Bridget's Place The Shamrock and The Thistle

Cead Mile Failte to my website

This website is chiefly concerned with my own family history, genealogy in general and my other interests such as art and poetry. Please feel free to browse and I hope you find your visit enjoyable and informative.

Where do you start?

Una's Page

When I first started on the trail of my ancestors I did not know where it would lead me. I was born in Glasgow but raised and surrounded by people whose greatest love was Ireland. I asked myself, if Ireland is so great what on earth are we doing living here in the west of Scotland?

For a long time I resented my Irish connection and turned my back on it, yet those I loved most in this world were either Irish by birth or descent. Not until I met my husband did I re-discover my own personal connection with Ireland.

The research started on a holiday in County Kerry where my maternal grandmother was born. A simple enquiry at the church where she was baptized led me on a journey of discovery about myself and my origins.

My family history may not be of much interest to others, there are no millionaires, no great literary or artistic figures, no inventors or scientists, just ordinary working class people trying to survive in an often hostile and merciless world. The world of Charles Dickens where poverty was an even greater crime than theft or murder. In that world to be poor and Irish was unforgivable.

My ancestors came to Scotland to find a better life for themselves and their families. My father's family were, for the most part, from Ulster, Fermanagh and Armagh. My mother's family came from Tipperary and Offaly. I am second generation Scots on my mothers side and third generation on my fathers side. I love my homeland dearly and I am very proud to be Scottish, nowdays though I have another pride, one which many of my fellow Irish/Scots have lost. I take pride in my Irish ancestry. The shamrock and the thistle for me are inseperable.

Genealogy is a highly addictive pastime. It is like a very large jigsaw puzzle. You are constantly looking for the missing pieces. You find answers to questions that lead to other questions which in turn require answers.

Like the missing parts in the jigsaw puzzle, these answers build up a picture of the lives of the people who ultimately made you. For that reason alone the hobby can become an obsession. As a result of my research I have an extensive database on both my parents families dating back to the early 1800's. So Where do you start?

Roll Call gives a list of all those names connected with my family tree either directly or indirectly.

My Fathers family the Cassidys came from County Fermanagh but eventually settled in Glasgow. The first piece of evidence of their arrival in Scotland is the 1841 census

My Mother is a Loftus. Her branch of the Loftus clan came from Galway originally, settling in Tipperary and Glasgow.

Many of my ancestors were soldiers. My paternal great-grandfather John Finnigan served in India for over twenty years.

The Soldiers Last Letter is a page dedicated to those Loftus relatives who fought and died in The Great War.

Another of my favourite pastimes is drawing and painting. Click Art Gallery to see some of my work. I also do a little writing, just for fun. Click Bridget's Prose for a blood curdling tale set in famine stricken Ireland and The Long Walk about my ancestors journey from Ireland to Scotland.

Bridget's Place has been awarded three shamrocks by the Doras Dierctory. A comprehensive guide to whats Irish on the web.

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Last revised: March 30 2000.