Michele
It is so nice of you to post this.
Tom is my father-in-law,I am married to his son Pat .We have a son named Tom so the legacy goes on.
He wrote this book for the family to have the history in print,part of the self publishing package was a listing on Amazon.It is a wonderful thing to know about your families roots.
We have been able to visit the area where he grew up and have met his childhood friends.We are planning a return trip this June.

Susan

That will indeed be an interesting read.. Leitrim is one of  counties worst affected by both the Famine and by the more recent exodus of young families. 

One townland there; in the 1911 census  there were 19 families on that mountain. Families of 11 and 14 members in small three roomed cottages with no water supply except rainwater off the roof, and drinking water brought in from one of the many  outdoor "wells" thereabouts, which many families still use even when there is piped water.

In the last decade, there was only one house on the mountain still lived in. A couple more at the base. No water supply; no toilet or kitchen. That was within the last ten years. An old lady and her son moved out only then. 

And it was lived in then again, with a rudimentary water supply and toilet, with drinking water still having to be ccaried in.
All the other dwellings are ruins, surrounded now by "the forestry"

Talking to the old ones, they reminisce about those days.. the hardships, the wells, with nostalgia in their eyes..... when you ask would they live like that now, they snap back into today with an," Oh NO!"

Is that LULU? The self-publishing, I mean? We have a book coming out with them in a a matter of weeks now, as soon as I can complete the work. "Tales from an Irish Hermitage"

A "pet day" here today after weeks of storms and floods and gales.
Warmer than all summer, but there will be a sharp frost as darkness comes

Blessings this day....

ah, thank you.

The beauty of LULU is that it is "print-on-demand" so they ask no money up front.
 
Which is as well as we do nto have any money!!

And they handle all the marketing also. Including Amazon.

www.lulu.com

They only make money if a book sells so it keep them on their toes.

Dowra is a pretty place indeed. But very run down these days. If they kept the land, fine. So many sold out to "the forestry" and those ruins are lost for ever then. 

Blessings this day
 

I haven't been around the forum much of late. I was pleasantly surprised to see this post when I popped in today. Finding my mother's second cousin and walking on the Leitrim farmland where Mom's grandfather grew up were highlights of our 2006 trip. I just ordered the book for her. Thanks for the post Michele!

My copy arrived just moments ago.  Thanks, Michele, for the alert and thanks also, Susan, to your Father-in-law, for what I'm sure will be an enlightening and enjoyable read.

Bob

Susan,
I ordered the book last week from Barnes and Noble and picked it up yesterday. I finished reading it this morning. A big thanks to your father-in-law for such a wonderful book. It sure brought back memories of what my mother told me about growing up on a farm in Ireland. She immigrated from County Kerry in 1927. My first trip to the farm cottage where she was born was in 1946. I was there for 4 months that summer and I remember some of things your father-in-law mentioned. What a memory for detail he recalls. With all the changes in Ireland over the years, this book is a must read for all those interested in the way it used to be.

Judy M

Just ordered mine. It should be here by Friday. It wil be made even more interesting by the fact that some of my roots are in Leitrim.

I appreciate the head's up, Michele!

Nollaig faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit,

Bit