I met a woman in Waterloo at the Iowa Irish Festival who bought ClanDonnell: A Storied History of Ireland. She traced her Irish ancestry back to the 1600s. This ancestor moved to America from Switzerland.

“Why Switzerland?” she asked. I could only think of one answer, since Ireland to Switzerland was not a common migration pattern in the 1600s.

My answer, you may wonder, was that grandpa might have been a wild goose. I refused to tell what a wild goose was, and told her to look forward to it (at Chapter 20) in reading the book.

Here’s her reaction, from an email sent to me shortly after the Waterloo festival:

“Good morning!

I hope this finds you well! I thoroughly enjoyed your stories and songs at the Irish Fest in Waterloo, Iowa within the past two weeks! I bought your book, A Storied History of Ireland and read Chapter 20 with its references to “wild geese”. It may well be that one of my Martin ancestors fit that category. While my forbears have been traced back to the late 1600’s in Switzerland, Martin is not known as a Swiss name.

My great-aunt who traced the family lineage and wrote a book may have chosen to stop there as she and many in my family are devout Mennonites! Since Mennonites do not go to war, she may have decided not to trace it back any further! 

Thank you for a fascinating book! Your family and clan have a treasure in this written history you’ve provided! It is a monumental work and I can’t imagine the time and energy you’ve put into it!”

Glad to be of help!