Irish Kennedy Clan Gathering 2025.

From early on the Friday evening, it was clear that there was huge interest in the presentation on how best to interpret and use DNA results, to be given by Professor Mark Kennedy. People from many corners of Ireland, as well as visitors from New Zealand, Australia, U. K. and United States gathered in the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh in anticipation.

After the hotel staff had manfully provided extra seating for the larger than expected  crowd, the Gathering was formally opened by Richard Kennedy, Chairperson of the Irish Kennedy Heritage Group. He expressed his regret at the unavoidable absence of our historian and founder Brian Patrick Kennedy from this year’s gathering and conveyed the good wishes of all present to Brian and his extended Kennedy family, before introducing Mark to the Gathering.

 Chairman, Richard Kennedy introduces Mark Kennedy.

It was then over to Mark who brought the attendees patiently through his carefully prepared visual presentation on how the use of DNA can be used in conjunction with written records to fill in some gaps in family histories. This was interspersed with a question and answer element as Mark answered some general queries from the audience.

As a very enjoyable finale, those present were each able to give a short account of his or her own stories as they travelled along the road of unravelling their family histories.

With tea and light bites provided at the interval and the availability of stronger nourishment afterwards in the hotel bar, a very enjoyable and informative night was had by all.

Professor Mark Kennedy has an attentive audience

More of the attendees in The Abbey Court, Nenagh.

Saturday morning saw us gather at Nenagh Heritage Centre to view the IKHG Display curated by Phyllis and  Pat Kennedy. Pat  gave a brief history of how the display came to be housed in the Heritage Centre.

 Pat Kennedy addressing visitors in Heritage Centre.

People then had the opportunity to amble around the display and study the various displays at their leisure, while the genial Ger from the Heritage Centre guided those interested,  in  an enjoyable  tour of the Gaol Complex.

 Ger explaining one of the less palatable displays in Nenagh Gaol

Later on Saturday afternoon we gathered under the blazing sunshine in Bunratty Folk Park to get a sense of what life was like in olden times in Ireland. Then, into the castle itself for the medieval banquet.

King Henry in jovial mood with Kennedy Clan

King Henry was a loud, rambunctious, but genial host, and we were treated to the best of food and entertainment by his company of musicians, singers, waiters and waitresses. Armed with just a small ‘dagger’,( no forks and spoons) and fortified by a plentiful supply of mead and wine , we forgot our 21^st century niceties as we happily slurped our soup, fingered our spare ribs, knifed our chicken and vegetables, before finishing off with a tasty desert and a nice cup of tea/coffee.  An event thoroughly enjoyed by all.

A special mention to Kelvin Kennedy aka Lord Kelvin, who unfortunately earned the unwanted attention of King Henry, and, unjustly, found  himself cast in the dungeon during the course of the evening. However, he succeeded  in liberating himself through leading the diners in a verse of song, and happily Kelvin was restored to the bosom of his Kennedy Clan.

Well done Kelvin, you were a good sport.

Happy diners at Bunratty Medieval Banquet

 More satisfied souls.

If you are interested in getting more information about the Irish Kennedys, you can look us up on Facebook, or www.irishkennedyheritagegroup.ie   or contact Tom at 0876545646

The post 2025 Clan Gathering appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

Friday July 11^th .(Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh). E45 KA99

From around 6.30pm,  we will gather in the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh for an informal meet and greet. Then at 7.30pm we will repair to a function room in the hotel, where we will have a few presentations. Prof. Mark Kennedy will give a run down on how to interpret all the information we get in DNA results, and how they can be best used to help make connections that perhaps are not available in written records.

We expect  to have  other speakers also,  yet to be confirmed.

We would love to afford our members an opportunity to address the meeting in a very informal manner.

What we have in mind is that people would make their own bits of family history known to members, and perhaps how they are connected to other members. We tend to spend a lot of time over the weekend doing this on a one to one basis, so we see this as a means of making ourselves known to a wider audience and strengthening connections. A little short written synopsis would be great for my records also.

Saturday July 12^th.

Nenagh Heritage Centre. Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Bunratty Medieval Banquet.

Nenagh Heritage Centre  E45 X588 ( 10.30am to 12.00 midday)  which houses the Irish Kennedy Heritage Display, doesn’t normally open on Saturdays. However at our request, Ger has kindly agreed to facilitate us on the 12^th July and we will have access to the Centre from 10.30 am for about an hour and a half. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s I think, a must see – if you have already been there, you will most likely spot something new that you may have missed on earlier visits.

