Ballynahown

My great great grandfather, Kieran Moran, owned a farm in Ireland. He had 10 children, one of those children, my great grandfather Joseph, came to America when he was 18 yrs old. He was not the oldest child so he was not able to stay on the farm. Property always went to the oldest son & since there were no opportunities in Ireland, he left & came to American. Joseph married & had a few children, my grandfather Joseph was one of them. A few years ago, Joseph's son Jim, my father, decided he wanted to research our family history & see if we still had family in Ireland. The only story we knew that was passed down through the generations was that Kieran was gored by a bull on the family farm. We never knew if this was true, thought maybe it was just a legend. My brother did the research, contacted experts in Ireland & were able to track down our family! We have cousins over there who still own the same family farm that Kieran died on. It wasn't a legend, it really happened. My family was able to visit Ballynahown just a few months ago & see the old farm. The house Kieran lived in has since fallen into ruin BUT the stone walls are still standing. We were able to take a stone from the original house for a keepsake. Our cousins have a successful business & the farm is huge & beautiful! As my father & brother walked up the road to the old farmhouse for the first time, our cousin stated that this was the very road that Joseph walked down when he left. We had come home! How beautiful is that?? It was a very touching moment. 100 years later, the Morans had returned home. Next year, our cousins will visit us here in the states!
Erin go brach!