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<HTML>Irish ancestors...actually, so far in the genealogy, we haven't found ANYONE from my line that arrived to the US since before 1768.But most came over well before that. So I guess, really, I'm about as American as you can get and not be full blooded native (I'm 1/16 Cherokee, though,does that count?!) But my grandmother's maiden name is Mahoney. But in all reality, it looks like I might be more Dutch than Irish, but not by much. Suffice it to say, my ancestors are all Northern Europeans, therefore sticking me with butt-white skin. [GRIN] Hey, but at least I got the clear green eyes and dark strawberry/light auburn-ish hair from it!
My husband is 1/2 Swede [2nd Generation American] and the rest is mostly English and German that came over around the time of the Mayflower.</HTML>
<HTML>That's curious! Although not ginger, I too am very pale and burn easily. Unfortunately I'm also allergic to most forms of sunblock, even the hypo-allergenic variety (huh!), so I deal with extreme heat by wearing a loose kaftan or similar and a very large hat. I've got what you might call the "English rose" colouring, so I look good in purples and pinks (strong pinks, mind - any kind of pastel makes me look totally faded), and terrible in oranges and yellows.
And, yes, I'd rather be too cold than too hot. If it gets really arctic, I have some formidable "thermal thingies" which will keep out any draught imaginable. I used to be in the St John Ambulance Brigade, so I've spent a lot of Saturday afternoons sitting on a stretcher in the most exposed corner of a football stadium freezing my ears off. Sometimes the football was worth it, mind...</HTML>
<HTML>That's where small children have their advantages then. When eddie's upset with me, it's like
"wahh, hate you hate you hate y... oooh, biscuits..."
<HTML>Oh, wow! Mind you, small children have even more inventive ways to cause mischief than cats do. Though I must say the cats do their level best.</HTML>
<HTML>no, it's a nice little town that Rob and myself visited on our Irish cycling holiday. He arrived by bicycle at exactly the time he said he would, having cycled 50 miles to get there. It being an Irish cycling holiday, I went by train. Which was an adventure in itself. Nice tea-shop by the castle, if I recall correctly.</HTML>
<HTML>Is it pronounced in the same way as the 'caher' in 'Caherdaniel'?
Which, for those who are interested, is a place in Ireland where my best mate was left a cottage, leading to a mass invasion of 16 year olds on a mission to get pissed a few years back. And very enjoyable it was too. His house is on the otherside of the bay, just above the beach, on <a href="http://www.iskeroon.com/caherdaniel.htm">this photo</a>.</HTML>
<HTML>OK, Dave, I probably deserve that for giving away your Billy Connolly reference!! Why don't you enlighten us all!
[ps, the only truly Gaelic word I know that I learned from my Grandmother is 'madra' or some other spelling of that...I believe it means 'dog'. And I think she learned that from her grandfather, so who knows where it came from! Oh, and she used to make what I always thought was called "cuddle" but was actually "coddle" as in the layered potato/bacon or sausage/onion concoction that gave me an early start at my current girlish figure.]</HTML>