It’s been a long time between blog posts, I know. But what better way to break that drought than by posting about my recent trip to the Republic of Ireland?

Returning to Ireland after an 18-year absence was both emotional and rewarding. The first time I visited, in 2005, I was at the beginning of what proved to be a life-changing world trip taking in North America, Europe and East Asia.

But my initial plan on this trip was more modest: to discover my family’s origins in County Clare on the island’s west coast and then see what happened after that.

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