h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello there!

Stumbled across this page and thought maybe I qualify. My father's family come from Skibbereen, deep in South West Cork. My mum's English and although they started married life in Skibb, they were back in England by the time I was born so I've grown up with that certain Anglo-Irish identity confusion.

I well remember the Christmas turkey parcel arriving each year when I was a kid and the box with large lumps of shamrock coming over for March 17th. At school and church we were part of the Irish community in England - but over in Ireland we're the 'English cousins'.

I'll be keeping an eye on this page and maybe I'll get round to writing some Irish oriented guide entries

MC
(Sits back and picks up a - seems like a suitably Irish beverage to me)

Hi Metal Chicken - you're not related to Pete McCarthy are you ?

If you haven't read "McCarthy's Bar" you should, as I think there will be a big resonance for you there. Plus, it's a ripping read and one of the funniest books on Ireland I have ever read.

Welcome to the group! We don't have any Barrys', will Lyons' do instead?

Woodpigeon

Cheers Woodpigeon
Spooky reply by you there. Although having mentioned Skibb there was a pretty good chance of my name being MacCarthy! Yes I've read McCarthy's Bar and found it a little unsettling with recognising so much of what he said - places I knew, ways of thinking I'm familiar with, the both-but-neither national identity. I can't be sure there's a family connection but he comes from the village just up the road and his grandparents are buried in the same cemetery as mine so we probably wouldn't have to go back many generations to find a connection! However, I have to say that while I loed the book, my sister hated it because she doesn't much like Pete McCarthy and thinks he's a bit disingenuous given it's his mother who's a McCarthy from Cork and his dad was English. Don't know if he was born a McCarthy or just adopted his mother's name in later life. But then again, both my Irish grandparents were born MacCarthys and so were a least 3 of the greatgrandparents so there are definitely a lot of us about

If there are no Barrys (and yes I have cousins of that name too) then Lyons will do fine I seem to remember there's a clothing shop in Skibbereen that used to be run by a Nora Lyons so it's still a 'local' surname I'm familiar with.

Glad you've joined us, Metal Chicken!

I remember you had some very useful comments on my entry on the Fastnet Rock - I didn't realise then that you hadn't come across the Ireland researchers group.

There'll certanily be a interested readership if you care to try any Ireland-related entries.

Azara

(I have to admit to having some distant Barry cousins from Cobh, myself )

Barrys' and Lyons' are two common Irish brands of - sorry, it was a bit cryptic!

Could be that his mother is a McCArthy who married a McCArthy not unheard of in certain parts where the one name predominates and large familial interconnectiveness but not too close.

Any way welcome aboard the Irish steam boat.

Cheers everyone

And DD, that's what I suspect as well - as I said it's certainly not an uncommon occurrence in my own family.