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Archiver > IRISH-AMERICAN > 2003-08 > 1060021665
From: "Jean Rice" <>
Subject: [Irish-American] Trip to Greystones, Co. Wicklow (1920s) from NJ -- O'BRIEN/KIMBLE - BURNABY
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 11:27:45 -0700
MEMORY LANE: "This is an account of a wonderful summer that is still very clear in my memory," 94-year-old Kathleen O'BRIEN KIMBLE, New Milford, NJ, shared in a letter in a fairly recent issue of "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine published in Dublin. "My father emigrated from Ireland in 1881, age 21, and married in 1897. Eventually he wanted his American and Irish families to meet each other. In 1920 it was decided that we would all go to Ireland...Mama, Papa, and eight daughters, of which I am the fourth. Suitcases were purchased, clothing was chosen, a steamer trunk was tightly packed. Excitement reigned high. We sailed on the "Corina," a Cunard liner. The trip took a little longer than planned because we had to sail south to avoid icebergs. When we reached Queenstown (present-day Cobh) we boarded a tender to take us ashore. It was July 4th and the tender was decorated with American flags. We stayed overnight, attending Mass in St. Colman's Cathedral, then t!
ook a train to Dublin, where a cousin met us at the station, son of the Aunt with whom we were to stay for a few days, at Vavasour Square. Can you imagine having a family of ten descend on you! Then we spent a few days with Papa's sister, Aunt Julia, in Delgany. While there, my parents contacted a real estate agent and found a house to rent for the balance of that summer, midway between Delgany and Greystones (Co. Wicklow) in the area called Killincarrig. It was a lovely place with a fine garden, surrounded by fields. My sisters and I played with neighborhood children, and made pets of a sheep and a cow in adjoining pastures. We roamed the fields of what was then the BURNABY Estate, climbing a stile as a shortcut to the seashore at Greystones. I never saw my mother so relaxed. On Sundays, we dressed in our finery and went for long walks. I remember the weather being grand, with often a small shower in the morning and then sunshine the rest of the day. Once we passe!
d some gentleman sitting on a stone wall, and overheard one of them say "Look at the Yanks. They walk as if the sun shining." All too quickly that glorious summer passed and it was early September and time to go home. We were all a few days late for the opening of school back in Hillsdale, NJ, but sure that didn't bother us. Now at nearly ninety-five years of age, these delightful memories and the old black and white snapshots are a joy for me to dwell on. It was truly an adventure. Letters still fly back and forth across the Atlantic, from Blackrock, Monkstown, Dalkey, and Galway. You can see from my story why I cherish my links with Ireland."
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