What a day we had today! There is nothing quite as satisfactory as visiting the homeland of your ancestors. To be able to walk the streets, visit the church and pay respects at their graves is a real honor. But let me first tell you about our tour guide and the beginning of our day in Belfast.

Lizzie Charley was our guide today, booked through Tours by Locals. We’ve had such wonderful experiences with this company and today was no exception. We have been communicating with her for months, sharing our family genealogy, so she was ready to show us what she had found. She picked us up promptly at the port, welcomed us with a warm hug, and we were off to see a bit of Belfast before our 30-minute drive to Killinchy.

We saw the shipyard where the Titanic was built and learned of the massive museum there. Lizzie’s grandmother stood on the shores of Belfast, waving to the passengers as they sailed away. Can you imagine the sadness of this city, when they heard of the fate of the Titanic? We learned that 300,000 US serviceman were bunkered in Belfast during WWII, prior to the Normandy invasion and Belfast was the second most bombed city by the Nazi’s, after London. It was an informative but short tour of Belfast, because we had more important things to do in Killinchy.

What is the significance of Killinchy? Killinchy is where many of our relatives, the Lowry’s, came from. Our great-grandmother on our maternal father’s side was a Lowry. Our first stop was the Killinchy Parish Church and the Livingston Centre. Over scones and coffee, the rector, Rev. Stanley Gamble, told us about the history of the church and connections that the Lowry’s had with the church. He then took us on a wonderful tour of the Livingston Centre, a small but amazingly thorough museum, sharing area history, and immigration stories between Killinchy and America. We learned that most Magees and Lowrys came to Ireland from the Scottish Lowlands in the early 1600s. Rev. Gamble was so generous with his time and could not have been kinder to us.

As it turned out, Killinchy was having their annual fete today, so Lizzie took us there and introduced us around to the townspeople. We were warmly greeted by everyone; we felt like dignitaries!

We met two women, Moira Concannon and Leanna Russell, who had just authored a book, “Balloo, Killinchy, A Hidden History” and they told the book was full of information about our family. Wow!

We had lunch waterside at Daft Eddy’s on the Strangford Lough, a tributary of the Irish Sea, before heading to another church, the Killinchy Presbyterian Church. Here we found more Lowry’s in the cemetery and heard from author Leanna about the church’s history dating to 1670.

Our last stop was the Lowry House, just up the road from the church, where in 1809 David Lowry built an Inn and operated it with his wife Margaret. It and the associated barn are now private residences, but we were given permission to enjoy the gardens. Moira, the owner of the barn complex and one of the book authors, gave us a tour. So enjoyable.

After saying goodbye to Moira and Leanna, Lizzie took us back to the ship on the scenic route along the sound. We cannot thank her enough for the research and connections she made on our behalf. We’d also like to thank Rev. Stanley, Moira, Leanna and all of the people of Killinchy for their hospitality. What a visit we had!

Tomorrow: Greenock, Scotland

Recommendation: Lizzie Charley, Guide, Tours by Locals at https://www.toursbylocals.com/tours/united-kingdom/belfast/tour-details/genealogy-tours-northern-ireland-670bba475afbd7853e6a1335