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			IN THIS ISSUE
~~~~~ Foreword
~~~~~ New free resources at the site
~~~~~ Special First Anniversary Offer
~~~~~ News Snaps from Ireland
~~~~~ Michael Collins - An Irish Rebel
~~~~~ 'The Three Daughters of the King of the Sea'
~~~~~ Monthly free competition result

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FOREWORD
~~~~~~~~

September marks the first anniversary of The Information
about Ireland Site. I have to say that it's development
has surpassed my expectations in almost every way.

The purpose of the site was to provide as many free
resources about Ireland as possible. It is fair enough
that sites charge for certain information (after all -
they have to eat too!), but I still continue to be amazed
at some sites charging for Irish news updates, Celtic
clipart, maps and particularly for Irish coats of arms
images and family histories. The Irish Times runs one of
the largest Irish Sites and they charge US$5 to view their
coats of arms images - ours are free.

The new resources planned for the future include a
penpal/personals service as well as an expansion of our
Genealogical Search Engine (see below). I also intend to
expand the news coverage (a bi-weekly update has been
mooted - any comments?).

I want to sincerely thank all those who have supported
us by ordering screensavers, reports, prints or whatever,
or to those who have availed of the special free offers
on the site, or to those who have simply sent an email
of encouragement - it is greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
and heres to another great year,

Michael.


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send me an email and I will do my best to help. 

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......but you'll be missing out!

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NEW FREE RESOURCES AT THE SITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEARCHER - THE IRISH GENEALOGY SEARCH ENGINE AND DIRECTORY:

In yet another free resource at the site I am proud to
announce the launch of SEARCHER, the brand new Irish
Genealogy Search Engine and Directory.

We have registered the best Irish genealogy links on the
web to assist you in your research (including categories
such as: online records, family name sites, professional
researchers, and a whole lot more). You can even add a
link that you have found useful directly to the database.
The target is to have 1000 Irish genealogy links in the
engine before our second anniversary which will make
SEARCHER the most complete Irish genealogy reference point
on the entire world wide web. 

Give it a try - its free!


https://www.ireland-information.com/irishgenealogy/

NEW GALLERY OF COATS OF ARMS AND FAMILY HISTORIES LAUNCHED:

The new Gallery has been launched as promised with all-new
images of Irish family coats of arms. There is also an
outline of the origin of the names detailing the native
Gaelic Sept that they derived from and the part of the
country in which they were located.

Have a peak at the link below (and you can even add the
gallery to your web site for free - see below):


https://www.ireland-information.com/heraldichall/gm.htm

FREE CONTENT/AFFILIATE PROGRAM:

Got a web site? Thinking about starting one up. Here is
some fantastic free Irish content for you. Add our complete
Gallery of Irish Coats of Arms images and family histories
and modify it so that it suits the look and feel of your
site. This is just one of the benefits of our new Affiliate
Program. Get on board - add some 'Irish' to your site.


https://www.ireland-information.com/affiliate/afilgenform.htm

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FIRST ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL OFFER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To celebrate our first anniversary I can make a special
offer on our custom made Irish family name screensavers:
2 for 1. Simply order your family name screensaver and get
another family name screensaver absolutely free OR you can
opt for our 'How to Start the Search for your Irish Roots'
report instead.

This offer is available to subscribers of this newsletter
only and is valid until 22nd September. To take advantage,
visit the order form at:


https://www.ireland-information.com/order.htm

(there is a link to our SSL secure server on this page) and
select the Irish family name screensaver of your choice. To
claim your second Irish family name screensaver or your 'How
to Start the Search for your Irish Roots' Report simply
email me with your order number and preferred free bonus and
it will be forwarded to you. 

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NEWS SNAPS FROM IRELAND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IRISH BANKING SECTOR HIT BY SCANDAL AND COMPETITION:

Shares in two of Ireland's leading banks, AIB and Bank of
Ireland, plunged by almost £700 million on 13th. September
as fears of increased competition in the home mortgage
market scared the markets. Both of these banks were earlier
forced to reduce their mortgage rates by a massive 1 and 1
quarter per cent because of the entry into the Irish
banking sector of the Bank of Scotland. The public are
wondering how these cuts are possible and why they were
not made sooner.

