2004 McCarrick Clan Gathering
Proceedings
began with an informal preliminary gathering on Friday evening in Cloonacool.
There
were two alternative activities for early Saturday:
§
A golf
competition in Ballymote G.C. for the McCarrick Clan
perpetual Cup
§
A McCarrick
Clan Heritage Trail
McCarrick Clan Heritage Trail:
Starting
from Carrowmore the group went to the Ladies Brae, which
according to legend was the site of the
Next
was a visit to the old homestead at Loughill
and then to the McCarrick graves at Kicummin cemetery. The adjoining
famine-era bridge is known as the
From
there we went to the Friars Field in Cloonacool which according to
family lore was the foundation of the fortune of the Aclare branch of
the clan,
Of the O’Hara homestead in Cloonacool, Nancy O’Hara is mother to 6 generations of McCarricks.
The
group then went to the 3 storey house built by Henry McCarrick in Aclare in
1820s from which grew his extensive business and the Cloonbarry and Kilglass
dynasties,
And
from there to their final resting place marked by a substantial Celtic cross
and railed in tomb at Benada Abbey. Finally the group visited the mass
rock at Mass Hill on which a statue of St Patrick was erected in 1929 to mark the centenary
of Catholic Emancipaton.
Golf:
The
golf outing, captained by Conor Mac Carrick of Belfast and Cloonbarry was a
great success with prizes for participants including Florence McCarrick from
Mass, Dinner, Toasts, Etc:
A
group of about 100 McCarricks gathered for Mass at Coolaney at 6.30pm Saturday
evening celebrated by Fr Roger McCarrick (
Dinner
was presided over by prior Chieftain Harry McCarrick (Cloonbaniffe)
and acting Chieftain Patrick McCarrick, Treantha with
Roger McCarrick (Tubbercurry) as Master of
Ceremonies.
Each
clan member was introduced before Harry formally handed over the Chieftain’s
Staff to Patrick. Both made graceful speeches appropriate to the occasion.
Chieftain Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Washington DC, was unable to attend as he
was on a diplomatic mission to
John
McCarrick as Chairman of the Clan Organising Committee proposed a toast to the
McCarrick Clan chieftains in the course of which he paid tributes to each of
the three men involved.
He
mentioned that Harry & Brigid would be
celebrating 60 years of marriage next year probably getting in a bit of
gardening cycling basket making bread and jam making and walking in the course
of the day and informed all those of similar mettle that they maybe future
candidates for the post of Chieftain. He outlined Pat McCarrick's contribution
to the development of the Cooperative Movement in the West of Ireland and the
personal qualities he brought to bear over 30 years of leadership for the
benefit of the small farmers of
Gerry
McCarrick in proposing a toast to the Carnaleck
McCarricks reminded us of the research he has been doing into the McCarrick
name and the DNA project designed to enable each branch of the clan to
establish the closeness of the links.
He
also wisely and wittingly used Dineens Irish
dictionary to help us avoid getting pretensions beyond our stations!
Donald
McCarrick from Florida, John McCarrick from Basingstoke and David McCarrick
from Liverpool all proposed toasts to our emigrant cousins in different parts of
the world who look to Sligo as their ancestral home.
Fr
Roger McCarrick began the after-dinner festivities with a solo rendition of a
McCarrick Clan song composed especially for the occasion. This was followed by
a number of excellent performances from other cousins.
AGM, Sunday morning:
About
20 members gathered at Carrowmore school the following
day for the General Meeting and to review events and outline their plans for
the next gathering. The consensus was that the gathering was a great success and
plans were set out to support the
Please
contact the secretary or the website with any comments you may have.