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CONGRESS CONNECTIONS
Margaret De Luca, Member A 1185
In 1994 when I attended the 2nd Genealogical Congress in Dublin I had the
opportunity to meet Rosemary Sibbett and Jeanne Jordan who manned the NIFHS
booth at the Congress at Trinity College. They encouraged me to join NIFHS and
to submit my surnames to the Members' Interests database, which is just what I
did.
Well, to my surprise, in the Fall of 1995 I received a letter from Mary Haughey,
a member of the Omagh branch, telling me she had read my listing in the journal
(Vol. 6, No. 1) for my surname MEENAN. Mary said she knew of Meenan families in
her parish, and if I sent her information on my line she would try to make a
connection. I responded with the information I had on my father's family.
A while later I was delighted to receive a letter from Mary stating she had
found my family, and that my cousins were still living on the same land my
grandfather, James Meenan, had left back in the late 1880s.
To make a long story short, I have been corresponding with my cousin, James
Meenan, in Omagh, County Tyrone; and I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting him
and his family when I travelled to Northern Ireland after the 3rd Genealogical
Congress in Maynooth. I also attend the Ulster Historical Foundation conference
in Belfast, then travelled over to Omagh. I enjoyed a wonderful evening at their
home, after spending the afternoon touring the countryside to see the churches,
graveyards, ancestral home etc. They were so hospitable; I really felt like
family. It was a wonderful time that I will never forget.
I am most thankful to Mary and the Society for finding my family; I hope I can
help another NIFHS member in the same way.
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