that the O'Davoren chapel was there 816 00:43:30,909 --> 00:43:33,310 and O'Davorens were carops, in other words, 817 00:43:33,311 --> 00:43:36,113 that they collected tithes for the church 818 00:43:36,114 --> 00:43:37,948 and they looked after that side of things. 819 00:43:37,949 --> 00:43:40,117 That particular branch of O'Davoren was traced back 820 00:43:40,118 --> 00:43:41,551 to the law school. 821 00:43:41,552 --> 00:43:45,389 So it would be just a little bit too coincidental 822 00:43:45,390 --> 00:43:46,957 if we were, you know, 823 00:43:46,958 --> 00:43:48,659 we have to be connected there somewhere 824 00:43:48,660 --> 00:43:49,894 and I'm just desperate to find out 825 00:43:49,895 --> 00:43:52,497 where exactly we're connected. 826 00:43:53,832 --> 00:43:56,033 In order to reconnect the scattered branches 827 00:43:56,034 --> 00:43:59,269 of this family, we have to collaborate. 828 00:43:59,270 --> 00:44:02,040 Together, we can complete this puzzle. 829 00:44:10,716 --> 00:44:13,083 Michael Davoren in Kilcorney, 830 00:44:13,084 --> 00:44:15,720 remember the history center at Corofin? 831 00:44:15,721 --> 00:44:17,722 He went there and the old guy there 832 00:44:17,723 --> 00:44:19,990 that knows everything about the Davorens, 833 00:44:19,991 --> 00:44:23,260 he made him write down for two or three days. 834 00:44:23,261 --> 00:44:25,730 He wrote down everything, 835 00:44:25,731 --> 00:44:29,234 all the history of the O'Davorens going back forever. 836 00:44:31,169 --> 00:44:33,738 Over in Ireland, there's branches of the Davorens 837 00:44:33,739 --> 00:44:37,641 that they don't know much beyond their grandparents 838 00:44:37,642 --> 00:44:40,144 and we know some about our branch, 839 00:44:40,145 --> 00:44:43,680 and I had this idea that if we hooked each other up, 840 00:44:43,681 --> 00:44:46,316 we could all be connected all the way back 841 00:44:46,317 --> 00:44:48,886 to the law school, so I've been trying to figure that out. 842 00:44:48,887 --> 00:44:52,256 And then we've got our chart that goes back, 843 00:44:52,257 --> 00:44:55,460 Michael and Jane, William and Catherine. 844 00:44:56,527 --> 00:44:57,561 Right? 845 00:44:57,562 --> 00:45:00,164 And we've got it going back 846 00:45:00,165 --> 00:45:01,800 to their parents and their parents. 847 00:45:02,934 --> 00:45:05,970 Last night, I found a sheet from dad 848 00:45:05,971 --> 00:45:08,907 that I think is the missing key to everything. 849 00:45:10,575 --> 00:45:14,278 It's the Kilcorney Davorens, it says Davorens of Kilcorney, 850 00:45:14,279 --> 00:45:17,214 so I think dad got this from one of them 851 00:45:17,215 --> 00:45:21,286 and that's my friend Michael here, Michael and Liz. 852 00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,356 So that's that line and then Dominic. 853 00:45:26,892 --> 00:45:31,228 Dad wrote our ancestors, so I think that's our line. 854 00:45:31,229 --> 00:45:35,466 I think our great, great, great grandfathers were brothers. 855 00:45:39,137 --> 00:45:43,540 And the common ancestor is this Patrick 856 00:45:43,541 --> 00:45:47,211 and who had three sons. 857 00:45:47,212 --> 00:45:50,247 And I think Dominic or Patrick, 858 00:45:50,248 --> 00:45:55,253 I think it's Patrick that ties William Q with Anne. 859 00:45:58,556 --> 00:46:00,958 Anne is where we come together there. 860 00:46:00,959 --> 00:46:01,959 Gotcha. 861 00:46:03,161 --> 00:46:05,629 That's really the key place. 862 00:46:05,630 --> 00:46:07,165 Here's Dominic, Patrick. 863 00:46:08,333 --> 00:46:10,235 And then it goes up to these guys, 864 00:46:11,402 --> 00:46:13,504 all the way back to the law school. 865 00:46:15,540 --> 00:46:16,641 I think we got it. 866 00:46:37,528 --> 00:46:38,795 Thank you for coming. 867 00:46:38,796 --> 00:46:41,398 It's a great honor for me. 868 00:46:41,399 --> 00:46:45,302 Like some of you in this room, I've had this bug, 869 00:46:45,303 --> 00:46:48,372 I think that came from growing up and knowing nothing 870 00:46:48,373 --> 00:46:53,378 about Ireland or the Burren or my family. 