This is against a backdrop of an investigation by a
Government committee into how the major financial
institutions were allowed to set up bogus 'non-resident'
accounts for Irish citizens for the purpose of evading
tax on the interest earned on savings (DIRT tax is
currently 24% but has been even higher in recent years).
A major source of embarrassment to the Government is the
fact that one of the banks - ACC - had been owned by the
State at the time these accounts were in operation.

NEW NATIONAL PAY DEAL LOOKS UNLIKELY
- CELTIC TIGER STARTING TO WHIMPER:

Public sector industrial action looks very likely as the
Nurses prepare to go on an all-out strike if their demands
are not met. The Dublin bus-drivers and the DART train
drivers are also looking increasingly militant as the
spoils of the booming economy are up for grabs. With the
Garda police force and the Teachers also looking to
improve their position it appears unlikely that a successor
to the 'partnership' agreements that have worked so
successfully over the last 12 years will be easily found.

SPORT: IRISH SOCCER TEAM STUMBLE TOWARDS FINALS PLACE:

Ireland defeated Yugoslavia 2-1, were defeated by Croatia
1-0 and stumbled past Malta 3-2 in the latest round of
qualifying matches for the European Championships (to be
played in Holland and Belgium next year).

After a superb victory against the Yugoslavs the Irish
manager unbelievably dropped Quinn, Bobbie Deane and
Mark Kennedy and played Tony Cascarino as a lone striker
in the Croatia game. Two minutes into injury time Davo
Suker of Arsenal hit the winner to deny Ireland a draw
that would have almost guaranteed them a place in the
finals.

The lacklustre victory against Malta put the Irish back
on track and now they still have a great chance of
qualifying. The final fixture for Mick McCarthy's men is
to be played against Macedonia next month on the same
day that Croatia play host to Yugoslavia. An Irish victory
and for Yugoslavia not to be victorious will see the Irish
team safely into the final stages of the competition as
group winners.

TELECOM PAY SIX MILLION TO CHANGE THEIR NAME:

The newly named Telecom Eireann (now called EIRCOM after a
six million pound campaign), is under fire from a number of
users of its telephone directory after failing to include
at least 14 doctors and a real estate agent who claims that
his losses due to not being named in the directory run into
tens of thousands of pounds. Legal actions look imminent.

IRISH COMPANY TO TAKE ON THE NASDAQ:

Irish e-commerce security company, Baltimore Technologies,
is to seek a listing on the US NASDAQ stock exchange.
Baltimore is already listed on the UK stock exchange. 

NORTHERN PEACE PROSPECTS GROWING EVER FAINTER:

The Good Friday Agreement 'Review' is under way and is
being conducted by former US senator, George Mitchell.
There is increasing pesimissim that any sort of
breakthrough is on the cards amid an increased likelihood
of a return to violence in the North.

Y2K AND THE MILLENNIUM PARTY ARE NO
FUN FOR THE IRISH POLICE FORCE:

Annual leave for the Garda Siochana (the police force) has
 been cancelled for the 5 days covering the advent of the
new year. The Millennium celebrations are expected to
cause more trouble than usual and the Assistant Garda
Commissioner, Dick Kelly, is not taking any chances. 'We
must be ready to cope with an explosion or a large fire
and assess the impact of the Millennium Bug on our systems'
 he said. The national emergency plan will be tested in
October. Aer Rianta has said that the airports will be
open for business as usual but that they could not be
certain of which airlines would be flying. So far the
only airline to say that they will not be operating is
Ryanair but more are expected to follow suit.

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MICHAEL COLLINS - AN IRISH REBEL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Collins was born in Cork in 1890. He attended
school and then worked as a local journalist (writing
sports reviews) before moving to London at the age of
15 to work for the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). 

In London Collins associated with the Irish community and
became keenly aware of the history of Irish nationalism.
He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1909. By
1915 he had risen though the ranks of the London branch
of the IRB and was aware of the increasing tension in
Dublin between the various factions of republicanism. He
returned home and helped in the recruitment that was
necessary before any uprising could be successful. He
also joined the Gaelic League, an organisation that
stressed the use of the Irish language as another means
of nationalistic expression. 

