by T.W. Rolleston
"It is with immense pleasure that we address this letter to you, the McAteers scattered during the past 200 years, by the four winds of Ireland to all Corners of God's Earth.. . . . . Were there ever members of our family who did not, at one time or another, or many times in moments of solitude, wonder about their past, their culture and heritage, the place from whence they sprang, . . . . .
With all these questions in mind, some members of the McAteer Clan, gathered in the townland of Ballyholland, two miles South East of the Cathedral town of Newry in the County Down on the 1st February, 1993, and on the 8th, the McAteer Clan was registered with the Genealogical Office in Dublin"
And so our tiny, but proud clan was reestablished. One of the first activities of the Clan Committee was to hold a "Clan Weekend" in September, 1993, which was attended by over 200 McAteers from Ireland, Scotland, and England. This was such a success, it was decided to hold the first world wide gathering of McAteers.
First World Wide Gathering of the Clan - September, 1994
The first world wide gathering of McAteers was held in Newry,
from September 8th to 15th, 1994, and was attended by over four
hundred fifty McAteers, from Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada,
the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. I can tell
you it was a great success.
The organizing committee spared no pains, and everything was
planned down to the finest detail.
The first event was described as "a night of introductions, banter, and music, with supper". Understatement is at work here. The Hall was so full, it was hard to move around, it was hard to hear the music over the banter, and one's arm weakened from shaking so many hands. All told, the evening was a complete success.
Activities started at 10:00 a.m. every morning, and went on all day, and into the "wee small hours". In at least one case we heard about, the party went on until 5:30 a.m., next day.
There were cruises, bus tours, dinners, exhibitions, demonstrations, music, and speeches.
At the end of the week, a great five course banquet and ball
was held. Music was provided by Eddy McAteer's Dance Band. The
event was described as "The Long Night of the McAteers", and the
press reported that "450 people sat down to eat". By midnight,
the dance floor had begun to thin out, so we got down to the
business of elections. A new Goban Saoir (Celine McAteer) was
elected, along with other officers of the Clan. The Ball went on
for some time after that, and then, we heard that some adjourned
to smaller parties at various peoples' houses.
W. B. Yeats
"On Sunday morning, not very many hours after the revellers had seen their beds, they were up and out again to parade behind the Thomas Davis Pipe Band, to the historic Mass Rock at Ballyholland, where Mass was celebrated by Fr. Gerry McAteer ..." said The Newry Democrat.
The second week saw tours of Ireland, and some informal get-togethers, but most us left the day after the Great Ball.
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We have only mentioned this before in web-letters, but last November, Colm took us on a walking tour around Ballyholland. Someone has bought and restored an old deserted small-holding, and we visited the tiny cottage and byre, which have been lovingly restored in every architectural detail. Colm explained how the people had lived there, and how they had farmed, and so on. Now Colm is a farmer himself (when he's not teaching, coaching, organizing clan activities, or off with the kids), and his family has farmed this same land for about 600 years, so it's not like having a tour guide from the city explaining it!
Later he showed us the ruins of a similar cottage, out in the fields. It was a moving experience for me, to realize that we might well be standing in the kitchen of the long lost family homestead, abandoned during the Great Famine. Colm has been thinking about doing another walking tour at the '99 gathering, so if you are interested, please let him (or us) know.
We talked to Kathleen and Hugh McAteer about the Fanad tour, which will follow the '99 gathering. Some of you may recall that there was a bus tour up to the Fanad peninsula just after the '94 gathering, and of course it was a great success, but people were billeted about twenty five miles outside the area, so that made it awkward to visit with our Fanad cousins in the evenings.
This time we will be staying at various guest houses right in the heart of Mhac an t'Saoir country, so it will be much easier to get together after hours. Hugh was actually born up in Fanad (he still speaks Gaelic, you know!), and he and Kathleen have been meeting with the Fanad people regularly, to plan the whole thing out. They want everybody to have a good time, and to have a chance to meet all of their cousins up there and to have a good visit with them.
The Fanad peninsula is a very beautiful and historic part of Ireland, and it is well worth visiting for the scenery alone, to be sure, but it will give us all a chance to meet some of the family who have followed a very traditional way of life for centuries in that lovely corner of the land.
For some time now we have been discussing a Clan-wide genealogy project. We are still drawing up the terms of reference, because there are many things to consider, such as peoples' privacy, data safety, and so on. We all agree that there will have to be centres in each country, and probably different centres for each surname. We have yet to settle on procedures for backing up of data, sharing between centres, input methods, etc. We have agreed on a software package. The project would see us gathering all available genealogical data, with the aim of organizing it into several big family trees.
The pre-Christmas mailing of invitations has slowed discussion of this project, but we hope to have the ground work done in time to announce the project at the '99 gathering.
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While this has been a quiet year for the Mc Ateer Clan, the Committee meets regularly, and we are always trying to think of ways to keep our Clan to the forefront.
One of the highlights for the Clan in 1996 was the ordination to the priesthood, of Rev. Tom McAteer, Newry. Fr. Tom was ordained in Newry Cathedral in June. He is now serving in the Parish of Lurgan, County Armagh.
Another achievement by one of the Clan was that of Matt Mc Ateer (Connie) who won a poetry competition in Keady, Co. Armagh, thereby becoming the 1996 Bard of Armagh.
