ePodunk is excited to announce the launch of our Ireland site! Now, it’s possible to browse our 447 community pages, view county profiles, search for birth, death, and land records, and send postcards featuring Irish communities.

Look for cross-links between our US and Ireland sites. Due to the high volume of Irish immigrants to the US, it isn’t surprising that many US communities were named for Irish places. So when you come upon Dublin, NH, you’ll see our link to its namesake, Dublin, Ireland.

We are continuously adding more information to our Ireland community pages, as well as adding new places and websites to our listings. I’ve mentioned only a few of the exciting features of ePodunk Ireland, so add http://ei.epodunk.com/ to your bookmarks, and check it out!

Images of Ireland, Past and Present:
Above, postcard of O’Connell’s statue on Sackville Street, Dublin. This image, from the early 1920s, shows Nelson’s Pillar in the background. The monument was blown up by the IRA in 1996 and was later replaced with the Spire of Dublin. Sackville was renamed O’Connell Street in 1924.

Above, ePodunk researchers in October, 2006 at O’Connell’s statue with the Spire of Dublin in the distance.

For more Information about our research trip to Ireland, see our October blog entries.

-Emily

Twenty-four communities in the US go by Freedom, according to our records. That’s one more than the number of Eagles. Neither, however, compares to the number of this country’s Liberties. There are 116 of those.

As of last Friday, searches no longer have to be limited to a particular state, though that’s still possible. On our home page, the search function now includes an option to include “All.” When this is chosen, the search will not discriminate by state. All matches in the country will be given.

There are numerous practical benefits to this ability. If you have incomplete genealogical records and are unsure about the state within which a particular cemetery or community is located, a state-less search for that place might be more helpful. For us at ePodunk, it just seems like fun.

I’ve always thought a lot of towns in the US were named after foreign capital cities. On almost every road trip that I’ve taken, I’ve run into a small town that has boldly named itself Rome or Berlin or some other fancy European city. Such starry-eyed hopes for so many places.

Everybody knows about Paris, Texas. But have you ever heard of Paris, Kentucky or Paris, Idaho? Or, for that matter, the other 18 places in the US that have taken the name of France’s capital city?

More frequently, though, our cities and towns take their names from more familiar places, like the nation’s founders. So it should come as no surprise that Washington is not just this nation’s capital city. With 188 communities of that name, it also appears to be the most common American community name. At least, that’s what we came up with this afternoon.

Gunnar

After getting the following email this morning, we thought we should explain what was going on with ePodunk last night. One user writes:

“Have your site bookmarked on my real estate site as a tool… and a fabulous one. However when you click on the pages, we’re getting nothing but a white blank screen. Having problems? Can you fix it quick? I hate being without my epodunk stats.”

Last night we had a programming glitch that caused our pages to appear blank for about a half hour. We did our best to fix the problem as soon as possible and now everything is working well again. So, keep ePodunk bookmarked, and always email us at info@epodunk.com so that we stay on top of problems, comments, and questions.

We’re back in the office today, having taken from Ireland pages of research, books, maps, as well as fantastic cultural experiences.

Not so fantastic were our last row seats on our Continental Airline flight home… with a close proximity to the bathroom. Whew!

Keep an eye out for the launch of our new Ireland site soon!

After returning from Galway by train on Thursday, we spent our last two days taking some time for Irish culture and history. In additon to shopping for maps and some final bookstore trips, we also looked at the famous Book of Kells, written in approximately 800 AD.

We took a brief tour through Ireland’s National Gallery and also made it to the Abbey Theatre to see Stuart Carolan’s Empress of India, part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. On Friday, we spent a final day in the National Library to finish up our on-location research.

A non-ePodunk related highlight of the end of the trip: In our hotel elevator, I met Flavor Flav, who was in town for a Public Enemy concert. Unfortunately, I was too shocked to remember to take a picture.

Photos from top: Laurie and Cindy at Trinity to see the Book of Kells; Laurie and me at St. Stephen’s Green; Cindy and me outside the Abbey Theatre.

Wednesday: we made a productive trip to Byrne’s second-hand bookstore, and spent the rest of the day in the Galway Public Library. Galway’s library gave us sources on Irish place-types, literary connections, and also had county tourism guides.

After a long day, we headed out to walk along the shore. We walked to a small beach away from the city, and just escaped the rain before heading to MacDonaghs restaurant, famous for its fish and chips.

Top photo: Galway’s harbor. Next, Cindy stands like a mariner and directly above, I embrace the beach!

Cindy and I sit with Wilde writers Oscar and Eduard.

The three of us beneath Galway’s historic Spanish Arch.

Laurie and Cindy on Galway’s Long Walk.

Finally, the best Guinness in the world to top off a good day!

We had a very productive and busy day today, browsing the National Library of Ireland in Dublin and then heading to Galway. The National Library was quiet, but had a lot of obscure local history resources, like ancient place-name books and county tourism pamphlets. After making a lot of progress at the library, we grabbed lunch and headed to Heuston station to catch the train to Galway. We took in the scenery as we rode from one Irish coast to the other, then checked into our hotel. We explored Galway’s waterfront and grabbed a Guinness before heading to dinner at Nimmos restaurant on the quay. After filling ourselves with fantastic seafood, we’re calling it a night and readying ourselves to cover Galway’s library and bookstores tomorrow!

Above, Cindy and me at the entrance to the National Library in Dublin. Below, right I’m on the train to Galway.

Today, we set out towards the Dublin City Library and Archive and detoured through Trinity College. On an uncharacteristically sunny October morning, the college was bustling with students starting off their academic year, as we checked out the College Bookshop. After a hike to the Dublin City Library, we set to work checking the stacks for books about Irish towns, cities, parishes, and literary figures. Later, we browsed bookstores along Nassau Street for more titles to add to our collection. Tonight we’ll head to Peploe’s for dinner and tomorrow, to Galway!

Above, Cindy and Laurie check our GPS location at Trinity’s main quad. As my expression in the photo below shows, photography is not allowed in the library!

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We’ve arrived in Dublin! Laurie, Cindy and I may be jetlagged, but we’ve managed to find our hotel, walk around the St Stephen’s Green area and have a fantastic Irish dinner. Tomorrow it’s time to investigate the Dublin City Library and Archive and start the tour of Dublin’s bookstores. More to come! Above, I’m doing a quick guidebook consult. Below, three ePodunk researchers jetlagged but well-fed.