This blog is the story of the family of Michael Carney and Mary Dever of Achill, County Mayo Ireland
Suzanna told me a story I hadn't heard**. ![Julia Carney's Grave](/images/uploads/FamilyGravesJuliaCarney.jpg) When My grandmother Julia McTighe Carney died, the family must have been very poor. They apparently couldn't afford to have a grave marker made by a professional, so they carved their own. It was somewhat crudely done. Here is a picture of the stone. I don't know how they squared...
My father always flew the flag on the fourth of July. And he made a sweet ceremony of it. He would hang it from the porch roof and step back, place his hand of his heart and recite the pledge ending with "God Bless America". He was very proud and happy to be an American citizen. He said...
As of recently I've been trying to find out more about the history of the Carney family. I'm interested in where we came from in Ireland. From what little I've found on the internet is that the Carney family is from County Meath. Any other information would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to learn as much as...
I would love to know more about Grandpa Carney. Dad had some stories of Grandpa. He would pass the story on to me in his chair in the living room when I would disturb his reading. One of my favorite is when Grandpa was a little boy he would sit on the cliffs of Achill Island and watch the Clipper...
Some time ago Mary B asked me if I had any good Irish wake stories and I said no but after thinking about it a while I remember this incident that happened when I was visiting Ireland in the sixties. The first time I went to Ireland was before the Celtic Tiger and the explosive economic growth that Ireland...
The questions keep coming in. Ellen asked me to tell about the Puca. The Puca was an Irish fairy. Some folklore that I've read said he took the form of a horse. But my dad always said "it was the form of a donkey he took". The Puca could be benign or malevolent depending on...
It seems that we never missed a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Cleveland. I'm not sure if we took the day off from school or if the parade was always on a Saturday. I remember the Irish wolfhounds and St. Helen's Academy, the whole school rode unicycles. Most of the kids would be on small unicycle but some were on...
I would like to hear more about the legend of the pookah. And for us to carry it out in our families. All I know if that whenever I left the lights on, or a door open, and mom was either trying to cover for me or believed that I didn't do it, she would sigh, "it...
Grandma had soft,silky, snowy hair that she wore gently pulled back that showed off her rouged cheeks. I remember that she wore glasses and flowy dresses. I was fascinated with the fact that she wore dentures too. I remember visiting Grandma Carney at her apartment in downtown Cleveland. I loved the drive to downtown and I always looked...