Bunratty Medieval Banquet 5.30pm.

We have decided to reserve seats for the 5.30 banquet. This is a taste of Irish Culture – food, drink, music and dance with a little drama thrown in for good measure. This has to be pre-booked and pre paid. We have gone ahead and booked 40 places at the banquet – the cost is €71.50 per person for a group rate. I will need to have exact numbers attending two weeks in advance, by Friday 27^th June at the latest. At present 35 members have confirmed their intention to attend the banquet so if you haven’t already contacted me and you intend to come get in touch with me asap. If there are seats still available, we can book in more than the 40, but only while seats are still available so the sooner I know the better.

There is no need to worry about payment yet, I will be in touch with attendees nearer the time.

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

As we will be finishing in Nenagh around 12.00 midday, and will be meeting for the banquet in Bunratty at 5.15pm,  members will have ample time to work up an appetite. We recommend a visit to Bunratty  Castle  and Folk Park. We don’t think it’s necessary to organise a group visit, as it is best enjoyed at one’s own leisure.

However,for people attending the banquet, there is a reduced entry fee of around €8 to the Folk Park.

For an idea of what’s in store for you  in Bunratty, click on the following link.

https://g.co/kgs/wm4NuEn

Looking forward to July and meeting lots of Kennedys.

Kind regards,

Tom

The post Irish Kennedys Clan Gathering 2025 appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

At our Committee meeting just before Christmas we discussed some options for Clan Gathering 2025. The following were the results of our deliberations:

The Gathering will, as is now tradition, be held on the second weekend in July.

On Friday 11^th July we will gather in Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh around 6pm for an informal meet, greet and reminisce for our regular attendees and introductions for first time visitors.

Informalities done we will then retire to a meeting room in the hotel ( probably around 8pm) where Prof. Mark Kennedy will bring us up to date on his Irish Kennedy DNA research.

As many of you will know Mark has devoted a great deal of both his time and expertise in establishing connections between many different branches of the North Tipperary / East Limerick Kennedys, and this will be a great opportunity for Mark to bring us all up to speed on his work. Don’t be surprised if by the end of Mark’s presentation you discover you have more cousins than you thought you had before he began.

We are also hopeful that another eminent member of our clan – Professor Liam Kennedy, Queen’s University, Belfast and formerly  of Borrisoleigh  will take us on a  trip through his own Kennedy and Ryan ancestors with reference to the social and political changes that occurred through over 100 years of their family histories. There should be ample time afterwards to get even greater clarity on all topics discussed in the friendly environs of the Abbot’s Bar in the hotel.

I am personally really looking forward to these talks as they will undoubtedly help bring a deeper understanding and knowledge of my own Kennedy ancestry.

Saturday 12^th July

Our proposals for Saturday 12^th are as follows:

Saturday Morning  (at a respectable time)

Nenagh Heritage Centre and Irish Kennedy Display. For those who haven’t see this display previously, it’s a must see on your visit with its collection of copies of treaties hundreds of years old, family histories, photographs, genealogical charts and much more. We are hoping that the staff of the Heritage Centre will once again facilitate us as the Centre is not normally open on a Saturday. There will also, we hope, be a guided tour of the Centre which is the old Nenagh Gaol and has a wealth of history within its walls.

Saturday Afternoon.

Meet up in Bunratty Folk Park, Co. Clare in the afternoon.

Guided tour of Bunratty Castle followed by a leisurely stroll around Bunratty Folk Park.

Bunratty Castle is a 15^th century castle and is the seat of the O Brien Clan descended from Brian Ború, brother of Donnchuan from whom many of our Kennedys are descended.

Bunratty Folk Park stretches to over 25 acres and is basically a recreation of an Irish Village from the 1800’s. You will be able to visit rural farmhouses, village shops and craftsmen at work and much more as you get a taste of life in Ireland in the 19^th/ 20^th centuries.

Mention of taste, we then suggest that we return to the castle for a medieval banquet.

Having attended one of these a few years back I can heartily recommend this feast of food, drink (mead) and entertainment.

There are two important things to consider in our planning of the weekend.

Friday’s events will be free of charge as we just have to cover the rent of the meeting room.

However the tour of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and the later medieval feast do naturally come at a cost – in the region of €90 for the two combined. The exact figure will depend on the number of us attending – the rate varies depending on the size of the group.

It will therefore be necessary to give them a reasonably accurate number beforehand so I would appreciate if you could notify me of your intended attendance in good time.

I do want to state again that we are in the preliminary stages of planning – there may well be changes as we go along, and there will also be a menu of places of interest that people can explore in their own time.

