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upbringing
True Stories of an Irish Upbringing and Other
lies by Dan Daneen
Price $ 17.00>> 
 Like many in Ireland my family claims to be descended
from “Landed” gentry. Where and when my ancestors
arrived is now lost in the mists of time and really, who
cares unless of course, it’s English gentry. Every Irish family or
part thereof has different hereditary claims that are often more to
suit the occasion than heredity. Brian Boru must have been a
most prolific man as the number of Irishmen who claim
descendency is astonishing! Our family doesn’t embrace Brian
Boru as a progenitor, but rather a Palatinate soldier who died in
war. I assume this claim should be that he later died at the battle
of the Boyne, as it is a little hard to claim ancestry from a dead
man unless we were revisited by the Immaculate Conception; that
should have made our ancestors famous to say the least.
Bloodlines in Ireland are important in horses, dogs and people,
and in that order. Our family also carries the genes of a Hispanic
sailor who, as the story goes, was shipwrecked during the Spanish
Armada. It is hard to believe that any factual evidence exists other
than I am too big to be Celtic and I have (had) black hair, a common
trait among the Hispanics. Over the centuries the Irish have been
blessed with the genes of many different people. All are obviously
delighted to have contributed to the production of the modern Irishman.
An honour roll to this end would include the Danes/Vikings as explorers,
the Spaniards as shipwrecked sailors and soldiers, the Germans as
mercenaries, and even the British, who have invested much effort
in trying to civilize and cultivate the Irish...
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