I travel to Europe often to research clients’ ancestors. This year I’ll be in Europe longer than ever before (three months), and I’ll be working remotely from countries like Poland, France, Ireland, and Greece. This will allow me to absorb more of the cultures, histories, and languages, as well as genealogy. So I thought I would share some of what I learn and find with our ProGen friends as I go along.

I departed Salt Lake City on the morning of August 6. On the morning of August 7, I arrived in Dublin Ireland on a flight from New York City. Just about an hour and a half before we landed, I began to talk with the the woman sitting next to me. She and her four children and one baby grandchild were all on their way to the Cassidy Clan Rally in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland! Cassidy is her married name, and she wanted to give her children this sense of their history. I was impressed that they were all going on a vacation that would involve some classes about Irish genealogy and culture at the Cassidy gathering. She was surprised to learn that I am a professional genealogist specializing in Ireland. She really reminded me how fortunate I am to have genealogy for a job, to have as my work something that I love. It was the perfect way to arrive in Europe!

You can read more about the annual Cassidy Clan Rally at
http://www.cassidyclan.org/rally.htm . The web site has an impressive amount of historical and genealogical information on it, and there are even extracts from Irish and American records of Cassidy individuals!

There are similar rallies/gatherings for other Irish surnames/clans. You can read about them on the Clans of Ireland web site: http://www.theclansofireland.ie/. As a professional genealogist, I can’t resist to add: Don’t forget to research and document your own particular family lineage as well!