A Forest Sounds Like a Ship at Sea:

The Clearing

Day 21: Remote Residency at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, Ireland, 7/18/22 to 8/13/22,  Maria Driscoll McMahon checking in from New York State

From left: Yours truly, Margaret Walsh, Dixie Gross, Christine Bedford - all descendants of Cornelius O'Driscoll. Margaret, Dixie, Christine met for the first time on this very day! Margaret, who was born in the house that Cornelius built, allowed us to walk the property which was the "clearing" Cornelius had commenced nearly 200 years ago! Cornelius, from West Cork, was the first to arrive in what would become the "Irish Settlement" of Ridgebury, Pennsylvania. 

Check out those long views from "the clearing." The only thing missing is the Atlantic Ocean!

THE IRISH SETTLEMENT

The above is the name given to the settlement in the southeast part of Ridgeberry, and which extends slightly into the adjacent towns of Athens and Smithfield. Its area was, as late as 1839, an unbroken wilderness. The greater portion of the land...was subsequently divided among his heirs and legatees, and was not offered for sale until about the year before named, 1839.

About that time Cornelius O'Driscoll commenced a clearing, and soon put up a small log house for himself and family, on the present farm of Corkins. He came to America, remained four years, and then returned and brought out his family, accompanied by several of his neighbors. The North Branch canal was just then being constructed, and the prices offered for work seemed fabulous to the new comers. Driscoll boughtof (sic) Patrick and Williston.* He brought his family to his clearing in 1840, and died February, 1876, aged ninety-six. 

From the time I read this excerpt, the mentioned clearing has resonated in my mind. Aside from the lovely alliteration - Cornelius Commenced a Clearing - I couldn't stop wondering about its geographic whereabouts; what trees were cleared? What animals lived in the unbroken wilderness?  How did the world in which Cornelius lived appear to him - the County Cork, Ireland he left behind and the Ridgebury, Pa. he would find? These questions, were, in part, the impetus for this project.  Some of these questions would be answered today - just a few hours ago - in the company of three other descendants of Cornelius O'Driscoll (their first meeting!) and one self-made arborist... 

It was a magical day!

I think this is as close as one can get to Ireland on the North American Continent

My jaw dropped to see these walls built close to 200 years ago by my ancestors of the Irish Settlement!

In some spots trees or limbs have fallen, but the wall has, otherwise, stood the test of time. 

Christine Bedford, a descendant of Cornelius O'Driscoll, walks where Cornelius walked.
Perhaps some of the trees were also present when Cornelius tilled the soil. (And, yes, of course he grew potatoes!)

Dixie Gross, a descendant of Cornelius O'Driscoll sits with our guide, Scott Greene,
who knows the land like the back of his hand - as well as the names of all the trees.
An ancient old-growth maple tree looks on and enjoys the company!

I imagine building stone walls would have come quite naturally to Cornelius O'Driscoll and his family and neighbors...

Top and Bottom Right: "Ancient Chapel Ruins" by Bold Frontiers is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

 Bottom left  "Stone Walls Everywhere" by jpverkamp is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Some of the trees on the property are those that are common to Ireland.  

Clockwise from top left: Birch, Ash, Hawthorn, Cherry

More about the trees tomorrow! It was an amazing day which will take a while to process!

 *Through lots of digging around,  I figured out that Cornelius bought land off a Mr. Patrick and some off a Mr. Williston which he distributed amongst his kids.