Genealogical Expeditions - County Wexford, Ireland
On 21 May 2025 I had the most AMAZING day of my genealogical
experiences! I had traveled to Ireland for a knitting tour (a fabulous
experience itself), and after the tour I rented a car to drive from Dublin to
County Wexford, Ireland. The Brett (also Britt) family lived in a small town
called Boherstooka, in the parish of Rathgarogue, in the County of Wexford.
John Brett and Johanna (Murphy) Brett were my 3rd great grandparents,
and generations of the Brett family had farmed this land in Boherstooka for
over 100 years.
I first went to the Rathgarogue Catholic Church, just down the road from the farmland that the Bretts lived on.
I walked the cemetery there, and found a headstone that said:
“Erected by
John Brett, Boherstooka
in
memory of his deceased friends
and
also his son John who died
12th
June 1935
aged
30 years
Rest
in Peace”
I later determined this was my 3rd great grandparents son (i.e., John Jr.) who had erected this headstone for his own son John Brett 3rd. John Jr. is supposedly also buried here.
Next I went down to the farmland and met the current owners,
Catherine and Brian Byrne. They brought me into their home, fed me cake and
coffee, gave me a map of their land, and shared stories. They knew (very well)
Johanna (Brett) Lynch, the daughter of John Jr., who died in 1999. Brian had bought
the farm from Johanna in 1983, and had farmed it in a lease situation prior to
that. Catherine and Brian walked me through some of the land to show me where Johanna
and John Sr.’s homes had previously been (they’ve both since been knocked
down).
As I walked the land, I had the strangest feeling of belonging. I'm not generally a "woo-woo" person, but it was such a strong feeling that I couldn't ignore. I believe it was the deep roots of my ancestors on this land that connected me to it.
I then met their neighbor, Michael Cranny, who had also purchased some of the farmland from Johanna. He told me even more stories, including a scandal about Johanna (Murphy) Brett (3rd great grandmother) – I’ll publish that in her story if I can confirm it!
The four of us then drove to two cemeteries to find additional headstones of the Brett family that they knew of. We exchanged addresses and emails, and I thanked all of them profusely. To be honest, I was a bit emotional with how generous they were with their time, taking in a stranger walking on their road in the middle of the day, and spending almost four hours with me!
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