Dublin International Youth Hostel

Yesterday Shelly I went to the archives to research genealogy. They redirected us to the National Library which is near the museum. Guess what we found – the Hortons weren't even Irish! The Jacksons probably were, and the Hortons were most likely English. Our next trip has to be to England. This time we'll take two weeks and go to Paris. Yes, we're already plotting and scheming. Rachel had some success, and now knows that she and her dad have to visit there again and look up more of his side of the family. She found some baptism and marriage records, but they are from the Catholic churches, so they are all in Latin mumble jumble scrawl. That was annoying for everyone to try to read.

Either way, even if the Hortons were Irish, we now know that we would never find anything. Amzsey died in America in 1828, which means he immigrated before then, but we have some basic problems with tracing him back here. Item One: There were almost no emigration records back then. Item Two: We don't know his hometown, so we don't know which parishes to start looking. Item Three: There are very few Hortons here, and they were probably English with lots of money who bought plots of land in Ireland. Item Four: In the late 1820s or '30s, the Irish had a civil war. A group of people ran into the Four Courts and piled the records that they had outside of them and lit them on fire in order to barricade themselves inside. It was their only way of doing so. Unfortunately, it also means that most of the records from before that point were obliterated in feiry doom. Item Five: During WWI, Ireland used its records to repulp them to make more paper. We were told both of these last items by a man researching something in the library who was also into genealogy, who happened to work in the library in Microfilm/fiche. He LIVES in Ireland, and he can't find any of his family history before 1820. Therefore, I have made my case that trying much harder would be pointless unless we find out someday that the Hortons that were here practicing Catholicism during 1859 were relatives of Amzsey. It would be more worthwhile, as Ireland goes, to see how far we go back with the Jacksons. Though Shelly and I did write down some possible places where parishes have records of the Hortons' tithing. Fortunately, we did get something out of this: another reason to travel to Europe, greater knowledge of or English history, and BRITAIN DOESN'T DESTROY RECORDS! We should be able to find something next time around, since, as Rachel put it, “The British are obsessed with paper.”

After learning all of that, we had lunch and went to the art museum. That was pretty cool. Rachel found the print that she wanted: “Meeting on the Staircase” or something like that. It is a beautiful painting, depecting King Arthur's wife and Sir What's His Face passing in opposite directions on the stairs during their secret affair. You can feel both of their hearts stop. The body language and facial expressions are perfect in this little moment of passion as he kisses her extended forearm and she looks longingly over her opposite shoulder. It's hard to describe though so you'll have to try looking it up yourself.

Then we did all of our shopping, so yay! Shopping in Dublin! Finally, we got all tarted up and went out to the first bar that we went to. I can tell you this: going out to the bars really is the same, no matter where you do it. It's going out to the bars, whether you're in Eau Claire or Dublin. The only difference here was the men were Irish. Also, drunken political discussions are really, really amusing if you're the one that's had the least to drink, and actually quite interesting since people don't hold back like they might otherwise (leave it to me to find one of those rare gems).

And now, our final act, the next morning:
Me: I'm starving to death.
Shelly: Me too.
Rachel: Blaaggeerruuuugghhhh... I don't know why I drink. (flops onto bed and rolls over and passes out)

Belfast today! We will have technically really actually for realzies been in the United Kingdom/Great Britain, woo hoo! Also, my first train ride! Shelly and I just really really really need to eat first. And Rachel needs to sleep while we do that. And then everyone will be just peachy.