July 29 – August 1, 2023 — While under Covid lockdown we did some research on our family genealogy and Bob found that he actually has a wee bit of Irish blood–one eighth. Who knew? Sara is more Irish, but Bob is more recently Irish–great grandmother on his father’s side. Sara is proud of her 98% Irish having some the genealogy already completed by siblings. 
We flew into Dublin and went to Birr, located in the center of Ireland where Bob’s great grandmother had been born, not far from where President Obama’s great grandmother was born. 
Birr is also home to the notable Birr Castle where a lot of private scientific work was done in the 19th century including the invention of the world’s first steam turbine and the development of the largest telescope in the world, a record that held for 70 years.
The Irish lived up to all of their reputation for being so friendly and we were able to get a bit of info but many of the old records prior to 1850 were burned in a fire, so only church records have any viable info. It was great fun talking with people who were working so hard to try to help us. We gained sources that we are still exploring.
Our last two days we spent in Dublin enjoying the city and some good Irish music. It was also Sara’s birthday and a great place to spend it.