In search of Curley Island

We headed south in search of ancestral clues. Finding proof of the Curley name in Ireland was the best that we could really expect. We were trying to find Cloonark, without much sucess, but it was on the map, just no signs anywhere proving is location. On a whim, we decide to stop at the Garda station on the side of the road and they turned out to be really helpful tour guides! We were in Cloonark, which apparently, according to the Garda, even some of the people that live there don't know where it is. So with a Garda escort they took us to the first clue and we met some more Curleys. Then off to Drum and we met an overly helpful cemetary historian/currator/guide and found some actual Curley headstones. Then we were in search of Moore cemetary (didn't find it) and Curley Island (didn't find it either). We stopped at Shannon bridge had a pint and a bite to eat at Kileen pub. Off to Clonmacnoise and a stop at the Monastary ruins. Many people had heard of Curley Island but no one knew what or where it was other than likely a land mass in the River Shannon near Shannon Bridge.Read more