he
first time we met John Reynolds was on our first day trip to
Mohill, Co. Leitrim. We stopped
at his restaurant, The Soup Bowl, for some of that great Irish
cooking.
The waitress took our order and we asked her if she knew any
of the Reynolds family in the area. We
told her we were looking for any information we could find
about Terry’s roots.
As
our breakfast was being cooked, John came over and introduced
himself to us. He sat down and
told us a number of stories about the Reynolds Clan, some
good and some sad. He told us of the two Reynolds Castle ruins
that
were located in Co. Leitrim. One of them was on the Leitrim
Estate at Lough Rynn, near Mohill, and the other was on an
island in Lough Scur, farther north.
Just
at that time, Teresa Bohan, one of the family of caretakers
at the Leitrim Estate,
walked past the restaurant. She was on her way to catch a
ride into Carrick to watch a football (soccer) match. John
asked
her if he could take us to Lough Rynn to see the castle and
she said that would be fine. As we drove onto the property,
there was a gated entry and a dirt road that led into the
estate. There were long-haired cattle grazing in a field and
a number
of buildings including the caretaker's cottage. We followed
the winding road down near the lake and there was a medieval
ruin of a stone castle!
John
pointed out the funny little windows, called arrow-slits that
were not much more than a vertical slot, made
that way
for a bow and arrow to fit into. He told us that the castle
was built beside the lake so that the inhabitants could
see their enemies coming from miles around. We learned that
the
Reynolds Clan had owned most of Co. Leitrim back in medieval
times. John wanted to take us to the castle on Lough Scur
but the water was too rough at the time.
We
continued to drive through the Rynn area and he showed us his
sister Anne’s
property, which included a very old farm house. He told
us that the land had come back to the Irish after being taken
over by the British during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
I.
All of the people whose families had originally owned
it were offered first choice before others could purchase it.
He and
his family members purchased some but his own home was
in nearby Drumgrania.
As
we left Lough Rynn and the Leitrim Estate, we talked about
all the historical facts we had learned; however,
we still didn't learn much about Terry’s ancestors.
he
first time we met John Reynolds was on our first day trip to
Mohill, Co. Leitrim. We
stopped
at his restaurant, The Soup Bowl, for some of that great Irish
cooking.
The waitress took our order and we asked her if she knew any
of the Reynolds family in the area. We
told her we were looking for any information we could find
about Terry’s roots. 
Just
at that time, Teresa Bohan, one of the family of caretakers
at the Leitrim Estate,
walked past the restaurant. She was on her way to catch a
ride into Carrick to watch a football (soccer) match. John
asked
her if he could take us to Lough Rynn to see the castle and
she said that would be fine. As we drove onto the property,
there was a gated entry and a dirt road that led into the
estate. There were long-haired cattle grazing in a field and
a number
of buildings including the caretaker's cottage. We 
followed
the winding road down near the lake and there was a medieval
ruin of a stone castle! 
Reynolds Clan had owned most of Co. Leitrim back in medieval
times. John wanted to take us to the castle on Lough Scur
but the water was too rough at the time.
