Ireland 1963

This is the family home in Killybegs as it was in 1963 when I visited with my mama and papa.  Mama is in the middle in the grey skirt and I suppose Papa was taking the picture. The others have passed on except for the little girl at my side ( I am the dark haired skinny girl on the left for those who don't remember me 50 years ago!!!!!.  I believe the man on the right is another Conal McShane, probably an uncle. The home is now in ruins; the roof is gone and weeds fill the rooms.I heard many stories about my grandfather Patrick and this house. AnnieMcShane McGuinness  still remembers him and that he built the large Celtic cross in the family plot in the cemetery there and many of the family is buried under that cross. He made 11 trips back to Killybegs to see his mother and he and my grandmother Anna are buried in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He and the Prendergast family were merchants and operated a store in the old arcade in Fort Smith for many years. I remember this house was heated with peat and the men drank whisky in the kitchen.  I brought back a peat log this summer as a memento.