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Celebrating the 700th Anniversary of the Battle of Dysert O Dea

The Programme of Events for the 10th International O Dea Clan Gathering 2018 is available for viewing/download here: Programme for 10 May 2018 to 13 May 2018

Important Information from the Organising Committee

Here are some pointers about your forthcoming trip to Ireland for the 10^th International O Dea Clan Gathering, as we celebrate the 700^th anniversary of the Battle of Dysert O Dea, where our noble ancestor, Conor O Dea and his allies, defeated the mighty Norman knight, Richard de Clare and his allies. We trust that your trip to the land of our O Dea ancestors will be a memorable, enjoyable, never to be forgotten experience for you.

To those who’ve been before, events will be slightly different but even better, with a BBQ, as well as a battle re-enactment at the castle to name but a few. Whether this is your first or tenth visit, be assured of a real Irish O Dea welcome.

Irish Weather

The month of May is a particularly nice time to visit Ennis and our ancestral home of Dysert O Dea.  It is the time when we are coming into the end of Spring and the start of the Irish summer.  The hedgerows are full with the flowering blackthorn and whitethorn bushes, whilst the countryside is at its greenest and best. Be that as it may, you can never fully predict the Irish weather. Invariably, it rains when you don’t want it to, so the best advice is to come prepared. This is, as you would expect, the warmest time of year in Ireland, but it can still feel chilly to those traveling from warmer places.

What to wear?

Be sure to bring adequate clothing to suit your need for warmth, and to pack layers that can be easily added and removed as the days warm up and cool down. Temperatures average between 60°F and 70°F (15°C to 21°C). Apart from the Farewell Banquet, it will be casual dress, as we will be outdoors quite a lot. Sturdy walking shoes are also a good idea too. For the Knappogue Castle medieval banquet, neat casual clothing is recommended as you will be eating with your fingers!

During the day: Casual is the rule everywhere and jeans and sneakers are fine, so wear whatever casual clothes you feel comfortable in.

Pubs & Restaurants: In all pubs and lower priced restaurants casual wear is the norm, again jeans and sneakers are acceptable and the Irish will be wearing them too.

If you are planning to eat in fancier restaurants smart casual is fine during the week, though perhaps not jeans, while at weekends you will feel more comfortable if you dress up a little. It is quite common in Irish restaurants to have casually dressed and very smartly dressed diners in the same room.

This Website has some very good advice: https://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g186591-i88-k2743648-Clothing_traveling_to_Western_Ireland_in_mid_may-Ireland.html

Sunglasses: Even in Winter. The glare from sun reflecting on wet surfaces can be blinding.

Sunscreen: The wind can make it seem deceptively cool but the sun will still burn.

Adapters and/or Converters for any electrical equipment. Electricity in Ireland is supplied at 240 volts AC which may damage some American equipment.

Visitors from Australia and New Zealand only need an adapter.

Bring plenty of memory cards and batteries for your camera – both are very expensive here. The same applies to film if you are using a non-digital camera

Irish Currency

The currency in Ireland is the Euro. All major credit cards are generally accepted.   Ireland has plenty of ATMs, should you need to get cash. In many of the gift stores, they will mail your goods home for you and if you keep receipts and live outside the European Union, you can get the 23% Valued Added Tax refunded. There is usually a facility to do this at the airport. So keep your receipts!

Visit the Clare Local Studies Library

This library is situated at Harmony Row in Ennis. The library holds our clan archive and the librarians are superb for the way that they assist you. If you have your family tree or any other material that might be useful for our archive, we’d be delighted if you could bring it with you and leave a copy for the archive in the library.  The librarians know that the O Dea Clan will be in town!

 O Dea Clan DNA

The clan Website and previous correspondence from Paddy Waldron and James O Dea have mentioned the O Dea/Day/Dea DNA Website. It would be great guys if you brought your Y-37 DNA results guys: https://odeaclan.org/news_item/the-odeaodaydee-dna-project/

 We hope you find this useful.

An Important Message from the Organising Committee

The Clan Gathering is now fully booked.  No more registrations can be accepted.

Event Details

Detailed information about the Clan Gathering is available here: https://odeaclan.org/clangathering2018

Waiting Lists

People on the waiting lists for the Old Ground Farewell Banquet and the Knappogue Banquet will be contacted in due course should places become available.