Genealogical DNA testing can help us discover the origins of our ancestral lines.
Cassidy Clan member Veronica Williams has written a fascinating blogpost on how to apply DNA analysis techniques to your Cassidy pedigree and validate connections back to Ireland where Cassidys originated.
The 2020 Cassidy Clan Rally was postponed due to the Covid-19 situation. When the next rally can be held, is still in the clouds. 2021 could be possible if the virus can be stemmed worldwide, otherwise it may be 2022 before arrangements can be made.
The journey to Enniskillen to join the rally is quite long for most members, so one does not normally consider going to Ireland just for an extended weekend. My wife Elisabeth and I attended the 2017 Rally and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
We traveled from Switzerland by motor home, (RV for Americans), and we toured Ireland extensively for 27 days. If you are planning to look around while in Ireland, you have time beforehand to plan your trip. I have just posted our entire trip on my website as a virtual tour for all to experience. I have started with an introduction, which includes an index of where we travelled each day. I have divided the tour into 3 day sections, as there are a lot of photos and lots of information. Each day starts with a route map of where we travelled that day so you can orient yourself.
If you don’t have time to view the entire tour and wish to see for example, “The Cliffs of Moher” simply go to Day 11. Our photos of the 2017 Cassidy Clan Rally start on Friday, June 30, 2017. I hope you enjoy the tour and can learn lot’s about our original homeland. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Kerry Cassidy, Switzerland
Link to our virtual tour: http://www.cassidys.ch/ireland.htm
August 2023 Update – Our 2020 rally was eventually held in 2022. The next Cassidy Clan rally will be hosted in 2025 at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh from Friday 4 July through Sunday 6 July. Visit our Clan Rally page for details.
Due to COVID-19, the Cassidy Clan Rally scheduled for this Summer has been postponed until July 2021. As always, the Rally will occur in County Fermanagh, Ireland.
Please keep yourself and your families safe. We offer our deepest appreciation and prayers for the well-being to all persons on the frontlines of treating and caring for those taken ill by the virus, ensuring public safety and providing food and other essential products to our communities, including to our seniors and those most vulnerable.
April 2022 – The Cassidy Clan rally will be hosted at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh from Friday July 22nd through Sunday July 24th. Visit our Clan Rally page for our program details and how to RSVP to attend the 2022 rally.
UPDATE – Due to COVID-19, we postponed the Cassidy Clan Rally until 2022. You can learn more about the 2022 rally, and our next rally in 2025 at our Clan Rally page.
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Again, the 2020 rally did not occur.
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The 2020 Cassidy Gathering of the Clan, will be held in the Manor House Hotel, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh on Friday July 3rd _ 5th incl. Cassidy’s from U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and England have already booked their place at the table and are looking forward to meeting and being welcomed by local Cassidy’s to the land of our Ancestors. It is gratifying to note that a number of those booked for the 2020 Gathering have attended on previous years.
The weekend event, organized every 3 years, celebrates Irish Culture & history, including local history and the Cassidy role within it, through stories, musical performances, DNA, genealogy and cultural presentations. There is also a guided tour and, of course, the Sunday evening Gala Dinner, which is always one of the main events.
The 2017 Gathering was a huge success as the Clan Members stood on Devenish Island to witness the Inauguration of Nuala Cassidy of Lurgan, Co. Armagh, as “An Caisideach”.
All registered members can nominate a person for the office of An Caisideach.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions or make suggestions should you feel so inclined as we want to insure your full enjoyment at this gathering. If you have your family history I would be grateful if you could send me a copy.
Looking forward to greeting you in Enniskillen,
Nuala Cassidy, An Chaisideach
Programme of Events and fees for the 2020 Cassidy Gathering of the Clan
Location: Manor House Hotel
Friday 3rd July 2020l
12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Clan Rally Registration
4 p.m. All Clan Member General Meeting + Election of An Caisideach
7.30 p.m. + Meet the cousins with Music and Storytelling
Saturday 4th July 2020
10 a.m. – 12 noon: Lecture in Burns Suite
Family and Local History
Cúpla focal Gaeilge (a few words of Irish)
1.00 p.m. Bus tour arranged for afternoon (weather permitting)
Visit historic places of interest including Enniskillen Castle, Cassidy Ancient Rath, Traditional Fermanagh Mummers and the Janus Stone
Guests to Dine at leisure in evening (at own expense)
Possibly attend the Cellar Bar during evening for after dinner drinks and Music with other in-house guests.