871 00:46:54,812 --> 00:46:57,281 None of it got passed down and it was like being given 872 00:46:57,282 --> 00:47:00,117 a puzzle with maybe two pieces 873 00:47:00,118 --> 00:47:01,618 and you didn't even have enough pieces 874 00:47:01,619 --> 00:47:03,921 to see what the picture looked like 875 00:47:03,922 --> 00:47:05,589 and it just didn't work for me. 876 00:47:05,590 --> 00:47:09,159 And I sort of set out with my dad and his cousin 877 00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:14,165 and my siblings and we set out in the 1960s and 70s and on 878 00:47:15,433 --> 00:47:18,635 to reconnect with this place and people 879 00:47:18,636 --> 00:47:21,471 and the stories and the family. 880 00:47:21,472 --> 00:47:25,010 This is my grandmother Ann Davoren's house 881 00:47:26,477 --> 00:47:30,982 that she was born in in 1868 and I was there last night. 882 00:47:31,749 --> 00:47:33,217 We've stayed connected, 883 00:47:33,218 --> 00:47:35,886 there's been actually letters going back from that farm 884 00:47:35,887 --> 00:47:39,890 to my house in St. Paul for 130 years. 885 00:47:39,891 --> 00:47:41,525 And they're still going back and forth 886 00:47:41,526 --> 00:47:43,693 and we're connected to the people who live there now, 887 00:47:43,694 --> 00:47:46,596 even though they're not relatives. 888 00:47:46,597 --> 00:47:50,600 It became clear to me early on that the real prize 889 00:47:50,601 --> 00:47:53,703 in all of this isn't the gravestones 890 00:47:53,704 --> 00:47:58,709 and it isn't the finding the lost, dead relatives, 891 00:48:00,111 --> 00:48:02,446 it's really the living people that I really love 892 00:48:02,447 --> 00:48:06,016 and get a kick out of and this place means a lot to me 893 00:48:06,017 --> 00:48:07,551 and these people. 894 00:48:07,552 --> 00:48:10,820 I'd like to know how all of our families are connected, 895 00:48:10,821 --> 00:48:13,390 who we're connected to way back 896 00:48:13,391 --> 00:48:15,759 and now with new science and DNA, 897 00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:19,063 we can find that out if enough of us get involved 898 00:48:19,064 --> 00:48:21,265 and do some research. 899 00:48:21,266 --> 00:48:24,734 How do we create a family tree for our own branch 900 00:48:24,735 --> 00:48:27,972 of the family and then how do we connect those trees? 901 00:48:27,973 --> 00:48:29,374 And it's all possible. 902 00:48:30,508 --> 00:48:32,476 - I believe we can overcome and find a way 903 00:48:32,477 --> 00:48:35,845 around these things and there has to be a way to reconnect. 904 00:48:35,846 --> 00:48:37,082 There just has to be. 905 00:48:39,684 --> 00:48:42,019 When people experience oppression, 906 00:48:42,020 --> 00:48:43,887 one thing that gets erased 907 00:48:43,888 --> 00:48:47,224 is the memories of that group's past. 908 00:48:47,225 --> 00:48:49,859 The Irish people endured 1,000 years 909 00:48:49,860 --> 00:48:53,030 of colonization and brutal occupation, 910 00:48:53,031 --> 00:48:54,732 a lot got lost. 911 00:48:57,602 --> 00:48:59,403 Davorens who have lived near each other 912 00:48:59,404 --> 00:49:03,740 for hundreds of years, no longer know how they are related. 913 00:49:03,741 --> 00:49:05,543 Thankfully, that is changing. 914 00:49:07,945 --> 00:49:10,647 It's vitally important that you always know 915 00:49:10,648 --> 00:49:12,116 where you've come from 916 00:49:12,117 --> 00:49:15,219 and it doesn't matter what your history has been, 917 00:49:15,220 --> 00:49:18,322 whether it's it's shadowy or bright and sparkling, 918 00:49:18,323 --> 00:49:19,923 you should always know where you've come from. 919 00:49:19,924 --> 00:49:21,958 And I think that should be passed on 920 00:49:21,959 --> 00:49:24,861 and passed on and passed on to generations. 