From Kinsale to Mumbles the Hurleys have Travelled

I had a pleasant surprise today, whilst visiting Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones. Well, visiting one of their second homes. Well, in truth visiting the town where one of their homes is located.

My visions of grandeur ne'er cease.

On our journey to the seaside town of Mumbles (for thither we sojourned to partake the bracing sea air), I spied the sign welcoming visitors as they crossed the town's threshold.

It seems that the seaside town of Mumbles is twinned with the Irish port town of Kinsale, from whence my own paternal grandfather traveled to settle in Cardiff.

Then, just afterwards, strangely enough one of the family noticed a "Vivian Hall" building, Vivian being the name of my maternal grandfather.

The twinning sign itself boasted of a 'Britain in Bloom' award. Now if it were the Britain in Bloomers award, I know my Nanna Huzzey would have won that one! The sight of bloomers on her washing line was, as the family knew, a "sight for sore eyes!"

We didn't see Michael and Zeta, but it was still quite a day!

Kinsale Military Re-enactment

This video is of a re-enactment event in Kinsale, which seems to span the centuries from Celts to the 20th Century.

There seems to be some items related to either the 1916 uprising or the 1921 civil war.

The chap filming it lacks a certain gravitas in his commentary (he's seems to not-know more than he knows!) and his camera-work is... interesting.

Yet for all that you get a good glimpse of the events, and another view of Kinsale.

So, enjoy!

Is Kinsale Lager Hangover Proof?

Here's a message for Old Pa Hurley.

Put down that Brains SA! It's time to turn to the evil side of drinking!

Lager.

The thought sends shivers down the spine of all real beer lovers.

But the story goes that Kinsale Lager is chemical free and so you can drink it to your heart's content without getting a hangover... or is that a clever ploy by their marketing department?

I'm in a quandary now.

Lager - yuch. Kinsale - good. Hangover - bad.

Hmmmm. What to do?

I will have to track down some Kinsale Lager and report back.

Kinsale 1601, Spanish Armada, Charles Fort & the Plantation of Ulster

U-Boat Attack off Kinsale: The Sinking of the Lusitania

German U-boat U20 on May 7th 1915 sank the ship RMS Lusitania. The ship sank in 18 minutes, eight miles (15 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people aboard.

The Lusitania departed New York on 1 May 1915. The German Embassy in Washington had issued this warning on 22 April

Notice!
Travellers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.
Imperial German Embassy
Washington, D.C. 22nd April 1915

The sinking of the ship turned many against Germany and is said to have contributed to the entry of the USA into the war on the Allied side in 1917.

Remember that during WW1 Ireland was still a unified country and was still absorbed into the United Kingdom (recruiting for the British Army occurred throughout Ireland) whereas after 1921 (and so in WW2) the Irish Free State (the Republic) existed with Northern Ireland separated to stay within the UK.

In 1915 therefore Kinsale and its environs were, officially, "British."

This is a modern re-enactment of the sinking:

Hurleys of Kinsale: My General Ignorance

'Our' branch of the Hurleys originate in Kinsale, County Cork.

I hope to look into more of Kinsale in future posts, but without looking online (honest!) these are the things I think I know so far (true or false, time will tell):

• Kinsale has a deep natural harbour. This resulted in a German U-Boat going there during WW2. I'm not sure how that ended up, but I seem to recall it was scuttled, captured or similar???
• Kinsale was the setting for a terrible defeat for Irish Catholic forces in Tudor times. I read a history of it in an Irish mag a few years back and I think Spanish troops landed there or thereabouts but couldn't link-up with the main Irish force from further north???

• I think Kinsale was in the "wild west" of Co. Cork - rebel territory that was opposed to the partition of Ireland - and so fought against the pro-partition forces in the Civil War of 1921, as featured in the film Michael Collins. I haven't read up on this yet, so I might be out by a few miles...

Welcome to my world of Irish ignorance! I hope that this blog will help me learn more about my Irish heritage, the Irish Hurleys, Kinsale and Co Cork in general.

Anyone out there in internet land who can help - I'd love to hear from you.