Despite the extreme unlikelihood of any success the Easter
Rising went ahead and resulted in the destruction of large
part of Dublin city centre as well as the execution of the
seven leaders of the revolt. This was the mistake by the
British that turned the tide in favour of the insurgents
for the first time. Public sympathy towards the executed
men increased so much that Collins, DeValera and the
remaining leaders could see that nationalism was about to
peak in the country.

Collins was imprisoned in Frongoch internment camp where
his credentials as a leader were further recognised by his
captured comrades. After his release Collins quickly rose
to a high position in both Sinn Fein and the IRB and
started to organise a guerrilla war against the British.
He even broke DeValera out of prison in England. The War
against the British continued on through 1920 and 1921
despite the introduction of the 'Black and Tans' - mercenary
soldiers introduced into Ireland by Churchill.

The British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, eventually
compromised and offered a partition of Ireland and a
'Free State'. Collins and Arthur Griffith had been sent
to London as the Irish delegation because DeValera knew
that the ultimate aim - independence - was not attainable.

The resultant civil war that broke out between the
pro-treaty and anti-treaty factions was bloody indeed
but Collins defeated his former comrades-in-arms only
to eventually have his own life taken in an ambush in
Cork in 1922.

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THE THREE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING OF THE SEA by Terry Flanagan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOREWORD: In the Folklore of Ireland and other maritime
countries, there is a profusion of stories concerning seals.
Possibly due to the fact that they come ashore and that
their head, when seen at a distance above water, bears a
resemblance to a human head, it was said that they were
human beings under a spell.

---

Many years ago, there was one family of Conneelys living in
Errismore very close to the sea. They had one son, a fine
young man. On May Day each year, three seals used to come
ashore on a very big flat rock that was high above the tide.
There was a cave, five or six yards deep, at the back of
the rock, under a cliff.

When the seals came up on the rock, each of them used to
take off the hood that was tied about its neck and throw it
into the cave behind them. As soon as they took off the
hoods, they became the three finest women that the sun had
ever shone upon, and they would go out swimming, each with
a golden head of hair. The third woman was the most
beautiful of all. When they grew tired after swimming for
two or three hours, they would come back on to the rock
again. Each of them would then take her own hood and tie
it about her neck. She would become a seal immediately.
After spending about half an hour on the rock, the three
seals would dive into the sea together and disappear from
sight.

Young Conneely used to watch them every May Day. He liked
the youngest woman best of all. He was working in the
field one day at the end of Spring when he met an old man
who he never saw before. He spoke to the old man, each of
them telling his own story. Conneely told him about the
three seals that used to come to the rock every May Day. 

'There's one of them a lot nicer and more beautiful than
the other two,' said he.

'I'd say that you have a liking for her,' said the man.

'Indeed, I have,' said Conneely.
'I'm in love with her, but I've no chance of ever getting
her.'

'I have an idea who they are' said the man. 'I have heard
talk about them. What would you give to the person who
would tell you the way you might get the one you want?'

'Oh, I'm only a poor man,' said Conneely. 'All I could give
you as a reward is my seven thousand blessings.'

'That's a good reward,' said the man. 'I'll tell you what
you must do. When next May Day comes, hide yourself in
the cave early in the morning, and when they throw their
hoods into it, you must put the young seals hood inside
your shirt. Keep the other two hoods in your hands. The
three women will be screaming and wailing, each of them
asking for her own hood, and saying that their father will
kill them if they aren't home by a certain hour. They are
the three daughters of the King of the Sea. You mustn't
give the youngest woman her hood, at any price, no matter
what screaming and complaining she does. Give the hoods
to the other two. Then walk towards your house, and the
youngest one will follow you. You must hide the hood in
a place she'll never see it. If she does, you'll have
finished with her.'

'You may be sure that I'll never give her the hood,' said
Conneely. 'I love her too much for that!'

The old man then stood up and left, and Conneely never
laid eyes on him again. May Day came, and at dawn, Conneely
hid himself in the cave. Soon the three seals came up to
the rock. Each of them took off the hood, and threw it into
the cave, and they were the finest women to have ever
raised their faces to the sky. The youngest was the most
beautiful of all. When the three women jumped in to swim,
Conneely picked up her hood and shoved it inside his shirt.
He kept the other two in his hands. He waited until they
came back to the rock. When they saw him with the hoods in
his hands, they asked him for them, but he refused. They
started to wail at the top of their voices, saying that
their father would kill them if they weren't home early in
the evening. He threw her hood to the eldest, and to the 
second eldest. The two seals jumped into the sea together
and swam off.

