Christian Science Monitor: No, the Irish were not slaves in the Americas

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I am glad you liked it.

All four of my grandparents came from Ireland. When I was a little girl the elderly aunts would all look at me and say (imagine an Irish accent here) "Ahh, she has the map of Ireland on her face."

My parental generation all married fellow Irish Americans. But I grew up in this country, and even if we only think about those from northern or western Europe, there's still a certain amount of diversity. And if you include those from southern Europe or even the rest of the world . . . well, just imagine. Oh, right, you can. You live in this wonderful country.

The first time I went to Ireland, in 1972 when I was 23 years old, I was completely gobsmacked. Every single person I saw looked exactly like my brothers and my sisters and my cousins. Oh, my.

In 1989 my brother set up a family trip to Ireland. Mom, five of her six children, five of her seven grandchildren, sons and daughters in law, plus a cousin on Mom's side and the cousin's new husband who was also Irish American. Well. Every single time we split up and then re-connected, it was bizarre, because I'd be looking at approaching people and thinking, "Yes! No! Looks like her. Oops, not her. Isn't that? Uh oh, not." Again proof that I was truly from that country.