Those of you who attended the 1994 World Gathering will remember Matt's recitation about the Mc Ateers. Matt has also broadcast on "Sunday Miscellany" on Radio Telefis Eireann several times.
The social occasion of the year was the re-union held in Ballyholland in October. A great night of enjoyment was had by almost one hundred Clan members. Presentations were made to Fr. Tom and Mrs. Rosemary Mc Ateer-Hubbard from Boston who was on holiday in Ballyholland.
The Mc Ateer Clan are one of the foremost and active members of "Clans of Ireland". This was learned by Goban Saor Colm and P.R.O. Eamon when they attended the annual meeting in Dublin recently. This organization has been reorganized and your Clan is a shareholder represented by the above named. The "Clans of Ireland" have big plans for the future, and we hope that this will benefit our Clan and its members.
Last year we asked for information and stories about your particular family. We again appeal for such items. We want to have a Mc Ateer book published in time for the next World Gathering of the Clan.
By the way, the committee are planning to hold the World Gathering in August 1999. We are actively pursuing ideas for it. We will make it bigger and better with lots of innovations, so get the thinking caps on, and let us have your contributions soon.
We remind you that although you are scattered throughout the world, you are forever in our thoughts. SLAN AGUS BEANNACTH (Health and Blessings). May we again take this opportunity to wish you and your extended families all the blessings and peace of this festive season.
SKILL OF HAND, THOUGHT OF MIND, THEY ARE OURS
FOR WE ARE FREE MEN OF CINE MAC AN tSAOIR
Eamon Mc Ateer and Colm Mc Ateer
P.S. Please find enclosed some information from Newry & Mourne District Council.
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Greetings from Ballyholland
This is the first issue of what we hope will be an occasional Newsletter about the happenings and events organised by your Clan Committee.
Since the Clan gathering is September 1994 we have had several meetings and from our enquiries we know that our gathering was the biggest event of its kind in Ireland last year!
In our aim to maintain our links with you all, several outings took place. Just before Christmas last year a group from the Ballyholland area travelled to Dublin for a social evening organised by James Edward and his friends in the Temple Bar Hotel. A most enjoyable evening was had by all. Those of us from Ballyholland who travelled to the Fanad Peninsula last year had a wonderful time and vowed that we would maintain a strong link with our kith and kin in that beautiful and homely place. With this in mind, an invitation was extended to Mrs Kathleen Martin (nee Mc Ateer), the principal in Doaghbeg National School, to come to Ballyholland with her pupils to meet the children from Ballyholland School--We had the advantage that Colm, one of our committee teaches in this school. Within a period of a couple of weeks both school authorities had agreed to the proposal and planning started in earnest, with a date fixed for the 26th May. Co-operation North were approached for financial assistance and this was readily granted. Accommodation for the Donegal visitors was no problem, thanks to the co-operation of Clan members and the teaching staff of Ballyholland School. A programme of events was drawn up and sent to Mrs Martin for approval.
On the afternoon of May 26th a bus load of happy children from Donegal arrived in Ballyholland. Just four days previous Donegal had beaten Down in the G.A.A. Ulster Championship but we were delighted to have the All Ireland Trophy (the Sam Maguire Cup ) and the Anglo Celt Cups on display. After refreshments and exchanges of gifts, both sets of children participated in a mini- sports competition under the watchful eye of the Goban Saoir Celine and our committee members. After the sports the Donegal children set off to meet their host families.
Later in the evening we all met in the I.N F. Hall where there was a magic show, disco and presentation of medals. Adults were not forgotten as there was food, booze and craic for them. Next morning the children were taken to Newry Bowling Alley for more fun and games before departing for home, amid tears from some of the Ballyholland children.
On Friday 20th October your committee hosted the first Reunion Dinner in the I.N.F. Hall Ballyholland. Almost one hundred Mc Ateers sat down to an excellent meal prepared by Chef Patrick Cullen and his staff. The hall looked magnificent due to the efforts of Celine and Seamus who added the decorative touches. After the meal our guests, Rev Fr. Gerard Green and Councillor P.J. Bradley gave short but humorous speeches. Celine reviewed the years activities and then announced that owing to other commitments she was standing down as Goban Saoir . By unanimous choice Colm Mc Ateer (Covey) was elected and in his acceptance speech he outlined his plans for the future, namely a return visit of Ballyholland pupils to Doaghbeg National School Donegal and an overnight visit to Clonmacnoise Abbey by clan members from Ballyholland. Colm went on to say that a special effort would have to be made this year to collate all the information we have about our historic family and it would be helpful if clan members jotted down interesting details about their particular families and forwarded the following information to us. --Where your family came from and when they arrived where you were born? If possible state the reason why they emigrated.
We hope you enjoyed this Newsletter and took time to savour the memories of the 1994 World Gathering. We want you to know that you have not been forgotten in Ballyholland and you are welcome to visit us at any time. Please keep in touch with any news or views that you have.
"Skill of hand, thought of mind, They are ours for we are free men of Cine Mac an t'Saoir."
Eamon Mc Ateer,
223 Barcroft Pk.,
Newry, Co. Down,
Ireland
of Clan Mhac an t'Saoir |