Beara's Children: February 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

What do we mean by "first and second cousins" when we use that term?

Back last month we had a post about distinguishing degrees of kindred. Since then, I've learned that while the terms I provided in that post are the standard terms in use today in genealogical circles, they're not the terms our families and friends in Beara always use. Instead, there's a system of distinguishing cousins as x-and-y cousins, where the x and y values are as shown in this chart.

Beara (West Cork) Irish version of degrees of kindred

Common Ancestor	Child	Grandchild	Great Grandchild	2^nd Great-Grandchild	3^rd Great- Grandchild	4^th Great-Grandchild	5^th Great-Grandchild
Child	Sibling	N(iece or nephew)	Grand-N	2^nd Great Grand-N	3^rd GGN	4^th GGN	5^th GGN
Grandchild	N(iece or nephew)	1^st Cousin	1^st and 2^nd Cousin	1^st and 3^rd Cousin	1^st and 4^th Cousin	1^st and 5^th Cousin	1^st and 6^th Cousin
Great Grandchild	Grand-N	1^st and 2^nd Cousin	2^nd Cousin	2^nd and 3^rd Cousin	2^nd and 4^th Cousin	2^nd and 5^th Cousin	2^nd and 6^th Cousin
2^nd Great-Grandchild	2^nd GGN	1^st and 3^rd Cousin	2^nd and 3^rd Cousin	3^rd Cousin	3^rd and 4^th Cousin	3^rd and 5^th Cousin	3^rd and 6^th Cousin
3^rd Great-Grandchild	3^rd GGN	1^st and 4^th Cousin	2^nd and 4^th Cousin	3^rd and 4^th Cousin	4^th Cousin	4^th and 5^th Cousin	4^th and 6^th Cousin
4^th Great-Grandchild	4^th GGN	1^st and 5^th Cousin	2^nd and 5^th Cousin	3^rd and 5^th Cousin	4^th and 5^th Cousin	5^th Cousin	5^th and 6^th Cousin
5^th Great-Grandchild	5^th GGN	1^st and 6^th Cousin	2^nd and 6^th Cousin	3^rd and 6^th Cousin	4^th and 6^th Cousin	5^th and 6^th Cousin	6^th Cousin

My thanks to Ken Mason for making me aware of this alternate usage, and to Riobard O'Dwyer for explaining the details of how it works. Any errors in this chart are entirely my own.

Bill Gawne

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Pictures of Beara

Our friend John Crowley shared these pictures from a recent trip to Beara. Click the link to view the entire album. Here are a few samples to whet your appetite.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Beara Millennium Reminiscence Book

Philip Murphy's book,Things I Have Seen, also known as the Beara Millennium Reminiscence Book has been converted to e-text format and generously made available. You can get your own copy here. Just click the link.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Books about Beara available online

There are several historical books, many long out of print, about the Beara peninsula and its people. Here are links to a few of these available online:

Bantry, Berehaven and the O'Sullivan Sept by Timothy Daniel Sullivan, published by Sealy, Bryers & Walker, 1908

Irish Names and Surnames by Patrick Woulfe, published by M.H. Gill and son, 1906

Irish Pedigrees, or The Origin and Stem of the Irish Race by John O'Hart, published by J. Duffy and Company, 1892

Also, for those interested in something a bit more up to date, there's At the Edge of Ireland, Seasons on the Beara Peninsula by David Yeadon, published 2009. It will cost you $9.78 (USD). Here's a bit about it:

On the Beara Peninsula of southwest Ireland, the Yeadons discovered their own "little lost world," an enticing Brigadoon of soaring mountain ranges and spectacular coastal scenery, far removed from the touristic hullabaloo of Dublin, Killarney, and the Ring of Kerry. Here is the fabled "Old Ireland," alive and well with music seisuins, hooley dances, and seanachai storytellers—a haven for searchers, healers, artists, and poets hardy enough to have braved the same narrow and winding mountain roads that keep the package-tour coaches out.

Bursting with color and life, At the Edge of Ireland is an intrepid wanderer's celebration of a magical, unspoiled, and unforgettable Éire.

You can get all of these on your web enabled computer, pad, smartphone, e-reader, etc... Just the thing to read on those long flights when you don't want to look at the overpriced things in the airline's magazine.