Grandmothers have a way about them, don’t they?
Teaching us old songs and rhymes; telling us family stories; building the meaning behind our last names. In the United States in 2025, we’re connected to our shared histories. We can look back in time, and take note of the fact that our families came from the same places. North or south, it matters not. What matters today is not the specifics of our shared heritage. It’s the broad similarity of our families’ experiences. Beau describes this shared similarity of the past as “being vaguely Celtic.”
Beau’s grandma was 100% American, and yet she was also half Dutch, and half Scots-Irish. The Scots Irish originated in the lowlands of Scotland, and were relocated to Northern Ireland by the British. For reference, Northern Ireland is comprised of six counties that, once upon a time, were within the Kingdom of Ulster. Those facts make me an American child of Ulster.
At Christmas time, Beau’s Grandma wore her woolen Ulster tartan skirt. She kept it belted just under her ribs. He remembers how it barely swept the floor as she walked around her home.
Zach’s grandpa was an Irishman from County Cavan. His name was John Masterson. It was he who taught Zach ‘Wild Mountain Thyme,’ by singing it to him as a young child. On our first band trip to Ireland in 2019, I can recall Zach saying, “There are five faces in Ireland, and one of them is mine!” The American part of Zach’s family story is the newest, youngest part.
John has a classic Irish American story. His ancestors were from the south of the Irish Island. His mom’s family came from County Cork and Limerick and his dad’s kin came from Waterford. As a middle-ish child (but above-average in many ways!) in a large Catholic family, he grew up in Detroit and got his education in Boston. He and his siblings heard Clancy Brothers while their Grandfather Sheehan sang Danny Boy.
Come share your personal immigration stories when we travel to Ireland for our Leaving Home: Clover’s Revenge Tour Of Ireland 2026. We are already filling up so let us know if you want more information.
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