921 00:49:24,862 --> 00:49:28,565 - There's been an explosion of interest in the Burren 922 00:49:28,566 --> 00:49:32,669 because of archeologists, writers and everyday people 923 00:49:32,670 --> 00:49:34,971 doing family history research, 924 00:49:34,972 --> 00:49:38,442 we are rediscovering the stories of this clan 925 00:49:38,443 --> 00:49:39,443 and its history. 926 00:49:41,579 --> 00:49:45,449 Recently, something amazing happened in that regard, 927 00:49:45,450 --> 00:49:48,985 the return of Egerton 88 to Ireland, 928 00:49:48,986 --> 00:49:52,422 for the first time in over 200 years. 929 00:49:52,423 --> 00:49:55,725 For a few weeks at the Galway City Museum, 930 00:49:55,726 --> 00:49:59,096 descendants of Donall O'Davoren were able to see 931 00:49:59,097 --> 00:50:01,398 this piece of their family legacy 932 00:50:01,399 --> 00:50:04,934 intertwined not just with the history of the Burren, 933 00:50:04,935 --> 00:50:07,437 but Ireland itself. 934 00:50:07,438 --> 00:50:10,908 And it has a new name, O'Davoren's book. 935 00:50:13,811 --> 00:50:18,249 Genealogy, without context to me is pointless. 936 00:50:20,485 --> 00:50:22,919 Individual stories are incredibly important 937 00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:27,757 because they are a window into the bigger story. 938 00:50:27,758 --> 00:50:29,226 - We're the legacy of the past. 939 00:50:29,227 --> 00:50:31,862 If it wasn't for our ancestors, we wouldn't be here. 940 00:50:34,865 --> 00:50:37,601 That's the wonderful thing about the Burren, 941 00:50:37,602 --> 00:50:42,573 I think as well, is that it's attracted like-minded, 942 00:50:43,774 --> 00:50:46,144 like spirited people I think, don't you think? 943 00:50:47,578 --> 00:50:50,480 It could be anything from botany to geology, 944 00:50:50,481 --> 00:50:53,350 to archeology here, 945 00:50:53,351 --> 00:50:54,351 music, 946 00:50:55,019 --> 00:50:56,386 art, 947 00:50:56,387 --> 00:50:57,987 writing, 948 00:50:57,988 --> 00:50:58,988 poetry. 949 00:51:00,225 --> 00:51:03,627 And it's just filled with people who have explored 950 00:51:03,628 --> 00:51:05,895 all these artistic endeavors 951 00:51:05,896 --> 00:51:09,199 almost as if there's something inspirational 952 00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:13,938 in the very landscape of the place itself. 953 00:51:16,674 --> 00:51:18,642 Getting to know the place and people 954 00:51:18,643 --> 00:51:22,379 from whom I come has added immeasurable meaning 955 00:51:22,380 --> 00:51:24,249 and joy to my life. 956 00:51:25,650 --> 00:51:28,017 Rita has been coming back over time 957 00:51:28,018 --> 00:51:30,420 and we've gone out a few times 958 00:51:30,421 --> 00:51:32,822 and we've climbed Mullaghmore, 959 00:51:32,823 --> 00:51:35,492 which I shall never forget as long as I live. 960 00:51:35,493 --> 00:51:37,594 I nearly died on the way up. 961 00:51:37,595 --> 00:51:40,430 But why bother with the past? 962 00:51:40,431 --> 00:51:45,436 Why are winterages, ancient legal texts, old stone forts, 963 00:51:46,637 --> 00:51:49,106 and people long dead so important? 964 00:51:51,442 --> 00:51:54,444 The O'Davorens were but one small clan 965 00:51:54,445 --> 00:51:58,148 on the west coast of an island halfway across the world 966 00:51:58,149 --> 00:51:59,550 from where I was born. 967 00:52:00,851 --> 00:52:03,920 But by reclaiming this family story 968 00:52:03,921 --> 00:52:06,723 and sharing it with upcoming generations, 969 00:52:06,724 --> 00:52:10,695 we are doing what Donall O'Davoren did in the 16th century, 970 00:52:12,029 --> 00:52:16,400 finding, preserving and presenting a heritage 971 00:52:16,401 --> 00:52:18,836 that could easily have been lost forever. 972 00:52:20,838 --> 00:52:23,640 That's a triumph for all of us. 973 00:52:23,641 --> 00:52:27,211 Every one of us has an important story to tell. 974 00:52:27,212 --> 00:52:29,078 Who are your people? 975 00:52:29,079 --> 00:52:30,415 Where do they come from? 976 00:52:31,382 --> 00:52:33,284 I can't wait to hear.