There was nothing for her here

Google Earth Bible Scenes

Curious images from The Glue Society

Killimordaly Castle and the O’Daly Marriage Stone

The noted local historian and genealogist, P.J. Kennedy, was principally responsible for the location and return to Killimordaly of what is commonly known as the “Marriage Stone” of Teige O’Daly (eldest son of Dermot who died 1614) and Sisily O’Kelly. Circa 1980, Sean Connaire, Alfie Burke, Tommy Mooney and Larry Kennedy transported this priceless historic limestone record from Lusmagh (near Cloghan Castle, Co. Offaly) to Killimordaly Churchyard. The stone artist’s name, for artist he surely was, is unrecorded. According to PJK, the stone was originally inserted above the entrance to Killimor Castle in commemoration of the castle’s construction in 1624 where it remained during the various reconstructions of “The Castle” to a more comfortable type of residence during the 18 th. and 19 th. centuries. Teige and Sisily Daly’s line became extinct, circa 1820, on the death of Hyacinth Daly Esq., of Killimer, who was, for many years, Mayor of Galway. Hyacinth’s second daughter, Anstase Daly, married John Devereux Esq., of Ballyrankin, Co. Wexford and their son, Nicholas Devereaux eventually inherited the Killimor Estate but sold it (1860) to a very distant and very rich relative —– yes to affluent Denis St. George Daly, 2nd Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal. Killimer Castle and demesne was acquired by Dunsandle following the death of Dominic J. Browne-Burke Esq., 1879.

This Lord of the Realm, recognizing the historical significance of the stone, had it removed to Dunsandle House circa 1880. Sometime in the late 1930’s, P.J. Kennedy was in Dunsandle House on business with the then master of Dunsandle, Major Denis Bowes Daly, a grandson of Lord Dunsandle. Mr. Kennedy gaze was instantly riveted on an unusual stone tablet ornamenting the grounds with its unambiguous message: Killimer Castle had been constructed in 1624 and this was the atchivment (achievement) of Teige O’Daly and Sisily Kelly. In 1956, Major Daly, suffering from the constraints of a diminishing income, sold the family seat and demesne to the Irish Land Commission. He took up residence in Cloghan Castle, parish of Lusmagh, Co. Offaly and luckily brought the ‘Marriage Stone’ with him. It remained there until he moved to another home in Co. Limerick. But wearying of carting his limestone burden he finally gave permission for its return to Killimordaly.

A unique and wonderful example of stone art, with extraordinary relief writing and detailed decoration; it is still well preserved (but weathering) 370 years on. Presently the stone is set in concrete on the left of the stepped entrance to Killimordaly Graveyard. As part of our historical inheritance and the most ancient written record extant in the locality once known as Killimor Maenmoy, it deserves greater protection from the eroding elements. The most immediate and striking impression presented by this old echo of the past is that it is written in English, again reinforcing O’Daly loyalty to Stuart England and his commitment to English as the language of “Civility”. Sadly it also marks his abandonment of the language of his noble Gaelic forefathers and signals the decline of Irish among the local peasantry. Secondly, the strength of O’Daly’s Catholicism (at a time when Protestantism would have been the easy and the more lucrative option) is reflected by the inclusion of implements used in Christ’s torture and crucifixion. This religious symbolism clearly demonstrates the success of continental counter-reformation Catholicism and the disdainful rejection of the imposed state religion of Tudor/Stuart England.

Located at the centre, is the O’Daly coat of arms; the shield bearing a rampant lion and two right hands. The lion signifies leadership and deathless courage whilst the two right hands represent faith and justice. A helmet perched on top of the shield (a little indistinct) symbolizes security in defence. The shield is surrounded by a decorative mantle drawing the viewers attention to the importance of this family and the pride taken by Teige in his family’s achievement. A large dog (hound) forms the crest and exhibits detail so perfect that its maleness is chauvinistically obvious. However, lest the mighty Teige O’Daly be accused of gender discrimination, let the reader take note of the equal prominence given to Sisily O’Kelly’s name on the right hand side of the memorial, thus bearing witness to this important O’Daly/O’Kelly alliance. Up to this point, the O’Kelly chieftains must have resented the O’Daly’s growing importance and wealth, yet O’Daly had become acceptable enough for integration with the once powerful princes of Hymany. Sisily Kelly/O’Kelly was the daughter of a Gaelic chieftain named Conor O’Kelly of Gallagh, (modern Castleblakeney) and no doubt, added to the growing wealth of Teige, with a generous dowry of livestock, which as we all know, is the only yardstick of real wealth.

This information was compiled and written by Mr James N. Dillon, and is presented here with his kind permission.

James has also created a page with some interesting details on the Dilleen family name which can be found at http://www.esatclear.ie/~jamesnd/.

