The Ballykilcline Reunion ended last weekend with a banquet at the Percy French Hotel in Strokestown after three days of Kilglass Parish-area activities in County Roscommon.<br> The Ballykilcline Society thanks participants and the many contributors who made it happen. In particular, we thank our speakers: the Rev. Francis Beirne, Roscommon priest, local historian and author; John O'Driscoll, Famine Museum manager; and Padraig Vesey, local historian. We deeply appreciate the efforts of Patrick and Marion Reynolds and The Friends of Ballykilcline committee, including Monica Mahon, Debbie Boyce, Niamh Kilcommons, Mamie Morris, and others who welcomed us on Aug. 2 at an amazing night of dining and traditional song, dance, and recitation at Hilltop House in Ruane, which was attended (at a guess) by several hundred Kilglass-area people. The warmth of their hospitality is burned into our memory of the occasion. We thank the many local people who individually connected with members of our group and took time to discuss their family stories and local history. These are the kinds of connections we wish to foster.<br> We thank JJ and Delores Neary for inviting us to an open-air Mass at Kilglass Cemetery, celebrated by the Rev. Prendergast and Msgr. Kevin Flanagan, on Sunday, Aug. 4, in memory of the Famine people of Kilglass, and the Nearys, the Kilglass Restoration Committee, Ann Byrne, and Orla Kelly for giving us a long-sought-for booklet containing transcriptions of the historic cemetery's gravestones. We appreciate the work of all who have been caretakers of the cemetery and who have worked to beautify that peaceful lake-side setting.<br> We were pleased that Famine Museum Owner James Callery and his wife Adaline joined us at the final Reunion banquet, and we thank Museum staff for guiding participants through the Museum's exhibits, gardens, and Strokestown Park House.<br> We are grateful for the help offered by librarian Breeda Gilligan to Reunion participants who did research at the Roscommon County Library and the welcome given by the county Heritage Center to participants who visited there.<br> The staffs of the Percy French Hotel in Strokestown and the Shannon Key West Hotel in Rooskey made dining pleasureable and meetings easy. We thank them all.<br> The Discovery Channel's tv crew that was filming parts of the story of Ballykilcline during our Reunion visit for a tv show scheduled to air next year was professional and gave this year's event an unusual "twist." We thank Producer Josh Kessler and crew Director Kathleen Phelan and hope their program will capture a true picture of the story of Ballykilcline. Whenever a program air date is determined, we will post a notice here for all who may be interested in it.<br> As ever, we are grateful to historian Robert Scally for writing the story of Ballykilcline in his book The End of Hidden Ireland and other historians who are working on various aspects of the story. Thanks, too, to historian Kerby Miller who had planned to speak during the Reunion, until illness in his family prevented him from doing so. We hope to see him at a future event.<br> My personal thanks to the Society's Reunion '02 Committee Members: Lynne Sisk, Cassie Kilroy Thompson, Rosemary Vandenburg, and Frances Dunn, whose work brought it all together.<br> We believe that the connections forged and the information learned during this Reunion will move both the Ballykilcline story and the local history forward. We welcome new members who wish to aid that effort. See our web site at www.ballykilcline.com, join our list-serve (through RootsWeb). And when plans are made for our next gathering, notice will be posted here.<br> Mary Lee Dunn<br> Chair, Reunion '02 Committee<br> Aug. 10, 2002<br>
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maryldunn@aol.com