Sunday 5th July 2020
10.30 a.m. Devenish Summer School
Lectures by guest speakers
2 p.m. Lady of the Lake – Boat trip to Devenish Island
Inauguration of An Caisideach on Devenish Island
Clan Gala Dinner
6.30 pm: Glass of Prosecco or fruit punch on arrival
7 p.m. Clan Dinner
An evening of good company, food, drink, and entertainment
Reservations and Registration
Please send your name(s) and address(es) by email to Nuala Cassidy at [email protected] to register for the 2020 Cassidy Clan Rally.
The cost of attending the Rally (including Clan Gala Dinner on Sunday night) is £190.00 per couple or £110.00 per person. There is a family rate (2 adults and 2 children (ages 12-16) of £320.00 .
Special discounts are provided upon request for large groups.
To secure your reservation for the 2020 Cassidy Clan Rally please use PayPal to make a deposit of £25 per person (plus any commission charged by PayPal) by clicking here.
Final payment is requested by June 1st 2020.
Accommodation
The rally cost does not include lodging. Attendees must make their own reservations for accommodation.
We have negotiated a discounted rate at the Manor House Country Hotel. Please ask for the Cassidy Clan Rally discount if you wish to stay at the hotel. As of January 2020, there are still a limited number of discounted rooms available.
Other hotels in the area, assuming you will have a rental car, include the Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel.
It is a lovely hotel south of Enniskillen, the main city in the county. The Manor House Country Hotel hotel is north of Enniskillen, but it’s only about a 15 minute drive between the two hotels.
The Lough Erne Resort is also excellent, however, it is on the opposite shore of the lake from the Manor House Country Hotel. It is about a 20-25 minute drive between the two hotels.
There are several hotel options in Enniskillen itself. Take a look at the Belmore Court Motel and the Enniskillen Hotel.
Booking.com lists a large number of hotels and other lodging in County Fermanagh, so there should be something available for every budget.
Have you written a history of your Cassidy family? Please share it with us and other Cassidys worldwide.
We post family histories on Cassidy ancestors on our website at https://cassidyclan.org/member-contributions/
Please send your family story (with photos too!) to Stephen Cassidy at stephen [at] cassidyclan.org
A Cháirde Dhílis (Dear Loyal Friends) – The Cassidy Clan is pleased to announce the dates and venue for our next rally. The 2020 Cassidy Clan Rally will take place at the the Manor House Country Hotel, Killadeas, Enniskillen for the 3rd, 4th and 5th of July 2020.
August 2023 Update – Due to Covid-19, we did not host a rally in 2020. The rally was postponed to 2022. Visit our Clan Rally page for program details on our July 2025 rally.
The Cassidy Clan is headed by the Chief of the Clan, who is referred to or addressed by the title “An O’ Caisideach,” and the officers of the Executive Committee. The An O’Caisideach is an honoree position and ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.
The first An O’ Caisideach was Sean Ó Casaide of the Republic of Ireland, who was designated honorary Chief of the Clan for life. Sean served in this position from 1991 to 2003. With Sean’s passing, his wife Noirin Casaide was designated Chief of the Clan and served as Chief until 2005.
Dr. Sheila Cassidy from Australia was inaugurated as An Caisideach inaugurated on Devenish Island at the 2005 Cassidy Clan Rally.
Three years later Philip Patrick Cassidy (known as Pat) from County Fermanagh was installed as An Caisideach, and served as our Chieftain through the 2014 rally.
Sadly, Pat died in August 2014 and as a mark of respect for his dedication and commitment to the Cassidy Clan organization since 1991, the office of An Caisideach was left vacant.
At our 2017 Gathering, Nuala Cassidy from County Armagh was elected as the new Chieftain. Nuala served as Chieftain until 2023. With her passing, Stephen Cassidy, who was the Tánaiste or Deputy Chieftain, became the Clan Chieftain. Stephen resides in California.
We thank Kerry Cassidy of Switzerland and Australia for his report and contribution to our website:
The 2017 Cassidy Clan rally was a great success. It was attended by over 60 clan members from many parts of the globe and all seemed to enjoy the varied and interesting program.
The Rally commenced on Friday the 30th June with registration of participants from 12.00 to 2.00 pm, then continued with getting to know the other members. This was followed at 4.00 pm by the Clan General Meeting with the election of An Caisideach (or president) and office bearers. The meeting was rather short as there was only one nomination for An Caisideach.
Nuala Cassidy was elected in a unanimous vote and her brother Noel was elected as chairman, a position in which Nuala had been active for some time. Both Nuala and Noel are very devoted to the clan and I feel they will both be excellent in the positions. Oliver Cassidy was invited to accept the office of An Tánaiste (deputy chieftain) for the next three years.
