1/1/2000
By Patricia McMorrow
From tracing your Irish ancestors back to the auld sod to picking the best place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, here's how to tap your green roots.
When my grandmother, Mary Lyons Kelly, died at 78 in New York City, her three daughters summarized their mother's family roots in a modest obituary: “Born in Liverpool, England, of Irish parents. Preceded in death by husband, Joseph Kelly, and daughter Mary.”
That was about all they knew of her early years. My grandmother simply didn't talk about her past. She emigrated from Ireland in 1919, and it was as if crossing the Atlantic had washed away that first part of her life.