The post 2025 Clan Gathering appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

If you’re  a Kennedy, or have Kennedy ancestry , then Saturday next 13^th of July 2024 is a date for your diary. On that day Kennedys from across Ireland will be joined by distant cousins from Australia to the United States and countries in between to retrace the steps of our ancestors in North Tipperary .We will gather at The Heritage Centre in Nenagh at 9.45am on the Saturday morning to view the recently updated Irish Kennedy Heritage Group Display housed in the Heritage Centre. You will be able to view a thousand years of Kennedy History in Upper and Lower Ormond from the time of Brian Ború right up to the present day. Genealogical charts covering 30 generations of Kennedy ancestry , copies of original land leases from as far back as the 1700’s and copies of ancient treaties between the Kennedys and the Butler lords are all on display. A local guide will take us on a tour of the Old Nenagh Gaol and talk us through the typical life of a prisoner in the olden days.

Following a break to allow for some free exploration of Nenagh town and its environs – the nearby historic centre and castle, we will reconvene at Garrykennedy Harbour for a tranquil cruise of Lough Derg. From there we will retire to Larkin’s Bar, Garrykennedy for an evening meal and a night-time of chat and relaxation

If you would like to join us on our tour, please contact Tom at 0876545646 or at  tom.irish kennedy heritage group@gmail.com

For more details look up The Irish Kennedys on Facebook or our website www.Irishkennedyheritagegroup.ie

The post Clan Gathering 2024 appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

The post 2023 Gathering Final details appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

The post Kennedy Clan Gathering 2023 appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

However the good news is that we are already planning our 2023 gathering.

In line with previous years we are provisionally planning on getting the Kennedy Clan together on the 2nd week in July; i.e. July 8th, 9th 2023.

We are hoping that many of our overseas members will be able to travel to North Tipperary at that time – however we are also aware that a particular date may not suit some people so we are also planning to facilitate those people by including a virtual segment to the gathering whereby members can partake through Zoom or similar digital platform.

We are still in the early stages of planning so I will keep you updated between now and then. If there are places of Kennedy interest that you would like included in our 2023 itinerary then feel free to let me know for our consideration.

In the meantime keep safe.

Slán agus beannacht.

The post Kennedy Clan Gathering 2023. appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

Walking into Kennedy’s bar in Rearcross on a magnificent Irish summer’s day became the starting point of one of the most rewarding experiences I can recall. Admittedly, I had a few butterflies in my stomach with the anticipation and thoughts that I had travelled over 15,000km for this event, but once I entered Rody Kennedy’s Bar, ventured through the Anglesea lounge then back into the bright sunshine to the meeting place, my thoughts were ‘lets make the most of this occasion’. Little did I know how much this gathering was going to impact me.

As soon as I opened my mouth and uttered “hello” in a broad Australian accent, it became immediate to the other guests and organisers what I was there for. The warm, welcoming, beaming smiles immediately gave me a sense of calm and belonging. A brief introduction by myself and wife Lucinda to the gathering then quickly turned to chats with fellow Kennedys about well, “Kennedys”. Receiving our name tags made it official, we were part of the clan.

The convoy of cars to the Kennedy fort at Killaloe was a chance to gather my thoughts and plan for the activities which were to happen next. We arrived at the Kennedy Fort and strolled along the path to the site, picking up on conversations with fellow Kennedys along the way. Soon enough we were faced with a large bank of earth. After a short walk around the ring fort, approximately 50mts across and 4mts high, an opening appeared and all the Kennedys entered the original home of the very first Kennedy. Brian Patrick Kennedy eloquently and passionately read passages from his book “The Resilient Kennedys”. As he read about how the first Kennedys survived and prospered at the site, his words began painting images in my mind and the surroundings became full of life, as it was over 1000 years ago. As Brian gave great detail of the origins of the Kennedys, I could not help but look up at the sunlight filtering though the canopy of the overhead trees and feeling the significance of what the site meant to me and all Kennedys present.

We had a short break for some dinner, then regathered at Rearcross for an evening of further discovery and the launch of Brian Patrick Kennedy’s new book ‘The Irish Kennedys Who Moved Eastward’. A night of more introductions and an analysis of how my Kennedys may be connected to your Kennedys, later become more relaxed (with the assistance of a few pints of Guinness) with chats about life in Ireland and life in Australia.  Paddy Whelan was most patient and obliging with continuous questions about the science of DNA. By the way, I posted my kit and eagerly await my results to hopefully breakdown those genealogy walls. As the night drew to a close I walked out of Chief Rody Kennedy’s bar feeling immensely pleased with the new friendships and it was not just because we shared a surname. The Sunday’s Irish Kennedy Clan Gathering had come to a close, but a bus trip to Dingle, County Kerry was still to come.