The youngest seal was left behind, and her cries could be
heard for miles. He told her that he wouldn't give her the
hood and he asked her to go home with him. She had no wish
to, but she had no option but to follow him to his house.
She spent the night there, and they got married the next
day. He hid the hood in the roof of the house, between the
thatch and the sods. They lived happily together, and five
sons were born to them. There wasn't a better worker to be
found. But each day, when he was out at sea, fishing, she
would weep her fill.

One fine summer's day, the husband was out at sea, fishing,
and his wife was working in the fields. When she looked back
at the house, it was on fire. There were two or three other
houses nearby and she shouted to them for help. Two or three
men came and started throwing water on the burning thatch,
while she stood watching them. Suddenly, a large clump of
thatch fell down near her and in it was the hood. She
grabbed it, tied it about her neck and she was immediately
turned into a seal. She ran down to the sea and was gone.

Her five sons followed her to the shore but failed to
find her. They returned home, crying for their mother.
When Conneely returned home in the evening, the house
was half burned, his wife had gone and the children were
waiting for him. He sat down with them, and he too cried
his fill until morning. As soon as the children got up
in the morning, they went down to where they had seen their
mother go into the sea, hoping to see her. And they did.
She came in close to the shore where they were and spoke
to them. And there wasn't a day that came during the next
five years that they didn't go down to the sea, and she
came every day and talked to them. When the five years
were up, she told them that they would never see her again.

There were very few Conneelys in Errismore at that time.
But you couldn't count all of them now, that descended from
the five sons of the seal-woman. That's why, to this very
day, it is said that the Conneelys are related to the seals.

---

The above Tale was provided by Terry Flanagan of the Irish
Seal Sanctuary:

'Our aim is the conservation of marine mammals and in
particular seals. Seals are the enchanted people and the
Grey Seal is the world's first protected species.

During the 14 years that we have been in operation, almost
100 long-term seals have been rescued and rehabilitated at
the Sanctuary before being released back to the sea. These
releases are Ireland's biggest wildlife events, with up to
3,000 people attending on a number of occasions.

Last year, due to the storms in October (pupping season of
the Grey Seal), was our hardest to date with 28 long-term
seals in with us. The cost per seal runs at approx. £3,000
and as we receive no state or government funding we are in
severe financial difficulties. 

However, it is not all doom and gloom at the Sanctuary. We
have recently been donated a coastal site by Fingal Co.
Council. FLI liners (Waterford) have also agreed to provide
us with pool liners. We hope to move onto this site during
the year 2000. We intend to open to the public and envisage
40,000 visitors in our first full year.

In the last year, apart from seals we have assisted at a
number of whale strandings, dolphin strandings, turtles,
and the world's first successful rescue of a beached basking
shark (Mornington beach, Co. Meath).

Ireland is the only European coastal nation without a
National Seal Sanctuary, despite the fact that 18% of
European waters lie on our shores. The Irish Seal
Sanctuary patrols the 6,000 Km. of coastline and now
desperately requires a suitable rescue vehicle.

flanagan@indigo.ie
Terry Flanagan                                                                                                  Chairman I.S.S.
    The Irish Seal Sanctuary,                                           Ph:  087-2640386
        Garristown,
            Co. Dublin,
                Ireland


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SEPTEMBER COMPETITION RESULT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winner was: Sandra.Stenzel@mc.usa.xerox.com
who will receive the following:

Our Irish Authors from the Past Screensaver
AND
Our new Famous Irish Painting  Screensaver
AND
Our 'How to start the search for your Irish roots' Report

Well Done! Remember that all subscribers to this newsletter
are automatically entered into the competition every time. 

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I hope that you have enjoyed this issue.
Please keep the feedback coming!

Until the next time,

Stay Safe,

Michael Green,
Editor,
The Information about Ireland Site.


https://www.ireland-information.com


michael@ireland-information.com