Darrin released version 6.1.0 of TNG (an upgrade from 6.0.4). The update has been applied to the McGinty/Wheeler genealogy site. One of the many new features is support for Google maps. It will take me some time to get LAT/LONG for each of the cities locations but it's great that the support is there.

I use Google to track new items pertaining to Wheeler genealogy. Today I found a blog about another Wheeler talking about his Wheeler roots. I haven't had a chance to check whether we are related (if we are it is distant) but it is still an interesting blog and a great story about his relatives. Find the blog at My Wheeler Genealogy.

So we are currently at Waterford Castle which for those of you who haven't been here yourselves is located on an island just off the coast of County Waterford. The castle has 19 rooms and a golf course (similar to Ashford Castle). It is much more personal than Ashford Castle and the service, at least from a meal perspective, is superb to that of Ashford. It was roughly $95 per person at Ashford for dinner while only about $85 per person at Waterford. While less expensive, the food at Waterford was superior to that of Ashford and much more intimate.

Tomorrow we head off to Wexford before Dublin and returning home. More to come...

We are currently in Kinsale which is just south of Cork in County Cork. Last night we were in Dingle which is the northern-most peninsula in County Kerry. Dingle was recommended to us by a salesperson in Radio Shack (of all places) and she just happened to be from Ireland. While Dingle may have been a secret to tourists years ago when my parents (and grandparents) visited Ireland today it is booming with tourists. It is said that Dingle was put on the map by the movies Ryan's Daughter and Far and Away.

Having learned our lesson about typical tourist attractions such as those found in Bunratti, we opted to stay away from Killarney and Blarney.

We ate a magnificent restaurant called The Spaniard which is more well known for its bar than the restarant. In the bar it is standing room only after 9pm. That said, the food was spectecular and I would recommend it to anyone that is in Kinsale.

Tomorrow we head to Waterford and will be staying in Waterford Castle for the evening. After that we will be staying in Wexford before heading to Dublin four our return home.

We currently have over 1000 pictures. Most if not all of them will be posted on the Flickr site once we return. We will be also posting a couple of short videos to the YouTube site.

Stay tuned...

We arrived in Ireland eager to begin our honeymoon. While driving down M4/N4, I noticed the town of Mohill. Mohill is the townland where my 2nd great-grandmother and 2nd great-grandfather were married (Michael McGinty and Eliza McGarry).

We stopped in Mohill and came upon a very sweet woman from the Mohill public library that despite the fact that it was lunch time, she was eager to help us. She provided us with a rough location of where Bornacoola could be found as well as the name of the parish priest.

I've posted several inquiries to Ancestry.com and other boards looking for "Ballygheer" which is the location on my great-grandfather's death certificate. Turns out, after checking with the Leitrim Genealogy Center, the correct location is Bellageeher. We spent several hours in Leitrim and probably drove through it several times but we couldn't specifically locate Bellageeher.

All was not lost. Through the genealogy center in Leitrim we were able to locate what we believe are the baptismal records for Michael and his siblings. More to come...

And off we go. Today Amy and I are leaving for Ireland for a 10 day visit. We start and finish in Dublin with stops at Ashford Castle and Waterford Castle. We will also be stopping at County Leitrim and County Mayo to do a little genealogy research. It's a historical time to visit Ireland given the recent change in government.