My Irish Ancestry

Reader Contribution by Caleb Regan and Managing Editor
Published on March 17, 2009
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Family is one of the most important things in my life. In fact, one thing particularly challenging for me is prioritizing God over family in everyday life. It could even be called selfishness, but I guess at least it’s a selfishness for those I love rather than for myself singularly. 

From an early age, a strong fellowship was forged within my family, probably one result of family life on a just-under-200-acre farm about 30 minutes from the largest town around – Fort Scott, which has a population of around 8,000. 

So, on my way out the door this morning, my Irish heritage and my grandmother’s birthday were really at the forefront of my mind. My Grandma Mary married an Irishman. Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting him – neither did my dad, for that matter – but from Grandma’s accounts he was a gregarious, fun-loving man, and he must have thought it quite a deal to be married to a woman whose birthday fell on Saint Patrick’s Day, a Catholic feast day and national holiday in Grandpa Daniel’s home country. 

That’s what I kept thinking about on the drive in this morning, about how it would have been for Grandma and Grandpa Regan 65 years ago; and that made me smile and feel blessed to be a descendent of the O’Regan family. 

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