Devenish Island in County Fermanagh is special to the Cassidy Clan. The Cassidys served as “erenaghs,” hereditary land managers for the Church’s property in parts Devenish parish and undoubtedly studied and worshiped at Devenish Island.
The most famous early Irish Cassidy ancestor, the poet Giolla Mochuda More Ó Caiside, composed Banshenchas, The Lore of Woman, on Devenish Island in 1147. The poem tells the history of the women of the world starting with Eve. At the conclusion of the poem, Devenish is described as “of gracious words and pure holy song.”
It’s my pleasure to share with you the 2023 Cassidy Clan Newsletter.
Included in the issue are tributes to Nuala Cassidy, our Clan Chieftain who passed away last month, an invitation to join the Cassidy Clan in Ireland in 2025 for our rally, a summary of the Cassidy connection to Devenish Island in County Fermanagh, and a bit of craic from Benny Cassidy.
We welcome you back to Ireland in 2025. The Cassidy Clan Rally is held in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, close to the ancestral lands of the Cassidys.
Our next rally will take place in 2025 from Friday 4 July through Sunday 6 July. The weekend event celebrates Irish culture and history, including local history and the Cassidy role within it, through stories, musical performances, and genealogy and cultural presentations.
We thank Kerry Cassidy of Switzerland and Australia for his report and contribution to our website:
After two years delay and quite a few hiccups, the 2022 Cassidy Clan Rally was eventually held on the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th July. The organisation was rather difficult as all possible dates were taken by couples who had delayed their weddings due to Covid and the hotels were all fully booked. There was also a misunderstanding with one booking and the confusion of dates threw quite a few people’s plans out. We were eventually almost 30 people and I believe all enjoyed themselves.
The official meeting was planned for the Friday evening, but as a few members arrived late, it was put off till Saturday morning. The main business discussed was regarding support for the executives, as Nuala has not been well and Noel has been very busy with his sick wife. We decided to make Stephen, who has so far been responsible for the Website, an assistant executive officer. As such he can make minor decisions on his own and post the info on the website without having to wait for a reply from Nuala or Noel. We hope that this system works out and relieves Nuala of some of her responsibilities.
Stephen intends to update the website and if anyone has contributions or ideas for that, they would be very welcome. We are also looking at possibilities to strengthen the financial situation of the club with possibility of a worthwhile project which we could support.
Following the meeting on Saturday, we boarded a bus for a tour of Enniskillen and then to the Castle which is also an interesting museum and always worth a visit. Frank Roofe was our guide and as a local historian, he is a very interesting one. We unfortunately had a breakdown with the bus and had to wait for a replacement before we could depart the museum.
The weather played tricks on us, but a lot of the rain fell during the bus trip to the Ancient Cassidy Rath. We were there for maybe a quarter of an hour before it started raining again. There are a few umbrellas evident in the group photo taken at the Rath. We can thank Noel Cassidy for his great efforts to clear the Rath and the access path through Cassidy Wood. He spent considerable time working on that and was eventually assisted by the forestry department, who own the Cassidy Wood and part of the Rath. We had a few discussion groups at the hotel after dinner on Saturday evening.
On Sunday we enjoyed a few presentations. First we eventually got the computer connected to the projector and sound system to play one of the well prepared presentations on using DNA in researching your ancestors. Veronica Williams is our specialist on DNA and made a very professional presentation. This as well as her second presentation are now available on the Clan web site for anyone who is interested. Check on the web site under https://cassidyclan.org/making-the-most-of-your-cassidy-dna/
Veronica’s presentation was followed by an interesting talk by Frank Roofe with tips on researching your Irish ancestors, then the story teller held us in suspense with his vivid descriptions.
After the talks the bus was waiting to take us to the ferry landing to cross Dead Man’s Pass to Devenish Island. There we had time to explore this special place before holding the ceremony to reinstate Nuala as An-Caisideach. The weather improved during the afternoon and we made a short stop on the way home to view the old Bally Cassidy Post Office and the Cloughbally Mill at Bally Cassidy. This has now been rebuilt as a B&B and looks really nice.
Sunday evening was very pleasant and I believe all enjoyed the Gala Dinner at Killyhevlin Hotel.
As we parted, many promised to meet again at the next rally. From what I have heard we will aim at three years time, so we hope we will be able to give a lot more notice this time.
I’d like to thank all who helped to get the Rally off the ground and I especially thank Noel for all the effort he put into the preparations under rather trying conditions.
We look forward to seeing you next time! Kerry Cassidy
Editor’s Note: The next Cassidy Clan Rally will take place in 2025 from Friday 4 July through Sunday 6 July.
Kerry and Elisabeth Cassidy with Noel Cassidy at site of ancient Cassidy rath in County Fermanagh during a tour as part of the 2017 Cassidy Clan Rally.
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 Rallystart 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.
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 pagefor details.