O’Cinneide – I had seen the name written on a page numerous times, but the first time I heard it pronounced I thought ‘wow’, I was not expecting that. Is it ‘o-kin-aid-ja’ (my apologies for butchering the beautiful Irish language) I need to practice that one. This simple enlightenment made me realise I have so much to learn about Kennedys and Ireland.

Tuesday saw the clan meet once more at Rearcross to catch a bus for a trip to Dingle, County Kerry. It was such a pleasure not to drive, as we had

been touring and now had the chance to stare out the window at beautiful Ireland. Conversations along the way were very informative, with a local knowledge commentary freely chatted amongst the clan. We arrived at Annascaul and spent time in a small cafe while guest speakers from the area gave detailed history of Kennedys in the Dingle Peninsula and how they got there. The local Kennedy history was told, as has been for hundreds of years, passed down through generations, giving a real connection to all Kennedys related to the story. My Kennedy history was very different; not knowing any details prior to my grandfather until I began the quest to find some answers. After years of research,  I have traced back to my gggreatgrand father who left Ireland in 1852. All I have are mainly names, dates and some little bits of information from research along the way. Personally it was so pleasing to here history given in such detail with colourful stories to enhance the experience. After a few scones and a cup of tea it was back on the bus and our next stop saw us near the Blasket Islands.

What a unique history this place holds with a community living on a small island until recent times. With generations of Kennedys enriched in the area, this story was superbly told by Dara O’Cinneide. Dara was a fine orator, conveying the rich meaning of the special place his Kennedys held in the area and giving the long lines of Kennedy fisherman and farmers a unique connection to the sea and land. Dara added to an already impressive talk by citing poetry, adding colour to a story as only the Irish know how. It wasn’t until the later stages of his presentation that I found out Dara was a football champion, captaining Kerry to an All Ireland final. As an avid Australian Rules Football fan, Dara just went up another level of respect. Well done Dara.

A presentation on Fr John Joseph Kennedy by Lorcan O’Cinneide was a story of adventure, something not usually associated with priests. This Kennedy story held a personal connection as I live

only a short distance away from where Fr John Joseph Kennedy resided in Victoria and have similar family wartime encounters. Lorcan’s presentation had me engrossed as he travelled though the wonderful life of Fr John Joseph Kennedy and I had to personally thank him for the opportunity.

Back on the bus and a short trip to Dingle gave me the opportunity to listen to traditional Irish music and enjoy a few pints to cap off a fine day. Eilis Kennedy sang beautiful Irish songs with the most angelic voice, accompanied by accordion player John Benny. Several members of the Kennedy Clan joined the merriment and performed some Irish ballads of the highest quality. There were shouts of requests for other members to sing, especially wanting some Australians to perform a song. I sheepishly sipped on my Guinness, avoiding eye contact thinking ‘you don’t want to hear me sing’, then thinking ‘maybe if I have a few more beers’ I would pluck up the courage and poorly sing ‘Throw your arms around me’ by Hunters and Collectors (something for my fellow Australians).

Then it was back on the bus for the long trip back to Rearcross. A big thank you to Liam our bus driver for his tireless work to get us home safely. The ride home was a chance to reflect and from that, the one thing that was foremost in my mind, was ‘culture’. I had experienced a day few Australians and Kennedys would encounter. I now feel richer for the experience and a big thank you to all people who made it possible.

The Irish Kennedy Heritage Group is in good hands.

The Irish Kennedy Clan Gathering 2019 experience will stay with me forever and I can’t wait to share my stories with family back home. Thanks once again from Brian and Lucinda Kennedy, Ballan, Victoria, Australia.

Meanwhile is it ‘o-kin-aid-ja’ or ‘o-kin-aye-ger’ or maybe……………………?

The post Brian and Lucinda Kennedy recall visit to Clan Gathering 2019 appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

The post Irish Kennedy Clan Gathering 2019. appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.

The Irish Kennedy clan gatherings have been taking place every year since 2011.

The gathering is usually held in the Anglesey Lounge at Kennedys at Rearcross on the Second Sunday of July.

Kennedys and their descendants from around the world attend the clan gathering and visitors are also invited.

 

 

The post The Kennedy Clan Gathering appeared first on Irish Kennedy Heritage Group.