The venue for the Clan Rally was the Killyhevlin Hotel at Enniskillen and the facilities were perfect for the event.
After dinner on Friday we had a Power Point Presentation, “Meet the Cousins”, then the rest of the evening was spent meeting new friends and enjoying the beautiful night.
Saturday started with an interesting talk by Veronica Williams from Australia, telling us of the research she has done tracing her Cassidy ancestors back to Ireland and also explaining her work with DNA to trace ancestral links.
Anyone interested in this subject, please contact Veronica as she has now volunteered to oversee the Clan’s DNA project.
Veronica’s talk was followed by an interesting presentation by Frank Roofe, who is a local historian and genealogist. Frank is also an honorary life member of the Cassidy Clan and has helped many people with their research. He has been an integral part of the Clan gatherings for the last 15 years. Frank gave us several good tips on research and afterwards was our guide on a bus tour visiting interesting historical sites in the area.
We started off with the Enniskillen Castle museum, previously the Maguire Castle until the English confiscated it and their lands. The museum contains some very interesting displays showing how the people of the area have lived over the last two thousand years.
We later continued on via Bally Cassidy to the Ardess Famine Graveyard and finally to the Ancient Cassidy Rath. It was a very special feeling to be at the Rath, knowing that over a thousand years ago our ancestors lived there.
After dinner on Saturday evening we were invited to an old fashioned Céili House, with three members of the Blackwater Céili Band. Eamonn Keeman and Jeff the Piper tod many tales of old and we were also entertained by singer Tina Cassidy and some talented clan members including Noel Cassidy.
The Sunday program started with a talk by Noel Cassidy about some of the renowned early Cassidy poets, including Gill Mo Duta Ua Caiside and Tómas Ban Úa Caiside.
This was followed by a fascinating P P Presentation by Alf Monaghan where he looked at the history of early Irish Christianity from a very different perspective. Titled “Monastic Ireland – A Gift of the Nile” it showed evidence that the original Christians in Ireland were Coptic Christians escaping the persecution of the Romans. Alf showed many examples of evidence substantiating the links back to Egypt. This was a long time before Saint Patrick came to Romanize the Christians in Ireland.
Alf’s talk was followed by another bus trip, this time to the ferry landing near Devenish Island.
We then took the ferry across to the Island for the Inauguration Ceremony of our new An Caisideach.
This was also a special experience and included many old customs of previous generations. We had lots of time to explore the Island, the ruins of the old monastery and the interesting museum.
We then returned to the hotel for the Gala Dinner and evening entertainment with the Byrne Brothers and the dancing and fellowship continued into the wee hours of the morning.
Many of us met again on Monday morning to say our farewells and there were quite a few who promised to meet again at the next rally in three years. We hope to see lots of members there in 2020.
If you would like to see more of the above events, I have a photographic reportage posted on my website, visit http://www.cassidys.ch/clan.htm
I hope you enjoy it.
Kerry Cassidy
Friday, June 30th 2017
12.00 noon – Registration at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
4.00pm – 5.30 pm; Official Opening Clan General Meeting including election of An Caisideach
8.00pm – 10.00 pm; Meet the Cousins…..PowerPoint and screen available to members
Saturday, July 1st
10.00am – 12.30 Genealogy……PowerPoint and Screen
Family and Local History.
Veronica Williams, a member since 2008 will present her Family History research
1.30pm – 5.30 pm Bus tour of scenic and historic places of interest including; Cassidy Ancient Rath
8.00pm Céilí House: An Evening of Traditional Tales from Ireland.
Sunday, July 2nd
10.00 am Devenish Summer School
A number of lectures + Q&A Including a PowerPoint presentation by Alf Monaghan on Monastic Ireland – A gift of the Nile
2.30 pm Inauguration of An Caisideach on Devenish Island an Ancient burial ground of our Cassidy Ancestors
7.30 pm Reception
8.00 pm Clan Gala Dinner
An evening of good company, food, drink and entertainment The Byrne Brothers,
Dress code ; Smart casual. We will have an area for dancing so bring your dancing shoes.
Fees for weekend events
£110.00 per person.
£190.00 per couple
£320.00 2 Adults + 2 children aged 12 – 16, price for younger children on request
We do ask for a £25 per person deposit with registration. Balance of fee to be paid by June 26th 2017.
Please make your payment by credit card via the Cassidy Clan PayPal account. Click the “Buy Now” button below:
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all Cassidys and friends worldwide! We look forward to seeing many Cassidys at our rally this Summer in Enniskillen.
On today and all days:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
How Irish are you? Test your “Irishness” on this quiz from the Irish Times.