E-mail jamesnd@esatclear.ie

“Ishah” – Jessica Care Moore

attached to strangers

who smell like family on Sunday morning

you’ll never really be loved that way again

this shit is temporary

keep reminding yourself baby girl

while looking for unconditional daddy love

that he will only have his eyes

but never his heart

will have his walk

but never his feet

we are born in battle creek searching for

ourselves inside the weak

so we can appear strong

entertaining confusion on canvas

unfinished colors reminds me of my brother

woman who wonders when they get to turn into

a seductive action figure

invisible planes flying

little girls learn to summon rain

when tears dirty their face and their dreams start lying

sleep bandits stole your sight

you never gonna know how to love right

cause your heart is on the left

your spirit’s mistress wants back in

but your body is locked inside its first life

you’ve been labeled ho, mother, wife

where’s my gold dipped knife my sacrificial womb

oppressed bone buried in stretch limo tombs

opening the door the way gentlemen do

we’ll have a table for two

but only one of us is gonna eat

you think I look beautiful when I sleep

my skin melted to the floor

while I was counting sheep

so I keep one black eye open

hide my power inside my throat

swallow when necessary

talk too damn much and practice whispering

tell you my secrets then ask you to protect me

from the truth

you are my best friend

my nigga my motha fucka my boy

hurting me like my man would

I never knew love like this

I never knew pain like this

my daddy was a fish

but scorpions don’t like to swim

unless they’re drowning

it’s more passionate that way

we love because we have to

not because it’s practical

or matches the curtains / goes with my new dress / looks good in

pictures / sounds good off the page / works for the soundtrack / makes other

people feel tingly inside / or just because we happened to both be

standing there

when the perfect music came on

and we know how to dance without practice

remember baby girl

he will have his eyes

but never his heart

he will have his walk

but never his feet

still

you will stand on his shoes

close your eyes and pray this time

that if it’s not him again

at least you will know

you came close

Surname Meaning

The common definition of the O’Dalaigh surname today is, “deriving from Dalach meaning ‘one who is present at assemblies’; the root word is Dail, now the official title of the parliament of the Republic of Ireland”. A connection is also possible to the long tradition of scholarship and poetic achievement associated with those who bear it, since the ollamh of Gaelic Ireland had a place of honor at the tribal dail as a man of learning and a poet.

Other evidence points to an even older more significant meaning, based on the claim by the pagan Irish that they were offspring of their gods. This evidence is found on several Ogham stones which contain the oldest known form of Irish writing. An example from the Gowran Stone;




DALLO MAQA MUCORI MAQI ERACIAS MAQI LI





and one from the Dunbell Stone of Kilkenny:




BRANITTOS MAQI DECARI DDALLOS





These inscriptions appear to invoke either pagan gods or mythological figures with names similar to the ancestral “Dalach”. A third ogham, Monataggert II further specifies the Dalach (Dalagni) as sons of the eponymous ancestor (Dali). In many cases the mythological ancestor was female.




DALAG N I MAQ I DALI





From this evidence and other data associated with times of antiquity in Ireland, it would appear that there are reasonable grounds for assuming the family name “O’Dalaigh” has a godly or mythological significance.Indeed, it provides a more logical probable meaning of the name O’Dalaigh than the more popular versions built almost entirely on definitions given in modern dictionaries for supposed parts of the family name.



From “History of the O’Daly’s, The Story of the Ancient Irish Sept, The Race of Dalach of Corca Adaimh” by Edmund Emmett O’Daly (Chicago, 1932).

lower commons

We watched Malibu burn together in 1993
sitting in the far corner fifty feet away from the television
you complained when that girl Laura kept coming out to the water fountain too often
you were in pajamas during Ben’s drunken deflection in the parking lot
we took his keys and he was really pissed about it
that was funny though
he’d just tried to start the pinball machine with his car key
yeah
completely dangerous
i wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t there
but it was superheroes for a few seconds and it was fun

helicopters dropped gigantic boxes of chemicals onto the mansions of your home town
veering in sharp and then pouring sand out of giant funnels and leaving
very dangerous they said
i remember the lights of the giant fire making the helicopters orange
it wasn’t the real firefighters either
it was a special group of rich people stuntpilots
the wind was too dangerous for normal flying but the rich people could afford the hazard pay
and their mansions needed saving and television played it for us
and the problem turned out to be a guy who started a brush fire by an overpass
they were really mad at the broke ass loser when they found him
and you said you’d been so busy you didn’t even realize your town was on fire
i never understood why you were so nice to me.

you thought I was some gangster or something
or maybe you thought I was a vegetable, I don’t know
you wanted something
i was too young to understand i think

You remember what you finally did with me
but Ben eventually drove into the Oregonian delivery van
wrecked two cars and had to go to court and couldn’t drive for a long time
that was about a year later

I decided the reason I haven’t heard from him since 1995
was either he was dead or ashamed of something
probably the second one there
but Malibu is on fire again right now
it’s the right season for it

and San Diego too
i’d heard so many stories about La Holla
the surfer kid you always saw me with
you and me looked back at that night like it was a huge mistake
i mean
that thing with the winter formal and Mark Churchland who would hate me for all time
those other nights
you and me both separately would look back at that as something that shouldn’t have happened
but that was your big chance wasn’t it.
you saw it happen and you know how rare that is
it was your big chance, i mean it was
you know that now right?

if you weren’t such a big valley girl drama victim stereotype
and if i weren’t a useless child with brain trauma
we would rule this world by now.

Instead
I have this imaginary thing
too fragile even to describe out loud
and you don’t remember anything except my shitty handwriting.

I’m going to remember you now if that’s alright.

-October 21, 2007