My grandmother was married to Thomas Golden also from Mayo (Doonfeeny) . They were living in Leeds in the UK when my grandfather was killed in an industrial accident in 1917. My then widowed grandmother and my 12 year old mother left for America in 1921. They settled in Pittston, Pennsylvania where my grandmother remarried and my mother met my father. My wife and I have traveled to Ireland many times since the mid 70’s , but we have not spent much time in Mayo – staying mostly  in the South (Kinsale to Baltimore) and the West (Galway to Ballyvaughan). I did the research about my grandparents and their Mayo homes in 2019  in order to apply for my Irish Citizenship through the Foreign Birth Registration process. I acquired my Irish passport in 2020, and the process has renewed my interest in finding out more about their lives and heritage.

Passing my love of Ireland on to next generations, I took my 12 year old grandson on a “boy’s trip” to Dublin in late 2019. My wife and I are planning and extended trip to Mayo as soon as possible after Covid-19 quarantines are lifted.